Halsin not showing up until after the Emerald Grove fight is a huge oversight.

[nishoku]

Why doesn't he show up to help defend the Grove? He literally says IN DIALOGUE that's what is going to happen. Then you do the quest and he shows up afterwards. Did the writers intentionally make him flake or is this just bad game design? This has bothered me since I played the game for the first time and has always thrown me out of being immersed. Add that to being able to MISS having him in your party and he will completely disappear if you don't talk to him at a specific point after the quest after he straight up says he will join you and he only is available in ACT 2. I feel like his character is implemented very awkwardly for a character who is revered and sought after throughout the whole second half of ACT 1 and takes up all of ACT 2. I found this to be one of the interactions in game that really took me out of the experience to show me how limited it really is.

[Levianne]

Wait, what exactly are you talking about? Emerald Grove fight? You mean the initial, where the Blade of Frontiers show up? Or you mean the quest in general, where you have to kill 3 leaders in the goblin camp? Because if you mean the actual Emerald Grove fight while siding with the goblins, then Halsin isn't even supposed to show up to congratulate you, but to exact revenge on the slain druids and thieflings. That's the only "after the Emerald Grove fight" situation I can recall.

[nishoku]

Originally posted by Levianne:

Wait, what exactly are you talking about? Emerald Grove fight? You mean the initial, where the Blade of Frontiers show up? Or you mean the quest in general, where you have to kill 3 leaders in the goblin camp? Because if you mean the actual Emerald Grove fight while siding with the goblins, then Halsin isn't even supposed to show up to congratulate you, but to exact revenge on the slain druids and thieflings. That's the only "after the Emerald Grove fight" situation I can recall.

When you sneak into the goblin camp to save him while also being buddy with the goblins enough to lead them in and fight them at the Grove instead. He does say he's going to show up to help and still shows up but after defending the grove from the goblins.

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by Levianne:

Wait, what exactly are you talking about? Emerald Grove fight? You mean the initial, where the Blade of Frontiers show up? Or you mean the quest in general, where you have to kill 3 leaders in the goblin camp? Because if you mean the actual Emerald Grove fight while siding with the goblins, then Halsin isn't even supposed to show up to congratulate you, but to exact revenge on the slain druids and thieflings. That's the only "after the Emerald Grove fight" situation I can recall.

Their question makes somewhat sense, considering the chain of events.

Simplified:

1. You freed Halsin and tell him to stay behind/whatever so he does not gets in your way

2. You agreed helping Minthara to raid the grove

3. Grove raid - no Halsin

However, their question is also already answered in that chain of events.

>>You tell Halsin to stay back as he needs to recover, he assumes you help him not knowing there is an attack ongoing he has no chance to catch up<<

That way it is inevitable that Halsin is no part of the raid defense as he is betrayed. Otherwise you normally would pick him up/take him along while hunting for the goblin leaders

[Levianne]

Originally posted by nishoku:

When you sneak into the goblin camp to save him while also being buddy with the goblins enough to lead them in and fight them at the Grove instead. He does say he's going to show up to help and still shows up but after defending the grove from the goblins.

Ok, but isn't that basically accepting the other quest (Raid the Emerald Grove, rather than Save the druids)? Even if you change your mind and fight the goblins at the Groove to save the druids, you're basically a backstabbing bastard at that point, so would make sense for Halsin not showing up at your side. But this is at best my reasoning regarding Halsin's motivations, not exactly explaining the game's mechanics in being able to change quests in the middle of progressing through one.

[アンジェル]

Originally posted by Levianne:

Originally posted by nishoku:

When you sneak into the goblin camp to save him while also being buddy with the goblins enough to lead them in and fight them at the Grove instead. He does say he's going to show up to help and still shows up but after defending the grove from the goblins.

Ok, but isn't that basically accepting the other quest (Raid the Emerald Grove, rather than Save the druids)? Even if you change your mind and fight the goblins at the Groove to save the druids, you're basically a backstabbing bastard at that point, so would make sense for Halsin not showing up at your side. But this is at best my reasoning regarding Halsin's motivations, not exactly explaining the game's mechanics in being able to change quests in the middle of progressing through one.

I still think they mean "why is not Halsin there:on the defending side"

[Levianne]

Originally posted by アンジェル:

Originally posted by Levianne:

Ok, but isn't that basically accepting the other quest (Raid the Emerald Grove, rather than Save the druids)? Even if you change your mind and fight the goblins at the Groove to save the druids, you're basically a backstabbing bastard at that point, so would make sense for Halsin not showing up at your side. But this is at best my reasoning regarding Halsin's motivations, not exactly explaining the game's mechanics in being able to change quests in the middle of progressing through one.

I still think they mean "why is not Halsin there:on the defending side"

I mean the same, I literally wrote it in there. "Your side" means the defending side if you decide to fight the goblins after leading them to the Grove first.

[Kernest]

Halsin left after the goblins, therefore if he joined that battle, he'd be coming in from the rear and would get targeted by all the goblins, turning it into a hassle for the players to keep him alive.

[Levianne]

Originally posted by アンジェル:

...

Like you've mentioned in earlier response, Halsin got the order to stay put in the Warg pen, until you solve the situation with the leaders. Then you decide to join them instead and lead them to the Grove, but then you change your mind again and fight the goblins to save druids and company. So at this point Halsin escapes the Warg den, I guess, as Kernest pointed out, and would arrive from the back, he's not powerful enough to give them a run, so he's not joining the battle, even less with someone, who endangered the Grove in the first place. Maybe when he shows up to "congratulate you" for saving the Grove (that you've put in danger), he might get softer, because he cares for all the druids too much. But that's basically the only way I can see it. He can't join you and he doesn't even want to for what you've done in the first place. He tasked you with dealing with the leaders and you've betrayed him. He couldn't make difference in the battle on his own, so he left it in your hands, because he had to, but that's about it.
And game mechanics, that's a thing too. XD