The Lydia Manual

[ShapelessHorr0r]

whoa guys, don't get mad over a little follower vs. follower issue. From experience, you and I have learned the only differences between followers are race, carry weight, and there profession (archer, mage, or warrior).

 

[Adam Warlock]

^ Put Annekke Crag-Jumper in some Forsworn armor and tell me there are no differences.
If the stats/skills do not vary significantly , then it IS the look and dialogue that makes one a favorite over another.
Actually , Lydia`s whining about trades is no worse than Marcurio`s , Brelyna`s , etc.
A wisecracking/complaining sidekick is a staple of fantasy adventures and not everyone wants a G.I. Joe who is uber-enthusiastic all the time

 

[Jersey Dagmar]

The thing is, Marcurio is actually good at what he does. So, I can let the wisecracking slide. Lydia is just moody and stupid. A terrible mix if I ever saw one.

 

[Dagmar]

The thing is, Marcurio is actually good at what he does.

So are the Housecarls. If you mean that melee fighters in general get in your line of fire then you should know that you can duplicate Marcurio's fighting style with almost any follower by simply giving them a staff. The AI for many melee combat followers, including the Housecarls, prioritizes staves ahead of all other ranged weapons, even a Legendary Daedric Bow so they will happily blast away at your enemies with any destruction magic staff you give to them. They sometimes will even proactively loot them off of the dead bodies of mages to use them during combat.

If you mean that they don't appear to be very good at melee combat then you simply don't know how to use melee combat followers very well.

 

[Jersey Dagmar]

So are the Housecarls. If you mean that melee fighters in general get in your line of fire then you should know that you can duplicate Marcurio's fighting style with almost any follower by simply giving them a staff. The AI for many melee combat followers, including the Housecarls, prioritizes staves ahead of all other ranged weapons, even a Legendary Daedric Bow so they will happily blast away at your enemies with any destruction magic staff you give to them. They sometimes will even proactively loot them off of the dead bodies of mages to use them during combat.

If you mean that they don't appear to be very good at melee combat then you simply don't know how to use melee combat followers very well.

Seriously, Dagmar, who the hell cares?

You like, Lydia, fine. Good for you. But, people are allowed to not like her and not choose to use her as a follower. I've had nothing but terrible experiences with her. And the Housecarls in general are boring. I want someone with personality following me around. Not some drone who was commanded to do my bidding. Now, please, stop being an insufferable know-it-all.

 

[Rakmon]

From what I understand about followers, Lydia is actually very good - if you get her at a high enough level. Most people end up getting her at level 5, so she dies quite quickly. Now if you ignore the main quest and don't get her until, say, level 50, then she's very helpful. See

 

[Dagmar]

Seriously, Dagmar, who the hell cares?

Apparently you do since you felt compelled to respond. If you don't like Lydia that's fine, but saying "Marcurio is actually good at what he does" as if it somehow distinguishes him is pure horsepl***.

This thread is supposed to be about addressing follower issues. It got derailed by a rather juvenille and inaccurate off-topic statement by another poster and then got further derailed by Morgan who decided to take it further off-topic by talking about what constitutes a good follower. I tried to put it back on topic by talking about follower mechanics but if you want to make it all about follower bashing then have fun with that.

 

[M'aiqaelF]

Apparently you do since you felt compelled to respond. If you don't like Lydia that's fine, but saying "Marcurio is actually good at what he does" as if it somehow distinguishes him is pure horsepl***.

This thread is supposed to be about addressing follower issues. It got derailed by a rather juvenille and inaccurate off-topic statement by another poster and then got further derailed by Morgan who decided to take it further off-topic by talking about what constitutes a good follower. I tried to put it back on topic by talking about follower mechanics but if you want to make it all about follower bashing then have fun with that.

y so serious dagmar????

 

[Jersey Dagmar]

Apparently you do since you felt compelled to respond. If you don't like Lydia that's fine, but saying "Marcurio is actually good at what he does" as if it somehow distinguishes him is pure horsepl***.

This thread is supposed to be about addressing follower issues. It got derailed by a rather juvenille and inaccurate off-topic statement by another poster and then got further derailed by Morgan who decided to take it further off-topic by talking about what constitutes a good follower. I tried to put it back on topic by talking about follower mechanics but if you want to make it all about follower bashing then have fun with that.

You're the one who can't handle people not liking Lydia, as you're compelled to constantly spreadsheets and statistics. And Marcurio is good at what he does, he's a Mage, last time I checked Lydia wasn't. And those Staffs you pointed out eventually run out of charge and become useless unless you have come soul gems. However, it the grand scheme of things, it comes down to personal preference. Not everyone is going to agree with you Dagmar.

And the title of this thread is 'The Lydia Manual'. So, if I say Lydia sucks, I'm still on topic. Because I mentioned Lydia, and her name is in the title.

 

[Dagmar]

You're the one who can't handle people not liking Lydia

No, I'm the one pointing out game mechanics and objective information about Lydia to counter incorrect statements about her combat abilities put out by other players. Implicit in your statement that Marcurio is good at what he does is that Lydia isn't good at what she does, which simply isn't true but is a commonly held notion by players who don't understand that followers skills are supposed to level up or who don't know that the bug can be fixed with the Wabbajack or console commands. In that context statements like yours only serve to perpetuate that misguided notion not just about Lydia, but followers in general.

The point of the spreadsheet on follower statistics is to show where followers stand in terms of skills and stats relative to one another once they've reached their full potential so players that want to use followers to assist them in combat can pick and choose followers based on their needs and combat strategy. You might be dismissive of it but it's a useful resource to have for most players.

Staves run out of magic but spellcasters run out of Magicka faster in battle and recharging staves isn't a big deal for most players. It's also still useful information to have, especially for game console users who can't remove the low level default bow that a lot of followers carry in their inventory and will use over any better bow given to them. When it comes to game mechanics, it's not a matter of personal preference as to how they work and if I see someone putting out incorrect information about that I'm going to point it out. If someone wants to disagree with the accuracy of the information that's their prerogative but that's why I often backup that information with hard data. People can see that and draw their own conclusions regardless of others posting to the contrary.

 

[Jersey Dagmar]

Big giant wall of text

I think people should just play the game and decide for themselves. Without constantly worrying about stats and whatnot. When a player starts to worry about that kind of stuff, the game becomes less fun and more of a chore. Becomes like work. Lydia is garbage in my eyes, and the same goes for the rest of the Housecarls. You can throw whatever statistics you want at me, Dagmar, but I don't give two plopss. I've had Lydia die on me more than any other follower. When it comes to followers that can die, I usually stick to Maurcio or Cosnach. Maurcio has died on me once, Cosnach has never died on me.

Personal experience speaks volumes too, not just statistics. And I've spoken to many people who have had the same problems with Lydia. And I refuse to believe we are incompetent when it comes to handling our followers.

 

[M'aiqaelF]

jersey droppin knowledge yo!

 

[Morgan]

This thread is supposed to be about addressing follower issues. It got derailed by a rather juvenille and inaccurate off-topic statement by another poster and then got further derailed by Morgan who decided to take it further off-topic by talking about what constitutes a good follower.

For once, I'm not the one identified as juvenile. Result!

I was having fun engaging in a friendly debate over a topic that was identified in the main thread. I was under the impression Dagmar was operating under the same spirit, although I can't know for sure. I hope so though. In any case, some of the other posts on the topic have been decidedly unfriendly.

Therefore, back to original topic: followers blocking doors and followers engaging in battle from quite far out are the two main things that keep me from employing one full-time. I know you can charge at them to move them, but that doesn't help if you're sneaking or overburdened. Standing right up against them doesn't work all the time, at least not while sneaking, and even when it does it still takes a few seconds, which might be the few seconds it takes that draugr deathlord to wander into the room and see you. Another thing, related to blocking doors, is that apparently the follower AI likes them to live right up the Dragonborn's ass. There's nothing more frustrating than taking the time to line up a perfect shot, only to have Faendal finally catch up and jostle you right as you release, pushing the shot wide. If anyone knows a way to get them to leave a little room for the holy spirit, I'd be pleased to hear it.

 

[Jersey Dagmar]

jersey droppin knowledge yo!

It's not knowledge, just simple personal experience. There's something to be said when Lydia constantly dies and other followers manage perfectly well.

 

[Chryss]

Aside from all of the above, my Lydia usually ends up at the Blades, if she lives that long. My recent adventures in Dwarven ruins have justified that for me. I had her pick up a few dwarven metal items to change into ingots. I believe she had 4 pieces. When the dwarven spiders came, she just stood there. Did nothing to defend herself. i tried to remove the items form her inventory and she still stood there, sword sheathed even tho mine was out and battle ready. I dismissed her and she went home.
It was a huge dissapointment as I can no longer depend on her when i give her items to carry.

 

[Dagmar]

Personal experience speaks volumes too...

It speaks to the fact that your playthrough pattern is fairly consistent when it comes to when you do the Dragon Rising quest and when you first walk into the Bee and Barb. As previously stated, the reason why you and many other players experience what your experiencing is because followers stats fix to their level when you first enter their cell and wont change when they level up due to their stat reset scripts being bugged. You'd more or less get the reverse results if you reversed the timeline for when you enter the Bee and Barb and when you complete Dragon Rising.

You can characterize it any way you want but whether you don't want to be bothered to fix or don't know how to fix their bugged leveling doesn't change the fact that when it's corrected the Housecarls perform as well as or better than any other melee follower in the game. It's incorrect and misleading to imply that their skills and stats, i.e. their performance is always going to be the same in every playthrough let alone to imply that they're immutable.

 

[Dagmar]

...I had her pick up a few dwarven metal items to change into ingots. I believe she had 4 pieces. When the dwarven spiders came, she just stood there. Did nothing to defend herself. i tried to remove the items form her inventory and she still stood there, sword sheathed even tho mine was out and battle ready...

If you load a follower with more weight than their carrying capacity by having them pick items up they sometimes wont be able to draw their weapons. As you discovered, taking the excess weight off them may not fix it. Supposedly entering a new area will fix it.

 

[Slow Rider]

I rarely use an ignore feature in a public forum, but every now and then it needs to be dusted off. This thread is much more pleasant now.

 

[Medea]

Follow Me!: The Best Followers in Skyrim with TrendKiLLv01 (Skyrim Gameplay/Commentary) - YouTube

I already posted this on the essential followers thread, but felt it needed to be posted here too, to put to rest any arguments over who the "best" followers actually are.

 

[Jersey Dagmar]

Follow Me!: The Best Followers in Skyrim with TrendKiLLv01 (Skyrim Gameplay/Commentary) - YouTube

I already posted this on the essential followers thread, but felt it needed to be posted here too, to put to rest any arguments over who the "best" followers actually are.

There is no 'best follower', because much of it comes down to personal experience and opinion. If you want to get technical, the best followers can be the ones who do not die. At all.