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[Icy Magebane]

yeah Vivienne and Blackwall especially could have been a lot more important to the plot in an organic way definitely missed potential

its like they pandered to the people who just because they hate certain characters don't want them to be a part of the main story in a meaningful way so they made most companions as pointless (for the overall story) as possible

They didn't pander to anybody.  A lot of people have hated Leliana since DA:O and she's one of the most important characters in the game (and Morrigan, for that matter, and you cannot refuse to work with either of them).  It's far more likely that just didn't want to put in the work required to tie all 9 companions to the main quest in a meaningful way.

[Hanako Ikezawa]

I think they seem more important for two reasons: 

 

First, they are not optional. This is why even Varric and Solas seem to overshadow the other companions because the writers know they will be there and thus can work them in n important role. 

 

Second, the companions are just members of the Inquisition while Cassandra and the advisers are the leaders of it. Eventually you become the main leader, but their importance remains. Cassandra is basically your executive officer and the advisers are your tactician, spymaster, and ambassador. They each represent an entire aspect of the Inquisition. Meanwhile your other companions are just that, people who accompany you on the journey. 

[ThreeF]

yeah Vivienne and Blackwall especially could have been a lot more important to the plot in an organic way definitely missed potential

its like they pandered to the people who just because they hate certain characters don't want them to be a part of the main story in a meaningful way so they made most companions as pointless (for the overall story) as possible

 

Thing is with the exception of Cassandra, Varric and Solas all other companions are optional. They went for a different format here, you choosing who to recruit vs them leaving you.

 

However I think they are not any less pointless than the previous companions, there were much more pointless companions in the past, imo.

[kaidanluv]

I don't feel like all the companions need to have a central role in the plot, or decision-making in general. They are, after all, called companions - some should just be there to tag along, whatever their reasoning for it, and I felt most had a good reason to be there.

[Icy Magebane]

most people liked them they are fan favourites after all this forum is hardly representative of all the DA fans

there is a reason they brought Leliana, Morrigan and Alistair back for big roles and Zevran, Sten or Oghren not

My point is that the writers have a plan and they are going to follow it regardless of what the fans think.  If you truly believe that they care about pandering to people who dislike being around certain NPCs and that's why party members aren't more central to the plot, then maybe you need to read some of the comments the writers have made on these forums and reconsider your views.

[earymir]

I don't think they were pointless, and I think the writing for all of them was actually really good.  None of them are weak characters.   I just never really felt like most of them were "part" of the Inquisition or really lived up to their potential (or their advertisements/trailers which had them in scenes that never occurred, and in large groups that never occurred...).  

 

Like when I finished DA:O, DA:2, and all the MEs, I just felt like I was part of a big group with companions and I "cared" about them.  In DA:I they just didn't have that effect on me and seemed tacked on (except as I mentioned above).  It'd just be a stronger story and game if they were more integral, I think.  

[LadyofClockwork7]

Solas blew everyone out of the water.

[Korva]

I'm of two minds on having characters as 1) non-optional and 2) closely connected to the main story. On one hand, when it works, it works very well for both the character in question and the story. On the other hand, when it doesn't work -- mainly defined, for me, by whether or not I like the character -- it's a teeth-grating, immersion-ruining disaster. Morrigan falls squarely into the latter category for me: I hated her in Origins, and I hate the fact that she's back again even more.

 

The problem is that it's probably impossible to write a character whom everyone gets along with, if not outright enjoys. What is one player's perfect-Twoo-Wuv is another player's where's-my-murder-knife, and yet another player's meh-all-right. I think Bioware is getting better at giving non-optional characters a wider appeal, but the more non-optional characters you have, the harder that gets to pull off. Back in the days of KotOR, Carth and Bastila were so obviously written to appeal to (straight) opposite-gender players first and foremost that playing a same-gender PC or one not interested in "romancing" them left many people with a sour taste in their mouth due to lack of real bonding and shared development from such a central NPC. In comparison, Solas and Cassandra are much better fleshed-out for everyone's enjoyment.

 

As for the original topic, I think Bioware pulled off the three advisors pretty well (not Morrigan, because see above). They fill their own niche and aren't really in a "competition" with the companions, who fill another role. Though it would have been good as well as logical to see more of the companions tied more tightly into certain story parts -- not in a crucial manner, so the choice of whether to recruit them remains a choice, but as a bonus, as a way to make something easier or more interesting or more fleshed-out.

 

If anything, it was Hawke and the Warden who annoyed me by overshadowing my companions during Here Lies the Abyss. They hog almost all the non-player lines, and that grinded my gears because I wanted more Cassandra/Solas/Cole, not more bickering from these two outsiders I simply didn't care for.

[9TailsFox]

I think opposite. Because Josi is not companion her romance was very bad short and boring. Cass romance was great and well integrated with full Cass arc romance or not. My male human mage friendship with Solas was better bromance then Josi. And i agree on companions not important to plot. We have only Solas, well Cass makes Inquisition, that's all other Companions can be easy replaced.

[Kage]

I agree, I wished I could have taken Cullen out with me instead of Blackwall or Iron Bull, since he was much more part of the main story.

And I felt disapointed by the short development of other companions which seemed very interesting but rushed, like Cole.

[ewauksonian]

I mean, Vivienne is supposedly one of the major advisors to the Empress and isn't even a required companion for Wicked Hearts.  So weird.  Given the rest of her personality I'm not sure why she didn't INSIST and then have a huge part to play in the quest.  Also she has strong opinions on Morrigan... so many missed opportunities there!

As blunt as Vivienne usually is, she can be still be indirect in some of her statements where she's being direct and indirect at the same time. Reading between the lines, you get the idea that she doesn't really know Celene that well. She implies this if you ask how well she knows her. She also implies she doesn't particularly care about Celene. She doesn't disapprove at all if you let Florianne kill Celene, but slightly disapproves if you appoint Gaspard or greatly disapproves if you appoint Brlala (this is according to the Prima Guide, which has some missing info or can be wrong). It is also implied that Celene and Vivienne aren't that close despite being Celene appointing Vivienne as the Court Enchanter, considering Celene eventually takes Morrigan on as an advisor. I suspect Vivienne and Celene are merely allies because they do not often conflict with each other and agree enough generally, but neither are they are close. 

 

However, reading more between the lines, I always got the sense, while Vivienne was a formidable player in the "Game", having her there really made me see that she was neither the most powerful or even of the best players of the "Game". I suspect she reached her limits within the "Game", and that she was no longer going to reach any further because of the limits of her position and power at the time. I also suspect some of the reasons she wanted to join the Inquisition as either way to further herself in the "Game", or to seek other avenues of power and influence (you have the chance to make her Divine).

[zeypher]

Any character that is not a companion can always be developed better. Cut out romance stuff, reduce the number of companions to get better overall quality. I do not care if my opinion is considered heresy, there is a big reason people loved Roche and Iorveth and even Letho in witcher 2 cause they behaved like actual people. Companions never get to be that. It was the same reason the advisers were better because they could develop independently without being overshadowed by being a companion and the PC.

 

So in future cut out the romance and do reduce the number of companions as i rather have quality companions that a dozen since I can only use 3 of them anyways.

[Korva]

I'd love for them to cut the romances and invest the saved resources into character development that everyone can enjoy, but, yeah, I don't see that going over well.

[9TailsFox]

I'd love for them to cut the romances and invest the saved resources into character development that everyone can enjoy, but, yeah, I don't see that going over well.

I imagine.

[Fufunette]

Bull is a hook to the Qun storyline,  Viviene is the third option for Divine and she also provides an alternative insight for Mages quest. They all have a function related to the story some more direct, some less.

 

There isn't one character in DAI that is there just to fill a quota.

But we don't need the Qun. We don't even need an army. We killed Cory with only 4 guys. Cory failed everythings in his long life...

 

And the only good divine beyond the Inquisition, it's mother Giselle. Vivienne or Leliana or Cass are just illusionnal choices to make the player feeling he has an important choice to do. What choice ? Between a psycho schizophreniac sister of the chantry, a mage who can't even understand her own race or a Seeker who can't even interrogate a story teller ? xd Seriously and suddenly, those 3 become the ultimate choice for the Divine ? Hmm Magic.

 

 

If the game has some reall threat, real tactical and military choices, those char could be really important. Involved in the Inquisition.

I can imagine (me, a simple gamer, not even a writer... xd) a big war against Cory and his demon/darkspawns whatever, where Iron Bull could finally use his charge or Qun agents, where Vivienne could have mages or templar under her order, where Black could have wardens not exiled under his order, and where Sera could have some Jenny's agents etc... And then, we'd have to decide who fights what etc....

 

But no. Cory came to die, and we only need to be 4 to smash this dumb.... x_x

 

I don't say those char are bad. I like them. But the story didn't make them involved into the Inquisition as Cullen or Leliana...   And that's why they feel like... expendable. Vivienne can leave now and nothing will change in the Inquisition.

[Riladel]

Well, its Leliana and Cullen we are talking about, so I think yes, it really seems sometimes that they are overshadowed companions. But actually this is not right. It can seems like that only because you know these two from previous games and maybe somehow more focused on them then on others new characters. But actually all the characters are pretty interesting and to understand that one need to speak with all of them really often and read all codex so its possible to see the whole picture.

 

Spoiler

BTW speaking of Sera, I saw lots of opinions and even some seemed to be real
facts that can lead to conclusion that Sera has a spirit from Fade inside her or
even a spirit of Andruil. This could be possible

 

As for me the least interesting characters in this game were Blackwall and Josephine.

[ThreeF]

But we don't need the Qun. We don't even need an army. We killed Cory with only 4 guys. Cory failed everythings in his long life...

 

No, in the game we don't need Qun, but DA was always about lore, exploring different cultures, offer a moral dilemma, Bull's role is to flesh out the DA universe, all previous games had these type of characters. In DAO you could have the bare minimum of Alistair and Morigan for the story to work, DA2 could work with only Anders, Isabella and Varric. DAI only really needs the advisors, Cassandra, Solas, Varric and Vivienne.

[Fufunette]

I explained already why Inquisition is different from DAO and DA2. ^^  And Vivienne is totally expendable too. She doesn't do anything during the Winter Palace part... <.< It's not because she's part of a "choice", she becomes important to the Inquisition. Well, it's not even inquisition matter... xd

[Melyanna]

 

Anyone else think that the advisors overshadow the companions?

 

Not really. In fact, I was afraid thar the advisors wouldn't have enough screen time and involvement, but I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the case.
I think that the importance given to advisors and companions is really well balanced: those who don't have a very specific involvement with the main plot bring up many points of discussions that are closely related to the decisions you make and to how the world the Inquisitor lives in is evolving, so they still add a lot to the experience.

[Bob Walker]

Off topic:

If Josephine could fight along the Inquisitor, what would be her weapon of choice? That Ipad from the Dark Ages she carries with her all the time?

[Gunslinger01101]

There's a reason my general purpose group comp is Cassandra, Varric, and Solas. The only downside is missing out on some pretty good companion interactions. Like Solas and Vivienne sparring constantly trying to outmagesmart each other.

Also, are there any three-party companion banters? Like Dorian, Solas, and Viv or something?