Today BioWare released more information about how character companions will work in Star Wars: The Old Republic, this time talking about how they can be controlled and what their role will be in group quests.
It’s been previously stated that players will be able to toggle on and off some controls when dealing with the companions and today BioWare revealed some of the options.
- Players may choose to disable some area-of-effect abilities when using crowd control or when fighting tough single enemies.
- Players may activate special modes or stances for their companion, causing them to focus more on damage or tanking, or on a single target versus groups of enemies.
- Players may want to manually activate buffs and powerful special abilities on long cooldowns, as opposed to letting the companion pick when to use their most powerful attacks.
When discussing group quests, it was revealed that players will be able to use their companion characters as group members. So if two players join up, they can complete a four player group quest by using their companions.
While BioWare mentioned companions can be used in group quests, they also stated they won’t be as effective. For example if a group requires 4 players and two players decided to use their two companions to try to complete it, they “may find it impossible altogether“, where as a group of three with one companion might have to make several attempts.
This is great news for solo players as they should be able to complete at least some group quests using their companions; and lets be honest, people are crafty, I’m sure some will figure out how to beat a few 3 or 4 player quest solo as well.