While I enjoy SWTOR reasonably well so far one thing that truly annoys me is that I cannot chose to have a companion or not. The idiot who I have detested since second one is all of a sudden rammed down my throat as a best buddy. It's beyond me how a modern MMO can have a "forced" pet instead of simply a choice from a range that I have the option to ignore. I can dismiss a companion momentarily, of course, but at some times they really are needed or simply repop upon respawn or such.

So, is there any way to permanently get rid of them (rack up enough dislike points or w/e they are called) or any hints that Bioware will introduce such an option? It might sound silly but it's one of those annoying things that have led me to avoid for example Dragon Age and together with other issues in SWTOR (like the slow response on controls) it might make me dump this game.

They're an integral part of the game - they talk to you, provide you with quests, help you with combat, and perform your crafting. The AI is pretty good on them - and you pretty much only have to pay as much attention to controlling them as you wish to, really.

Shucks, though. If you don't like companions, the best you can do is just dismiss them - they won't pop up again to help you in combat without you resummoning them. It'll make the game harder, and certainly very much so past a certain level.

I do know that they are part of the game. And I am not dismissing the mechanic as such rather that it is a forced choice (why not a pop up, "Do you want X to be your new companion, Yes/No?". To me that is just as bad design as being forced to play a certain class or have the game pick your apperance. The type of compaion do say something about your choice of character (playstyle, mode (dark/light) or such).

I'm not sure what you're getting at. Every game has people making choices - that's like, the essence of what a game is. Even Angry Birds is about choices. And yet.. Angry Birds doesn't let you make a choice about throwing alligators using catapults; that's not what the game is about.

Companions - and their stories, is a good part of what SWTOR is about. Complaining about that is like complaining about the avian biases of certain iOS games.. .

I do know that they are part of the game. And I am not dismissing the mechanic as such rather that it is a forced choice. To me that is just as bad as being forced to play a certain class or have a certain apperance because the type of compaion do say something about your choice of character (playstyle, mode (dark/light) or such).

No, it is not a forced choice. You can play the game without them, just don't expect to be able to do it very well... In some instances, yes, you might have to have a companion with you for certain interactions or dialogs, then dismiss it afterwards... And just use them as your crafting table...

Sounds to me, that you don't want to play this game... Being "forced" to play a certain class? You can pick any class you like... any...

Not sure what you mean about "have a certain apperance because the type of companion". Your apperance you choose yourself and if you don't like the dark/light side options, make sure you stay away from them... you can even turn off the Sith corruption...

Your rant seems misplaced and again I don't get why you would even consider playing this game

That was quite a bit of hate for not liking one part of the game. I'm ranting and should go play something else for being annoyed by something and asking a question about it.

To clarify, what I mean by forced choice is that, for example, as a Smuggler you end up with Corso Riggs as a companion after the first 8-10 levels. That is not a choice. He is set up by the game as a companion. However much his actions (comments) have clashed with how I played earlier - and all the snydeful remarks I have given him - we are all of a sudden best buds.

You have a free choice of class, of playstyle and how your character looks. I am hoping for some freedom in the choice of companion. Therefore my question on this forum. A simple "no, you can't chose" or "No, you can't ever dismiss them for good" would have been enough. But fanboys are fanboys I presume...

If you don't want comments on your post, and us speculating about why you are asking the things you are, you should specifiy what you need from the community.

If it was just a simple yes or no answer; No

I assume you are aware that you get more companions as you progress so as you go through the game you will be able to choose from a number of companions as to which one you prefer to use?

Complete list of all companions, what gifts they like to receive and their functions.

Spoiler heavy site, so don't enter if you don't want to know what your getting!

You don't have to be best buds with your companion even if he's there. For example, with Sith Warriors, you get a companion who is a slave. She has a shock collar. You can choose to shock her every time she opens her mouth. You can also choose to free her and treat her with respect.

I know you can't get rid of him, but you don't have to look at it like you're best friends either.

While I enjoy SWTOR reasonably well so far one thing that truly annoys me is that I cannot chose to have a companion or not. The idiot who I have detested since second one is all of a sudden rammed down my throat as a best buddy. It's beyond me how a modern MMO can have a "forced" pet instead of simply a choice from a range that I have the option to ignore. I can dismiss a companion momentarily, of course, but at some times they really are needed or simply repop upon respawn or such.

 

So, is there any way to permanently get rid of them (rack up enough dislike points or w/e they are called) or any hints that Bioware will introduce such an option? It might sound silly but it's one of those annoying things that have led me to avoid for example Dragon Age and together with other issues in SWTOR (like the slow response on controls) it might make me dump this game.

If you had read anything about the game before buying you would have known that the game was designed around having a companion. You can quest without them but you'll have an extremely hard time getting anywhere.

You start off with one companion but by the time you're 50 you'll have 5 companions to choose from. The reason you can't pick who your companion is though is because these companions come through the story line, they can't put a variable in there.

If you really don't want them dismiss them and don't summon them again but you're probably better off just dumping the game since companions are an integral part of it.

That was quite a bit of hate for not liking one part of the game. I'm ranting and should go play something else for being annoyed by something and asking a question about it.

 

To clarify, what I mean by forced choice is that, for example, as a Smuggler you end up with Corso Riggs as a companion after the first 8-10 levels. That is not a choice. He is set up by the game as a companion. However much his actions (comments) have clashed with how I played earlier - and all the snydeful remarks I have given him - we are all of a sudden best buds.

 

You have a free choice of class, of playstyle and how your character looks. I am hoping for some freedom in the choice of companion. Therefore my question on this forum. A simple "no, you can't chose" or "No, you can't ever dismiss them for good" would have been enough. But fanboys are fanboys I presume...

You sir are obviously in the lower percentile, this game is not designed just for you and you completely lose any credibility( if you had any in the first place) when you spout the tired term "fanboy". That remark in itself is an indication that you yourself are quite noobish and you further perpetuated this with your OP saying that implemented game mechanics are "bad decisions".

This is how the game is... of you don't like it move on, but when someone points out your fallacies that does not make them "tired adolescent internet memes".

You mark yourself as someone not to listen to when you use these tired cliches, it's the mark of an unoriginal individual who lacks creativity and is a follower who can not think for themself.

That was quite a bit of hate for not liking one part of the game. I'm ranting and should go play something else for being annoyed by something and asking a question about it.

 

To clarify, what I mean by forced choice is that, for example, as a Smuggler you end up with Corso Riggs as a companion after the first 8-10 levels. That is not a choice. He is set up by the game as a companion. However much his actions (comments) have clashed with how I played earlier - and all the snydeful remarks I have given him - we are all of a sudden best buds.

 

You have a free choice of class, of playstyle and how your character looks. I am hoping for some freedom in the choice of companion. Therefore my question on this forum. A simple "no, you can't chose" or "No, you can't ever dismiss them for good" would have been enough. But fanboys are fanboys I presume...

I know exactly what you mean and I do agree with you; we should have the choice to say "No, get off my ship and don't come back!". There are some companion characters I do like in SWTOR, some that have grown on me and others I can't stand - like Gault. Bioware's Mass Effect series is very similar in that you are "forced" to have specific characters in your crew, yet you can choose which characters you want on your missions. I actually liked all the Mass Effect characters (or at least most of them) so it wasn't as big of a deal. However, I do think Bioware missed the mark in making the SWTOR characters (including your playable one) feel as "realistic" as they do in Mass Effect; I think it is due to the lack of dialog between the characters.

There is an alternative: When you've finished your second planet (Coruscant or Dromund Kaas) you get a starship and on the ship there's a robot who can technically travel as your compaion. There is no faction with him. He doesn't care one way or another what you do, and best of all, he heals you. I mean, not very well and, often times, he'll run up to mobs and start punching them for zero damage as he can't be equipped with a weapon, but it is an alternative. When doing quests on later planets (third one on up) the NPC quest givers will even offer equipment upgrades for him.

So there you go because believe me, I feel your pain about companions who don't gel with your character. Kaliyo (the Imperial Agent's first companion for the first 30 levels-until the end of Act 1) hated my guts. Over thirty levels with her and I had MAYBE 2500 affection with her.

I assume you are aware that you get more companions as you progress so as you go through the game you will be able to choose from a number of companions as to which one you prefer to use?

This! You will get more companions as you level, and can choose to use any of them that you would like (or none if you really prefer, but as others have mentioned it does make the game a lot harder).

I sympathize on Corso. I found him to be a bit on the annoying side as well. After a few levels you will get another option (besides the droid who really isn't meant as a companion) that you will likely find much more appealing. By the time all is said and done you will have 5 companions plus the ship droid to choose from, which should give you some options and choices that you will like.