Companion approval systems track how a character responds to the player’s actions and use that relationship state to shape later interactions. Depending on the game, it may unlock conversations, contribute to a romance, or affect whether a companion stays. There is no genre-wide formula: approval, loyalty, friendship, and romance can be separate states, and each game decides what they mean.
What companion approval measures
Approval is a game’s model of a companion’s attitude toward the player or the player character. It is not automatically the same thing as friendship, loyalty, or romance. Those words can describe different parts of a relationship, and a particular game may track some of them separately—or not use an explicit approval meter at all.
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The state might be shown to the player as a number, a label, an icon, or a change in dialogue. It can also be hidden behind the scenes. The examples available here establish several specific implementations, not a standard interface shared by RPGs.
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Baldur’s Gate 3’s official modding documentation describes an approval rating between a “rating owner,” typically a companion, and a “rated character,” typically the player. Game logic can query that rating and test whether it has crossed a threshold. This makes approval more than a descriptive label: it can be a variable that other parts of the game use to decide whether to offer an interaction.
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“Loyalty” is especially easy to confuse with approval. In ordinary discussion, it can mean trust, commitment, allegiance, or willingness to remain with the group. Those are possible story meanings, not a guarantee that the game has a separate loyalty score. To understand a particular RPG, look at what its mechanics actually track and what consequences the game attaches to them.
How a choice becomes a relationship consequence
A useful way to picture the system is as a chain: the game observes an action, interprets it in context, updates a relationship state if appropriate, and then checks that state when deciding what dialogue or outcome is available. Not every game exposes each link to the player, and the evidence for one title should not be treated as proof of another title’s rules.
Actions supply context
Dialogue choices are only one possible input. In an official Baldur’s Gate 3 community update, Larian describes companions forming opinions through events in combat, exploration, and conversation. Their views can involve the player, one another, and factions; conversations at camp can respond to what happened during the day. In this design, a companion’s reaction is connected to the wider playthrough rather than just to a sequence of conversation menus.
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EA’s Dragon Age: The Veilguard relationship guide describes a different set of relationship-building actions: flirting, taking part in a companion’s quests, siding with that companion, and giving gifts. These examples show how a game can make relationship progress part of both story choices and party routines. They do not establish that every listed action changes a single approval number, or that other RPGs use the same inputs.
The companion’s outlook shapes the response
Approval need not function as a simple reward for choosing whatever the game labels “good.” Zachary Truesdell’s 2014 GDC narrative review of Dragon Age: Origins describes companions judging actions according to their beliefs. It contrasts Morrigan, who disapproves of charity in keeping with her survival-of-the-fittest outlook, with Wynne, who approves of charitable action. The same player choice can therefore improve one relationship and strain another.
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This is one reason a party can feel like a group of characters rather than a row of interchangeable meters. A companion’s reaction can express their values, create disagreement among party members, or make the consequences of a decision personal. It also means that trying to maximize everyone’s approval with one supposedly universally “right” approach may not fit the design.
The game checks state at a later moment
A change in approval may matter immediately, but it can also be stored until a later condition is met. Baldur’s Gate 3’s modding documentation gives an example that checks whether a companion’s approval is above 30 before attempting a camp relationship dialogue. The example illustrates a threshold check in that game’s logic; it is not a universal target, a player-facing guarantee, or evidence that every relationship event uses the same number.
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What approval can change
Relationship state can serve different narrative and gameplay purposes. The important question is not merely whether a companion “likes” the player, but what the game does with that information. The consequences below are documented for particular titles and should stay attached to those titles.
Dialogue and relationship scenes
In Baldur’s Gate 3, the documented approval threshold can be used when attempting a camp relationship dialogue. That is a concrete example of approval acting as a gate: a conversation may depend on reaching a particular state. A gate does not mean that every camp scene, romance scene, or companion conversation follows that same rule.
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More generally, a game can use relationship states to vary dialogue or determine whether a scene is available. When a companion responds differently after a choice, that response might be a direct acknowledgement of the action, a sign of a broader attitude, or part of a later branching sequence. The exact distinction depends on the game’s implementation.
Romance, friendship, and commitment
Veilguard’s relationship guide describes romance as a staged process rather than a meter that simply turns into a permanent partnership. Flirting and other relationship-building actions can lead to a romanced status, but a companion may later ask the player to commit. Declining that commitment returns the status to Friend or Ally; committing prevents romance with other companions.
That distinction matters because “romanced” and “committed” do not mean the same thing in this example. Nor does the guide prove that romance everywhere is controlled by approval alone. A game might use a relationship score, a specific quest, a decision, or a combination of conditions. Check the title’s own rules rather than assuming a high approval state guarantees a romance or a permanent relationship.
Party membership
Dragon Age: Origins provides a sharper possible consequence. Truesdell’s 2014 GDC review says approval that falls very low and cannot be repaired may cause a companion to leave the party for the rest of the game. This is a historical, title-specific example of a relationship state affecting party membership—not a rule that low approval always removes companions from RPG parties.
That kind of consequence changes how a player may weigh a choice: disagreement is no longer only a different line of dialogue if it could eventually cost access to a companion. But the example also makes recoverability important. The GDC review describes the departure in terms of approval being too low to repair; it does not provide a broad comparison of recovery rules across RPGs.
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How different games use relationships
Comparing approval systems is most useful when it focuses on what each system records and what it does, rather than treating every relationship meter as interchangeable.
| Question | Baldur’s Gate 3 | Dragon Age: Origins | Dragon Age: The Veilguard |
|---|---|---|---|
| What is documented? | The official modding reference describes a numeric approval rating between characters. | A 2014 GDC narrative review describes companions approving or disapproving of actions in line with their beliefs. | EA’s relationship guide describes relationship-building actions and staged status, including a commitment point. |
| What can influence the relationship? | Larian describes choices in combat, exploration, and conversation, as well as opinions about companions and factions. | The GDC review gives charity as an example of an action that different companions judge differently. | EA lists flirting, companion quests, siding with companions, and gifts. |
| What consequence is specifically established? | A modding example checks whether approval is above 30 before attempting a camp relationship dialogue. | The review says very low, unrepaired approval may make a companion leave for the rest of the game. | A companion can ask the player to commit; declining returns the status to Friend or Ally, while commitment blocks romance with other companions. |
| What is not established by these examples? | The example does not make its threshold a universal rule for all relationship events or games. | The review is not a survey of how every RPG handles disapproval, recovery, or departure. | The guide does not establish that all relationship progress is a single approval score. |
This comparison is deliberately limited to claims supported for these games. It is not a ranking or a complete inventory of RPG relationship designs. Visibility also varies: the Baldur’s Gate 3 modding reference establishes a numeric value in the game’s logic, while EA’s Veilguard guide identifies visible relationship-status icons. Neither fact, by itself, describes every way players encounter relationship state during play.
Why conflict can be part of relationship growth
It can seem as if the safest strategy is to agree with a companion whenever possible. That assumption can flatten the characters and may not match a game’s intended relationship arc. Larian’s developer-authored Baldur’s Gate 3 relationship update says, “No two relationships follow the same formula.” The post describes relationships as individual arcs that can change, and says the game encourages players to argue with and challenge a partner rather than treating sex as a reward for complying with a companion’s quest.
That is Larian’s stated design intent, not a promise that every disagreement is harmless or that every player will experience a given relationship the same way. It does, however, caution against treating every negative reaction as proof that a relationship path has failed. A companion’s disagreement may be a characterization beat, a temporary setback, or a consequential change; the game’s later dialogue and explicit status cues are better evidence than a single reaction.
Gifts: character detail or meter shortcut?
Gifts can turn a relationship system into a tangible interaction, but their meaning depends on how the game connects them to the character. Truesdell’s GDC review notes that a character-specific gift can prompt a unique conversation. A gift tied to a companion’s interests can therefore reveal something about them or lead into their story.
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The same review criticizes generic gifts that do nothing beyond increasing approval, arguing that this can weaken their narrative significance. Mechanically, such a gift may still move a relationship state. Narratively, however, it risks making affection feel like a resource the player buys rather than a response grounded in the companion’s personality. That is a design critique from the review, not a claim that all gift systems work this way.
How to read a relationship system while playing
When a companion reacts strongly, it helps to separate what the game has shown from what you are inferring. A single approval change, a visible status label, a new conversation, and a commitment choice are different kinds of evidence. The following checks can help you understand a game without assuming that one title’s rules apply to another.
- Notice the reaction and its context. Was it tied to a conversation, a faction decision, combat, exploration, a quest, or a gift? Games can connect relationship changes to actions outside dialogue.
- Look for the companion’s reason. A disagreement may reflect their values rather than a general good-or-bad judgment. Dragon Age: Origins’ contrasting reactions to charity illustrate why the same decision can land differently with different companions.
- Distinguish a reaction from a gate. A disapproving comment does not, on its own, show that a quest or romance has closed. A later threshold check or explicit status change is stronger evidence of a mechanical consequence.
- Read status labels precisely. If a game distinguishes friend, ally, romanced, or committed states, do not treat them as synonyms. In Veilguard, the guide describes a separate commitment decision after a romanced status.
- Consider whether the decision is recoverable. The available examples show that consequences differ: Veilguard documents a return to Friend or Ally after declining commitment, while the GDC review describes a possible unrepaired low-approval departure in Dragon Age: Origins. Do not presume every game offers the same way back.
- Check what the game actually tells you. A hidden or numeric variable may be documented for game logic without being exposed as a player-facing meter. Rely on the title’s interface and dialogue for what can be observed in play.
What these systems can and cannot tell you
Companion approval systems are tools for connecting character perspective to player action. They can make choices matter beyond immediate quest outcomes, give party members distinct reactions, and create relationship scenes that reflect the player’s route through a game. When consequences are staged or recoverable, they can also support a relationship that changes over time rather than following a single pass-or-fail test.
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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsThey can also be opaque. A player may not know whether a reaction changed a hidden value, whether a later scene has a threshold, or whether several conditions must be satisfied. Nor is there a meaningful genre-wide statistic in the cited material for how many RPGs use such systems. Larian’s developer update calls its Baldur’s Gate 3 approach an effort to create “an authentic, reactive relationship system where characters act and react like people”; that is the studio’s description of its intent, not a measurement of how all RPGs work.
The practical takeaway is to treat each companion relationship as a game-specific design. Ask what actions influence it, whether the companion’s outlook shapes their response, what later events check the relationship state, and whether the game distinguishes approval from romance or commitment. Those questions reveal more than assuming that one meter—or one familiar RPG’s rules—explains them all.
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