Skyrim - The PROBLEM with the Companions Faction & Questline.
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- čas přidán 28. 09. 2020
- In our latest Elder Scrolls video we discuss the many problems with the companions faction questline in Skyrim.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an open world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series and was released worldwide on November 11, 2011. The game's main story revolves around the player character and their quest to defeat Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon who is prophesied to destroy the world. The videogame is set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion, and takes place in the fictional province of Skyrim.
If you’re like me, you probably joined the companions in your first playthrough as a warrior because it’s the only warrior guild you can join. You kind of have to join it as a warrior class build if you’re looking for a fighter’s guild type experience; although, sadly in my later playthroughs of Skyrim, I’ll often give it a miss for the reasons I’ll be covering in this video. Instead I choose to focus on being a warrior-hero by doing dragonborn-related stuff. The main storyline, the dragonborn DLC, and even joining the Dawnguard and exterminating the vampires - it can all feel very warrior-like. But the Companions, as I’ll explain, don’t really seem to stand for much, nor have a compelling, well-devised main plot that makes it inspiring to be part of their faction.
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Companions summed up:
"Hey, you! You barely look good enough to hold a sword! Come with me to this tomb!"
"Hmm? Werewolf? YOU? HAH! Only the best of the best get this gift of blood!"
"Congratulations, you are now in the inner circle, my werewolf brother! Let's hunt down those Silver Hand guys!"
"Well, you're the boss now. Those were an exciting 2 days, right?"
😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣😂🤣 yep!
The well established veteran leaders of the guilds of Skyrim: _Exist._
Some noob with a destiny who just crossed the border: *Are you really in charge here?*
This pretty much sums up every guild in every Elder Scrolls if you focus on just one guild at a time.
@@nessmess141 Morrowind is better for that.
I wish they would give you the option to decline the leadership role. Like nah, let tolfdir be the archmage, brynolf be the thrives guild leader, vilkas can be the harbinger. Listener is a different position all together so 🤷🏼♂️
“Speak to Eorlund if you want a better weapon than... whatever that is.”
“It’s Mehrune’s Razor.”
Ah yes, another reason to hate Vilkas. God I hate that prick.
Kodlak has that line, not vilkas
Got that line and looked at what I had equipped. Just stared at Kodlak and went, "Bruh, it's a Dadric Bow! That sets people on fire!"
D A Whelp, at least we know where Vilkas gets his prickery then.
I always look at him like... what is better than dual wielding Dawnbreaker and the mace of molag bal?
The 'promising your soul to Hircine' thing gets progressively funnier the more times in skyrim you do that.
It'd be funny if TES6 says Skyrim was destroyed when the gods all went to war over the Dragonborn's soul.
TES6, Daedra go to war over unfaithful mortals giving their souls to every Daedra who asks lol
Me, promising my soul to every Aedra and Daedra that has any influence on Nirn, in Sovngarde, watching the skies explode as all the Gods create a civil war in Oblivion over the rights to a simple soul
It's not* only the Dragonborn, the hero of Kvatch and if I recall correctly the Nerevarine have done that too. There's a fan comic about that which is pretty funny, it's called the douchevahkiin
@@thadstoner3611 that wouldn't work. If you seen Kodak couldn't go to SG till his soul was cleansed of the werewolf curse.
Imagine if you could actually acquire Umbra and make a deal with a Deadric prince to cut a piece of another Deadra's power.
Farkas and Kodlak seem to be the only "true" Companions, it never feels like they were in it for the gold, rather to help as much as they can
vilkas as well
truth we can’t forget about skjorr
Aela wasn't in it for the gold, but I'm pretty sure she'd be a bandit without them.
@@PosthumanHeresy Try more "some random a-hole radiant encounter bounty hunter that mocks and picks a fight with you".
She's there for the thrill of the hunt and for the glory.
@@PosthumanHeresy She's probably the one who's the most "current day" companion. She really loves to fight and she fully enjoys the blessing, without even trying to pretend the being an Honorable Nord.
I like how i walk in as harbinger in full dragonescale armor and they ask me if ive ever seen a dragon, YES I HAVE IM WEARING HIS BONES
"Wow, grumpy... Someone stole your sweet roll?"
*Scolds NPC with LVL70 stare*
How would they know what dragon bones look like?
@@centerpoint2844 That is actually a very fair point.
They literally go on side quests with you to kill dragons
"I killed a bear today. What have you killed?"
"The fucking world-eater dragon in sovngarde itself"
tbf, "I'm going to find whoever did this" is just a generic line NPCs say when finding a dead body.
I once accidentally killed Lydia while fighting bandits, then left the area, and then came back to find one of the bandits standing over her corpse vowing vengeance upon whoever killed her
"I swear to you, woman-that-ive-never-seen-before-and-have-no-idea-how-or-why-you-are-here, I will avenge this murder most foul."
You killed his waifu
Now he will end your laifu
It just works
Melle de Vries I can relate. I, too, feel like hunting you down to avenge Lydia. She's my boo.
That bandit was a simp
I felt like the Circle trusted you wayyyy too easily with their "big" werewolf secret. "Well, this newbie we barely know did a few things for us. Better introduce them into the inner circle and to our most deadly secret mystery. We totally trust them not to rat us out to everyone."
tbf that's just skyrim in general, though, considering at the end you can easily end up being leader of the thieves guild, dark brotherhood, companions, archmage of the college of winterhold and probably a few key roles i missed, but i agree that the companions are the most egregious example of this
@@Spooglecraft Thieves Guild at least made you do all the special jobs before becoming Guild Master and Dark Brotherhood also had a decent questline + made you the Listener and one of the few survivors so it makes sense that the 'Chosen' one is also the leader.
Companions really felt like they railroaded you. Literally you do one radiant quest and immediately they throw a 'hey Skjor or Aela wants to talk to you' and force you into a Guild quest.
to be fair the dragonborn found out only when farkas was forced to turn. he was literally facing like 5 people alone, cornered. what other option did he have?
@@archivedchaos00256i agree with your point, and when thats taken into perspective, it shadows the ceremony and promotion with the fact they are doing it out of fear of you ousting them. That comes with a pile of implications too, like they recognize all of the companions together couldnt stop you from letting out their secret.
Either they genuinely promote you because they are brain dead, or they promote you cause they are weak cowards.
@@Param0unt WOAH thats a really interesting aspect to it!
The worst part is that you don't really need to be a werewolf to play the story, you can finish it without transforming even once so it doesn't make sence that they force you to be one of them, it should be a reward after you complete a lot of missions not forced.
Another thing, warewolf form is actually weak to all but weaker NPCs/creatures.
@@killertruth186 everything is weak to all but weaker foes! wachumean????
@@letsseepaulallenscard.6604 I sense it isn’t a balanced game.
@@killertruth186 if I’m surrounded by higher level Drauger I transform and just rip them to shreds. Works every time.
@@killertruth186 still better than pre dawnguard vamp form
was more of a debuff with a flashier flames spell than anything
The fact that you can't say no to the beast blood always pissed me off. "No one rules anyone" my ass.
You think that's bad, imagine doing the thieves guild quests and having no choice but to pledge yourself to a daedric princess.
@@jackroxable
Yea at least the companions let you opt out later
@@kirkcannon8079 I'm still trying to figure out how to do that. I'm still getting quests to kill bear dens basically.
@@craigauclair4026
If you’ve completed the main quest just go back to the dungeon where you dropped the head off and do some stuff there
If you are stuck on radiant quests try talking to all the leaders
There's a mod for that!
This whole questline is just fetching pieces of Wuuthrad and killing the Silver Hand. No history developed, no choices, no unique characters.
Well the guild definitely has history development , choices and unique characters but yea I kinda still understand your comment, I feel like they should've added the fighters guild and the companions in Skyrim together ,
@@yeetyeet2098 MAKE THEM FIGHT EACH OTHER :0
But you get to be an op werewolf
That's pretty much Skyrim as a whole dude
I felt like most of skyrims quests feel like this... Its the reason i dont play the game that much (and the combat). I love the lore and the elder scrolls universe but it feels wasted on mediocre rpg mechanics :I
I wonder how the elf in the group feels about the group recovering a battle axe used to killed elves
To be fair it killed "Snow Elf", pretty sure he's an altmer
To be fair it killed "Snow Elf", pretty sure he's an altmer
@@lexhowardtanque6751 dunmer but hey, still not a snow elf
I mean any weapon can kill anyone so why should you care really? I can reinforce wooden sword that would kill dragons in a hit.
I just realized this is like a black person unironically joining the KKK and worshiping a racially charged murderer.
Aela: “Well that’s taken care of, no thanks to you.”
*Me standing a thousand feet away*
I agree, that really does annoy me every time. I've actually managed to get involved in time, and they have a different line but its silly.
And it could be solves so simple. Just let her add another sentence "But you do look like a capable warrior. Maybe our guild, the Companions, can be the right place for you anyway."
For real. The only way I dodge that line is if I had a bow so I could just land at least one hit.
i hate aela for this reason only. i was just standing there like "bro its your fuckin job i'm just delivering a message"
Imagine creating a mod just to buff up the HP of this stupid giant...
The stupidest part is that the silverhand has never just walked into whiterun and exposed the companions as werewolves. Pretty certain nobody wants a pack werewolves a neighbour's.
Worse off, is the Silver Hand have not been in the history, and they're just bandits that drop silver weapons and hawk feathers.
I- yes.. Why don’t they??
To be fair if you go hard as a werewolf the Silverman elite does show up in whitening and attack you.
The Silver Hand should have just started a smear campaign against the Companions.
From time to time, when talking to a white run guard he said something along the lines of “I heard howling from jorrvaskar” (I think that’s how you spell it) “you need to get those companions in order”. By this logic, I assume more people know but since it doesn’t cause trouble they don’t mind.
Vikas: “be careful. This sword probably cost more than you yourself.” *hands me a steel sword*
It's steel sword
Me, covered head-to-toe in enchanted Dragonbone armor, wielding a dragonbone sword crafted and enchanted by myself to be the mightiest sword Skyrim has ever seen by milestones: “k thnx”
@@dragonslayerornstein2361 Skyforged Steel Sword, specifically.
Yeah it’s all I could do not to tell my dread zombie to have some fun lol
Value: 70
I think most problems of Skyrim come down to three things the Toddhead decided to remove: The Fame System, the Infamy System and Guild Ranks.
This would also heavily improve Guard Monologue. Two Examples:
"Hands to yourself, sneak thief." - I never stole anything, I just sneak thru dungeons because I don't like to fight. When Infamy would be a thing, there could be a different "dialogue" for when it is 0.
"You're that one from the College. Heard about you." - How? I just joined, I wasn't even in Saarthal jet. This could be only enabled once a specific Rank is achieved.
Exactly. With how strong a sneaky archer build is in the game, I already ignore them mentioning my sneak.
I don't get why they use that line for sneak when there's literally a pickpocket skill tree they could delegate that line to.
Just have the guard say something like "You hide your presence well, but don't think we aren't watching."
Or for a less hostile line "You startled me, *insert player race*. Were you always there?"
I disagree with the infamy part. personally, I think it's dumb that people automatically know what my skills/job are. like, how could anyone know that I'm good at sneaking if I'm good at sneaking? what... is it written on my forehead? I hate when I'm in a town and someone will ask me if I can perform some trade skill or comment about my personal life. I'm always like... dude! do I even know you? how do you know this about me? it's like the citizens of Tamriel can either read your mind... or they're omniscient when it comes to you. it breaks the immersion for me. like, how does that guard know that you sneak around in dungeons... is here there when you do it? they need to scrap that system IMO.
Personally, removing the fame/infamy system isn’t one of the problems, it’s the lack of a replacement. The fame system basically just gave an easier way to handle the recognition the player gets for doing quests, and that can be handled just as well- if not even better- by dialogue referencing the specific quests you have done, or how many quests are complete. There’s also a problem that you didn’t mention, and that’s the oversimplification of the disposition system; NPCs have a very limited number of ways they can react to you, and there is very little you can do to change their mind about you outside of some very specific things for each one. I get wanting to walk back Oblivion’s goofy mess of a persuasion system, but why not go back to the system Morrowind used? That system was actually all that was needed, and still had room for some interesting improvements.
@@sdb7092 Same dude. Like I'll be wearing a full set of heavy armor with enchantments and they're all like: "Hail Conjuror! Summon me a bed why don't you?" How do you know I'm a wizard? I also don't quite like the constant sarcastic belittling like: "Let me guess? Someone stole your sweet roll?"
The thing I never understood is the lack of involvement of the Vigilants of Stendarr, like that would have really added some depth to that storyline too
The Vigilants of Stendarr are likely monitoring the Companions since the Companions are an ancient institution with a long story of helping the community. It would be a very bad look for them to attack the most well trusted warriors in Skyrim. A known evil that is really controlled is a great way to train the next generation of hunters aswell (learning the signs and tracking them)
Much better atleast then some random bandit who call them self silver spoon out of know where
I would have loved to see the Vigilants of Stendarr during this quest. Hell, they could have worked alongside the Silver Hand. Considering how close the Hall of the Vigilants is to Driftshade Refuge (a very important Silver Hand base) they could have lent some more credence to siding against the Companions during the questline.
Skyrim has great simple combat, best soundtrack, amazing world/lore, but a mediocre lame story. Agreed with your sentiments completely.
Vilkas: "Apologies. But perhaps this isn't the time. I've never even heard of this outsider."
Me: Dragonborn, Arch Mage of the College of Winterhold, Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild, Listener of the Dark Brotherhood, Thane of Everything....
To be fair, you'd messed up if he knew you were Guildmaster of the Thieves Guild and Listener of the Dark Brotherhood...
But yeah, being Archmage, Thane of Everything, Slayer of Alduin....
I immediately killed the dark brotherhood because I was pissed I got kidnapped
that's why you should do the companion first. And i've never been an archmage and a companion at the same time, they're literally on different class (mage and warrior).
Killer of The World Eater, Vanquisher of Vampires, Legate of The Imperial Legion, Champion of every Daedric Prince, Slayer of The Frost Troll On The 10,000 Steps.
Pudding I did the same thing tbh 💀
the problem with the companions questline is that it's only 3 quests to get into the Circle and become a werewolf
And 1 more to become the guildmaster. Its ridiculous
You should’ve been able to decline becoming a werewolf
Hermaeus Soter becoming a werewolf should have been optional also it should have been a disease like sanguine vampiris
Where wolves? Werewolves? Where are these wolves and what do they wear?
I am Spartacus! Yeah but that doesn’t mean get it in 1 mission
I feel like it would have been so much cooler of you refused to become a werewolf, and so many days later, a member of the Silver Hand finds you and recruits you into their faction which actually revere Ysgramor and consider themselves the True Companions. Then you could go on a quest to rid the Companions of Lycanthropy either by killing those who won't turn or banishing them and perhaps even convincing others that the Silver Hand are the good guys and the Companions have lost their way
That would be fucking epic. I really like the "True Companions" idea.
I'd also look forward to skinning that bitch Aela and hanging her on my wall in Breezehome
That would have been a great quest line.
You know damn well that had it been made in Oblivion, that would have been the actual questline lmao
Yeah, I hated how they force you to become a furry
@@Brandelwyn At least in Dawnguard you get a "NO I DON'T WANNA BE A VAMPIRE" option, I wish Dragonborn had added a "NO I DON'T WANNA BE A MANGY MUTT" option, since they already bothered with adding the three coven hagravens from Solstheim.
Give me my alternate Glenmoril coven companion-destroy-and-rebuilt quest, pls.
One thing I always hated about the Silver hand is that you could run into them despite not being a werewolf and they'd still attack you like normal bandits rather than just asking you to leave their base.
They’re programmed to be the same as bandits but in lore, they’re no worse than the Dawnguard. Their motives make sense too, werewolves are viscious creatures.
@@H.K.5 so thier evil
Aela :- They make easy prey .
Silver hands :- Literally whole of their stronghold is just filled with dead werewolf heads and bodies .
Your profile picture right now looks like what Aelas face would look like when saying that.
@@kinginci357 still does lol
Aela: They make easy prey
Silver Hand: proceed to be some of the toughest enemies in the game if you're not careful
Doesn't she say that when you come across the wolves in the hideout? She mentions feral werewolves, and I think she was saying that THEY make easy prey for the silver hand. If I remember correctly
@@HeadHunter697 I just loved them, pretty weak and all had "expensive" swords, good to make some newbie money
6:00 This is one of the biggest disappointments about Skyrim in general for me. It does not matter how powerful or famous you are, all of the NPCs treat you like you are a nobody.
It’s either that or singing your praises after slaughtering a whole village on the basis that you’re dragonborn
@@theamazingdagger5584 or being BFFs with you because you sold them some potatoes that one time
You can’t even use the excuse that that’s just “The Bethesda Way” or anything. Look at the recent DOOM games. Your reputation precedes you. Demons fear and curse you. Human npc’s get very, very scared when the Slayer enters the room. Skyrim has literally none of that gravity to your character or actions.
@@Spike2276 Those *were* some high quality potatoes tho
I kinda like that, though, getting knocked down a peg. If I want instant recognition and adoration, I'll play Fable.
I always found it weird that the first guild players are likely to encounter, with Whiterun essentially being the first city you are meant to go, forces players to become a werewolf so early in the game. It is really possible to become a werewolf before you even fight your first dragon, without taking a detour from the main path. It would be like playing Oblivion and the fighters guild third mission turning you into a vampire. Just finished killing rats in the basement, did a dungeon and boom now you're a vampire! Hurhur.
Skyrim has a real problem with progression, it feels so rushed
I actually got turned into a vampire after sleeping in kvatch during my first Oblivion playthrough 😂 but I do see your point.
Can we put Skyrim combat/graphics into the Oblivion game and just play that? Oblivion clearly had way better story. Someone please release that.
Only fighters faction forces you to be a werewolf even after explaining being a werewolf could bar you from your peaceful afterlife, almost half of the quests are radiant, enemy faction has literal 0 characterization like gee wouldn't it be neat to know why they are doing what they do or heck even maybe join him if you don't like the idea of forced lycanthropy
There are many facets of Skyrim which only scratch the surface. You have to remember how old it is and the period it came out in. Dudes back then were wetting their pants at anything with the latest graphics and lots of content.
@@mightymoeish Stop spamming this.
It doesn't matter when it was made, it's not like RPGs stopped being well written in 2011. Look at New Vegas, which has far more characterization in its quests and factions despite being buggy and unfinished.
@@LordVader1094 ok "lord vader." Skyrim isn't well written, but Star Wars is? Lmfao dork
@@mightymoeish 😂😂😂
@@mightymoeish oblivion and Morrowind, which are 5 and 9 years older than Skyrim, respectively, had, comparatively, extremely in depth systems for recognition and reaction, as well as the fact that they'd have unique conversations between one another based off of things that were currently happening in thr plot, amidst all the nonsense that most of their conversations were.
Games also looked pretty good for 2006 and 2002 respectively.
When you marry Aela, “Something has shifted in the moons, Brother” takes on a whole different meaning.
Bruh😂
“WhAt aRe YoU DoInG ShIEld Bro?”
@@folkeealdread8055 supreme comment
Comments like that are why I never marry a member of the Companions anymore.
@@folkeealdread8055 Bruh 💀
Silver hand: "Which one is that?"
Silver hand: "Doesn't matter. He wears that armor, he dies!"
Farkas standing there in normal steel armor
Ikr. Not exactly clever writing
@@harperthegoblin I think farkas was intended to wear werewolf armor or the steel armor farkas has was originally intended to be companion specific armor.
His armor is different than normal steel if you look closely at his chest the armor has a wolf head on it, it is just hard to see sometimes.
@@Azrael_The_Enby This was not the case in the original 2011 release. I've seen Farkas wear standard steel armor in both PC and PS versions.
@@Ozraptor4 isnt the wolf themed armor from a mod? or am i wrong or something? Back in the oldrim, the armor from the companions was like... dude, thats plain old steel armor...
There’s an interesting mod in development that gives more dimension to this quest line. The Conflict Under the Crescent Moon. It turns the Silver Hand into former Companions seeking to purify them. Just did a play through a few days ago and it’s come a long way.
Mod Author updated saying that they’re developing the choice to save them or purge them. Highly recommend giving it a play-through.
I know this is an old video and no one is likely to read this BUT, the final companion quest should be delayed until you've been to / got access to sovengarde. You then help Kodlack launch his invasion of the hunting grounds to free the companions completely of Hircene and with the curse removed the Silver Hand end their war with the companions.
I read it :)
@@kadenceflorence5179 I didn't.
Since I play mainly as a Redguard or Argonian. I was not gonna go the Sovengarde anyway. Plus as a protagonist in the Elder Scrolls Universe. You more than likely are not gonna die. The Neravrine and the protagonist of Oblivion are still very much alive during the events of Skyrim.
I know this is 7 months old but the At Your Own Pace series of mods (the companions one specifically, obviously) restricts advancing in the questline until you get certain levels in combat skills
Player: *Happened to walk by as the Companions kill a giant*
Aela: "Wow, you're useless."
Player: "What? I was just walking by!"
Aela: "Whatever. Hey, want to join the Companions?"
I don't know if I'm extraordinarily slow but with me it's always.
Me: * walking down the road and notices a dead giant.*
Aela: Well you're useless.
Me: What? You killed it long before I showed up.
Rebecca Mumford yeah it’s always like that with me too, expect maybe one time. Some kind of bug or something
Dragonborn in the future: and that kids, is how I met your mother.
If you manage to just scratch the giant before it goes down you instead get praise. So far I have never been able to get there in time without cheating thou.
As I walk down the Whiterun side of the mountain, I boost the difficulty up to max so the giant has the health to survive long enough for me to get there.
I’m still salty at Aela for yelling at me for not killing a giant I didn’t know existed until after it’s death.
The giant only died easily if you’re playing on easy so…. Get good?
@@drazzytime9353 that giant dies easily no matter what difficultly you're on
@@hivefleetkronos4108 false
@@drazzytime9353 nah i played all of before bleak falls barrow on master it still died
@@asap6763 then you took too long to get there. I literally did this yesterday 💀
Sky forged steel should've been significantly stronger than it was, as it's barely better than steel.
Every companion should've worn ancient Nordic (or wolf if they're in the circle) armor. As well as had at least one sky forged weapon.
Silver hand needed something other than "silver sword" and "silver sword but bigger" to make them seem like a unique faction. Such as a blessed silver necklaces that provides resistance against werewolf attacks.
Would have been cool if you could pay the guy at the sky forge to make you specific armour using the forge and it makes the armour better than when the player makes it.
There's the Creation Club Silver Armor, but i completely agree that Skyforged Steel shouldn't be using the exact same textures as regular steel sword.....
There are many facets of Skyrim which only scratch the surface. You have to remember how old it is and the period it came out in. Dudes back then were wetting their pants at anything with the latest graphics and lots of content.
I think they messed up a lot with the stats for most armors. Wolf armour should have been much much better. Daedric should have been the best armour and not dragonbone. Daedric should not have been craftable. The creation club stuff should not been better than daedric,and so on and so on.
Skyforge steel should look at least a bit different from regular steel also.
I think the Companions would've been a neat way to involve the Falmer pre-Dawnguard. Imagine the Companions are told of an oddly organized raid on a random town. Seeing this as a chance to see what you're made of, the Companions decide to send you and Farkas to this town. You go to this town, and find that these raiders are not bandits but oddly elven looking. After slaughtering the Falmer party, you get a small exposition about the Falmer and mutterings about how bold these specific Falmer seem to be. After a couple of misc. quests, Aela approaches you, saying that, between your quick progress and what she assumes is the attack pattern of this group of Falmer, that perhaps it's right for you and her to hunt down Fragments of Wuuthrad ("We need to remind these Falmer why they cower underground, and what better way than the axe of the man who forced them there in the first place"). After a few Nordic Tomb dives (made unique the presence of Falmer and Chaurus), and another skirmish with the Falmer where you met the Companions, Wuuthrad is reforged and entrusted to you (with a unique one-liner triggering if you're either a Nord or the elven races). With it in inventory, you and the Companions head to the last known site of these bold Falmer: the ruins of Saarthal (though they are not deep enough in to reach where the Eye of Magnus is). Recreating what seems to be the most important conflict in Tamrielic history sounds more appropriate for a Nordic fighters' guild than admittedly fun werewolf shenanigans.
They could have tied lycanthropy into this as well; two age old enemies reverted to animalistic forms, duking it out in what is essentially a secret war.
What I wouldn’t give for a mod that does that
That idea sounds cool af. Plus, it ties into the actual history of the Companions in a way that neither whitewashes their origins nor forces you to directly or tacitly endorse the genocide part, making it a viable roleoplaying choice for a variety of different characters, unlike the whole werewolf thing.
Honestly Farkas was and still is my favorite Companion member. He straight up says at the start of the questline that he's the butt of their jokes and is actually happy you're there. He's really the only one that shows he gives a shit about you at the start. Him saying he's scared of spiders honestly gives him character, so he isn't completely one-dimensional like the others
GOD I LITERALLY LOVE FARKAS-
He's one of my favorite characters 🛐
@@_MARS2SIRIUS_ ok..maybe a little too much
@@hoticeparty lmao maybe, I wasn't trying to portray it that way.
@@_MARS2SIRIUS_ lol
That's why he's almost always my husband in every playthrough I do. Him and Mjoll are always my spouses, depending on my character
It was a rushed storyline, with a mellow ending. It was also weird how there was only one funeral considering how two members of the circle died.
Kodlak died: *Gets a super cool skyforge funeral attended by his closest friends*
Skjor died: "Oh no this is so tragic! Anyway, moving on"
So THAT'S why Skjor's corpse kept haunting me! He turned up everywhere from the main hall of Jorrvaskr to the beach off Windhelm. Always dead.
@@Aethuviel he comes back to life in a lot of my saves, just wandering around Jorrvaskr with generic dialog
I just love how Kodlak remarks on the player's grief for Skjor as well as Aela's. As if the total conversations we had had with him totaled to no more than 2 since he died fairly in the beginning and the fact that he was kind of an asshole.
Skjor doesn't matter.
I tried to do an honorable warrior play through and it was SO HARD. The game forces you to be an evil person or at the very list just shady with loose morals. Your point about being a hired thug reminded me why I had my character just straight up abandon that faction. I didn’t like that I was just beating people up for money. I was also forced to side with the cannibals because I just wasn’t strong enough to beat them all and I couldn’t escape and opt out.
You can kill Eola before you even start that quest. You need to choose" you can't trick me" option when she's tryong to coax you into joining. She'll get mad and attack you.
god, this! my ass usually likes to play a goody-two shoes, noble, honorable, _whatever_ characters for first runs in rpgs, but I distinctly remember going “oh, I’m gonna have to just kinda be a dick to do things” and abandoning that idea entirely because I wanted to finish quest-lines
@@Sonchikas1 yepp. Found this out while playing as a goody-two-shoes mage. Did the same with vaermina, just waited for erandur to finish the ritual and the staff got banished. First time I ever did that, and it felt very satisfying. Sometimes you get sick of being the daedras' plaything lol
I avoid Farkas' quests for all the reasons, but you have to anticipate the first one. The game actually tries to railroad you into his quest at first.
the cannibals were easy as hell to kill I joined them and got the ring then massacred all of them
17:17 The Companions, the faction you get teased on when approaching Whiterun, the first hold the game guides you to as part of the main quest. The faction most players are likely to get involved with, and likely to be the first. With rapid advancement through the ranks.
And this is the animation they use for them. The Thieves Guild has the animation of the previous guild master taking an eye out of a statue, never used anywhere else... and after several re-releases, where they can fix bugs and glitches, and this animation is still the one for filling the bowl, something many players are likely to see. You can't even assume it's a bug.
Imagine an exhibitionist walking around town fully nude and saying "some cowards in this land can't stand the sight of glory before them" as the police shows up to arrest them.
What’s the matter? Can’t stand the sight of a strong Nord woman?
@@willerwin3201 You fucking got me with that
@@willerwin3201 lol
adagio pfppp
"You have committed crimes against Skyrim and her people." - The guard seeing the massive blade of Bjorn Longsword.
"That was a tough fight. No thanks to you."
"Who are you exactly?? What fight??"
I usually play on adept but always change it to legendary traveling from Riverwood to Whiterun so I can get a few arrows in and Aela doesn't get to roast me.
@@Biittiriisi well, it would have to make sense to constitute roasting. Really, Aela just smacktalks nonsense
".....I just want to send this message to Jarl Balgruuf and get the Helllllll out of here "
“I’m sorry I got jumped by a mud crab”
What I liked about the Danwnguard DLC was that you could choose who to join, vampires or Dawnguard. I wish the same choice was available to the Companions questline. At least for the Dark Brotherhood you could choose to wipe them out rather than join should it suit you.
Started playing Oblivion this year, and Oblivion’s side quests and builds are soooooooo much better
For all the glitchiness, Oblivion is the superior game
I've just decided to go back to oblivion. It took me years to finally get skyrim and after a couple of playthroughs I'm bored and OP.
Having hand to hand combat is really nice too
Speak to eorlund if you want a better weapon, than whatever that is.
It's Auriels bow :/
'Drink for the dirty! Food for the Monkey!'
Seriously that altmer in solitude said “come to her shop if I want to get rid of those rags” I was wearing a full set of daedric amor
Smutty Elven female part owner of Radiant Raiment - 'Oh, another charming customer Let me just drop everything for you'
Dragonborn - 'Do you get alot of business like that?'
Bwhahahahahahahahaha!!!
It's dawnbreaker
"What, you mean this legendary artifact-level dragonbone greatsword with custom fire and soul-trap enchantments on it? Okay, sure; lemme go hang this back up in one of my seven houses so I can use your trash-tier steel axe."
Once a guard killed me, and before respawning the same guard said, “I’ll find whoever did this”...
Oblivionesque Skyrim at its best hahaha
Underrated comment 😂
I hate when they say “must’ve run off”
YOU LITERALLY JUST KILLED FFS!
@@FireBallZ24Gaming or when you shoot them and they say “I’m just imaging things “ or “I guess it was just the wind “😭
@@Colecruzin lmao FACTS! 🤣🤣🤣
Radiant quests would be way cooler if the world itself had more random events. Like if Nazeem would randomly decide to go to the cloud district instead of harassing the merchants in the square. Instead of the companions saying “hey this person has been kidnapped, go rescue them,” someone new might enter town at a certain time, and actually kidnap the person. Then, a person who has ties to the kidnappee would run into Jorvaskar and tell you, or someone else if they’re closer or you’re not there, and they’ll tell you about it, or maybe another member will do it. You could go to a bandit camp and find a person from a town that you had no idea was kidnapped. Maybe when elder scrolls 6 comes out in a millennia we will have something like that
Random thing I just noticed, the Skyforge has a raven motif. Raven Rock (which did appear in the Dragonborn DLC but ignore that for now) first appeared as part of the Bloodmoon expansion. The expansion that added werewolves. Odin has wolf and raven companions, as wolves and ravens often appear together in the wilderness. So the raven styled forge is a subtle hint that there be wolves.
Companions Should have been THE faction of Skyrim. They should have had a Questline just like what the Dawnguard had.
I mean, it’s literally the MOST Nordic faction. It should absolutely have been one of the best faction quest lines.
@@user-pm1gb2eo1s Exactly. And what did we get? Two radiant quests, one fetch quest and a underpowered artifact. Along with an ability that doesn't do much
Hamza Feroz Í actually think the werewolf ability is cool and Wuuthrad in my experience, is a pretty op ax’s especially in the early game but yeah, pretty ducking disappointing overall. I mean, even if they just forced you to do the meaningless quests first, I would’ve been ok with it.
@@user-pm1gb2eo1s Yeah. My problem with being a Werewolf is that you cant use it more than once per day and you don't really get much benefits when you are a Humanoid.
Hamza Feroz Well, you can get the ring of Hircine but yeah, no benefits in human form so I see your point.
One thing that really annoys me about this quest line is that you can’t really say no to being a werewolf. In oblivion’s dark brotherhood vampirism was on option not forced on you.
At least you can cleanse yourself during "Glory of the Dead" quest
Holy shit that is actually a great point. So much more immersive
But the dark brotherhood weren’t vampires, one member was a vampire and offers it. Your comparison is invalid.
@@valeria262 Not all of the companions are werewolves. The key point here is choice if you want to progress through the quest line you aren’t given the option of saying no to being a werewolf. Sure you can cleanse it later but it would have been to see how it would play out if you could reject the offer.
@@Searchman6189 it's really annoying because my current character is a vampire lord and that's not a power they would give up especially considering it was Serana that gave it to them
The thing about sending you for the fragment... Whitemane does say "You look familiar", and later down the storyline admits he had dreams about you curing him of the wolf spirit. So there is an arguement to be made for you getting prefered treatment, and seeing action sooner than others.
you can find his journal and it says that he saw in his dreams that you’re going to cure him, so that’s definitely why dragonborn gets special treatment
In regards to you being rushed up the ranks, that can be explained by Kodlak's journal. He has a dream about you before you arrive, dreaming that you'll set him free from lycanthropy. He's eager to see you rise to a point where you can do that, so he "advises" the circle members to allow you into the circle so quickly, saying that he sees great martial prowess in you. Even Aela agrees with him that you're a powerful and skilled fighter
Would have loved a raid on the hunting grounds with kodlak or a boss fight in the hunting grounds where you fight a massive or hordes of wolfs/werewolfs to save his soul from hircine. Instead we got the classic... another fucking nordic ruin😂
Companions: "HEY YOU! JOIN OUR GUILD!"
me, a mage: yea sure alright
Kinda like becoming the Arch Mage when you've literally never cast a spell.
@@propheinx2250 Maybe Rincewind kind of character. With pointy hat spelling "Wizzard."
@@propheinx2250 actually you need to cast one spell, lesser ward
@@Cailan_Mors forgot about that, although tbh, I didn't know the spell and had to be taught it on the spot.
You don’t even have to cast lesser ward because if you attack a student and run away and hide, then come back, Tolfdir will say “Well don’t we just move on after that incident”.
>Transforms into a werewolf
>Everyone starts attacking you while you just stand there.
I'd like to ask, who is the blood crazed here?
I agree with many points, but in fairness a constant theme of Skyrim was that things are not like they used to be. Every group has lost their original identity and glory like the nation itself. So I can't really fault that concept, but I can fault the execution.
yeah it's an intriguing theme but they didn't implement it properly
I feel like they could have communicated that theme by giving you a chance to realign the guilds and factions yourself, hammering them back into the shape of whatever virtue they are meant to represent. Instead of being nonsensically bad
the part where u go crazy on whiterun after transforming always was weird to me as well
Lets you go beast and massacre Nazeem out in the open with no consequences, as long as you don't let the guards and npcs actually kill you.
I just sat there and went no where. No rampage from me.
I remember I got a quest to beat up Mjoll. She is literally one of the most honorable and heroic characters in Skyrim. The person who probably hired the companions to beat her up was probably a thief or someone corrupt who she was trying to root out. The citizens of Riften seem to love Mjoll because she sticks up for them, so I can only presume it was someone who wasn't a good person. This to me is huge supporting evidence that the companions have fallen from honorable warriors to common mercenaries that will do almost any job if they are paid enough, without asking many questions. Even the people who give you jobs seem more interested in the coin than the honor. I still personally enjoy the companions (being a mercenary is cool), but they definitely aren't as honorable as they make themselves out to be. Ysgramor would be ashamed.
It was probably Maven Black-Briar.
Aren't there persistent reports that Silver Hand members will very rarely say something to the effect of "Ysgramor would kill you if he were here!"?
@@knightofarnor2552 Yeah I heard that, it's theorised the silver hand are a splinter group of the companions who split off after they made the deal with the witches to become werewolves
@@CojaGamez Ysgrammor, the guy who committed genocide against an entire race for the perceived self-protective actions of a few, would be ashamed of the Companions? It sounds like one reading of the Companions questline (perhaps intended but never implemented by developers) was the 'fallen from honor' angle juxtaposed against the ex-Companion Silver Hand faction: But another reading could be taking a stab at the notion of/use of 'honor' itself as just glorified nonsense to justify wherever the self-proclaimed hero wants to thrust his spear.
When I was a lad my father used to get a bit moralistic about in-game behaviour, and I was like "You just trespassed into the Ayleid-ruin home of some folk and when they reacted with understandable hostility, rather than taking the hint and backing off just mercilessly slaughtered them all." Honorable warriors, you say? I guess an illusionist mage who sneaks around invisibly pacifying people might be honourable, but vigilantes taking a warning arrow or verbal threat/red dot as justification for murder? I kind of like the game's portrayal of the Companions' honor, it seems very much the sort of way that a group of violent folk with no higher principles than their own 'honor' WOULD turn out.
Edit: Here's a thought; what's the difference between honor and integrity? Same as the difference between shame and guilt.
You think thats bad? On reddit a person posted saying that the Companions hired him to BEAT UP A PREGNANT WOMAN, A *PREGNANT* WOMAN! The one in dawnstar named Seren
“I’m gonna find whoever did this” is a line said by EVERY NPC whenever they find a dead body! I’ve had bandits say it about MY body!
You have exactly 4 years, 36 days, 14 hours, 12 minutes, and 39 seconds left to live.
@@DaneDansk How exactly did you arrive at this conclusion might I ask?
@@DaneDansk You have exactly 4 years, 20 days, and 69 minutes left to live.
@@mabziewashere noice
@@mabziewashere can you make it snappy? I've got places to see and people to be
I joined because I knew about the werewolf thing ahead of time and I was going to join the Dawnguard, and as a werewolf it’s impossible for you to accidentally contract vampirism
Most of these criticisms can easily be said of all the factions, although in some of them you do have the binary option to join two opposing factions, or the the case of the DB, just destroy one faction for a cash reward.
I really felt the bit about the quests you go on not feeling like the kind of thing you should be doing. I love the intro to the College of Winterhold with Tolfdir giving lectures and advice and even an interactive tutorial on Ward spells, but then after Saarthal you just do a bunch of dungeon crawls and there’s not much to make you feel like a student, or teacher, let alone an inventor if magic. There are some amusing side quests involving other characters experimenting with magic, which are fun, but there really should have been more of that stuff. And more classes, with dialogue of other students asking advice, especially when you become the Arch-Mage.
You know what? I’m just gonna make my own wizard school role playing game, with blackjack, and hookers.
Mod: Immersive College Of Winterhold.
You level up magic and Alchemy skills by reading books, looking at research materials, and by watching the professors cast spells in the Hall of the Elements. They periodically gather for announcements, and food is periodically restocked, with breakfast and supper served in the dormitories, and lunch served in the Hall of the Elements.
@@leyrua Sounds cool. Maybe I'll remember that when I eventually get back into Skyrim.
All of Skyrim's factions seem to be in a state of decay.
- The Blades are all but wiped out, and don't know whether to revert to die-hard Dragon slayers or serve the Dragonborn (Paarthurnax Dilemma).
- The Companions have gone from honourable Nordic warriors to thuggish mercenaries that dabble in cursed magics.
- The Thieves Guild have become petty criminals that serve as Maven Black-Briars errand boys.
- The Dark Brotherhood have become a shell of their former selves after all but abandoning Sithis and the Night Mother.
- The Volkihar Clan hide in their castle and have done nothing to further their agenda for thousands of years.
The College seems ok in this sense, the quest line isn't good but they are just doing their magical studies as one would expect. And the Dawnguard is actually on the rise due to Isran's efforts.
I mean the college is looked down apon in winter hold because of the collapse and when you join they're surprised that more people want to learn magic, no?
Actually if Dawnguard is installed they did attack the Hall of The Vigilants so you can see the Volkihar Clan was here judging by the dead bodies of the hounds and vampires.
Maybe it is time Alduin is allowed to devour the world, to let it flourish anew rather than these dying ideals to be held on life support by one guy coming in to fight for them... is sad, but before Alduin rebelled for power, the world should have ended long ago.
@@varethedemon Well looking back on this again it’s more like
- The Blades are wiped out and are die-hard dragon slayers and say they serve the Dragonborn (Paarthurnax Dilemma)
- The Companions the usual exception of the Fighters Guild in Tamriel in Skyrim used to be honorable Nordic warriors under the leadership of Ysgramor. Now reduced to sell swords (mercenaries) that dabble in the blood of the beast that only some are allowed in.
- Thieves Guild used to be as busy as the Imperial City in Oblivion now just petty criminals and half the time I see the random thieves end up dead. Also serving Maven Black Briar if you’re an annoyance to her she sends the guild after you.
- The Dark Brotherhood, not even a sanctuary or family in the first place when you abandon the old ways and there is no night mother so really it’s just a band of cut throat bandits and also serve Maven Black Briar if you make her angry she sends the Dark Brotherhood former shell of themselves with grabbing whatever contracts they can and scrapping by.
- The College of Winterhold is okay
- Volkihar Clan, hid until the time was right to strike, found the prophecy that by sheer coincidence intertwined with Dragonborn’s elder scroll in the Dwemer ruins, even if you go this route Harkon still dies because you are strong while your daughter of cold harbour companion isn’t that strong but very strong in necromancy. Kills their own kind because the hierarchal system depending on the blood. Then you destroy the Dawnguard leaders. Also the two vampires arguing over the court.
Miraak - was in the first era where you saw the heroes who used dragonrend he chose a different path. Talks shit when he says he could have defeated Alduin. When he’s much more of a mage character. He would have ended up like Gormalith in that past. Also when you kill a dragon there’s a chance he will come out and steal the soul just to troll you. Ends up getting beaten by you and a deadric lord.
I feel like that's a common theme in Tes there's a kind of sense that you're living hundreds of years after a "golden age".
In Skyrim it does cause that problem where you get shoehorned into the role of "chosen one" in every faction but I guess you are the dragonborn unlike your status in Oblivion or Daggerfall for example.
Aela attacked me for turning into a werewolf right after she turned me into one and told me to wipe out a Silver Hand hideout with Krev The Skinner. Even Serana protected me from her; the whole thing has left me bewildered.
For me it wasn't just aela, all the companions tried to kill me when I was in werewolf form (even the circle). I was hoping for some different dialogue or reactions but Bethesda really didn't think that far.
@@jamesonlocke2762 Sounds like some broken mod, companions don't attack werewolf player normally.
@@ObIitus it's not a broken mod the game is just coded like ass. With the exception of Farkas (sometimes) the rest of them attack you until you change back because they are coded to react like guards.
@@TrufanNW all the companions are broken somewhat I started a new play through and the first mission where you and Farkas have to get fragments he wouldn’t draw his weapon at all so I had to clear the whole dungeon by myself idk why he just would stand there and take the hits I guess that’s why his heavy armor is so good 😂
I haven't had the issue unless I attack the Companions directly in Werewolf form. It sounds like a bug or a broken mod.
I actually really liked the ending, gels well with the main quest eventually taking you to Sovngarde to be fair. People really thinking about their lives now vs their eternal lives. Some people follow Hircine and don't mind the idea of hunting for eternity but others want for Sovngarde. Jon Battle-Born is right, everyone in Skyrim IS obsessed with death- or at least what happens afterward.
I wish all of the guild questlines were longer or branched more. They’re so short and end with you as the leader within in-game days.
Oblivion did these far better IMO.
Leader of a major elderscrolls faction: exists
*Random prisoner shows up in the area*
Faction leader : *intense sweating*
That makes Mercer Frey the smartest, since once you joined the Thieves Guild he realized what was going to happen and tried to retire early. Too bad prisioners have supernatural power in any Elder Scrolls Game.
My first playthrough, I was excited about joining the Companions to become an honorable warrior... and then my first quest was to beat up Danica Pure-Spring. Beat up a priestess of Kynareth, for no reason, right across the street from Jorrvaskr!
Beating up a priest is the kind of thing you see in a bad mafia movie to demonstrate just how badly the Don's son has lost his way, a lazy way to communicate to an audience that a character is irredeemable.
After all that talk of honor, they made me beat up a priestess of one of the Aedra most revered by the Nords, whose history and culture they supposedly value so much. So much for the roleplay. SMH.
LMAO, that seems to make the Silver Hand sympathetic
Well it works both ways, I was asked to beat up nazeem, or whatever the cloud district snobs name is, so I gladly did that
If someone paid money to beat up Danica I'm sure she deserved it! ;)
I had to beat up that Jarl bodyguard chick in Markarth (after I helped her get romantic with the mage). Next time I was around I was curious how she would react to me: 'You're someone who gets results. I like that.' Really made me admire her sportsmanship.
Made me beat up carlotta, just a mom trying to sell produce
@@rystat I can't find out if nazeem is on the list but I'd be happy if he is. How many people would you have to go through?
One of the problems with this quest line is that it's meant to be done really early in your playthrough. For most players, especially new players will go to Whiterun right after Helgen. The game should have done more incentives you to join when you first come to Whiterun for continuity so you don't show up after killing Alduin, Miraak and Harkon and get treated like so. I remember enjoying it on my first playthrough since I happened to join very early and Wuuthrad looked cool af and Aela was hot lol.
I minor thing that bugs me is that a guard says I’m a newcomer and asks if I fetch the mead, and the very next line they respect me as a harbinger
I actually liked the amorality of the Thieves Guild questline. Beating someone for protection money felt more genuine to the organized crime theme than the Robin Hood vibe in Oblivion. But that doesn't work for the supposedly honorable Companions, who should care who it is they're beating and why.
Thieves Guild is the only halfway decent questline
Aj Souza exactly. Like at least they make you work to be the Guild master. And they give you a reason to continue which is: want Mercer dead. And they give you multiple cool items and abilities. Still could be vastly improved but still much better than all the others.
there is only one guild that treats the dragonborn how they should be treated: the bard's college. you don't become guildmaster ever. you don't play an instrument, so they use the best way they can which is as a gopher.
@@terra_the_nightingale135 I have played Thieves Guild multiple times and having become Guild master there is Zero Respect for me from anyone.....ok I get some tribute, but otherwise there is no satisfaction
@@rmcguire7033 ya least Delvin gives you some. Dirge pretend none of it ever happened!
The problem with the companions: Elves aren't afraid of Wuuthrad. Can you imagine, showing up to that peace treaty in the Throat of the World with Wuuthrad on your back and the damn Thalmar agent just noping out? Yeah, that should have happened.
It's almost like that ax has a cursed history with the thalmor.
What more likely too happen is she'll see the axe and then nag at you for having such an offensive weapon.
@@benjaminforehand7139 Oh my god, that is SO ableist and offensive to elves. Cancel Wuuthrad!/s
@@At1asTheProto Honestly, if the axe gave the issue of causing elves to either run away or attack would be a really cool ability or disability. I can't remember if it does extra damage to elves or not.
But then an Elven Dragonborn wouldn't be able to use it, don't you think?
When I was turned into a werewolf, I just went back into the secret room thats under the skyforge and left in the wild through the tunnel thats on the right 🤣 No innocent people ended up dying, just a random werewolf running around in the wilderness
The moment they suggested the silver hand being a breakaway splinter faction I felt my soul rip in two at what could have been
The best part of the Companions in Skyrim
Aela: "We are the Companions"
Player: "Cool how can I join?"
Game: "Join the Companions"
Aela: "We are the Companions"
Player: "Companions? Doesn't sound very interesting"
Game: "Join the Companions"
To be fair, that means you discovered the quest. Though understandable that one would feel like the game is pushing it, when you auto track the newest discovered quest, if you are not currently tracking one.
The point I was trying to make is that the game is immediately throwing a quest at you instead of just givin you the information that you can join the companions and let you join them if you show some interest like the older Elder Scrolls game do.
In Morrowind and in Oblivion for example you didn't get a Quest before you didn't join them on your own.
@@mkay6915 Back in the day you could ask about things you had heard about in an entirely different system. Now you track such things through your quest journal, but just as back then looking for more and doing it is up to you.
Exactly and that isn't a good system in my opinion
I actually liked Uthgerd's take on them: "They are all cowards." Well, except for Ria. Did you know she killed a bear yesterday?
A whelp is a puppy. It's the first hint about the whole werewolf thing. It isn't a rank. It's basically the Companions' way of calling someone a rookie.
its also the name for a young dragon
its just a name for a young/inexperienced person/creature really
@@vicieux7789 Valp is the word for puppy in the Scandinavian languages, no doubt that is where whelp came from (or rather, sibling words).
the companions questline was cool the first few times but i honestly couldnt get past the fact that its the only way to become a werewollf . on the other side of the coin you can become a vampire at anytime in the game which i found more appealing since its not locked to a questline as a requirement.
You can get the Ring of Hircine though, I'm pretty sure that allows you to become a werewolf without joining the Companions.
“Don’t let the new guy see you cry Vilkas…”
The Companions doing the whole “hi, nice to meet you would you like to be the guildmaster?” really set the stage for Fallout 4. Bethesda seems to have a thing for organizations that are completely incompetent and just trust randos of the street.
It stems from their new project lead heavily relying on the K.I.S.S. principle and building up Skyrim - and to a slightly lesser extent Fallout 4 - as an entirely power fantasy game. Everything revolves around you and without you, nothing changes. You are the god-savior of the world.
Just like the government in most countries nowadays.
Wonder if it's a reflection of their corporate culture. Would explain the buggy mess of blandness and puddle depth of their recent titles
People always nag on Fallout 4, but it's the one game that did this right. You get to lead the institute cuz of nepotism, which is a real thing and makes sense (And the people inside the institute even react and complain, so + for realism). You lead the minutemen and that makes a little bit of sense, it's a tiny group, but here I see your point. But then you have the railroad and brotherhood where you don't even become leader, so please stop this missinformation and give Fallout 4 the credit it deserves when it deserves it. In the series, elder scrolls and fallout (bethesda's fallout) Fallout 4 did it best. I mean for gods sakes, in Morrowind you do 30 errands, kill some dude and they like "U archmage now" What the hell?
@@connybengtsson9304 I agree and I don't like Fallout 4. However, the only thing I wish the Institute did was have a sect of the Institute splinter off and oppose you, maybe even try to replace you with someone else. The Institute does not interact with regular citizens of the wasteland, so it is unlikely they would begrudgingly accept that you are their leader.
That one quest when we help that woman, Anska, find a scroll proving her lineage to Ysgramor would have been a perfect opportunity to make the Silverhand a real faction.
Imagine you help Anska prove she is related to Ysgramor, and then she offers you another job: to help her reclaim the legacy of Ysgramor from a bunch of unworthy werewolves. The Companions.
If you've already joined or finished the Companions as it is, there could be a few options to betray them, such as reveal their lycanthropy to Yarl Balgruuf, needing to convince him if you aren't on good terms with him. Leading to a raid on Jorrvaskr by the Silverhand & Whiterun guard.
Depending on where you were in the companions, the results could differ. If the companions were cured, all but Aela could be slaughtered. She could flee and lead to a werewolf faction opportunity, depending on your influence with her, or she could hunt you down later.
If you haven't helped or completed the companions, then the Silverhand could give you quests to hunt the remaining members after they flee, having been discovered.
Ultimately, Anska reclaims Jorrvaskr and Ysgramor's legacy, the Silverhand are recognized as the true warriors of Skyrim, and we get more factions in the game.
Not just that! But as a Wife for the LDB! How awesome is that!
I'm bout to recruit her for my journey while playing as a Giant in Skyrim! It's time for the nords to wake up!
Edited: As a Giant! I'm wearing Stalhrim and have 2 mods that were "Wintersun" and "DISCONTINUED Improved Artifacts Collection" because Ysgramor Artifacts and Yngol Helm (Which is breathtaking o3o) is awesome!
:Improved Arfiacts DISCONTINUED
@Wirr Ling you're missing the point that the companions would be dead, brother
@Wirr Ling descended from Ysgramor trumps mage, especially when the original companions were capable of wielding magic, aka mages.
Atmoran's were not hating of magic. If anything they knew it well.
...I WANT THIS QUEST!!!
Two things about the companions that I never liked is People only get two chances to become a werewolf unlike the vampire lord where you can change back and you cured as much as you want Plus the game doesn’t allow Hybrids so that kind of sucked only way to become sort of like a hybrid is through mods or glitches
The guilds feel like a mix of last minute additions and elaborate side quests with a ton of content missing. The Companions could have been a full length DLC and have more to work with.
I usually spend time around Vilkas and Farkas and feel like there's a lot missing with those two. Vilkas feels like he should be there while Farkas feels like he shouldn't and is only there because of Vilkas, his twin. Even then Vilkas acts like he doesn’t want his brother around, he does say that he loves him but then states his brother isn't very bright.
I know there was a lot cut from Skyrim so maybe there should have been more concerning the guilds but chances are we may never fully know.
Honestly it feels like they stitched together what should have been two factions into one without considering context.
Ideally there should have been a werewolf pack and the Companions with an unease truce between them going back a few hundred years after Hercine's gift was placed upon them. And the whole quest-line should have been built up as new blood learning of this secret and negotiating between these two factions as the Silver-Hand came to the region and disrupted the truce.
With the ending being a choice of multiple ending dependent upon which faction you choose to side with. Side with the Pack and leave the Witches alive in return for a chance to challenge the dominate member of the pack for leadership with Hercine's favor. Side with the companions and cure Kodlak well scattering the pack by killing it's leader resulting in more random werewolf encounters.
.....
Yes, I get that I'm suggesting they should have pulled a Dawnguard with the core factions.
You could even have a 3rd faction option there with the silver hand like someone else commented on here. Where you take over the non-werewolf faction and give the “circle” up to Balgruf where you storm Jorvaskr with the silver hand.
@@gorge2786 Yes but I do get that unlike the vampire faction they do portray Hercine's children with their own form of honor and nobility. Which I *think* was the intended through-line for the guild....They just failed to really write context into it.
The Silver hand....Frankly the fact they target Werewolves does not alone make them the good guys in my book. There is such a thing as right target wrong tactics. And whatever the hell the Skinner and his lot were doing? Yeah, nothing honorable about skinning prey alive and displaying the pelt of a sapient creature....Which is something Harkon actually does so....Not great ethical company to keep.
That said, there should be an option like that none-the-less. Because this is a RPG after all. We should makes those choices ourselves.
@@gorge2786 hello clone
Kodlak would want peace between the two split sides. He understands that some take to the blood while others regret it. Let those with regrets be cured and make certain new blood receives it only if they truly desire it
"Vilkas says you're the new Kodlak. I don't know what that means."
I got soooo tired of that line. It was pretty funny though.
Its amazing how they pendulate between farkas being a dull but loyal and capable warrior, and a guy who's diet consists purely of crayons.
@@wegg4730 Honestly whenever I interact with the Companions, Farkas never actually strikes me as a dumb person until he outright says what OP quoted. The other Companions insist that he's dumb, and they even treat him like he's dumb, but I genuinely don't see it.
"Did you call me?" "Of course we did, icebrain" implies he's stupid for not knowing he was being called rather than just being talked about.
Farkas isn't stupid, the other Companions are just assholes.
@@deffdefying4803 True, he might not know advanced maths but he's much wiser than the rest. In fact the biggest gripe i have with his character is that he just accepts any contract that involves money and sends you to beat up someone random, I'm like "no, that's just wrong", but most interactions you have with him, he's always the kindest person around, he's a loveable character. Vilkas is good too but senseless, aela might be my wife but if she could, she'd hunt my dick in a second, and skjor is just bland, he died and I honestly couldn't give two fucks about him. Kodlak was awesome too
All the main companions are like "prove yourself whelp" and Farkas says "I'm glad you're around here, it gets lonely sometimes" showing he actually cares about you, a stranger, he also appreciates Tilma's work, no one else even mentions her. That's why I get so confused when he tells me to beat citizens, totally out of character
What also would have made the companion's questline more appealing to do in multiple playthroughs, is if you have to chose someone to replace Skjor on the circle, and depending who you choose, a different quest triggers where they have to prove themselves, and/or some of them go on rampages in whiterun when they are turned and get slaughtered by guards, and then you have to pick a new one etc.
For all the non-dlc guild/faction quests, it seems to me the thieves guild definitely got the most attention, followed by the dark brotherhood and the civil war. After that the rest seem seem to either have been rushed or had a lot of content cut.
I know there is a fair bit of content on the Nexus that expands these, particularly for the war with some even having possibilities of whichever side you join actually loosing.
No.1 Problem with this Faction
They have never heard of you even if you killed Alduin
That is the biggest issue with the entire game overall. In the words of the developers, you(The Dragonborn) are supposed to be this sort of "messiah" type character, pushing the whole power fantasy theme that the entire game is based around. Despite this, outside of the main questline, with the exception of a minuscule amount of fairly inconsequential lines, no one acknowledges you as such. The disparity between what the game wants you to be and how you are treated in it can be very jarring in my experience
It kinda makes senses as no one can know who the dragonborn is until he would show his powers I mean were in the middle age there is a communication in the land only people and later get news around the land
@@aran.m977 How do the Guards know then? Word gets around about the description of walking Demigod. This is either that their pride and hubris knows no bounds or lazy writing.
And dont say the Guards fought with you at first. The guards slaying Mirmulnir were Whiterun guards. Whereas your Dragonborn status is known to even Captain Aldis the Captain of Solitude
@@hamzaferoz6162 yes thats true and against the guards I cant say anything but imagine you could always theoreticall change your equipment so theres no real description by your equipment only your race and face and well how the guards know its you is a mystery but like I said no one can actually be sure or know who you are but yeah I cant deny that it would be nice to get some reconitian after doing a lot of questlines
@@aran.m977 Stop playing devil's advocate, it's a losing battle.
"A true warrior would relish at the chance to take on a giant"
"Why would I care?"
@Dababy Jesus well, on legendary if they are tanking it, and I'm the 25~ lvl mage, and am just stunloking it (your welcome) and together with my flame atronach we're doing considerable amount of damage... then yes. I am the great warrior person
Me: "If you don't need his toes, I need to practice my alchemy."
@Dababy Jesus I always snipe the giant once it actually starts taking damage. The problem is that I don't care about Aela's battle fetish nonsense.
"Relish? Chance? They hang out in spitting distance of Whiterun all the time! I ran into five of them just foraging for alchemical plants!"
My altmer mage: Shuddup brute i wanna get to the cloud district very often
I only ever join to be a werewolf. It's a pretty fallback for when your 9n fights you cant win, and you can still absorb dragon souls as a werewolf. They also feel WAY more versatile than vampire lords
Also that sprint with good stamina investment can carry you ridiculously far.
I agree with what you said about the companions. (Except Aela, I don't love her. I do love Farkas though
A thief pledging to the thief god makes more sense than an "honorable warrior" pledging to a "demonic wolf god of murdering the weak"
@@devonfrayne8226 To be honest, they're both bad...
But...
Yeah.... I hope the next game has better factions.... or well... you know.... factions.
When the giant from the beginning is actually the strongest enemy you encounter in the questline...
I think it would be interesting if:
1) The other whelps would rise in the ranks with you. The way I would make it, Ria would end up trapped in that stage and grow bitter towards you, especially since she was so eager.
2) Part way through, you can decide to betray the Companions and join the Silver Hand. They will explain the history, and try to cure you of your lycanthropy.
3) That we could have a chill mission that isn’t a dungeon. Being a werewolf is super unique, I would love a mission where we actually go out (animal) hunting as wolves in the night. Maybe it goes awry and it ends up being a much more story changing mission by surprise.
Unfortunately, the current companions quest line just works.
Your idea may have 16x the detail, but the original companions just works.
I was always bummed that while they came out with the vampire hunting DLC, they never added in the ability to be a werewolf hunter. Or even the ability to join the Silver hand, at least. I would have been happy to wait longer for more fleshed out stories.
I just started playing Skyrim for the first time and the Companions quest was actually a storyline I really enjoyed. I completely agree some parts of it didn't make sense or felt too rushed, but some of the critiques you mentioned were exactly why I enjoyed it.
I actually thought the character of Kodlak was pretty complex. If you read his journal found in the drawer next to the fragment you're meant to retrieve from his room, you'll discover he had a prophetic dream about your character. This explains why he accepts you into the faction upon meeting you for the first time. I also thought he was a great stand-in for the ethical dilemmas the Companions guild creates. The ambiguity and lack of identity I feel are actually key parts of the Companion guild. Like you mention, the guild seems to have progressed to something that is far beyond what it was originally created for. While the members may say they fight for honor, the guild seems more like a sanctuary for lost wanderers looking for a sense of comradery and family. While the Companions emphasize fighting for glory and honor, I would argue they value solidarity with one another just as much, if not more. In your initiation, there's a great emphasis in the speech not just about fighting, but also about how members will drink with you and celebrate your name after death. As someone who was low-level at this point in the game, I felt drawn to the guild because of how early it's introduced. As someone low on supplies and storage, it was nice having the choice to have a bedroom and weapons if I were to join their guild. I think this also added to the moral dilemma of the Companion’s quest line. The fact that you must complete murderous crusades and take on the werewolf curse can feel like a form of peer pressure. You don’t have to partake in these actions, but you are alienated from the group if you don’t. Because of this, it can feel like you have no other choice but to engage with these moral dilemmas, and I think this discomfort is purposeful.
I think this also helped explain the animosity so many of the other guild members had about your character being newly initiated. For me, it felt less like I had to prove my "battle skills" to them, and more that they were just extra protective over anyone new being inserted into this family space. It wouldn't have mattered how powerful my character was, the animosity was because I was an outsider and therefore someone others couldn't trust very much. The promise of stability and comradery are what make the Companion guild alluring to its members, in my opinion. For me, this explained why, while the guild emphasized honor, most of its members spoke only of the joy of fighting or fighting for coin. In other words, the value of "honor" is a farce, with its definition changing from member to member, which falls back to why it seems impossible for each guild member to agree on what it really means to be a Companion.
For instance, Aela presents you with missions under the guise of “honor” and “justice”, which involve taking out the Silver Hand. However, like you mention, the player knows next to nothing about the Silver Hand guild. This makes the mission feel even more unethical as you slaughter these people. I feel the entire point is that the player is made to feel uncomfortable about the mission. Sure, there’s evidence of torture that can help the player feel more justified in their crusade, but it’s not enough to solidify any real moral answer. I think this moral ambiguity is then validated by Kodlak’s disappointment in your player and Aela for going on this mission. He points out how cyclical vengeance is, and how needlessly people were murdered. His point of view validates all of your previous discomfort with the mission and makes you realize you may have done something unethical, not “glorious”. It also reveals that Aela is not the be-all mouthpiece of the Companions like you may have trusted her as. Again, this shows how differently people understand the purpose of the guild and its identity. However, there seems to be a bit of irony when Kodlak then sends you on another quest for vengeance alongside a look for the cure. I don’t think it’s coincidental that Kodlak dies while you’re on a mission carrying out this crusade. Kodlak was blinded by his own deep-seated resentment at the witches for his curse and his focus on carrying out their deaths resulted in his own passing. While Kodlak portrayed the voice of reason and caution, he was still a victim to his ego, which is symbolized by the quest for glory and vengeance among the guild. I think this is why the final part of the quest worked for me, where the player is not meant to kill real beings, but instead proves their worth fighting ghosts. It’s a first example of what the guild is truly searching for, which is a chance to prove your strength and receive glory. In his death, Kodlak realizes his mistakes and accepts the consequences of his greed. However, you are still able to finally cure his soul so that he can continue the quest in the afterlife. At the end of the quest, the player can go through Kodlak’s journal and learn that Kodlak had already been planning on mentoring you for the rest of his years to be the leader of the Companions. In his words, the player is not too vengeful like Aela and not too kind-hearted like Farkas. His untimely death explains your character’s unexpected rise to power, and gives it a bit more foreshadowing. I also think it’s telling that after the final quest is complete is when the guild members are finally friendly with your character. It was the final action of taking care of their mentor’s well-being that puts you in good graces with the guild members. I felt this made sense with what we had seen from the guild, which is that they would be more motivated to accept you based on your ability to look after fellow guild members. I understand the Companions quest is not perfect by any means, but personally, it was one of my favorites from my play through.
the reason i’ve always appreciated and loved this channel is because you judge the character developments and faction development and not critique on how fun it is because we all wouldn’t be here if we didn’t play that quest
To be honest, the whole “blood of the wolf” thing would have gone SO WELL if there was a genuine cult in Skyrim dedicated to Hircine. Yes, we take part in one of Hircine’s great hunts, but that’s all we really see of the Prince of Beasts.
Like, maybe you start out as a “pup” and through a bunch of quests you gradually become more powerful. Maybe at some point you become/can become a werewolf, and at that point the Cult contacts you.
Maybe there’s a mod for that.. If not, someone better get on it.
It's bad if we're thinking of better ideas than the devs isn't it
Honestly, yeah. The fact that the companions are the only ones that are involved with werewolves aside from the one hircine quest is really lame.
In skyrim 95% of the time you hear about a werewolf, its to do with the Companions. There are no werewolf groups and no way to become a werewolf outside of the companions. They're supposed to be a part of the world, but they really don't feel like it. At least with vampirism, they make vampires a part of the actual world in a believable way. They hide in caves and forts, they have groups, etc. You can become a vampire without doing a specific quest.
There's a mod coming called Extended Cut which literally revoices and restructures the entire main questline. And I hope something like that comes for the companions, and I hope for some more natural incorporation of werewolves into the world.
@@Crash_Knight
Moonlight tales has random werewolf/were bear attacks that can infect the player with lycanthropy.
@@shadowstrider5033 Yes, this is true. I actually use Growl and it adds an item called werewolf blood, and if you use it, you turn into a werewolf. You can find it on some necromancers and in some chests.
Random werewolf encounters is a good step, but I also want something like a werewolf clan, or a group of werewolves living in a fort or a cave or something. Seeing them transform in front of you would be cool too.
@@Crash_Knight
Growl is basically moonlight tales for special edition.
You make a good case for joining the Silver Hand, but time for my own hot take.
The Companions questline would have been much more interesting if they had doubled down on the Silver Hand being the bad guys.
You said yourself in the video, that hearing about a group of werewolf hunters wouldn’t lead you to think they’re evil. Well, what if they were? What if they’re a group of organized, but still thuggish bandits that - for whatever reason - hate werewolves with a particular vitriol. They could have dialogue or notes talking about the hold guards trying to hassle them, only to be cowed back into silence by asking if they’d rather have werewolves running amok around the towns. Letting them more or less operate with impunity since they provide a service that few would be willing to undertake.
It could also contrast with the Companions themselves. Alter things a bit to play up their more noble sides, have them do more than pay lip service to the idea of honor, and have them be largely good people. But they have the beast blood running through them; with some talk about how strength of the mind lets them focus it to be stronger warriors and how there are some benefits to it even if a fair number view it as a curse.
It could make for an interesting dynamic of bad people using something normally seen as good to get away with things, while good people take something seen as bad and use it to help others.
It could even tie into the idea of the faction split you mentioned. The Silver Hand have followed Ysgamor more closely, they’ve taken to embodying the worst aspects of him; whereas the Companions have strayed from the path but value the more noble aspects of Ysgamor.
Just my two cents.
That sounds way too interesting and well thought out for a Bethesda game.
Dude, this sounds like a really cool plot to a book and now it's my personal headcanon
@@geeidontknow4904 For the Developers? For sure, it's too much for them to consider... now the Modding Community, however...
That’s actually a great idea.
Old figures are often being twisted and misrepresented for whatever agenda people want to push, whether it’s a religious figure, pop culture icon, or political leader.. once they’re dead and gone you will always have those who put words in their mouth and try to use their image and standing for their own desires.
So having two factions be the opposite sides of a coin both using Ysgrimor for their own crusades would be cool. Especially if the companions understand he wasn’t perfect and had flaws and seek to help address them in “current” day.
Pretty cool.
I always thought about the Silver Hand that way, since in one of my playthroughs I was attacked by one for no reason, before even starting the Companions questline. Although it was a heavily modded game, so maybe that's not supposed to happen in vanilla (or just lazy coding).
I have never minded being a werewolf. I welcomed it. Being a Vampire however was a major pain. As for the first transformation I stayed behind the building till it was over...
4:21 a whelp irl is slang for wolf pup, so they basically called you a child. (it’s also kinda foreshadowing that they’re werewolves)
"They were easy prey"
Me as werewolf dies over and over because of silver greatswords :(
Git gud :( One handed block solves everything. You almost get out full health with oevery battle you do. Includes Aulduin Miraak and Harkon in legendary. Shield bash the shit of them. x)
Easy answer: Their introductory event outside of Whiterun kinda makes whats-her-name seem like a jerk tbh
Aela
@@maxteraform Yeah, Aela. Thanks
Yeah, most people don't want some third party jumping in to steal the kill. She ridicules you for minding your own business.
That is always so annoying because no matter how fast I run, I never get to the giant in time to help as they always kill it first and yet she’s still like “nO tHaNkS tO yOu!”
What do you want from me? When I first came across that scene in my first play through, I assumed the giant must have been already dead as I had no idea they were even fighting it. There is no time to actually respond and help them.
If that little comment makes you hate her, you're really sensitive.
..like most people these days, no surprise there.
That's probably my biggest issue with the whole game. No matter what you do people will just be rude to you or think they are tougher than you. A guard will say "omg that was amazing you are the dragonborn!" And then turn around and ask if someone stole your sweet roll. I could easily see some people being jerks no matter what but after a certain ammount of accomplishments you should get some damn recognition
I actually love that theory about the Silver Hand, I really wish they had been more fleshed out in the actual game. The idea of refusing to join the Circle and leaving the guild, then being approached by a member of the Silver Hand who asks you to help them take back Jorrvaskr for the true followers of Ysgramor would have been awesome to play through.
Hopefully they don't make the same mistakes in ES6.
My first red flag with the Companions was with Eorlund asking me to deliver the shield. First he says no one is in charge of anyone else. Then he tells you to deliver a shield, and you must do it to progress in the guild. What's more, Eorlund scolds you for either dialogue option--he'll either scold you for being a gracious bootlicker, or scold you for not graciously doing him the favor. I realized that in my maiden playthrough, and it was one of the first indicators that the entire game had rushed, janky writing.
Which is why I hope the with the long drought we've been given between Elder Scrolls games that the next one won't feel so rushed. If it takes another two or three years for ESVI to come out after Starfield is released this fall I won't complain if they use that time to clean up the questlines and give them more meaning.
@@slipstreamxr3763 Hate to tell you this, but it'll be a lot longer than 2 to 3 years. More likely 2027-2028 release date.
@@jacobrude5047 bro no way. U know how old the fan base will b when it releases?
@@muziworldwide Old enough for you to start spelling correctly.
@@FreedomPuppy that's a burn
I think the reason why kodlak let's the Dragonborn go to their first mission just with farkas is because he has faith in you since he saw you in his dream
Aela was with me for the mission
@@siliciaveerah9327 What? It's always Farkas as far as I'm concerned
@@RodrigoroRex then I guess my game bugged out ... And honestly it is a decent bug I guess
@@siliciaveerah9327 That's ... weird. I've only ever had Farkas along for that mission. Are you sure you're remembering it right?
Edit: My guess is that you're thinking of the mission where Aela accompanies you - the one right after you become a werewolf. The mission with Farkas takes place before that. It's the one where you first discover that the Circle are werewolves as you're trapped behind a gate and the Silver Hand ambush Farkas, forcing him to turn into a werewolf in order to survive the encounter. As the whole thing is scripted, it's highly unlikely Aela was with you on that one.
The way that guy goes ham on the training dummy reminds me of when Blinkin carves up a support beam
Outstanding analysis, intellectually and morally. Really really top work.
I salute you.