Changing stats of companions?

[Lucid]

The respec only allows skill stats and abilities. But the actual attributes can't be changed? Why is that? Frustrating. Want to play Kana much differently and that deflection score is way too low. I get they're supposed to be pre-made and for role-play but I can't use him in the way I want in the party.

[opus132]

Make a custom companion. That's why that option is there.

Story companions are set in stone for role-playing reasons, and it would break immersion if you could just alter what they are on a whim. If you were out adventuring with random people you met in your travels you wouldn't get to chose their traits and talents either, and would have to make due with what they are capable of doing.

Also, i don't know what you need deflection for. There's a tank build for chanters that use the same base deflection kana has:

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/83491-class-build-the-drakes-ambassador-searing-mesmerizing-chanter-tank/

[Lucid]

Originally posted by opus132:

Make a custom companion. That's why that option is there.

Story companions are set in stone for role-playing reasons, and it would break immersion if you could just alter what they are on a whim. If you were out adventuring with random people you met in your travels you wouldn't get to chose their traits and talents either, and would have to make due with what they are capable of doing.

Also, i don't know what you need deflection for. There's a tank build for chanters that use the same base deflection kana has:

https://forums.obsidian.net/topic/83491-class-build-the-drakes-ambassador-searing-mesmerizing-chanter-tank/

I figured the attributes could be separate from the dialogues. I guess you're right.

I can make a tank. But Edar is my tank. I'm hoping to use a tank/bruiser two handed weapon style to diversify weapons (I like the idea of him singing and killing with a huge sword). But to pull it off I still need high deflection. I could give sword and shield talent. But I got that main tank going with Edar. I still need that deflection up for survivability. I was looking at ancient memory regen on the Chanter as well (not just allies).

I'll check the link. Thanks.

[Yikes]

"If you dont mind using iroll20s[cheats] on your playthrough, then the command for attribute spread is:

AttributeScore (target characters) (attributes) number

For example: AttributeScore Companion_Eder(Clone) Might 20

For this to work, however, you need to have your target character loaded on screen. Therefore you cannot use such commands on the World Map and/or while sailing."-google

you have to type iroll20s in the console commands ingame. also this method could work


"IE mod has a workaround the fact that loading zones and saves resets companion stats. Install the mod, set the custom stats in the file it specifies and turn on custom stats in the mod options"-google

[opus132]

Are you playing on PoTD? Because there no amount of deflection is going to help melee dps characters, especially early on. You have to just stack every single ounce of deflection on Eder (who, for the record, is only a few resolve points above Kana to begin with) and exploit choke points and use all sorts of crowd control spells.

If you want to play Kana as a two handed melee dps character, you might have to resort using a reach weapon, at least early on. Eventually you might get enough deflection or DR through buffs, consumables and gear that he may be able to just get in the fray with a big sword, but initially you are probably better off just having him poke at enemies behind Eder.

There's so many options to boost deflection in this game, from buffs, spells, consumables, paladin auras (plus Outworn Shield) or talents, stuff like Guardian Stance if you really must have as much as you possibly can etc.

I don't think the 8 deflection you gonna get even if you were to max resolve on a character is worth it, especially on a dps character. Hell, some people would probably dump resolve to hell if it wasn't for the annoying interrupt penalty.

I mean, it's true that the more deflection you have, the better, so even a few points can count, but still. Just have Kana use a pike or something like that (plus a shield and an hatchet on the second slot to temporarily switch to if he gets too much attention) until you got enough gear and buffs and switch to a great sword once you feel confident he can survive getting smacked in the face a few times.

[Gilmoy]

Retraining lets you re-assign L2 - L16 skill points/talents/abilities only.
Your L1 choices, including stats, background, and L1 ability, are locked in stone.

Hence, all free followers' stats are locked at dev time, by design.
You put up with their crummy stats and L1 abilities, just to hear their amusing barks.
Or roll your own adventurers in any inns, and accept the -1 level each.

Kana will always have a low Deflection problem.
So will any Rogue, Barbarian, or squishy caster-type you roll.
You'll never have enough talent points to fix it.
You might as well use your talents to buy more offense, and kill enemies faster.
On PotD, everybody has a low Deflection problem.

Even Edér has a Deflection problem, unless you build him as 1H sword + shield.
Then his Deflection is pretty good (70-90), but he has a DPS problem.
That's the emergent min/max dilemma. Choose where you want him to be.

The best defense in the game is to never be targeted.

[night4]

Originally posted by Gilmoy:

The best defense in the game is to never be targeted.

Yeah even on PotD, I usually ignore Deflection and go for a combination of DR and CC, slowly lowering DR over time as it becomes less necessary.

High Deflection is more of a thing for Wizard tanks, but you still need enough groupwide damage and/or CC to get the fight under control by the time Arcane Veil wears off.

At any rate, for op: don't spend time worrying about companion stats. Use your time and effort improving your strategy and spell use because those are the things that will make a massive difference in this game, especially debuffing/CC type spells.

Just slap high DR armor on Kana, buff him with Armor of Faith as needed, and most importantly debuff/CC enemies and he'll be great for melee if that's your goal. That's actually a common way to use Chanters since their chants aren't affected by Recovery Speed and you'll be closer to enemies for Dragon Thrashed later on.

[Retronaut]

Originally posted by Gilmoy:

The best defense in the game is to never be targeted.

Exactly.

Keep important characters out of range of enemies; recall them when needed considering the spaces on battlefields in 'Pillars' are rather huge compared to cramped tunnels seen in the dungeons.

Give characters relief suffering from endurance trauma by rotating characters out of range.

Look for opportunities such as a circumstance that may grant the player a juicy attack enhanced by a certain spell or ability.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Lucid:

But to pull it off I still need high deflection.

A fallacy.

First of all, Fighter class traits make it so that base Deflection is +5 compared with Chanter class. Eder adds another +3 via RES 13. Kana would need RES 18 to achieve the same.

What a waste of attribute points for someone you want to give a 2H sword! You need good PER to increase Accuracy, if you want to wield a two-hander. Fighter class leads by +10 base Accuracy compared with Chanter class.

Secondly, Chanter in PoE is not a tank class. Very Low base Endurance, low base Health. Yes, some regeneration talents, but any non-Fighter can simply learn Veteran's Recovery!

Originally posted by Lucid:

I could give sword and shield talent.

Only single-handed fighting with one weapon grants the extra and stacking +12 Accuracy, which offensive guys should be interested in.

Originally posted by Lucid:

But I got that main tank going with Edar.

Fighter class in PoE is a tank class by class traits. Eder can fill different roles, though, and is more useful and more fun as an offensive ruffian.

[Lucid]

Originally posted by opus132:

Are you playing on PoTD? Because there no amount of deflection is going to help melee dps characters, especially early on. You have to just stack every single ounce of deflection on Eder (who, for the record, is only a few resolve points above Kana to begin with) and exploit choke points and use all sorts of crowd control spells.

If you want to play Kana as a two handed melee dps character, you might have to resort using a reach weapon, at least early on. Eventually you might get enough deflection or DR through buffs, consumables and gear that he may be able to just get in the fray with a big sword, but initially you are probably better off just having him poke at enemies behind Eder.

There's so many options to boost deflection in this game, from buffs, spells, consumables, paladin auras (plus Outworn Shield) or talents, stuff like Guardian Stance if you really must have as much as you possibly can etc.

I don't think the 8 deflection you gonna get even if you were to max resolve on a character is worth it, especially on a dps character. Hell, some people would probably dump resolve to hell if it wasn't for the annoying interrupt penalty.

I mean, it's true that the more deflection you have, the better, so even a few points can count, but still. Just have Kana use a pike or something like that (plus a shield and an hatchet on the second slot to temporarily switch to if he gets too much attention) until you got enough gear and buffs and switch to a great sword once you feel confident he can survive getting smacked in the face a few times.

I'm playing on hard (which I've been getting the hang of because normal is too easy).

I do wish the respec included attributes. But ti is what it is. I have no idea why he starts with a two handed sword when obviously he's not spec that way (and heavy armor). It's weird because the designers suggest that style of play but when you look at the stats, it's probably the worse way to play the character. Yes, You can play a character however you want, but I would think starting set is there for a reason- to give some suggestive push towards the way to play your companions (which I agree sometimes and sometimes I don't). But I love the idea of him singing and swinging a big bloody sword. It's just an unfortunate case of my role playing desires clashing with the game design. Everyone is offering excellent suggestions for PoD (when I'm on hard) to optimize. I guess I'll have to just follow, or figure some other role. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion.

[Lucid]

Originally posted by D'amarr from Darshiva:

Originally posted by Lucid:

But to pull it off I still need high deflection.

A fallacy.

First of all, Fighter class traits make it so that base Deflection is +5 compared with Chanter class. Eder adds another +3 via RES 13. Kana would need RES 18 to achieve the same.

What a waste of attribute points for someone you want to give a 2H sword! You need good PER to increase Accuracy, if you want to wield a two-hander. Fighter class leads by +10 base Accuracy compared with Chanter class.

Secondly, Chanter in PoE is not a tank class. Very Low base Endurance, low base Health. Yes, some regeneration talents, but any non-Fighter can simply learn Veteran's Recovery!

Originally posted by Lucid:

I could give sword and shield talent.

Only single-handed fighting with one weapon grants the extra and stacking +12 Accuracy, which offensive guys should be interested in.

Originally posted by Lucid:

But I got that main tank going with Edar.

Fighter class in PoE is a tank class by class traits. Eder can fill different roles, though, and is more useful and more fun as an offensive ruffian.

His accuracy isn't great either. But I find him dying quickly, even with learning how to "pull" with Edar.

For your first point. Again, the point was to not make him a main front line tank. But just some off bruiser tank that can rope in remaining people away from the back line. He's got the armor. The sword. The chants that and passive regen ability. So I figured it would work. I wasn't going to make him a true fighter. It's not just tank or no tank for roles. I believe that's where the entire idea of an "off-tank" or secondary bruiser comes from. I'm fully aware it's not a fighter role. But I don't have fighters. And I don't believe in making characters (for story reasons). So I got me. Rogue. Durance. Aloth, Edar, and Kana. That's the party (until I get someone else).

[Deo]

Improved Respec mod on nexusmods. Disables achievements.

[Lucid]

Originally posted by Yikes:

"If you dont mind using iroll20s[cheats] on your playthrough, then the command for attribute spread is:

AttributeScore (target characters) (attributes) number

For example: AttributeScore Companion_Eder(Clone) Might 20

For this to work, however, you need to have your target character loaded on screen. Therefore you cannot use such commands on the World Map and/or while sailing."-google

you have to type iroll20s in the console commands ingame. also this method could work


"IE mod has a workaround the fact that loading zones and saves resets companion stats. Install the mod, set the custom stats in the file it specifies and turn on custom stats in the mod options"-google

Loaded on screen? Meaning in your party? I'm not in PoE2 with ships and sailing. I wonder if it bugs out? Or stays there? The cheat, that is.If it makes the game somehow worse, I rather not touch. But I'll look into this more.

I was reading that there's a "deeper" way to change things but going into files. However, I feel really uncomfortable doing that. So I'll just suck it up if that's the case.

[Yikes]

i suspect it will end up being quite the ordeal for you to install mods. its not hard persay

i found this guide from typeing onto youtube "pillers of eternity how to install iemod"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLGyKFdrKcQ

so thats means if this guide sucks you just gotta google that to find alot more guides.

also from googleing pillers of eternity how to use console commands i found this guide
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1137916607

its up to you if you want to cheat or mod i reccomend console commands since iemod might be to much effort or just play vanilla. i would have more hours in poe 1 if i didnt play the game with mods in patchworklauncher. so my hours dont get tracked on steam anymore

[night4]

Originally posted by Lucid:

I have no idea why he starts with a two handed sword when obviously he's not spec that way (and heavy armor). It's weird because the designers suggest that style of play but when you look at the stats, it's probably the worse way to play the character. Yes, You can play a character however you want, but I would think starting set is there for a reason- to give some suggestive push towards the way to play your companions (which I agree sometimes and sometimes I don't). But I love the idea of him singing and swinging a big bloody sword. It's just an unfortunate case of my role playing desires clashing with the game design. Everyone is offering excellent suggestions for PoD (when I'm on hard) to optimize. I guess I'll have to just follow, or figure some other role. Anyway, thanks for the suggestion.

His stats are excellent for what you want him to do.

I guarantee you that you're obsessing too much over the stats and starting equipment. If he's regularly dying as an offtank, that's a strategy issue, *not* a stat issue.

And any advice for PotD here applies to Hard as well.

[D'amarr from Darshiva]

Originally posted by Lucid:

I have no idea why he starts with a two handed sword when obviously he's not spec that way (and heavy armor).

It's a CRPG, and the authors don't encourage min-maxing of attributes. In other words, they have not chosen these attributes as to optimize combat power, but to match his theme as a scholar from Rauatai - and apart from that he's a chanter. And chanters are the best summoners in this game, btw.

Durance, for example, starts with a quarterstaff although for a Priest of Magran there is the "Inspired Flame" talent that grants +10 Accuracy for Sword and Arquebus. So, giving Durance those weapons (such as Kana's arquebus) can be a more efficient choice.


One can play PotD with story companions and even without relying on consumables. No need to make Kana defensive.