I wonder if it wouldn't be a way to spend Destiny Points though ... be able to buy an AI companion for specific quests.
That's a good idea, I never remember about my Destiny points, they have some good spot uses but I rarely use them (I should, I have a ton of them sitting there)
I'd rather solo than go looking for fellowships with strangers.
I've had nothing but fun with pick-up groups (PuG's) probably because the ones I get into just ask, "hey want to do this with us?" or, when I see someone in the same area I ask, "are you doing this quest?" In the Looking for Fellowship channel (LFF) I see requests such as "need 60 Runekeeper" or "need Tank for X" which usually means they expect you to have the "right" gear/traits/skills. Sounds to much like applying for a job or work & not fun to me. But I have joined some of those simply that ask, "anyone want to do this quest?" A recent one I was in we spent more time joking around than the actual quest took. :laugh:
I think the new "Skirmisher" NPC will be like the NPC "companion" was in Diablo II: with more individual NPC flexibility but limited in-game usage. As long as it's limited to specific instances it should be a fun change of pace for solo players.
I agree with the developers note of not wanting a horde of players & their skirmishers running all over the place. They want to keep the player Fellowships (as in the books) the core of the game.
I like the idea that you will be able to set the "challenge" parameters on some quests to fit your group size from solo on up. That way if you have a friend the two of you can do the "same" quest that a group of 12 is doing except the Mobs will be scaled up or down to the number of players as will the treasure (more players = tougher mobs = better loot). Although Turbine has said that everyone will now be able to get ANY item in the game (level appropriate) it will just cost/take more to get it.
Ex. say a group of 10 players takes on quest XYZ and are victorious, as a reward they each get 10 "tokens." Then a group of 2 players do the same quest XYZ but scaled down to "2" players, they are victorious and are rewarded 2 tokens each.
That "new" armor everyone wants costs 10 tokens, the big group can get the armor after 1 trip but it will take 2 players 5 trips to get it. The point being that now everyone can get the good stuff (even solo) not just players who can get a 10+ group together.
This is different from the current system (which I deplore) of "big" instances where you might have to do the same instance 10 times just to get a
chance at getting 1 item of a 4 item set.
gre: :nofear: 
