Baldur’s Gate 3 fans call out lack of variety in Companions races
Larian StudiosSince its full release, Baldur’s Gate 3 has been an incredibly popular title, with tons of fan support – but not all elements are popular, especially when it comes to Companions.
With tons of quests to complete, places to explore, secrets to unlock, and Companions to romance or find, it’s clear many Baldur’s Gate 3 players are still deep into the world of Faerun. However, such a long storyline has encouraged players to take a step back and in some cases, question the decision of Larian’s game design.
One major example of this is Companions and their lack of diversity, particularly when it comes to their chosen races and the implementation of such a choice on both the player and the exploration.
Larian StudiosBaldur’s Gate 3 players call for more Companion variety
Posting onto Reddit, one user shared the races of all the ten companions in the game, highlighting how “5 are elves”, “3 are human” and “only two are kind of different races” in the form of a Tiefling and a Githyanki.
They then went on to ask the community “Doesn’t it feel like we could use some diversity?” Then they provided their own ideas about “seeing a Dwarf Companion or a Half-Orc” taking their place as key factors to the story.
Shortly after posting, the question quickly took off, with thousands of upvotes and comments alike. Many shared the same confusion and frustration, with one explaining how they were “very surprised we never got a dwarf or any small companions. Considering all the hidey holes small characters can go through.” After all, most players have to use their shapeshifting hat or other spells to explore those locations.
Some players shared their disappointment with a certain Baldur’s Gate 3 Companion design, sharing how felt “stunned and disappointed we didn’t get an over-the-top stereotypical dwarf.” Hinting towards the relationship between certain Lord of the Rings characters as a reference.
While tons loved the idea of a Dwarf companion, many ended up reminiscing about Helia, explaining how many fans are “still sad we didn’t get Helia. She was supposed to be a halfling bard werewolf. Maybe in the enhanced edition she’ll be added back?” Helia was a brief addition in Early Access but was quickly removed and hasn’t been seen since.
It’s clear plenty of the community are searching for a different raced Companion, with the primary focus being on smaller races. In fact, according to many veteran players: “we’ve been clamoring for a shorty companion all through EA and mentioned exactly the same thing.” So it’s clear this is a point of frustration that’s been happening for a while. Who knows, a new Companion could be added in a Patch, but nothing’s been confirmed yet.