Skyrim talk:Followers/Archive 6

This is an archive of past Skyrim talk:Followers discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page, except for maintenance such as updating links.

Can Followers use racial Powers?

I use Janessa (a lot!), but I've never seen her use Ancestor's Wrath. Does anyone know if followers will use racial powers?--24.43.87.114 17:18, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

If they can, I've never seen it. ThuumofReason 17:19, 19 April 2012 (UTC)

No, they unfortunately do not. I believe the only exception to the "racial powers" might be the Argonian follower, who can use Waterbreathing. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 17:25, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

Fortify Healing Rate (Magicka/Stamina)

Does giving a follower an item with "Fortify Healing Rate" or Fortify Magicka Rate" work or does it have no effect like fortify combat skill/carry weight/etc...? The list specifies that followers can use "Fortify Health" or "Fortify Magicka" but says nothing about an item with an increased regeneration factor. (In my particular case, I made a Silver Amethyst Ring with "Health regenerates 100% faster & Magicka regenerates 200% faster"). The same question obviously applies to Fortify Stamina Rate as well, I was simply referring to my particular case. If this is already answered then I apologize ahead of time. The G00D Job 20:34, 21 April 2012 (UTC)

I checked it using the console (getav healrate, staminarate, magickarate) and it didn't show any changes. It's 0.7, 5, 3 always, no matter the level or follower. I looked at level 15 Faendal and level 30 Uhtgerd, and showed the same numbers. 217.121.86.187 00:23, 2 May 2012 (UTC)

I understand the rate stays the same regardless of the level, I'm asking if the rate changes when given an item with a Fortify Healing Rate (or magicka/stamina) enchantment. The G00D Job 06:51, 4 May 2012 (UTC)

I don't believe it changes. Tested this with Lydia, Jenassa, and Erik, noticed no increase whatsoever. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 17:27, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

When I used getavinfo magickaratemult on Brelyna while she had the archmages robe equipped it did show her regen rate for magicka was modded by the 150% as it should. Whether this was called correctly in game I don't know (zimmo67) - not registered with wiki — Unsigned comment by 86.190.20.238 (talk) at 17:33 on June 14, 2012

Carry Weight DOES work, but there's a trick. After they're full from their normal limit, you have to cancel conversation, and talk to them again. You can give them ONE item, before they're full again. Cancel, and talk to them again, and you can keep giving them items until they've hit the additional weight limit from their carry weight rings/necklaces/armor. Verified this with the latest patch on 8/12/2012 for Lydia. — Unsigned comment by 108.233.205.216 (talk) at 15:51 on 12 August 2012

Follower Bow's

I feel it would be useful to note which followers start with their own bow that they will (seemingly random) use over any bow you give them. It states that it does happen, but not which followers are known to have problems (Aela, Faendal, Jenassa). I think many people may seek out this information, along with which followers are guaranteed to use any bow you supply. The G00D Job 15:00, 23 April 2012 (UTC)

The item code for the hidden followers bow is 10e2dd. This can be removed from your followers inventory by opening the console, selecting the follower with the mouse and using removeitem 10e2dd 1 75.166.152.55 23:39, 21 May 2012 (UTC) Puntarelli

Multiple people report that the bow respawns after a time if you do this. The Silencer has spoken^Talk 23:50, 21 May 2012 (UTC)

I've found that the bow doesn't respawn when I use the removeallitems command which also deals with the encumbrance bug. The only time the bow respawns is if I strip a follower of all weapons.--DagmarH 06:00, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

ChefDom on Bethesda Forum observed that all followers will reliably equip certain types of bows, namely Steel Based Bows (Imperial, Forsworn, Ancient, and Supple) and Dwarven Bows. My own playing experience with Faendal and Lydia confirms this. I will update relevant section in a few days if counterexample is not found. This is an exciting new finding 7 months after the game has been released. Source: http://forums.bethsoft.com/topic/1378689-bows-and-followers/ --Abacus707 23:06, 3 June 2012 (UTC)

I noticed something about the new Dragonbone Bow. Ordinarily, Jenassa was of course one of the followers who would use her hunting bow over anything else you gave her, but she would also shoot an unlimited number of arrows that you put into her inventory. When you give her the Dragonbone Bow, she will use it, but she will also use up any arrows you give her at a normal rate. I assume that the same applies to other followers who behaved just like her. Just Cav 12:22, 3 August 2012 (UTC)

(←) I figured out months ago that you CAN make any followers use the bows that you give them (on xbox at least), there are some tricks to it though.

1. For some wierd reason they absolutely will not use daedric or ebony bows using this methond even if they appear to equip them at first, all other types seem to work fine though (Im not sure about dragon bone since I dont have dawnguard).

2. They will only use the bow that you supply if you give them a supply of 15 or more iron arrows, and ONLY iron arrows. If they have any other type of arrows in their inventory they immediatly switch back to using their defaut hunting bow (messed up I know, but its true). If they get hit by enemy arrows, the enemy arrows will sometimes go into their inventory causing them to switch back to the hunting bow, in which case you need to trade with them and remove the enemy arrows (assuming theyre not iron). It doesn't matter if they already have a stock of iron arrows in their invisible inventory, you still need to give them a supply of iron arrows! A stack of 10-15 arrows works fine for most followers because they dont get used up, but some followers will use them up so just give them larger stacks. The reason for giving them 10-15 instead of only 1 is that it needs to be more than what is in their invisible inventory or it wont work (again messed up I know, but true). 71.181.70.79 05:20, 15 August 2012 (UTC)

Question about starting cells.

What exactly is considered a cell. Example if I go to Whiterun is Jenassa's level set, or is it set as soon as I go into the Drunken Huntsman? Same for J'zargo, go to College, or is entering the Hall of Elements where his stats get locked? Thanks in advance. — Unsigned comment by 15.203.233.84 (talk) at 19:35 on 6 June 2012

This is a good question. I've always assumed that the cells, when dealing with a follower, were considered to be the room the follower existed it, but this does bring me to wonder if it's the room or the area as a whole that you enter that set's their stats. On a similar note, what about followers such as Kharjo who exist in the wilderness of Skyrim? Are they set upon the first time you get near them, or upon the first time you enter the wilderness, (Aka: When you exit Helgen the first time)? I think this does need some clarification..... ---Gamer3427 22:37, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

The KEY WORD here is cell, as such the world of skyrim is made up of cells or squares or whatever you want to call it. Safe to say If your in there vacinity, Which is a decent distance then it spawns the npc. Which also sets there level. — Unsigned comment by 68.238.152.79 (talk) at 10:57 on 20 June 2012

Another way to update followers - Tested firsthand

Got Jenassa very early on (level 4, if i remember correctly). When i hit level 10, i changed Jenassa's class, then changed it back, and it updated her.

Here's what i did, in more detail: Looked up Jenassa's and Lydia's Class Ref IDs (meaning the fighting class they fall in, not their NPC ID). 13181 and 13176, respectively. Went into game, selected Jenassa and typed getav Health. It showed 190. Typed setclass 13176. Typed getav Health. Still showed 190. Typed setclass 13181. Typed getav Health. Health changed to 205.

Mind you, my health was at 130, so it could not have been showing my own health. Also, i had not selected any other Ref IDs once i started the game, only Jenassa's. Did i miss something in my logic, or is this, possibly, a less aggravating way to update followers via the console? Vyc Ðarkshådøw 17:36, 9 June 2012 (UTC)

I did notice, however, that when i use this method, it fixed the "unlimited arrows" glitch, causing Jenassa to run out of arrows and, therefore, never use her bow. I would, therefore, only suggest this method of upgrading if you do not care about a follower's bow attacks, such as a mage or perhaps even a warrior/housecarl class. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 05:58, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

Different Skill Trees Than Player?

I've noticed an inconsistency with the skills of Kharjo. I've noticed that when he and I were sneaking and he was nearly killed, when he recovered from the "downed" state, he preformed a "stealth roll". The roll is only available via the sneak skill tree for the player, and a prerequisite skill for the roll is the one that prevents the player from setting off pressure plates. Since a pressure plate trap is what caused Kharjo to go down, that led me to realize that one of two things was going on. Either A) Followers are able to obtain certain skills without obtaining the prerequisite skill(s), or B) Followers will set off pressure plates no matter the circumstance or skills they posses. The second option is merely a continued inconvenience, as we have been playing as though that already existed as fact anyhow, but the first possibility could have some implications. I did test his ability to roll multiple times, and he would preform it every time I was far enough away from him and in stealth mode when he got up from a downed status. While this may seem unimportant to some people, I for one would like to know, (simply for curiosity's sake), wether followers have a separate skill tree than the player is presented with. I would like to note for anyone attempting to replicate this that I am playing on the X-Box version with patch 1.5.26.0.5 installed..... ---Gamer3427 05:32, 10 June 2012 (UTC)

I think this was covered on another's question. They don't use a separate skill tree, for they don't use a skill tree at all. They will, however, mimic your movements. If you use a Silent Roll, they will (sometimes) too. On occasion (noticed this firsthand), they will use it even when you don't, as long as you're sneaking. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 05:56, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

Many (if not all) of the followers I've hired roll. It is a provided mechanic to enable them to keep up with you (perhaps you sprinted...) when you are sneaking (...and then saw an enemy), though they seem to use it intermittently. 122.59.241.226 14:16, 19 August 2012 (UTC)

Fortify Health has no effect on Lydia!

I created an armor with a fairly substantial fortify health effect that worked perfectly when I wore it. However, when she wears it, her health does not increase at all as far as I can tell. I even tried it with a massive fortify health of roughly 3 million points and she still died after a single hit from my sword. This happens on the PS3.

As far as I can tell, none of the enchanted items I've given her to wear have had any effect whatsoever even though she is wearing them. I can't really confirm it on the other things since I don't have a console on the PS3 obviously, but I can at least confirm that it's not working with fortify health.

Has anyone else had this problem? I went ahead and added it to the bugs section pending confirmation and additional discussion. 216.243.60.171 07:37, 13 June 2012 (UTC)

Never had a problem with Fortify Health. Lydia is usually found at a low level, so hitting her when you're at a high level, even with her having lots of health, can KO her quickly. I can confirm on the console that Fortify Health does, indeed, work on Lydia and any others, and the enchantments that do not work are listed on this page already. Try putting Heavy Armor and Health enchantments on her if you want her to survive a hit from you. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 16:30, 20 June 2012 (UTC)

I've since confirmed that this is in fact a separate bug in which overpowered "fortify" enchantments do not take effect (the item will also remain at its unenchanted value, but the graphic/text will reflect the enchantment still). That appears to be what happened with Lydia's fortify health enchantment. This bug can be resolved by saving the game, rebooting the console, then reloading the save. Once I did that, without changing anything else, I was no longer able to kill Lydia. The item value had also increased considerably.

Is this bug documented anywhere already? 216.243.60.171 06:41, 7 July 2012 (UTC)

Did a new patch cause followers to update properly?

Tested on Jenassa yesterday, got her when i was at level 6, and made a note of her health and one-handed skill. At level 17, i checked them again, and both had upgraded themselves. I changed her class, then changed it back, and no additional upgrade upon the switch back, although she was still above what she was when i first found her. Her health had increased by like 20-25 points, and her one-handed had almost doubled before i tried the setclass to upgrade her, and i had no enchantments on her. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 16:32, 20 June 2012 (UTC)

I think your on to something, I noticed just today that I think Eola was leveling with me because I went to wabbajack update her at level 31 and I didn't notice any changes when I tested it on the 360, I think she was in the low teens level wise when I got her. --209.105.146.99 13:55, 22 June 2012 (UTC)

I sure hope so, we've been screaming for this since launch. Glad to know i'm not the only one noticing this occurring. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 05:10, 23 June 2012 (UTC)

I've been wondering the same thing. I got Lydia at level 3 and now at level 23 she's still holding her own in battle. In previous characters I would have had to retire her by now. I'm on 360 so can't use console commands to check stats so I might go and re-hire Sven as I originally got him at level 1. If he still holds his own in battle then maybe the patch changed something. Falnor 09:54, 24 June 2012 (UTC)

I've always used Lydia on my Orc Warrior, and she always done well in combat as long as she didn't get in my way. And now at lvl 81 she is barely taking dmg when I accidentally hit her, and on Master Difficulty I usually kill everything cept dragons in 2 hits. Although i do remember that she was a lot weaker before Dawnguard Update. BTW I'm on 360. Warrof 14:02, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Followers Now Use Bows Correctly?

I just saw the Shock dmg Effect from a bow I put in Lydia's inventory on a dragon I was fighting. Also found 1 daidric arrow and when I turned around to look she was weilding the Dragonbone bow with a paralyze and shock enchantment on it that I made and put on her. Can anyone else check to see if Followers who start with bows will equip the one you give them in combat? BTW I'm on the 360 with dawnguard. Warrof 13:57, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Confirmed: I just watched her shoot a bandit with a Lengedary Dragonbone Bow that is enchanted with Paralyze for 5 Seconds and Shock dmg for 29 points. YAY!!!!!! Still other people should check this out just to be sure. Warrof 14:10, 28 June 2012 (UTC)

Confirmed, to an extend: Seems to work with any follower but only with items from the dlc. Tested it with housecarls, Mjoll and Aela. They all refused to use anything but their hunting bows when given vanilla items like ebony or daedric but would happily switch to the crossbow and dragonbone bow provided they had arrows/bolts to spare.--86.140.47.47 00:51, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

I've had followers using the correct bow around the same time i noticed followers leveling up correctly. Jenassa started using her enchanted Daedric Bow instead of her Hunting Bow around the same time. Wonder if they fixed both issues at once? Then again, i'm on PC, and i can't remember if i removed her Hunting Bow or not. Vyc Ðarkshådøw 03:01, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

I have found (PS3) that all followers, even with starting bows, will use the "Nord hero bow" and the "Drainspell Bow" but nothing else. Haven't got dawnguard. KingK 17:07, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

(←) Jordis is still bugged. I gave her an enchanted Dragonbone Bow and she still insists on using a hunting bow in combat. 360 with Dawnguard, and I didn't even become Thane to spawn her until after I installed the DLC. I haven't tested with any other followers yet.96.229.108.46 08:57, 9 July 2012 (UTC)

I've never had an issue with follower's bow, so long as they have no arrows in inventory. This means you gotta keep an eye out for arrows in their inventory. This means you have to choose between infinite iron arrows or hunter's bow. (PS3)Artemis Entreri 05:31, 12 July 2012 (UTC)

The bow bug for followers doesn't always cause them to use their default bow initially. They will sometimes use a better bow intially but the consistent experience has been that they will eventually revert back to their default bow. What triggers the reversion is unclear so the anecdotal evidence described above is not conclusive evidence that this has been fixed. It needs to be tested far more throroughly, preferrably by using the same follower that has the default bow as part of their inventory, stripping them of all other weapons other than the bow and arrows given to them, and taking them through several zone changes for combat and at least one level change as well for good measure.--DagmarH 17:13, 8 August 2012 (UTC)

I never noticed the bow bug before, but then again I always had J'Zargo as a follower. Right now on my current character I have Kharjo, I gave him the crossbow and he uses it consistently, (And with great skill, until he's within about a metres reach of his enemy.) I haven't really tested any other bows on my followers, but as far as I've seen, either Dawnguard or a new patch has fixed the bow issue. But then again this is the first I've even heard about this glitch, and I don't think I noticed it, except when Skyrim first came out. 71.84.102.180

Follower Wait Time

Will they wait where I told them to forever? or will they eventually go back to where their home is — Unsigned comment by Jpalmss (talk • contribs) at 19:36 on 1 July 2012

They will go back to their home eventually. ABCface^◥ 20:00, 1 July 2012 (UTC)

After 72 hours (3 days) they will be dismissed and return to their homes unless they are killed on the trip back. — Unsigned comment by 99.248.186.114 (talk) at 05:20 on 28 July 2012

Generic Followers?

In Oblivion, one thing I really enjoyed doing was grabbing a generic "Knight of the Nine" follower and sending him/her to die on some ridiculous suicide mission while I sat there with 100% chameleon, watching the amusing spectacle. I'd also do this for mages and Dark Brotherhood followers.

In Skyrim, however, it seems like virtually every single follower in the game is named; i.e. if s/he dies, s/he does not respawn. Therefore, I could theoretically run out of pawns to fulfill my oddly psychotic little in-game hobby.

The article mentions two Dark Brotherhood assassins that are generic. Are there any others? For example, any wandering mercenaries simply named "Mercenary" or something similar? 216.243.60.171 06:47, 7 July 2012 (UTC)

I don't believe there are any generic NPC followers other than the Initiates (which are essential and set to respawn if they somehow die anyway), but I suppose you could try doing this with the armored trolls or stray dogs? ABCface^◥ 11:08, 7 July 2012 (UTC)

Followers Using Crossbows

Does anyone else have problems with followers not using crossbows. None of my housecarls will shoot it, the just put it up to their shoulder like they're about to fire, just to lower it again. Does anyone else have this problem — Unsigned comment by 24.229.186.211 (talk) at 01:00 on 27 July 2012

I also have the same question, she(Lydia) gets so close to shooting, but then stops aiming and seizes to fire. WTFFFF! Update please! Crossbows on followers seems so fun! — Unsigned comment by 24.0.12.183 (talk) at 21:38 on 6 August 2012

Followers will not use dwarven (or enhanced dwarven) crossbows, but will use either steel crossbow. Whether this has been fixed or not I do not know, but just give them the enhanced steel and you should be okay. -TheFlail — Unsigned comment by 71.34.224.242 (talk) at 05:30 on 18 August 2012

Followers mining?

This article has stated for quite some time that followers can mine ore but I have never managed to get any follower to do this nor have I ever seen anyone confirm any followers that do. Are there actually any followers that mine? If not it should be removed from the article as it causes some confusion.

If no-one can confirm if any will mine then I'll remove any instances in the article of it saying they can within the next day or two.--Valadez 04:05, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

Here's a link to a past discussion post with the same topic, for reference. It's probably best to wait for further consensus since new patches have come out since that discussion, but I'm guessing it's still not an option, and can be removed after another day or two. ABCface^◥ 04:18, 27 July 2012 (UTC)

Yea I've seen that discussion, and many similar ones on various message boards. The closest I've seen to a confirmation is someone saying that they have had a follower do it at some point in the past but they don't remember what follower it was. Until someone can properly confirm it then I think it should be removed from the article. I'll wait until the end of the week maybe.--Valadez 10:06, 31 July 2012 (UTC)

They're so weak.

I don't know what's going on, but my followers are becoming really weak. It's like, a few hits and they're beaten. Even on novice difficulty, they're easily beaten. How is this possible? It makes me less likely to bring followers. They barely kill anything. I do most of the killing myself. Is there a bug to this, or just back luck? Nikofeelan 16:49, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

I think reading the article in details would explain a lot to you, but I'm feeling generous. You see, even though they're leveled, followers do not level up; that means their stats will never change from the first time you met them. So people like Sven, Faendal or Lydia will be pretty weak, while other followers encountered at higher levels will be more powerful. Be sure to check the table on this page to see whom of your followers has the highest max level, and the best skills. Elakyn 20:09, 30 July 2012 (UTC)

Actually, as of 1.6 followers level up with you to their max level. — Unsigned comment by 142.163.248.250 (talk) at 14:12 on 31 July 2012

Damage/Regen enchantments seem to work on followers.

The page states: Enchanted Follower Equipment

Followers will only gain benefits from the following enchantment effects on their apparel and armor:

   Fortify Health
   Fortify Heavy Armor
   Fortify Light Armor
   Fortify Magicka
   Fortify Stamina
   Fortify Unarmed
   Muffle
   Resist Fire
   Resist Frost
   Resist Magic
   Resist Poison
   Resist Shock
   Waterbreathing (Followers won't drown anyway, but this stops them surfacing for air.)

All other enchantments on apparel and armor do not actually have an effect for followers, even if they should.

However, after testing in PC (patch 1.6) using console commands to get the actor values, they actually seem to work. Using a ring with 40% 2H damage mod & 31%stam regen as well as an amulet with 31%health regen, the following values were returned:

Healratemult : 131 (100 base, 31 temp modifier), up from 100| Staminaratemult : 131 (100 base, 31 temp modifier), up from 100| Twohandedmod : 40 (40 temp modifier), up from 0

This seems to suggest that the enchantment effects actually work for followers. I am inclined to think the assumption that regen doesn't work is because it was checked using healrate (which is the always constant base), not healratemult (which is the modifier/multiplier for the constant base). Can anyone double check my findings and confirm if they get the same findings? (Would be even greater if someone could do more extensive tests using practical tests to check if the actor values does translate to actual in-game performance). (139.195.47.98 14:03, 31 July 2012 (UTC)Udgard)

Tested health regen enchant, works, but only during the recovery phase(or out of combat?). Tested 1H and 2H enchants, damage dealt to me was unchanged(didnt bother with archery after the other two did nothing). Tested destruction enchants, weapons and staffs still use charges at a normal rate. It seems the list is still accurate. [Xbox360 w/ Dawnguard installed]76.233.250.211 13:05, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

Companions

Is it worth writing in the bugs section about the Companions? I'm on the Xbox and when I was going through Ysgramor's tomb (The final Companions quest) I used Beast Form; Aela didn't attack me because she watched me transform... However Vilkas (or Farkas, whichever one follows you) didn't see me transform because he was round the corner dispatching a frostbite spider (contrary to the fact that he hates them) and when I walked round the corner, he attacked me. This has also happened on random encounters with them in the wild. Can anyone else confirm this? As a reminder, this is on the Xbox. AcE x EPiiCzZ 15:41, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

If anything, this would be more relevant to the individual NPC pages, or the Companions faction page, not the Followers page. ABCface^◥ 17:45, 4 August 2012 (UTC)

Prev: Archive 5

Up: Skyrim talk:Followers

Next: Archive 7