[suggestion] Add more personalization and other details about Path Companions

[Abriael]

Path companions are, in my opinion, one of the very best features of FFXIV. They add more character and give more of a personal feeling to story-based quests, and they raised my enjoyment of those by quite a few notches.

The system, though, can be improved in my opinion.

- Implement a character creation system for path companions.
At the moment the choices we are given (only one character model per class/race) are very restrictive. I had to spend several hours to find one that fit my tastes, and even like that she doen't really fit them perfectly. If using the full fledged character creation available to playable character (with all the options) is too much for memory/server reasons, then use a simplified one. As simplified as it could be it would always be better than the current system, which is also very convoluted and long.
You can still offer some presets for the ones that don't want to create their own.

- Allow us to give equipment/weapons to path companions, having them wear it instead of their default.
Seriously, even if it's just cosmetic and stats aren't taken in account, it would still be an improvement over the current system, and would allow people to give path companions a personalized look that fits their tastes.
For instance, I would love to have a conjurer path companion, but the big witch cap they wear completely hides their features during cutscenes, and turned me off from the class. On the other hand I would have leant towards a lancer companion, but the Brass Elmo they use isn't... very appealing.
If I could chose the equipment looks of my companion things would be much more interesting, and the system is already in place for retainers, so I believe it's possible.

-Involve path companions in a wider variety of quests.
Path companions are, as I said before, a great addition to quests, should be, for our character, true companions. Involving them in cutscene-driven quests outside the main scenario quest would increase that bond and make it become a true "partner" character with more stage staying power.
edit: in addition to this, the path companion should be present in the storyline quests of ny further expansions that will be released (if SE plans to release them):

-Turn the companion system into one similar to the follower system in FFXI
(maybe down the line, due to possible complexity of implementation?) Allow us to summon our path companion during normal gameplay in a way similar to the follower in FFXI. It was great to be able to have an NPC on our side when we were alone in FFXI, and it would be even better in FFXIV considering that the involvment in storyline quests creates a deeper bond. For balancing reasons I would make it impossible to summon the companion when in groups (or when in groups over 2-3 people), also to avoid crowding.
Utimately I would implement a level-up system to path companions like the one present in FFXIV, allowing the companion to progress in levels and power with time.
The possibilities are really endless. Just think about a dueling system between companions in the coliseum, with the ability to bet gil on the outcome?
It would be awesome.

- More personalities
Or better, allow the player to chose personalities independentlt of race. I might want a mi'quote companion that doesn't sound like a streetwalker :P Or maybe a colder hyur.
Dialogue would need to be tweaked a little (removing mentions of the companion's race), but even just disjoining the current personalities with the available races would help a lot.

-Add marauder companions
I do know that they'd be kind of redundant with lancers, but what can I say, I like axes.

-Last but not Least. Romance
Bioware games (not to mention a lot of Japanese games) demonstrated that romance in RPGs is enjoyed by a lot of people, me included. After all romance has always been a BIG staple of Final Fantasy games, and this IS a Final Fantasy game.
MMORPG storylines normally don't involve romance, and it's a perfect chance to add an unique experience to FFXIV.
It could be in the shape of romance quests or similar, maybe optional (I'm sure there are some that might not be interested in it), that have the chance to switch the companion to a slightly tweaked set of dialogue during quest, hinting to the romantic involvement between the character and the companion. Maybe raise an affinity stat that has some minor effect in game as well.
After all, Japanese developers are the masters of romance in games, so I don't think I really need to elaborate much on this. They can probably come up with something interesting without my help

Basically the whole purpose of the aforementioned systems is to make companion into a full fledged system unique to Final Fantasy XIV, that would add a lot more depth both to gameplay and to the story/stories, while making companions a stable presence on the side of the player character, with which he develops an emotional bond, instead of just a minor "sidekick" that appears just during the main scenario, to disappear forever when the main scenario ends (which is very sad, it makes me want not to do that last quest).

Note: I would extend the customization system I mentioned above to retainers as well. Their choice features the same problems and convoluted system as companions.

[OJtheLIONKing]

Brilliant ideas here. I think the FFXI NPC was one of the best features in that game, and the Path Companion can be evolved into an even better system with these suggestions. As a minor addendum, maybe making the abilities used fully customizable would really help the companion compliment your skillset.

Nothing about the Armory system is one-size-fits-all, so companions shouldn't be either. While I'm not a programmer things like customizable appearance seem like they would be simple and relatively cheap man-hour wise to implement. I like the romance idea as well, there were always subtle shades of it with the SE-dubbed "expansion girls", and I noticed players in ffxi almost always picked opposite sex NPCs, so I think it would be a fun addition for a lot of people.

[Abriael]

yeah, I like the idea of a customization in the skillset as well. After all, the more customization and options we are given, the better

Of course I don't expect everything to be implemented at once. They can easily work on it gradually, adding one feature at a time and building up on the base.

About romance, who wouldn't want to relive a heart-warming love story like the ones between Celes and Locke, Cloud and Tifa or Cecil and Rosa in previous Final Fantasy Titles?

There's a lot of talk about bringing FFXIV back to it's Final Fantasy roots, and I think deep character interaction and romance are a big part of those roots and played a big role in drawing people towards the series. I think it's not so casual that the latest Final Fantasy titles, that toned down the romance, are also the most widely criticized for the lack of character progression and interaction.
The reintroduction of romance, IMHO, could play a factor in drawing FFXIV back towards it' roots and people back to the series.

[Arya]

Good job Abriael. Lots of nice ideas. I definitely agree that Path Companions are still an underused area that SE can exploit and expand.

[Abriael]

Thanks. I admit I wrote this a couple days ago and saved it for the opening of the official forums

[Mitsuhide]

Good Ideas.
They really should add more features to do with the Companion.
I think the system is perfect for Soloquests/dungeons and the Idea of a Romace Simulation is funny yet it could add more of a unique Personality.
Raise Friendship through Quests/dungeons e.t.c, I think its worth of trying this out and this would be an unique system in a MMO for sure.

[Vesper]

Let me dress-up my MiQ Slave girl... er lancer into a subligar and harness.... Yeah....

[Abriael]

Good Ideas.
They really should add more features to do with the Companion.
I think the system is perfect for Soloquests/dungeons and the Idea of a Romace Simulation is funny yet it could add more of a unique Personality.
Raise Friendship through Quests/dungeons e.t.c, I think its worth of trying this out and this would be an unique system in a MMO for sure.

Uniqueness is what would probably attract quite a few players, especially ones that come from the old guard of final fantasy fan, and that kinda miss the romance from there.
Funny enough, my inspiration from this came, more than from the companion system in FFXI (that was good, but a bit underdeveloped), from the nemesis system in Champions Online.
Of course a nemesis system wouldn't be as appropriate to final fantasy (that will probably be focusing on a single, big, world-changing evil power), so turning hate into love was the next natural step

Let me dress-up my MiQ Slave girl... er lancer into a subligar and harness.... Yeah....

Believe me or not, I have more of a thing for ladies in heavy Armor I'd much rather see my Hyur companion wearing full plate (with haubergeon, though, it looks better than the current plate chest).

[ObsidianRae]

I'm one who would love to choose a companion who is perfect for my tastes. Some of them are nice as is, but really, some of them just aren't that great. Mostly though, I'd love to dress them up with weapons as well as their clothes.

And as for romance, I want to see more emotes that can show this. I mean, if I want to hug someone? I can't. There doesn't even need to be a visual for it, as that would be so difficult to do. But just a bit of cute text, or maybe let me wink at someone. Anything like that. I'm rather surprised it's not already included. I mean, it's pretty harmless I would think.

[Blain]

I LOVE this idea!! When I first heard about the Path Companions I thought it was more along the lines of the Fellowship NPCs and was pretty disappointed when it wasn't. Also the part about a possible romantic theme with your Path Companion is a great idea as well! And your romantic involvement is based on how you answer certain questions would be a good way of choosing if you want to do that in the first place.