Best companions for dark side ?

[Crixus]

I'm doing my first dark side playthrough and wanted to know what companions choices there are.

I think I will use hk-47 and was thinking maybe visas but not sure if you can gain influence with her if going dark side ?

EDIT: just a side question. How do you break hanhars will for the bonuses ?

[cerberusiv]

They are all viable for DS. Use whichever companions you feel are appropriate for that section of the game.

MINOR SPOILERS -

You will pick up a few light side points influencing certain characters but the benefits outweigh this and it is still pretty easy to get full dark.

Visas - worth influencing anyway and already starts with some DS powers.

Atton - easy to turn into a jedi in either light or dark playthrough.

Bao-dur - forget about turning him into a jedi, concentrate on his tech skills and unarmed combat.

Mandalore - easier to influence.

Goto - easier to influence but I only use him for the M4-78 mod part.

T3 - worth the repair/computer steps anyway for his skills but I only use him at the workbench by choice.

Kreia - just as preachy and annoying. I leave her on the ship as much as possible.

Handmaiden - same as LS.

Disciple - drive your influence down to turn him into a jedi.

HK47 - a delight DS with better dialogue (if you have that kind of sense of humour), influence away and enjoy.

Mira/Hanharr - you don't get Mira (unless you manage your alignment to do so), you get the psychotic Wookie. A bit one dimensional but leveled up and equipped right, hit Wookie Rage and he will cut almost any opponent to pieces.

[Crixus]

Thank you for the detailed reply cerberusiv, you always answer my questions ^^

[cerberusiv]

Originally posted by Marauder:

EDIT: just a side question. How do you break hanhars will for the bonuses ?

It is covered in this guide (laugh it up fuzzball achievement is the one to read).

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=485949465

[Biggus Dickus]

I'm putting in a vote for Kreia as one of the better companions. Because of her Force bond ability, she can focus on LS buffing powers that affect not only herself but you as well, while you focus on the offensive DS powers (which are cheaper and just plain incredible). She also increases the amount of XP you gain, which means levelling up more often than you would be able to otherwise. Therefore, its in your interest to make sure she's around as much as possible.

Also, as long as you're not a complete psychopath, she's super easy to get influence with on the DS. Even if you plan to go on a killing spree, just swap her out for one of the characters that do gain influence from mindless slaughter (i.e. Atton, Visas). In fact, I think in some cases, she can cause LS characters to GAIN influence when you kill innocents as long as you accept her advice the first time she complains (notably Bao-Dur, who is a pain to increase otherwise). I haven't had this happen to me in my playthrough, but I've definitely had it happen before, and I suspect that this time its because I'm using the Restored Content mod.

[cerberusiv]

No matter how good the benefits of having Kreia with you she is still a PITA, just less so if you leave her on the ship. The extra XP is nice but not that big a difference.

It is debatable whether Bao-dur is more useful as a tech or a jedi. With goody two shoes companions it is easier to lose influence than gain it if you are DS and if you can get it low enough they can be converted to jedi, particularly Disciple. That does tend to drive them LS but if you choose Sith Lord as your Prestige class they will be dragged to the dark side anyway.

I believe TSLRCM significantly changes the influence system.

[Biggus Dickus]

Originally posted by cerberusiv:

No matter how good the benefits of having Kreia with you she is still a PITA, just less so if you leave her on the ship. The extra XP is nice but not that big a difference.

Well, I guess that comes down to personal taste. I happen to think Kreia is one the most interesting characters in any game I've ever played, and as I said, if you play as a conniving Sith you can limit her nagging at any rate. All things considered, she's a solid Consular in a game where force powers are very strong AND her LS buffing powers (which would otherwise be too expensive to cast often early on) also affect you. The XP bonus, as you point out, isn't huge but it makes a noticeable difference over the course of the game, i.e. two or three levels after three or so planets.

Originally posted by cerberusiv:

It is debatable whether Bao-dur is more useful as a tech or a jedi. With goody two shoes companions it is easier to lose influence than gain it if you are DS and if you can get it low enough they can be converted to jedi, particularly Disciple. That does tend to drive them LS but if you choose Sith Lord as your Prestige class they will be dragged to the dark side anyway.

I'm also not convinced that converting Bao-Dur is worth it, but its easy enough to swap him out when you need different skills, and frankly he's very underwhelming in combat if you keep him as a techie. It's nice to have as an option I think.

I've never tried tanking influence with companions, so I didn't know about Disciple. All I know is that Handmaiden gets pissy and refuses to speak to you if Visas' influence increases too much (now that's a serious PITA).

Originally posted by cerberusiv:

I believe TSLRCM significantly changes the influence system.

If OP is using TSLRCM, which they probably are, then I wouldn't bother with trying to convert Bao-Dur. Too much hassle.

[Emmental]

For extra xp you can always lay mines, leave the area then come back and disarm if you're desperate, so Kreia's xp boost isn't that big of a deal.

[Biggus Dickus]

Originally posted by Dave:

For extra xp you can always lay mines, leave the area then come back and disarm if you're desperate, so Kreia's xp boost isn't that big of a deal.

Ha! Tried that just now. Can't believe that's a thing after TSLRCM changed the Hssiss glitch on Korriban.

Of course, you could take Kreia disarming along with you for the extra boost in XP.

[Hassat Hunter]

Can't really fix that.