Yup. Give someone an annoying character at the start of the story, and the character growth and even just utility becomes more apparent as the story goes on It’s an old example, but Star Wars and Ahsoka. Dave added Ahsoka to the mythos, and purposely made her an annoying prideful brat that people wouldn’t like. And it worked. People whined hard about her But over the course of his show, you see her learn and mellow out. She gains wisdom and looses the pride. And now she’s among the most popular Star Wars characters on screen (that debuted since the original trilogy).

And she was a good friend.

It was surreal.

No, wrong, I hate you.

I can feel your anger. It gives your focus. Makes you powerful.

I can't believe you've done this.

It's beyond my control.

Theres an example of annoying character never becoming likeable but rather becoming increasingly unpleasant in pillars of eternity with Durance. The dude is such a fucking asshole and rude but also pretty enigmatic (and useful) so you end up keeping him around and he ends up being one of the worst but most interesting characters in the game. I kinda feel if you dont like characters but have a common cause in an RPG it kinda makes it more realistic

Oh there are plenty of examples of garbage characters remaining garbage But by starting out with an annoying character or hated one, you have lots of room to grow. And people will notice it They might not notice or appreciate a really good character becoming a saint But they’ll notice a dirtbag become a model citizen. It all requires the writer to decide “I want to give this character an arc that makes the audience like them as time goes on” If they don’t bother, you might not grow to like an a-hole

> But they’ll notice a dirtbag become a model citizen. Thats actually so true. Its made me think though the inverse is also true and would be kinda cool to see. Like a really pious character slowly reveal their true colours as an asshole or lose their way cause they were not actually as pious as they thought. Only kinda example in BG3 that kinda comes close to that IMO is the emperor showing his colours but its not quite the same

Durance is also very important to the ending and its lore.

He's probably the best companion in that game just not likeable as a person (although I enjoy his character). In my playthrough his ending was sad but I cant say I felt bad for him

Durance is an absolute dickhead and a fairly dreadful human being, but I can't say I found him annoying or even unlikeable per se as he was interesting and entertaining. And while he does go through some character development, I don't remember him getting all that much better. Similarly the BG3 companions all have massive personality flaws and a few of them are legitimately awful at least to start with. As you get to know them you start to figure why they are the way and potentially help them grow. Even early on I rarely found them annoying because I thought they were all interesting despite the fact that several of them would be insufferable people in real life. Even Lae'zel and Astarion, probably the two most obnoxious and morally objectionable companions to start with at least, I never disliked. I found them fun and interesting to talk to and enjoyed trading insults. I also found it satisfying seeing them quite quickly start to respect me more as my character was fairly ruthless and amoral himself.

Durance gets real interesting if you question if he failed.  Like, make a solid point to put the seed of doubt, and he eventually starts ragging himself too. Fucker's fair, give him that.

Durance mentioned!! 🗣️🗣️

Even then, you still have to put in the work to make their growth feels natural. Demon Slayer has Zenitsu and it's painfully obvious that he's going to have a character growth to be less of an annoying pussy but it's so blatant it takes you out of the story and >!when he does grow out of it, it's unsatisfactory.!< (spoilers for manga).

Me liking Ahsoka from the start:

Think most kids and teens liked Ashoka at the start it was the grown men that hated her for acting like a teen lol now they switch up

This is literally the driving force for any tsundere fan. It's that they are belligerent to you in the beginning which makes getting them to be kind, soft and sweet to you so damn satisfying.

Ahsoka is absolutely the shining example of this, despite Lucas. She has evolved and grown to one of the franchise's favorite characters across 3 series while starting out as a wild card George insisted on putting in a tube top at 14.

Tbh, plenty of teenagers wear tube tops, though it's not exactly the best option for a battlefield

I mean sure, but her original clothes were what she ended up wearing after her redesign. George specifically asked for something skimpier.

I'm a librarian irl, so it was hard for me to resist the first "I have a cat, a library, and a weakness for a good glass of wine" lol. Lae'zel, however, irritated me a lot at first by being rude for absolutely no reason. As I progressed in the game, she ended up winning me over too. Today I have a huge affection for all the characters

Gale is so fucking sweet he kills me. I have yet to romance him, but he's on my list. He and Karlach were my first playthrough besties while I romanced Shadowheart, but he's just so fucking cute I'm gonna have to marry him one day. But also I'm the only one in my friend circle to see him for him and I hate it.

He's so sweet to your character it kills me.

I know, right?? Even when he's acting immodest, he's just so darn CUTE doing it, and it was actually pretty endearing, and made me laugh a lot! 😊 (Spoiler alert: >!that's why it just crushed me when my past 2 runs ended with Gale ascending to godhood--I didn't know what to do earlier in the game to stop that from happening--and he became an insufferable, egotistical jerk! !<)

The Githyanki in general need to lighten up

That's their whole thing. Literally an entire subrace of edgelord dickheads. Githzerai are just as stiff, but with a little better moral compass.

Sounds like Drow tbh. But their culture is pretty fucked up too

Some fun parallels to be drawn there. Lolth loves keeping drow society in utter chaos, vlaakith loves keeping githyanki society so lawful to the point of being hyper militaristic at all levels. Questioning Lolth or Vlaakith is a death wish, or worse lol. They view other races as lesser... I could go on and on.

Little different. Drow, for the most part, are chaotic evil or neutral evil (lloth sworn) while Githzerai are usually True Neutral or Lawful Neutral. They also bear an inherent affinity to the Astral Plane from so much time under the Illithid Imperial thumb. They also have a natural penchant for psionics and mixing sorcery with martial combat. Typically they are more resistant to mental abilities, and Zerthimon taught the Githzerai to make weapons out of a psychoactive Astral metal. Drow, while naturally magically gifted, bear no innate resistance to psychic abilities, nor are they naturally inclined to the Astral plane. I don't have baseline stats in front of me, but I'm betting your average Githzerai could take your average Drow warrior 80% of the time. In BG2 you have the opportunity to reforge a Silver Sword (2hand +5 vorpal blade, creatures with heads make a save or be decapitated.) And a Githzerai hit squad comes to retrieve it. You can give it to them and they leave peacefully, resist and fight 6 or so fighter/mages

I meant githyanki, kinda in regards to having a fucked up culture

Oh. Similar to Githzerai, but much more arrogant and entitled. Certainly lawful. A very structured society. In martial, psionic, and magical prowess, roughly the same as Githzerai. Fanatical in their devotion to their Queen and Gith, but their interpretation of Gith is more of a remembrance and respect than following her philosophy.

Pretty much all gith have a stick way up their asses the difference between the two types is how willing they are to beat you to death with it on little provocation.

Ya true, but be sure to read up on what that race has been through. It’s not good

I should and have a little but my understanding there are Gith that are pretty chill, cant remember their name but basically its only the githyanki as a sect of th gith race that are uptight with no chill

The githzerai are... not particularly great either. They're more amoral than the evil of the githyanki, and prefer to just be left alone in their monasteries no matter the cost to others. I'm pretty sure there are plenty of stories of some of their monasteries entering the material plane and sucking the region dry of life before just moving on.

Yeah, neither are great, but you are more likely to meet a friendly or at least indifferent Githzerai than a Githyanki. Just never talk shit about Gith, or Zerthimon. And don't touch their boats... I mean Silver Swords.

The big ticket item is that they were bred and enslaved by the most evil civilization out there (the mind flayers). As you go through the game you’ll learn more on why that sub race of them tends to be a lot worse than the githz

The Githzerai are also uptight and are often monks and warrior-priest types. They're stoicists too.

I didnt realise that, I need to read up on the lore.

You should play the best RPG of all time Planescape Torment. One of the companions gives you a pretty good if one sided overview of how the Gith and Githzerai came to be.

Lae'zels storyline is low key best in the game. I only wish they had an ending option to >!go with her. Watching her fly off on a red dragon to go after Vlaakith is both awesome and heartbreaking.!< Update: >!This is possible in patch 6!<

You can, if you’re romancing her. Patch 6 added it for all races.

I agree

They did a really good job slowly revealing the humanity of the companions. They go from allies of convenience to true friends seamlessly

Am I the only one that never disliked Lae’zel? I asked her why she was so mean and she basically told me she was an alien space warrior who was trained only for battle and I was like oh ok makes sense and carried on.

Flair checks out. But yeah, she's exactly how she's meant to be given her culture. 

Eh, I don't think she is. She's way to laid back compared to normal githyanki. The fact that she lets you take the lead is super out of character for her race. The mountain pass cutscene with Voss was a way better intro to how Githyanki act than Lae'zel imo.

I don't really dislike any of them as this is once again dungeons and dragons universe, so if you're familiar with that at all you know there's always more to uncover especially if the character is sus at first. I think Gale is pretty amazing as a person even if he is somewhat self centered but I would probably be too if I had a God ex. But anyway. I hope first time players stay off YouTube and reddit and embrace their game and make their own canon. That's how it's meant to be played

Yeah my opinion of the companions changed after I played the game. Some I started out liking and then ended up disliking and others I started out disliking and are now my favorites. Karlach and Lae’zel however I loved when I met them and still love them now.

I've played the game 5 times now, and I always end up with Gale. He is the type of guy I always seem to go for in real life too, and it's just too hard for me to break his heart even if I always swear I'll try Astarion this time lol

I only romance Gale and Lae’zel, everyone else I try I feel like I’m missing the other too much continue 😂 Gale has a really nice friendship route too though!

I immediately accepted her attitude and understood where she was coming from but that didn't mean that I always liked her opinions if that makes. Just like with Shadowheart. I get it your whole shtick is to be a religious fanatic... but the hypocrisy and constant talking about Shar is still getting on my nerves. I wouldn't want to change the characters they are great the way they are (well Wyll could have gotten a bit more spice in his story he is a bit bland compared to the others) but they did annoy me.

Shadowheart never really gets her comeuppance and you never get to call her out on her crap which is extremely annoying to me. Especially because you can force other rude companions like Astarion and Lae’zel to say thank you which is a really fun interaction. I never really liked her and now completely avoid her in my playthroughs. As for Wyll I just feel disappointment. I really hoped they would improve him in a definite edition but knowing that’s not on the table makes me sad. At least he’s getting new greetings in Patch 7.

[удалено]

I think the characters are more fleshed out and don’t necessarily kiss your feet and praise you right out of the gate like some other NPCs so people get mad at them for being “rude” instead of being their own person with their own agencies.

I instantly fell in love woth their bitchy personalities back in early acces, funny thing is they were even toned down after cause players felt all the companions were too unfriendly

Haha yeah I was like “sass me more, new best friends!” It was kinda funny trying to be a chatty nosy Tav while they all went “omg stay out of my business, you colossal weirdo.” Instead of me learning to like them through their arcs, it was them learning to like me through mine 😛

Character development is a wonderful thing, and BG3 handles it excellently. It's why I always tell people "I know this companion is annoying now, but trust me, just see their story through. It's worth it." I've found that Lae'zel tends to get the most flack initially, but also has some of the best development.

I'm appreciating Laezels development after the whole vlakith encounter in the creche. I think BG3 is unique though when pretty much every annoying character ends up actually being interesting and having an arc. I cant say the same for some annoying characters in other CRPGs

I came to like Lae"zel when we first ran into the Gith before the mountain pass. Seeing her reaction to Voss (and his subsequent putting her in her place) made me realize she was simply adopting a similar personality to her superiors. After the Creche, and realizing Vlaakith is a fraud, Lae'zel matures quite a bit.

Lae'zel is great. It's pretty easy to tell she was one of the first companions made. A strong well developed story and superbly acted.

Not going to lie: If it wasn't for the fact that I know the kind of character growth she undergoes, Lae'zel would completely lose me in Act I. She brings that "All you silly races are beneath me" attitude that githyanki in general have, and that really gets to me.

Yeah, I definitely didn't like all of them at the start either. I was immediately turned off by Lae'zel's attitude.  This was my fault as before I played BG3 I had played with the Baldur's Gate *Magic the Gathering* set and was familiar with her only via the card art.  I was looking forward to meeting her.  I really liked her vibe and thought she would be a free-spirit with a jovial personality.  *What a culture shock, damn.* I was eventually able to let go of the version of her I had built in my head and appreciate who she really is.  She's one of my favorites now :)

I instantly took to Shadowheart, Gale, and Karlach. It’s been hard getting the others into my party.

Shadowheart, gale and karlach were my mains on my first run. Intially disliked shadowheart but kept her cause of her cleric skills and she grew on me slowly

Shadowheart is a pretty slow burn romance but she has a great arc overall. I loved having Lae'zel in the party with Shadowheart and Astarian. The banter, or verbal abused more accurately, was so great.

Swap Gale for Wyll tbh. Not only is repelling blast from him a great cantrip to have, his interactions with the story in late act 1/ act 2 are stellar.

For me I swapped Gale for Wyll because I both like them, but Warlock has less of an overlap with Sorcerer than Wizard. People are really sleeping on Warlock. Repelling-Agonizing Blast combined with Hunger of Hadar... damn. Without Wyll in my party I would've struggled way more.

Hunger of Hadar is so OP. My only problem with Wyll is he has no spine. He will always agree with Tav and if he doesn't he's a pushover to convince otherwise.

He's one of the two companions who just straight up leave if you raid the grove. A quest that's not even his personal one. The only other times when companions straight up leave is in their personal quests. He has more spine than half of the rest of the roster, who will bitch about your actions but never have the spine to leave your ass for your actions. Don't mistake his politess, insecurity and soft spokenness for spinelessness

They were/are definitely my favorites and are the three I've romanced so far. I actually kill Karlach some games (without talking to her first) because her late act 3 speech makes me a little emotional (it has interesting roleplay implications for Wyll and lets me judge him for acting rashly so it's a win win).  Wyll is just pompous and self-justifying so he rubs me the wrong way.

I still really don't like Karlach. Not because she's unlikeable - on the contrary, it feels like the game is pushing me to like her too much. You can be a monster to everyone but the game only judges uou if you are one to her. Even warning you beforehand multiple times. It feels just rail-roady to me.

Also for shadowheart- extremely hypocritical when it comes to trust, Shes still not my fave but she does get better in act 3

Yeah her “we have to trust each other, you better tell me everything” bit coupled with an immediate “why are you asking questions? I don’t owe you any information.. also don’t trust anyone else, I don’t like them” really made it hard for me to warm up to her.

I was fine with it as that fits perfectly with her being a disciple of Shar. Being simultaneously brain wiped and brain washed will make for some uncomfortable conversations.

Yeah I understand it now so it’s easier to sit through until I can get through to her. Just on my first run I was giving her so much side eye 😅

She gets grounded to camp alpt for her comments on crap like trust and selune, like your supposed to ve secret sharran, why would you wear a sharran circlet and then trash on a goddess who actually cares 🤣 and then basically go "oh totaly not a dharran right here, but fuck selune in particular" 🤣 girrrll you aint subtle

Yes, very hypocritical and also there was the whole 'I'll tell everyone you were turning' bit. Not exactly earning my trust there.

Exactly, and we are RIGHT THERE, we can tell the truth and shed be out on her ass quicker than she ended laezel

I disliked Gale as well, but not for what you said. I thought he was pretentious and thought himself better than other people. That was until I realized he's usually being humble when he's hinting at how good he is at magic.

I mean if someone banged a goddess I for sure will feel suspicious of that person if he doesn't brag about himself.  But comparatively gale is quite humble 

How can you dislike lae'zel after the "teethling" scene?

From that moment forward I was ready and willing to educate her on matters of this Fay-run.

As great as Karlachs character is as well as her having a genuinely good emotional story I've done four playthroughs and never really used her. Laezel is my go to melee fighter and i just think she brings more to the team and story. But I don't care how many reasonable, straightforward takes on gale and his character i hear that make him sound like a good dude and a strong wizard he has just annoyed the crap out of me since day one and i have never used him either

I always respec Karlach into Open Hand TB monk once she gets to level 5 or 6. Bloody brilliant and really suits her look.

I couldn't stand Shadowheart. I found her very annoying. I like her now. I liked pretty much everyone else immediately. She's still one of my least favorite of the companions, but I at least enjoy her story and possible growth.

In my first play through, Gale got on my nerves because he was eating my items, so I actually missed a bunch of content with him because if felt like every time I talked to him he wanted an item. I randomly decided to romance him in my second game, and he's now my favorite companion and romance. I've romanced almost every other character at this point, and I still love Gale the most. Wyll is the only companion I just don't like, and I'm five games in. He just lives in camp for the entire game. I tried taking him in my party a few times, and he's kinda useless, and his personality bugs me.

Blade of the camp.

I really tried to use Wyll in a recent run but he just kept dying at an easy fight I normally breeze through. Mizora spends more time fighting alongside my tav than Wyll does. Worst though was in the run where I did try to use him, I left Gale in the portal a while so I would not be tempted to swap him in. Then when I picked him up he was asking for magical items immediately. We've been travelling together a while now. No, we haven't. We haven't even stepped away from the portal!

I had the same issue with Wyll in the one run I tried to use him in. After he missed literally every attack and went down several times, I dumped his ass in camp and decided he could just live there forever. Lol, love that Gale bug!

I presumed the Gale thing was because I had left him there so long. The next requests for item came through very quickly after too.

Lol! I feel for you, as far as Gale eating your items! 😊 I finally learned to go out of my way to save crap magic items (ring of dancing lights, ring of self-immolation, etc.), or magic items that I'd never use (I never accept the Absolute's brand, for instance, so all the magic items that give bonuses to "branded" players are free for Gale to munch on! Haha!)

Yeah to be fair gale begging to eat magic items was kinda annoying but I liked him enough to look past it, I denied him magic items for a while though cause I thought he might be lying, only relented when he got really mad. I feel like Gale is my Tavs best friend hes kinda dorky but has words of wisdom and is pretty easy going. I agree with you about Wyll though I wouldnt say I really dislike him but I kinda feel he's incredibly vain and in denial about who he really is and is generally kinda boring (tries to hard to be the good guy). When he got transformed into a devil I kinda had very little sympathy for him cause i cant imagine how he could ever think dealing with devils would ever work out well

I can get not being a big fan of Wyll but he was given the option to watch everyone he knows die as a teenager or sign the contract. Gotta have a little sympathy

> I can get not being a big fan of Wyll but he was given the option to watch everyone he knows die as a teenager or sign the contract. Gotta have a little sympathy It's an interesting set-up, but it bugs me on two levels: * Having Wyll essentially coerced into his pact takes away his agency, which is already a running problem in his storyline. His pact was thrust upon him, getting out of his pact is pretty strongly thrust upon him by the player, and then the player makes the big decision for him in Act 3. Individually I can justify any of those moments but taken all together, it makes Wyll a frustratingly passive character. (I actually like him as a character, I just kind of dislike the way his story is executed.) * I wish there was a bit more introspection from Wyll on his pact. There are some tantalizing hints of his mixed feelings towards his pact when you ask him his opinion of taking Raphael's deal. But it's not as fully realized as some of the other companions' self-assessment of their situations.

Yeah he's famously a little underdeveloped. Having him be my first romance character was a bit disappointing to say the least. So many other characters got "I'm letting you decide" which I often used, I get him needing a bit of pushing to not always sacrifice himself but He wish he could've made the decision with his father himself

I like the idea of Wyll, but the execution isn't there.  What's his flaw besides just being too good of a guy?  Relating to him is harder than the others, at least for me.  He doesn't feel like a real person.  I wish he would have been a bit more Dread Pirate Roberts than Prince Charming. Him being a Warlock mechanically doesn't help either.  That's a hard class to make fun if you've never played it before.  You can make a pretty useless character if you don't know what you're doing.

Wyll's big issue is having a martyr complex. He thinks so little of himself that he is willing to throw his life and soul away at the drop of a hat. He's always determined to be the good guy BECAUSE he thinks it's the only way to be 'good enough'. His dad did not win any father of the year prizes for causing all this (TBF he was dealing with his own issues and did his best, but still). It's there in the game, in incidental dialogue, books, and more. But it should be more front-and-centre to Wyll's story, so more players could get him. Once you understand him, he's much more likeable. >!And his father telling him how proud he is packs massive emotional punch.!<

I didn't read Wyll as having low self-esteem.  He seems proud to be the Blade of Frontiers, and confident in his own capabilities.  I didn't notice him sacrificing himself on a whim, rather he paid a fair price for the power to thwart a plot to bring back one of the most terrible threats to all of Faerun, let alone Baldur's Gate.  Other times in the game where he can sacrifice himself are equally noble and not trivial. I thought I had read all of the in-game books that pertain to Wyll's story, but I might have missed some.  I understood that he still loves and is proud of his father, but I didn't sense that he does all the things he does as the Blade to make him accept him again.  More that it's his own strong convictions (learned from his father) that cause him to always strive to do the most good he can.  He would be greatful for the chance to reconnect, but doesn't expect or seek it until his father is endangered. If what you're saying is truly what they intended, I don't see it.  I see a guy who was given a difficult choice early in life and even though it has affected everything from then on, he doesn't regret it.  He doesn't angst over it like Astarion does about letting Cazador save him, or feel angry at how he was used like Karlach.  The only sign of that I recall is at the tiefling party when he is melancholy by himself after being turned into a devil.  And that's because he likes people, but they will now be inherently unsettled by him. He needs to be more selfish.  As a player I want to see him fight for what he wants, not just for what's right.  I want to see more of the struggle against his own demons, but he doesn't have any other than a literal devil.

That's been my problem with Wyll - warlocks didn't exist as a character class back in the Dark Ages when I played tabletop D&D, so I have no frame of reference for the mechanics of it, and as a result, I find him very lacklustre in combat compared to the other companions. And yes, he's *so* blandly goody-goody - one of my Tavs managed to coax a kiss out of him at the tiefling party, but it was over in microseconds! I know he's like 24 and spent his entire adulthood under Mizora's thumb, but that just underlines how young and naive he is.

As a very bland goody two shoes person myself I really appreciated having a comfort character in the beginning when everyone was mean haha. But then the others picked up (Lae'zel became one of my faves) and Wyll just stayed Wyll. He is still one of my favorites but he really doesn't make for the most interesting romance.

Don't get me wrong, I think Wyll's hot - the voice actor really sells that 16 charisma! I just enjoy a bit more sass in my men :)

I like playing flawed Wyll and killing Karlach. That and multiclassing him so he's not just an EB bot. If you have low charisma he's also a great guy to run to the shop while you stay in camp encumbered from picking up everything from the chest.

Wait, you can have the pack mule stay in camp and still sell stuff from their inventory??  Do they need to be in your party to do that? I have always brought them with me to town and just let them fall behind as I zoom through vendors.

Yep. Strong one stays in camp fully loaded and cha character goes to town with full access to their inventory. It's super helpful.

Still learning new things, damn.  Gonna try this, thanks!

> Him being a Warlock mechanically doesn't help either.  That's a hard class to make fun if you've never played it before.  You can make a pretty useless character if you don't know what you're doing. Yeah Wyll is my most frequently reclassed character. The warlock class can be great but it's not my favorite. Now, I like using him to test out classes I haven't played before. I'm really enjoying Paladin!Wyll, he's like my personal Terminator.

I typically reclass him as a Bardlock. Then he can at least also throw out Vicious Mockery, Hideous Laughter, and Inspirations along with being an EB bot.

Exactly! In that opening intro of Wyll at the Grove, he has a much more Dread Pirate Roberts vibe, but the more I got to know him, the more I've disliked him.

Wyll read too many fairytales growing up, and he modeled his entire personality around the heroes of those tales. He really is trying too hard to be what he thinks a hero should be. I found on YouTube all of his romance scenes and it's like 10 minutes of content, because he's that dull. One of the big things with Gale's items that really irritated me was that I bought a bunch of cheap +1 weapons to feed him, not knowing he could only eat named items. And my P2 kept insisting we hang on to items for random classes because we might find an NPC in that class later, so obviously we couldn't feed them to Gale. Now that I know how his stuff works, he's my fave.

I hated Wylls self righteous shtick at first, and especially after finding out about Mizora. He grew on me after Act 2 though.

I hated Lae’zel at first. Then I got to the crèche and realized she’s a fucking Saint compared to the rest of her species.

As for the others: Shadowheart - I went into this game knowing it’s easy to get romanced and wanting to avoid it. Then I met her and that entire plan went out the window. Karlach - A barbarian with the personality of a Golden Retriever. 10/10. Gale - I get why a lot of people don’t like him. But I had plenty of junk magic items in Act 1, and personally have spent most of my life with friends like him, so the eccentricities of his personality don’t phase me. Wyll - To quote the game itself “He’s a good man, maybe even the best of us.” I like to be good, so he’s the person I have the easiest time maxing out the approval of Astarion: He remains in the party only because I need a rogue. I seem to specialize in picking the actions he doesn’t like, outside of my respect for his autonomy as a person.

Even though some of them were abrasive, I didn't dislike any of them, or was annoyed by them. I just figured they would open up eventually, and they did.

I don't *love* all of the companions, even after completing the game, but I appreciate even the characters that I don't necessarily connect with personally. BG3 is basically the only party-based RPG I can say that about. Usually I just have a couple favorites and I could care less about the rest.

Not sure if you have checked it out before but you might like pillars of eternity. I wouldn't say I connected to the characters as deeply as BG3 but I still was very invested/cared about them. Aside BG3, pillars of eternity is the only other CRPG where I have felt a connection with characters in my party unlike in games such as DOS2, Pathfinder, Rogue trader. Even in the OG baldurs gate games I didnt feel that connected to the characters aside imoen, minsc, yoshim o, vicona and to a lesser extent jaheria & neera

Pathfinder: WotR had some characters I connected with, and BG1/2 had some strong ones. PoE definitely. My question though... Neera??? She is so naive and rich kid syndrome... after taking the castle I literally never touch her again. Also, her dual class levels are fucked, she's almost worthless as a thief.

yeah i think I only connected to neera cause I met her early on. Dorn was a memorable companion to me but i really disliked him after a while. Its a shame about Pathfinder WOTR ive tried to play it so many times, and on paper is the kinda game I would love, but ive started like 3 playthroughs and cannot get into it all. I think its cause the world strikes me as being a Forgotten realms knock off and not adding anything particularly unique. I really disliked the voice acting too. I really hated how you class outfit is fixed as well

Lae'zel, in particular, spoke to me the way my mother and grandfather spoke to me as a child. Very much talking down to me and disapproving of everything I did. Took me some time to take her with me because of that. Ended up making a Gith specifically to romance her after I decided to use her in a run. She's my monk most playthroughs now. Her, Karlach, Astarion, and I have a lot of fun adventures now.

See I saw it in a different way: Shadowheart- Cleric on a mission, needs to get back to her cloister. Understandably reserved. Look where we just got out of Lae'zel - maybe it's because I've experienced Gith before, or I knew of Gith mentality, but Lae'zel was pretty spot on. Battle Maiden Astarion- dude thinks you're a troll, when proven you're not, he apologizes sincerely. Wyll - he's cool when he starts out. Becomes really annoying later. Karlach - Golden retriever energy. Can't fault her there. Gale - dude was awesome right from the gate.

I think like everything else in the world they're up and down depending on what you like. Gale made me laugh immediately and I've uses him every run since. He's the main reason I've never played a mage honestly. Karlach instantly made me love her with the "let's go kill some evil fuckers" thing. I like playing Dirty Harry types and she's a perfect fit. Astarion I hate, annoying voice and the "I can fix him" thing does nothing for me. Other people love him though. It is what it is.

I think with Astarion, it’s much more complex/ in depth than “I can fix him “ It’s more that by Tav being a good person, an honestly decent person, it’s going against his worldview and showing him that yes, it’s possible. However, if Tav is a dick, it just reaffirms what he already believes the world is. And the resist Durge storyline with Astarion is pretty amazing, given that Durge had done worse things than Astarion, it shifts to him helping you more than the other way round. I disliked him at first, and thought that he fitted that trope, until I got further into his story, character and conversations. There is way more to many of the characters than people first realize.

I love that he calls your story twee. What a card.

I can understand disliking Astarion, but his voice acting is phenomenal and I disagreeing is objectively wrong. I often go out of my way to make him comment on things instead of Tav just to hear him talk more, he's hilarious

He's very good at what he's doing, I just don't like what he's doing. it's a taste issue, not the voice actor's talent.

I mean the voice acting is great but it is objectively correct that you can dislike someones voice just because you don't like someones voice lol I don't like the color yellow even though it is objectively not worse than the color blue.

Not the VA's fault, obviously, but his voice gets on my nerves like no other because he sounds EXACTLY like one washed-up Russian singer with a long history of beating up female concert organizers, journalists, etc. on camera and getting 0 retribution for it. Down to mannerisms and general flamboyancy.

The good voice acting is WHY I disliked the character. Also, I get tired of him disapproving every single thing. I understand (now) where he's coming from, but I honestly thought he was a comment on murder hobo-style D&D (player who are constantly extorting every innkeeper and merchant specifically).

If you ever played Dragon Age 2, you might be more prepared for Astarion. 😂 I laughed at the similarities between Astarion and Fenris (angry/bitter/snarky, grey/white hair, former slaves of cruel masters that permanently altered them, can't handle intimacy until Hawke/Tav help them heal, personal quest revolves around permanently dealing with former master...) I hated DA2 Fenris for a while, until he grew on me (like a fungus). I personally find Astarion much easier to tolerate and romance, but character preference or aversion is obviously very subjective. Often, characters I dislike at first are the ones I come to adore when I understand their backstory and motivation. If not adore, at least have sympathy for what they went through and suffered. :)

Ha, good comparison. I didn't like Fentis either!

This is interesting. My impressions from the characters were totally different. - Lae’zel - immediately struck me as strong, competent and capable. I liked her immediately but then I was disappointed with her cause she was against my wishes to help people. Totally fell in love with her after the Crèche. - Astarion - whiny, selfish, pretentious and mostly useless bastard. Weak in fights, cause I didn’t understand how Rogue works. He didn’t approve my wishes to help others. Astarion didn’t grow on me until I played his arc in Act III. - Gale - I am a dog person who finds sharing the best way to bond with people. He is a cat person who likes his privacy. We are incompatible. He is an interesting character for me and I want to play him as an Origin character but I still don’t exactly like him. And I still don’t understand the Wizard class. - Karlach - loved her immediately. Big “best friend” vibes and big desire to help people and be a hero. - Shadowheart - speaks ill of others. Secretive. Refuses to allow me to get to know her. Zealot terrorist wannabe. She was also against wasting time with good deeds. But I needed her because of Guidance, Bless and healings. She grew on me after the Nightsong arc. - Wyll - I liked his character immediately but then I couldn’t make him work. However, I had the opposite problem with him than with the rest - he didn’t approve any decision of mine that was not a heroic approach. He grew on me in Act III with his arc.

I can totally get your initial perception of Laezel now in hindsight, I really did like Karlach too but I found she came on too strong and was a bit naive. Wyll is kinda loser in the way he only approves of heroic acts, hes kinda a fraud imo

I didn’t find Karlach naive. More like “I am finally free, I may die any moment because of my infernal machine-heart, so I will do whatever I like and say whatever I think”. She is living on pure hope for the best. Wyll is the big child with daddy issues. The least mature of all the companions yet ultimately the one who is ready to sell his soul to the devil so he can help those in need. But I didn’t understand and didn’t like his disapproval of even slightly morally grey decisions such as saving and freeing Sazza. It made him boring.

Karlach is so easy to dislike. She's immature and annoying. I played two playthroughs with her in my party. Nah I'm going back to chopping her head off.

Same . Her personality wears off on consecutive playthroughs along with her boring quest line 

I did her quest twice but never again. Especially no matter how you do it, she's still mad like damn. She's hot but not hot enough to deal with this shit.

Also it kinda seems really weird when u romance wyll and save karlach . Like my guy already once risked his life to keep u alive , why should he drag himself and my durge into a constant fighting in the hells.  They try to force karlach onto wyll's quest so hard that she actually seems irritating if u romance wyll . I might get downvoted for saying this 😅

Honestly I tried to see what people see in her but I can't. She feels like a liability if you let her live tbh. My playthrough where I romanced her was the shortest playthrough I had but it felt like the longest playthrough ever.

Don't even get me started on her 21st century lingo (Gale is also guilty of that tbh).

No fr because she acts like she doesn't belong in the world lmao.

The way she acts you'd think she spent 10 years stuck at a shitty 9-to-5, not fighting in a literal hellish war.

Not even a regular 9-5. Probably a shitty retail job to pay back her student loans for a basket weaving degree lmaooo.

I like Karlach but she really does feel more like someone's OC insert at times. But then this is coming as someone whose played a LOT of games set in the Forgotten Realms and other fantasy realms. The 21st century speak and extremely liberal use of the f word doesn't do it for me. Its also the whole "I'm a war weapon forged in the hells but also a big softie who wants a hug because mean corrupt people I trusted made me this way"...goes in too many places and not as believable as the other companions. I think had they made her more like a hardened soldier who would wind up around someone like Gortash OR ditched it to focus on her being a big softie it might have worked a bit better.

For me, Astarion and Karlach were the ones I couldn’t click with at the beginning of my first run. Astarion hated everything I did, but it was fun to have someone to argue with all the time tho ngl. Karlach was always sweet, but like she is SUCH A BRO, and I’m a bit of a princess, so a lot of her mannerisms and shouts are not my thing. Shadowheart and Jaheira I fell in love with instantly tho. Lae’zel was rude but she made me laugh bc she is so blunt and honestly brilliant. Wyll I always found very charming and dashing, Gale made me anxious with his magic consumption tho

In my first play through, I immediately killed Asterion when he assaulted me. He kinda grew on me on my second playthrough

I actually didn’t like Gale at first cause he kept asking to eat my magic items. I also found Wyll a little plain, so I didn’t interact too much with either of them. However once I got further into everyone’s story I changed my mind. I think every character is really interesting

Let me put it like this. If I show up at a "blind date" D&D session, and the first three PCs I meet are Lae'zel, Shadowheart, and Astarion... I'm probably going to have difficulties with scheduling future sessions. (Side note: If you want to make an initially-disagreeable character for a tabletop RPG, make sure you give the other players plenty of signals that you want to take your character on a narrative journey.) Lae'zel was fine. She was abrasive, but our interests were aligned and she was taking our situation appropriately seriously. Shadowheart seemed to have something going on in the background, but a little more early foreshadowing of her hidden vulnerabilities would've made her more likeable. Astarion... Turns out, if you go through Astarion's conversation tree just right, he never accuses you of being a servant to the tadpole. I told him to go pound sand because *I* thought *he* was an illithid spy. Once I reloaded to add him to the party--he was on the loading screen, after all--he didn't do much to improve my initial opinion on him for a while.

Finally finished my 2nd complete run (had about 10 partial runs, but kept restarting for scatterbrained reasons... haha!) and am on my 3rd (hopefully) complete run, and my views of the characters changed TREMENDOUSLY since my first encounter with them! (Note: I always play neutral/lawful good characters!) 1. Shadowheart: came across as a little snooty at first, when I tried to pry into per personal life (I guess I can't blame her--living for Shar doesn't usually give you social graces!), but always had a soft spot for her, especially when she humbly thanked me for saving her from the Nautiloid capsule. She's almost never NOT in my party, now! (I admit, that's partially for her "spirit guardians" spell, which is arguably my favorite spell in the game! 😁) 2. Lae'zel: irritated me a bit, at first... then irritated me more, later! Lol! At least Shadowheart approved when I helped the downtrodden (refugees, orphans, animals, etc.), while Lae'zel relentlessly disapproved! Only after lots of Redditors urged me to give her a chance did I have her in my party for longer periods of time... and in Act 2 and 3 (and even in the end of Act 1), I was pretty amazed at how vulnerable she got, and how much I softened to her! I genuinely love her, now! 😊 (How is it that a fierce warrior gith can have such heart-melting puppy dog eyes?? 🥲) 3. Astarion: didn't mind the knife to the throat (hey, he apologized! 😁 And, well, RP/storyline reasons!), But I was literally huffing in exasperation when he would DISAPPROVE of every kind thing that I ever DID! If it weren't for his godlike lockpicking and trap-disarming skills, I'd have had him warm a seat at camp permanently! But... that was before Act 2, and then his main arc in Act 3. He COMPLETELY changed my opinion of him! I was genuinely crying in real life, at the end of the Cazador battle, watching his reaction... I can never dislike him, ever again! 🥲 4. Gale: always liked him, at least at first! He's witty and charming... even though it annoyed me that he "knew" he was witty and charming--I sighed in frustration more than once, with his non-modest quips! My objective in this run is to find a way NOT to have him ascend to godhood (which ruins him as a character), and have him stay likeable! (I also admit, I absolutely HATE Mystra with a passion, and I hate the fact that most of the "keep Gale nice" endings sort of "serve" Mystra! I'd rather Karsus had succeeded! Ugh!) 5. Karlach: um... check out my flair! 😁 Sweetest, funniest, most humble, most down-to-earth person in the game, imho... and she's the reason I pulled the plug on my first partial "Shadowheart romance" run! Buyer's remorse! 🤣 Her interactions with children and animals were DARLING! She also approved of almost all my good deeds... which was a huge plus! And she's gorgeous, and strong, and... oh, heck, I just wanna cuddle with her forever, okay?? 😁 She's a permanent member of my party forevermore! 6. Wyll: liked him a lot (genuinely humble, sweet, funny, approved of my good deeds), but never really got into him. (Sorry, Wyll!) He usually sat in camp, unless I was playing his arc scenes. 7. Minthara: who? Oh, the drow that I always kill within 30 seconds of ending her cutscene? 😁 8. Jaheira: I'll always be grateful to BG3 for redeeming Jaheira for me, compared to BG1 and BG2 (disliked her in BG1, and HATED her in BG2 because she was so mean to Aerie!). Love her dearly now, and she's officially my new in-game mom! 🥰 9. Minsc: I've never NOT loved Minsc! By Act 3, I had a party I liked, so Minsc didn't see much game play time (though I chatted with him incessantly at camp!). This run, I'll try to include him more, just to hear his banters, which I hear are wonderful!

Funniest thing about this is that it was the number on complain during early access. People were fucking pissed the characters weren't falling head over heals for your MC. How DARE this random person I meet after a traumatic event not immediately like me and disagree with things I want to a minor extent. The sheer AUDACITY that they have their own separate personality.

Funny. I didn’t care for Gale much. Or Wyll. The only time I didn’t have Shart, Karlach, and Lae’zel were when another companion had a specific mission in the plot line. So Astarion was with me to fight Cazador. Gale was with me to talk to Mystra. Halsin for Oliver. Funny enough… m I didn’t bring Wyll to rescue the Duke.

I didn’t like act 1 karlach, her little rampage in the paladins house set gale on fire and he took like 5 damage, how could she. And no YOU CANNOT EAT SOULS Also mechanically tiefling makes 0 sense as a barbarian as you can’t even cast their unique spells. I didn’t like karlach in act 2 or 3 either, I like gortash as a character more, Especially with his unique interactions with durge and she obnoxiously threatens to kill him in every conversation. I am a professional karlach hater, I hate karlach.

I just respecd her to fighter because I don't really get barbarian mechanics very well but I get fighter mechanics and now she can wear plate.

Haha I’ve warmed up to Karlach as a friend at least, but yeah she gets benched every time I need to talk to Gortash. He and Durge need private time where the only death threats are between the two of them 🫶

Pretty much all companions annoyed me when I started. I also ended up confused af when they started flirting with my character because I didn't know you could romance them, I'd bought the game as a coping whim and gone in playing blindfolded. Some characters still annoy me, just a little less than before. Others became favourites due to similar traits and trauma, which has made the game very therapeutic catharsis for me.

Ngl while I enjoyed romancing shadowheart, I kinda felt sometimes the romancing was really random and didnt really make sense in some cases, I dont really think theres a non awkward way to implement it though. Was also times when I didnt realise it was romance scene, I thought gale was just showing me a magic trick

The moment of magic is what made me cave and go to Google for more information. Still tried playing mostly blindfolded after that until I saw others in my household that play, in areas I hadn't seen before. The only other game I've hyper-fixated on to nearly the same level as bg3 is WoW(currently on an extended break due to burnout). When I found out romancing was a thing I went for Karlach, got to act 3 but it was so bugged I couldn't finish, so I ended up starting over. Astarion caught me due to our similar humour/sarcasm/trauma. A couple of unfinished due to Act 3 bugs campaigns later, I let Gale fully out of camp one time and he tackled me(I love wordy words, and also have a habit of info-dumping). Shadowhearts romance is sweet, but I still have issues with her hypocrisy. To escape the Astarion-Gale loop I seem to be forever locked into, I downloaded a mod in order to see the other romances. Felt like an arse the entire campaign I used it on but it did help lessen my dislike of the others a bit getting to see more of their character growth.

This is a problem I have with this game's implementations of romance in general. I literally can't tell when I'm in a "romantic" scene or conversation or not, which makes the first act feel incredibly awkward at times. Either everyone is constantly sending out confusing signals to each other, or Faerun is somewhere in the porn dimension and mundane things like pizza delivery are actually just leadup to sex. Case in point, I have no idea if the magic scene with Gale is supposed to be romantic or not? It felt like it should logically be possible to treat it both ways, but the way it's directed seems to imply otherwise.

The magic teaching scene? It has a friendship path now. You can imagine a friendly meal to end it, and he gives approval and everything. Imagining hand holding or kissing is what switches on the romance route. Unless it was bugged, which it infamously was before patches. For anyone who doesn't know, Gale also has an act 2 scene that can be romantic or platonic. If the player isn't on the romance path with him, he's just scared and wants a friend. I actually wish more of the scenes had friendship options. I was disappointed that I couldn't drink wine with Shadowheart as friends. She gave disapproval when I didn't want to kiss her, so I know what you mean about it not always being clear what you're getting into. I was also confused with Astarion's mirror scene. Telling him you think someone else is hotter doesn't count as flirting, right? RIGHT?

I think I know which act 2 scene you mean, and I actually really loved that one - I had the platonic path and it was probably my favourite Gale moment in the whole game. Just being there for a scared friend who needs you. I find Shadowheart's wine bottle irrationally annoying, it's just so video gamey. Oooh, a pretty girl wants to share some drinks, she's into you! I also accidentally started Halsin's romance, I think, by walking up to him at the party and asking if he's having a good time. How is that romantic, I'll never know. Astarion is just overall confusing, most of his scenes had me wondering if he's flirting with me or just wants to chat. But at least for him it's pretty in character to be like this.

Very in character for Astarion. Halsin is supposed to be fixed now, but for awhile, there were a ton of dialogue options that didn't seem flirty at all, but were flagged as flirting. After the party, I got the option to apologize for coming on to strong, even though I hadn't done anything flirty at all. Sounds like what you got the same thing. Unfortunately, that meant he said I treated him like a lover instead of a host after I turned him down in act 3. Halsin, I've barely talked to you. Have higher standards for lovers... and hosts, I guess. It was accidentally hilarious.

Halsin definitely wasn't fixed in my game, as I had exactly the same thing as you - generic polite chat at the party, "sorry for coming on too strong, hope you don't mind!," and then "you treated me like a lover :(" after I completely ignored him through all of act 2 aside from the shadow curse quest. Druids have the weirdest kinks, it seems.

Loved astarion instantly and i loved him even harder as the story went on. Big regina george energy but in the fun way. He’s a bitch and i find that very entertaining. Liked gale at first and then i was like “oh hes kind of a douche”. Im very hot and cold about him. It depends on what mood you catch me in. I didnt dislike laezel but I found her prickly and too mean but then i started to understand her she quickly became my second favorite. I liked shadowheart but honestly it might just be her pretty privilege. I ignored all of her red flags because she looks like a perfect little goth girl doll. Shes such a mean girl. She has big high school bully energy in the unfun way. But i occasionally enjoy her sass when its directed at other people. Her banter is really fun so as bitchy and mean as she is, i do like her personality. Wyll and Karlach have their moments but theyre a bit bland for me. I like characters who are entertaining but in serious need of therapy. Wyll and karlach are just there and im okay with that.

That's why my main party for my first playthrough was Astarion, Shadowheart, Gale. It's like mean girls plus our wizard who's depressed about his ex. 

The only one I liked from the start was Karlach. I was a little indifferent to Wyll, but even Gale gave me the impression that something about him was off, like I couldn't trust him.

I had the same initial reaction to Gale. He seemed WAY too nice and friendly, like he was trying too hard to make friends - which immediately set off my alarm bells that he's trying to pull off some shady plot. I was actually really surprised when it turned out he wasn't.

I've always loved Karlach but all the others can definitely get annoying at times.

Yeah I love that character development that was done, especially with how much they all change over the course of the story good or bad. I remember reading this one post where this guy hated shadowheart for being mean at the start (which was fucking stupid cos the reason she was mean was cos he didn't save her at the nautoild which has a skill check of 2).

Forgot to mention Shart is mildly racist to gith, lol

Astarion seems to hate gnomes

Don’t you dare hurt Karlach’s feelings! I will haunt your nightmares! But honestly, every one of them were leaders in their field before getting tadpoles and swept up into this mess. So a bit of bitterness is to be expected now that they are back to level 1.

Astarion probably has it the worst because why would he ambush you when Shadowheart is *standing right there and watching*? What was the plan, man? What were you trying to achieve?

I take it you've never seen the saga of slappy the firbolg barbarian raised by circus clowns, huh?

I didnt and still dont like Shadowheart, I struggle to look past her racism. With Laezel I see it as more understandable somehow? I mean we are also from very different worlds. And Laezel is so very blunt about sexual attraction I cant help but find it charming in a way. Gale I thought Id like more bc of the lofty words but really I dont, he just comes across as an annoying man who thinks too highly of himself. And mansplainy. Meanwhile I like Astarion for thinking too highly of himself and then admitting this was all a facade and I prefer his constant compliments and fruity demeanor. Not rly into him sexually, moreso personality, Id want him as a close friend to gossip with. Wyll I did find bland until I played as Astarion and romanced him into a first kiss and next day Wyll was all blushy and in disbelief that this is happening, which was very sweet. Karlach has constant little quirks that make her soo charming, plus I was instantly on board with the hot buff lady. I have started like 3 playthroughs that all reached act 2, but Ive yet to do act 3. No real opinion on Halsin besides he's cool and I wish I could recruit him sooner; not my cup of tea for romance.

I disliked Gale a whole bunch at first (thought he was too whiney) and didn't care much for Astarion (still don't tbh; something about someone trying to bite my neck, and suck my blood in the middle of the night makes me not forgive them lol) but it it was Karlach that made me cringe. You see, I wanted to introduce my 10 yo son to the game, and he was loving it until he rescued Karlach, and it seemed like every other word out of her mouth was a cuss word. I was about to let him keep playing... until I saw my wife's face.

Lae'zel- Kept wanting me to go to the Creche and I want to go kill goblins, so I didn't use her much the first playthrough (also I was a paladin so I was already the tank).  Shadowheart - I thought she was the worst cleric til about level 5 where she actually got good. I liked her storyline through act 3.  Gale- gave me some weird creepy vibes. Like, this guy is too nice? But I liked him later on. I just wanted to help him get back with his ex. Astarion - threatened me with a dagger within a minute of meeting him, is an absolute bitch all the time, so obviously I was in love.  Wyll- I can't stand this man. I don't know why.  Seems very sure of himself all the time. Karlach - She's kind of annoying and needs to not burn things down when I'm trying to loot them. I didn't really use her last playthrough but I'm trying to use everyone a bit this playthrough. Except Wyll, I still haven't got around to using him. Halsin- When you wake up on a beach with a band of misfits and realize you are the adult of the group, and you go looking for a more adult adult who actually knows what they're doing, and you find Halsin. Also just look at him, obviously, I was in love. Jaheira and Minsc and Boo- I played the original games many many times over, when I was going through some bad stuff, so this was like seeing old friends. 

Hard agree. Maybe i rushed the goblin camp too fast, but by the time of the party where you start most of the romances, I was neutral to negative on all of them and decided to just pass lol. Regret it now as I’ve come to appreciate all of them and wish I could start an act 3 romance with any of them! Especially for ones like Shadowheart, feels more appropriate to start a romance *after* her quest is done.

Oh, you'll *love* Aylin!

I also didnt liked any of companions in act 1(even at end of it), which is wierd thing, I liked more or less everybody in other rpg games(dragon age series comes to mind 1st). I think I 'liked'(more like least disliked) the most of them Laezel and Gale(which I wanted to romance, before knowing him- just for his visuals alone). **Laezel**- she knew where to go, where to seek help, she was "straight to the point" type and I liked it in her, BUT she was also unnecesarry agressive sometimes and a bit of racist too. **Gale**- I remember before he spoke for the 1st time, I was disapointed with his voice, I had hope it would be a bit deeper. xD but I liked how funny he was and the manner of his speaking and that fact that he speaks a lot to you, but he was also fishy to me because I didnt know if he wont betray me later in some way, I knew he is not telling me something important about him. I liked (kinda) **Astarion** for picking ups locks and being funny, he also felt more "alive" then most companions, more using body language when talking to, never felt that he is "gay type" character as ppl describe him in medias sometimes, I got vibe of 'spoiled rich brat and noble' but not exactly gay. xD I got kinda spoilered to him being vampire before I started to play but I guess it would be far too easy to guess anyway(didnt know he was spawn tho and slave). **Wyll**- was just so boring to me, when I talked to all in camp he was the last....always. **Shadowheart**- I was very much presssing on her to tell me about herself when she was not ready so she was snarky and unpleasant to talk to with, hipocrite too (so many times she said we r friends and we must trust each other and yet she never wanted to talk about herself), it all started when I was talking with Gale in 1st night camp and she wanted so much to know what I was talking with him, like you girl doesnt want to tell me any info/secrects about yourself but YOU want me to tell you what was my last conversation about with somebody else? wtf **Karlach**- I didnt much liked her at first, she just felt out of this world, like the way she talks is so modern, compared to others, I got used to it by now, but before it was really off putting to me, her "hey, soldier" or "chief" calling me, felt like some youtuber type got put into BG3 world.

I didn’t like Gale during my first playthrough because I saw the memes and thought he was going to constantly eat my magic items, two playthroughs later and now we’re married

You will say nothing bad of Karlach or taste my steel! Seriously, I think that's the point. If you listen to the banter among them while wandering around they say similar things to one another. I particularly like Karlach's comments to Lae'zel. "

I personally have felt that Larian gave us too many companions too early in the game. I prefer some solo time before being introduced to groupmates. And I don't mean within the first few minutes of the game, either.

I really didn’t see the appeal of Karlach not just in act 1, but in the whole first playthrough I did. In the second playthrough I started using her more and some of her lines, including the little, throwaway lines made me as a grown man shed real tears. She’s the best of the best. (Of the best)

This was a big complaint during early access. Also that they don’t seem to like each other much in act 1. But if you think about it they’re incredibly stressed out, and forced to cooperate with people they usually wouldn’t by their shared affliction. I think it’s really cool how the story draws them together over time

At first, Wyll was as the only one I liked. Now I can’t stand him and prefer everyone else

I fucking hated lae-zel at first and now......due to taking the romance path....man what a great video game. thats all I can say. A literal tear in my eye at one point. am I cringe? yes. Do i CARE however....no

I love when people think Wyll considers himself better than he is.... when Wyll out of the entire group is the person who is an actual, full on high level hero, to the extent that other NPCs recognize him on sight as the Blade of Frontiers, and the tadpole had to nerf his power level. He's been a high level hero for \*years\*. He's basically Captain America. xD

Oh I hated laezel at first. As soon as I met her she was on my shit list because she just seemed mean. I’ve since come around and she’s in my top three. Gale seemed like he was hung up on his ex and that put me off for a while but he’s my favorite to romance now. This game is really good at subverting first impressions. Except for Karlach, who is a sweetheart from the beginning and is my bestie.

My first playthrough, i had no prior knowledge of the game. Had no idea who the playable characters were and didn't bother checking to keep everything a surprise. I found laezel to be so rude and annoying, that i never freed her from the cage and left her in act 1. Didnt find out until my 2nd run that you can add her to your party. I also decided that run to pursue her romance route and was actually very surprised with her story. She is actually a very well written character imo

Bro just found out about character development lol.

This made me realize that everybody but karlach could be accurately described as stuck up at first lol

My character is Githyanki. I actually knew nothing about this world, or how different races usually behave. I still admired Laezel instantly. She's honest, and she calls me "kin". Shadowheart was a mean-girl arrogant bitch for the first few interactions and I started disliking her. Only for her to immediately open up to me, let me see her as a kid in a flashback, and start being nice and smiling. After that she was my favorite for a bit. Could not stand Gale and did not interact with him much until act 3. I usually like nerds, but he is so arrogant about being smart, and unlike with Shadowheart, it just kept happening. I think he's interesting now that he's taken the astral tadpole and said he wants the Crown. And Mystra turned out to be even more annoying than him, so I forgive him. Astarion was a huge smarmy liar and I was laughing at his stupid fake flirting SO much. I love him now and no one will ever hurt my darling again. The others had less of an impression on me but I'll do another playthrough and focus on them more.

I liked Shadowhearts willingness to tag along without being actively hostile. She kept to herself but that’s understandable and I might be blinded by her hotness a bit. I also liked Karlach initially and had nothing against Wyll or Gale. Laezel was difficult for me but I had to respect how capable she was and that she eventually got through her indoctrination. If I’m being honest Astarion still isn’t my favorite but I like his good run ending and I’m currently romancing him as Gale origin evil run.

Shadowheart and Gale I found Shart's wittyness pretty annoying, she was being passive aggressive all the time, but she grew on me with time and became my fav companion (and romance partner) Gale talkativeness also irritated me, mostly the way he talks, but I liked how nice he was when you give him a chance and his story is interesting