(i’m only a level 26 so correct me if i’m wrong) so i did that daedra’s best friend side quest in skyrim and i realized how good of a companion he was. he’s completely invincible, and all the enemies will direct their attention on him whenever he shows up, which means they’ll all gang up on him and he’ll be alive the entire time so you can just watch him fight everyone. i completed the meridia quest where you had to kill malkoran, and even completed a super long dungeon and defeated some powerful dude named volsung! i don’t really have barbas as a companion anymore since he makes the game 1,000 times easier, and that’s not fun lol
Maybe if he could get outta the effin’ way.
I get enough tripping over pets in my real life, thank you.
No kidding. It was so bad this past time for me. No joke added on like another 30 mins at least onto the mission because he was constantly under my feet.
The dwarven armored mudcrab is very good at being an immovable object
The what now?
The armored mudcrab. It's part of the anniversary edition with all the creation club stuff. It's just like it sounds.
There was/is a mod called "Back Off Barbas" which was the only way I could keep that dog around longer than speedrunning his arc.
And even then, his incessant barking made it easy to finish up his arc sooner than later.
There is a mod that reduces dogs barking too including Barbas.
And if he wasn't constantly barking. I prefer playing with the sound on and he makes that impossible
There are people who turn off the sound when they play Skyrim?
Apparently. But I need my battle music, so I never do. Barbas has made me question this however, because all the barking drives me insane
Theres a mod that turns off dog barks across the board, I honestly forgot how annoying they were.
Oh hell yessss, I need to find that
Unrelenting Force would probably move him, but I could never forgive myself.
And keep moving.
He also never shuts the fuck up
Barbas pushed me off a cliff once.
He pushed me down an opening and I landed on a bunch of spikes and died
He turned me into a newt!
...but you got better, right? 😆
...ehhhhhh...? waggles hand
Ni
A newt ?!
From what I’ve heard from him in other games that’s in character
What a rascal
Too loud. Pushes everything around too much. Fuck no.
(Wait til you meet Serana.)
Serena is better than Lydia, in my opinion. She's funny, and I love how she keeps butting into my conversations.
Without mods, she's definitely above all the other followers variety-wise. Lydia is coded the same as the other housecarls. She's only special to us all cuz she was our first <3 (to die).
Funny, because I can never keep Lydia alive no matter how hard I try. Every single time she dies, I jump off cliffs, drown myself, and allow everyone to kill me, just to reload the previous checkpoint, even if Lydia was the one who started the unnecessary fight in the first place, but I always keep making the mistake of quicksaving at the worst time without checking to see if she's alive.
I don't hate Lydia. She was just impossible to keep alive. I guess I was just so used to her, I never knew the followers were different.
I am playing on my Switch at the moment, so I can't use mods
Yeah, without mods or console commands, sit her on the bench until you can get Alchemy and Smithing High enough to break the damage reduction limit, and a necklace with "magic resist 109%" 🤔
Thanks for the tip. That might take a while, since Skyrim is not a game I stick to for long periods of time, but I'll definitely work on that
It most versions of Skyrim, there is a glitch with restoration and alchemy to create enchanted items like "Sneak +700% and Sneak Attack+700%" - or Smithing and Alchemy +999% - goofy numbers 😂.
That’s why I leave Lydia at Breezehome 99% of the time. I lost her once, and reloaded because I couldn’t deal with it. She makes an excellent steward of my home in Whiterun. That said, I wonder what Ysolda, my beloved, thinks of me having another woman in the house..
Keep my housecarl's name outta ya damn mouth
Dude I married her on my first run just to get her out of Breezehome so she could putter around Hendraheim cooking and smithing 😭
Not all of us. I have never had Lydia as a follower. I've used Faendal for a bit, sometimes Mjoll, but I usually go hire Teldryn Sero asap and keep him around until I can get Serana. Never understood the fascination with Lydia.
She doesn't yap like Teldryn and she carries our burdens.
Mjoll is a yapper. I kinda liked hearing what Teldryn had to say, and Serana knows a thing or two about carrying my burdens. At one time she was packing close to 2000 pounds of gear for me.
I got tired of Teldryn in a few hours even with a mod expanding his dialogue. He has a bug that triggers idle comments too often. Mjoll is insufferable, yep. I only use Brynjolf now, been years, tried adding a second one and I just can't.
I married Mjoll once, it was too much like real life, ha. I can ignore Teldryn for the most part, given that he is so strong early on in combat. I find him being able spawn flame atronachs very helpful until I've leveled a bit.
I always had issues with spawns, since I hit them and then they aggro and I have an extra enemy. Of the vanilla followers, Erik was my favorite. He has a lot of lines, and his combat style complemented my archery well.
I like Serana... but once I realized how much she complains, she was less enjoyable to me. "Let's inside, or in a cave, anywhere, just out of this." And then you go into a cave, and she complains about being in the cave.
Also I'm still mad at her about the time she told me to, quote, "get rid of the interloper" because she could trust me but she, "doesn't know about your friend here." Meanwhile that "interloper" WAS MY WIFE. My wife who had been following me SINCE WE FREED HER from her tomb!!! There was absolutely NO reason why she would trust me and not my wife when we had done 100% of her quests prior to that moment together!
My wife is not the interloper, Serana, you are!
Honestly, I haven't had Serana long enough to find her annoying. I mostly ignore her when she tells me to explore places I don't want to
Serena is constantly bitching about the weather.
And the sunlight 😭
Serana kills my dog, attacks my unicorn, and attacks my essential follower or kills my non-essential follower. Repeatedly. I’ve had to reload a save so many times As soon as I kill Harkon, I get rid of her.
Serana's great, if a little too inclined to run in with a cry of "Where'd you come from?" when I'm trying to lure enemies forwards to kill them stealthily. I love how extra she is - one time, she just drifted around, facelessly T-posing, to amuse herself while I ran across the map collecting souls. Serious bestie behaviour.
I JUST encountered that faceless t pose bug it was unsettling
Wait until you decide to have Barbas, Serana, AND a random follower all at the same time (I only did it the one time)
Triple the annoyance! Nah, I've been running with Brynjolf for two years after trying every possible npc as follower with mods. He's the only one who doesn't yap or get in the way.
Too loud
I got a dog from markarth which was fun for a bit, but I found the barking to much after a while. was funny for a bit, when you're sneaking around all the while your dog is barking the whole time
I get it. They aren't for everyone. Honestly, after having Barbas yapping every three seconds at full volume, every dog sounds quiet to me.
Hilda baahing while we sneak through a bunch of vampires will never not be ridiculous to me
I’d normally be all over a dog companion, but I work at a dog kennel/daycare. I hear dogs barking all day. I game to get away from work. Lol
He never shuts up.
And that Gilbert Gottfried voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me too, fuck Barbas, no way I’d make that deal to keep his ass.
I know! I meet him at the dungeon instead of going with him, get the axe from Clavicus, kill the dog, and leave, never to come back. My axe now.
Only half my playthroughs I take the axe, the rest is “keep the damn dog and your shitty axe 🖕”😂
I hang it on the wall and chuckle every time I see the unfinished quest in my log.
The mask is infinitely better than that axe. It's very hard to resist killing that nut but I need that mask every playthrough
I like Barbas but I don't like how he barks at you non-stop.
I respectfully disagree. Too much barking, too much underfoot. Plus, as you've noted, makes the game a little too easy.
Not for me. That mutt blocking my way made everything twice as long. When it was me and Lydia, we blew through the quests, but with that dog, I have to keep pausing just to slash at him and deal with him teleporting in my face, standing right in front of me, or barking at full volume every time I tried to hear other characters. I understand why he's hated.
Bro wouldn’t stop pushing me and barking in my face…. Had to let em go…
I've always preferred Cicero (he becomes a follower if you don't kill him in the Dark Brotherhood questline) he can't die, can carry all your junk for you, and has little voicelines for each major city (Whiterun, Riften, Solitude, Makarth, etc) plus there's his goofy lil dad jokes and songs!
Liking Cicero makes you a whole different kind of monster...
How dare, that jester twink was my gay awakening
I Love that for you👑 I'm about to get him as a tag along follower, for my 5th simultaneously 🎉
I like Barbas too.
But that's because I just like dogs in general.
Barbas isn't really a dog
I'm aware, but he's also currently Dog-shaped.
And I like that.
I understand. I guess I just like using that so I don't feel bad for disliking him. I would love him as a companion if he didn't keep barking and getting in my way.
On my current run, he had been invincible, running though any enemy of mine with ferocity.
Until...I accidentally hit him with the Rueful Axe.
No worries, though. I had a save.
He's a dog, and dogs are men's best friends!
He is the dogmeat if Skyrim, if only you could keep him forever.
WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF
Meeko is best boy thank you very much
People always complain about his voice, but to me, that's the best part. It's just funny.
No. Stupid dog. I actually kept him with me because he was supposed to be an awesome tank follower. I got rid of him after 20 minutes. He kept teleporting over my head, in front of my feet and everywhere. I ended up literally slashing him with my sword many times because he kept blocking my way before I finally decided to just complete his quest. No regrets.
Also, he's not really a dog, so I don't feel guilty at all. I bought an actual dog follower from Markarth and I love that dog
I found a Stray Dog in Solstheim!! On PC, so I made it essential and gave it a Life full of Adventure and running 🌟
That's why I wish I had this game on PC. The mods would definitely make it more enjoyable
Lol I do the same thing with the slashing. He's a menace
I don't blame you
The amounts I've been stuck in narrow corridors...
I can't stand this guy lmao. He pushes me around nonstop
I like to never complete his mission so he sticks around.
You can adopt Vigilance outside of Markarth!!
At one point as I was trekking, I lost sight of the guy at the dragonbridge. Retrace my steps, little dude is soloing a damn dragon at the bridge. Get within sight of him right as he kills the beast and I absorb the soul.
barbas sucks
I just wish he actually spoke more :(
To each their own, but I can't stand Barbas. He is pushy and gets in the way. His morality appears to be a 3, so he becomes a witness to crimes. His voice also rubs me the wrong way, given the setting.
No, mf’s too pushy
Oh God his voice is so annoying. I get rid of him as fast as possible. People like that voice?
The voice and the barking is obnoxious
Sadly I just killed him last night just so I could get the axe for the trophy wall 😢
Fucker pushed me off a cliff while I was looking something up.
My latest run through I spared Cicero and he’s my favorite companion now.
I'll give up Barbas just before entering Sovngarde at endgame. Meantime, in this umpteenth playthrough. (Skyrim's my fave console game), I will probably milk Barbas's Daedric power for as long as I can.
I might need give him up after I join The Assassins' Guild. We'll see how that works out. Hard to sneak with a barking dog on your heels.
YES!
I wish we could have the sarcastic child from Whiterun as a companion. “Another wanderer, here to lick my father’s boots.” Yeah? Carry three sets of the heaviest armor I could find kiddo, we don’t fast travel.
Can you adopt him after the quest? Does he talk talk or just bark if your kids adopt him?
After the quest he goes back with Clavicus Vile, regardless of if you kill him or not
He'd be better if he didn't do like 5 damage.
I prefer the dwarf sphere and the Rieklings.
This one or Serana
His next quest better have the option to keep him or at least a spell to summon him.
If your character becomes a god again it would be fun to steal him from Vile.
No way. Derkethus is the best
Can't hold my shit. Do nah. Need me a pack mule
I always remember Barbas being voiced by Gilbert Gottfried but he’s not and it disappoints me
i originally thought he was voiced by dana snyder. really wanted him to say “dancing is forbidden” lol
iirc, he doesnt even count as a pet, hes a quest character. I remember walking around with Serana in my follower slot, an Armored Troll in my pet slot, and a flame or frost atronarch and Barbas hanging out as a witty little invincible talking dog. My earlier playthroughs I loved getting the dogs from outside Markarth or in the cabin in the woods, but they always died. Barbas was pretty cool.
until you're playing heavy stealth and he run's a head a triggers LITERALLY EVERYONE in the boss fight - goodbye picking enemies off one by one - that said he's good bait until you accidently kill him because he keeps getting in the way
Jzargo is best, without mods. No level cap
He's been very useful as a tank in both vanilla and more difficult modded Skyrim for me. I typically let him and either my summons or followers do most of the work while picking off enemies with a bow or spells. He's also a dog whom's not controlled by Spriggans either when I had cases where Meeko would turn against me. Barbas has also been the only reason how I can defeat the highest hp boss Karstaag on Legendary diff without using resto loop glitches as well.
That being said, you can always dismiss him and re-hire him anytime in Haemar's Shame if you haven't gotten the axe. Can be useful once your character has grown strong enough and your party doesn't need a tank anymore.
Then again, I use a few ESL mods for him as well. One to silence his barks, one to give him more dialogue/summon spell and the other to ignore his collision to run through him and buff his damage.
i hate him so much because he makes my actual dogs bark
He seems interesting. I started the quest and lost him after fighting some bandits. I can't find him outside the cave either. Any ideas? If I complete the cave, will he show up?
If you lost track of him, he'll be deep (aka the second end area) in the Haemar's Shame cave. The dungeon is rather short so it won't take long to find him. The only difference is that you need to fight through the vampires solo to get to him rather than him fighting with you for them.
Thank you!
Frea is my favorite.
Disagree. His voice grates, and he's always in the way.
You've played fallout 4 didn't you op?
And he looks absolutely perfect if you get the retexture by FrankFamily, making him look like his ESO Summerset trailer version. He truly looks like a Daedra's best friend after that.
It is totally impossible to be a stealth archer with Barbas.
Oh the invincible dog?
If Cicero could stfu he'd be the best.
Personally I never use followers, especially dogs, I don’t like feeling responsible for their deaths/damage. I don’t even use horses to get around because a bear might pull up.
Skyrim should've had cats.
Can’t deal with the constant barking.
Barbas is not a dog. He is a daedra known as a Skaafin and he has shapeshifting powers
He intentionally appears harmless and innocent to lull his victims into a false sense of allyship or security
But he is in fact very powerful and very evil. He once killed a priest and took his form, impersonating him for months.
Dog is not his default form. This is his true, humanoid form:
https://preview.redd.it/33rqsm6mg0dg1.jpeg?width=736&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7065da5564838c6bdd68bcaa69efee2c036670c
Okay... This playthrough he gets the AXE 🤔
I was not planning on killing him but then he kept sticking his nose up my crotch and barking so... I have objectively the worst weapon in the game now.
Ever since he got stuck in the inn at Rorikstead that one time I decided he wasn't worth it. Non-stop barking, constantly pushing me into danger, gets stuck in buildings. Like I told Lod, not worth the trouble.
I don’t know if they’re the same but I found a stray dog fighting a bandit camp so I went help, of course. Afterwards I had the pup following me and I was very excited to have a dog companion. Then I accidentally shot him with a sun bolt 20 minutes later and died. Having a dog companion felt so natural
Well there's also mister jizz last name argo
I just paid for the dog named vigilance outside of Markarth and he seems to be invincible too, I could be wrong but we have fought some pretty tough stuff he's just fine afterwards.
nah, he can't carry any of my ill gotten gains 😁
If you could toggle his barking off I would absolutely keep him. But he gets tiring.
I had him hanging around for ages, but he kept barking and was always blocking my path. So, I purposefully completed the quest, just to get rid of him.. and he gets killed 😭 I felt so bad after that. He always has to die for the quest, doesn't he?
I just did this quest 5 days ago and forgot how creepy this shit was.
I always kill him with the axe because his insistent *()&(^ barking always annoys me.
Did you see a dog out there?
He is a good one thats for sure but i cannot find this lil bastard is he at that stupid shrine or something?
You'd need to reach level 10 to get a quest from a Falkreath quest approaching you about a dog. Follow the questline until it asks you to fetch the axe. At this point, never fetch the axe and you'll have the immortal dog Barbas constantly following you everywhere to do any other questlines. As long as you haven't got the axe, you can also dismiss Barbas anytime and he'll be found at the south cave Haemar's Shame to be re-recruited anytime.
I already did the first part of the quest i just told him to stop following and bcs he disappeared i did not know were should i go i did not know this bastard went all across the map just to stay there till i recruit him again
(Walks into you while you are looking at an item and causes you to accidentally "steal" it)
Absolutely NOT. Are you trying to rage bait everyone?
I’m not sure what happened to my hunting dog. He’s just gone.
Barbas ran towards a bandit camp while I was approaching with stealth
Screw Barbas. He does nothing but bark and stand right in my goddamn way so I have to do his quest to get rid of him, unless I just tell him to fuck off (which I always do now).
Holy shit. 4 years later I still quest to finish go to head north in think
Meeko is best doggo.
Nah, he makes too much noise.
I would say he was made super annoying to compensate for being so strong.
If you can look past how all the followers and companions have a penchant for standing in the way whenever you're trying to go through a doorway or interact with something, then yeah, you're right. If you just hold off on completing the last quest, you can just have him and a badass two-handed axe for the rest of the game, murdering everything together.
Nah bro I hate all dpg companions in Skyrim, and Barbas is the worst.
His barking is not conducive to sneaking 😓
I might have to look at more dialog for the followers. Also he barks too much.
He draws aggro when I'm trying to sneak. He just trots up and barks. I just redid that quest tonight and I seriously considered taking the axe.
Fuck that dog, kill him and get the cool axe.
Maybe with the sound off.
I usually don't kill him, but last time he was just too annoying.
By the end of his quest I wanted to kill him, found the axe. Then low and behold he fuckin disappeared. Spent weeks trying to find him. Ended up giving up the axe, and moving on. Fuck that guy....
Dogs are so annoying in Skyrim, barking and getting in the way all the time 😡
bark bark
Also the best vendor in Morrowind right next to the Mudcrab Merchant
Yes... He is a badass!
clutch on legendary difficulty
I thought so, too... until I had to install a mod to stop him from barking every five seconds. Then I discovered Inigo shortly after and never cared for any other follower for the rest of my playthroughs.
My good friend. It was such a tragedy when be died in front of me during a thieves guild quest...
Since then, I have yet to do another quest for the thieves guild.
He needs to shut up. Otherwise he’s great
no. same reason i dont like dogmeat in fallout 4. never shuts the fawk up. breathes like a broken radiator. and is always in the dam way ..
I find he barks too much. I actually told him to go home after two battles.
I agree but he never shuts up
I find his horrible accent grating
The last sentence of your reasoning imo proves the opposite of the title.
He's the worst because he makes the game 1000x easier. You got rid of him for it.
I keep reading about mods that help make barbas tolerable, but I gotta ask. Is there a mod that stops barbas from pushing you when you’re in stealth forcing you to fight head on instead of stealth archer?
He's a tanky boi. But he will not get the fuck out of the way. "What's that Dragonborn, you want to cast Chain lightning on these Vampires???? Not without my giant face jumping in the way." "Hey, Dragonborn, look, a trap. I'm going to set it off over and over and over and over and over." "Oh, this is a stealth mission??? Sweet, I'm going to run in and attack literally everyone and reveal your location."
I hate him and always kill him in the quest