squid830: The cop with the ex-partner (dead horse) actually counts as a henchman, not a companion. So if you have the spaniard with you, just dismiss him (so far he's always been back at the Eel every time I did this) - and you should be able to recruit him as a henchman. He's pretty useful and doesn't charge anything - though he is a bit fixated on his "revenge"... ;)
Ixamyakxim: Huh weird I didn't have a henchman with me (just a "full party" of three characters) ... and he just sort of disappeared...
I'm kind of aggravated and done with the game. It's one I really wanted to like (and love the lore / atmosphere and underlying stats + mechanics) but the game itself is just... not fun. There's a huge amount of systems I want to explore (using my various stats in science or occult to explore different outcomes, the belief system, crazy spell draining my sanity as I craft items and explore locations). But at the end of the day, all I'm doing is watching combat play out in a totally random way - from turn order to whether or not my characters even manage to fire a shot - with very little in the way of side quests or opportunities to gain EXP and make the situation any better for myself.
The game is kind of an exercise in frustration. I'm super bummed because 1) I had high hopes and 2) there are a ton of things there I couldn't wait to play with, but it was just so aggravating annoying to move through the story at a very early point that I don't want to continue.
Hugely disappointed.
OK that is weird then. Given the state of bugs in this game, it wouldn't surprise me if I managed to enlist him as a fluke or something; however, he definitely appeared as a henchman (in that he didn't have a portrait, I couldn't change his inventory (only switch between his two weapons during combat), etc.). So no idea what's happened there.
If this game had a better save system (i.e. a normal one - which is apparently due in a patch or two), then that would likely be a useful counter to some of these bugs, or at least encourage one to experiment more to see what actually works.
If you have the appropriate stats at high enough levels, you'll be able to avoid a fair amount of the combat. The thing is, it appears the option to use a skill doesn't even appear if your level isn't high enough - but conversely, as far as I can tell, if it DOES appear it means you're guaranteed a successful use of that skill (though this doesn't guarantee that it will be the best option, or even useful - but you do get XP at the very least).
Unfortunately there are some fights that are unavoidable AFAIK. So far, with a party of four, I haven't had too many dramas so far - and that's despite me using the acid spit upgraded to an area weapon without caring about hitting friendlies. I almost killed the butler once, and one time the Outsider died after combat was over because he was bleeding and I didn't realise (not related to me spitting acid on him. Restoring an earlier save and using a bandage helped - though it didn't help that for some bizarre reason, it doesn't seem possible to use an item from the quick slot outside of combat - well at least not from the inventory screen (it's probably possible via the radial menu on the character, just like in combat). I had to move it to the general inventory, at which point I could right-click on it and choose the target person as usual. Very strange).
Admittedly, I almost shelved this shortly after playing, since it seemed like I was missing out on lots of stuff because of my stats (e.g. you need points in melee to use a crowbar to open a crate - because that makes sense... Turns out I needed two in melee since my physique was 3, and it appears stats + skills are added together, so e.g. phys+melee >=5 (?) in order to open crates with a crowbar). But once I'd put a few points in those areas (which still feels stupid since one of my companions should be able to do this) - things improved a fair bit.
The way the plot(s) unfolds is unfortunately stupidly linear for what seems like no reason - after a while, a bunch of different quests were available to me, seemingly because I advanced a bit in a totally unrelated quest. At that point the game opens up a fair bit it seems.
Sometimes however it goes too far - I tried out a new occult skill on a dead body, and this closed off three minor side-quests (while admittedly getting me the info that solving one of those side-quests probably would have). But even then, it also turns out that you can still "solve" those side-quests, even though they're no longer in your quest journal - so you can still get lore and XP etc.
The worst is when something happens for what seems like no reason. After "solving" a relatively detailed quest, I'm told I've somehow made enemies of the mob?! I did kill a bunch of them, but I was disguised at the time - and the notification appeared while I was nowhere near the mob nor doing anything relating to them...
I do hope they tidy some of this stuff up a bit at some point. Personally, if companions could actually use all of their skills outside of combat like the PC, this game would become so much better.
