Are the Companions Mandatory in this Game?

[Venom Candle]

I'm considering maybe getting this game just to see for myself how good it is, but I need to clarify one thing that might be a deal breaker. Do I HAVE to drag companions around with me after meeting them at a certain point in the game?

I've rather come to enjoy the lone wanderer experience in Bethesda-style games, because between the AI being the AI and the fact they just don't shut up, the game forcing me to pull a sidekick would bog down the experience for me.

[Monk Enthusiast]

Yeah, you cant send them away if if you piss them off.

[entropy123]

Sidekicks are required for some missions. That said, I barely notice them in the game world. You do have conversations with sidekicks that enrich the story and move the plot forward.

So this game probably not for you.

[Loiya]

This game is a spinoff of a series of squad tactics CRPGs and it tries to reflect that, so no, you can't (at least unmodded) stop companions from joining.

[Diomed]

I always play Lonewolf as well. I am with you there; but, I just ignore the companions during most of the game. I only pay attention to them when they want to talk or when I have to do a companion quest. They provide good passive buffs if you do this so it is worth your time. During combat I just ignore them.

[Halcyform]

This would be one of the few times where I feel that companions actually add to the game and aren't super annoying to deal with. You will encounter game elements where certain companion abilities are required.

I haven't had any companions (so far) run off and start doing stupid stuff on their own. They stick with you and don't do anything unless you come under attack or you direct them to perform an action via companion ability.

If you are planning to run through an enemy camp to get somewhere and don't want to fight, just keep running. While your companion will start fighting once you come under attack, he'll reset and return once you get enough distance.

[gadfly6363]

There doesn't seem to be any way to get rid of them, and that's actually different from the previous Pillars games. In the previous games, you could either never take them into the party, take them in but leave them at base, or replace them with custom hirelings that lacked the dialogue.