Skyrim - The PROBLEM with the Companions Faction & Questline.

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.

SOCIAL MEDIA:

[melledevries]

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

[rainbowsnail]

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?"

[GermanKinsmen]

The fact that you can't say no to the beast blood always pissed me off. "No one rules anyone" my ass.

[Heishinigami]

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.

[chaostheory]

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....

[AfaqueAhmed_]

Aela :- They make easy prey .
Silver hands :- Literally whole of their stronghold is just filled with dead werewolf heads and bodies .

[torinjones]

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.

[feli-the-sunfairy]

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.

[KGBBooks]

“Speak to Eorlund if you want a better weapon than... whatever that is.”
“It’s Mehrune’s Razor.”

[TailsPrower]

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

[ittiumimmortal]

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

[dawsonwelsh]

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

[arkuler]

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.

[hamzaferoz]

Companions Should have been THE faction of Skyrim. They should have had a Questline just like what the Dawnguard had.

[unholychazer]

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.

[morganable]

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."

[SomeCanine]

Silver hand: "Which one is that?"
Silver hand: "Doesn't matter. He wears that armor, he dies!"
Farkas standing there in normal steel armor

[grimwill]

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.

[masmustacheo]

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?"

[breslinpt]

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