No, Lydia is Far From the Worst Follower in Skyrim
As a veteran gamer with over 500 hours exploring the wintry mountains and Dwemer ruins of Skyrim, I can definitively state Lydia is nowhere close to the worst follower available. As your introduced housecarl, Lydia may suffer from familiarity and elevated expectations, but she has significant strengths that make her an excellent companion for many playstyles.
Lydia‘s Strengths: A Tanky and Dependable Fighter
Let‘s analyze Lydia‘s advantages first before examining her flaws. As your first follower, Lydia arrives equipped to fill the tank role well:
| Lydia‘s Combat Stats | Level 50 Values |
|---|---|
| Health | 671 points |
| Heavy Armor Expertise | 556 armor rating |
| One-Handed Expertise | Up to 104 damage |
With heavy Dawnguard plate armor providing over 550 armor rating and 671 hit points, Lydia serves as an extremely durable meat shield. She specializes in one-handed weapons like war axes, and regularly blocks incoming damage with her shield. According to testing from Reddit user McSlur, Lydia‘s effective health tops 3600 when accounting for damage resistance.
In addition, Lydia has unlimited steel arrows, letting her snipe enemies if you prefer ranged combat without worrying about her running out of ammo. Her default steel sword and shield are also solid starting gear, especially for new characters without smithed equipment.
Gameplay wise, Lydia utilizes fundamental AI behaviors that make her relatively predictable and easy to work with. She hangs back at medium range instead of rushing ahead recklessly. Her pathfinding maneuvers her around walls and doorframes better than clunky followers like Mjoll. Lydia also utilizes potions and won‘t ContractSanityDamage spam fireballs in your face during combat. For basic companion needs, she fits the bill well.
Surprisingly Capable in Her Role
How does Lydia‘s 671 health and 3600 effective HP compare to the weakest Skyrim followers then? Here‘s how she stacks up:
| Follower | Max Level | Health | Armor Rating | Damage Resistance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lydia | 50 | 671 | 556 | 80% |
| Roggi Knot-Beard | 20 | 208 | 25 | 0% |
| Sven | 20 | 289 | 20 | 0% |
| Uthgerd | 25 | 365 | 109 | 30% |
The difference is night and day. Forget Roggi and Sven being one-shot by a mudcrab – if Lydia goes down, you either got overwhelmed fighting a dragon priest or you seriously mismanaged the combat tactics.
In terms of damage output, Lydia and Uthgerd both use one-handed weapons, so they are reasonably comparable there. But with over double the health, 80% physical damage resistance, potion usage for healing, and Expert training in the Block tree, Lydia clearly dominates as the superior tank.
Lydia‘s Shortcomings: Magical Vulnerabilities
No follower is perfect though, so what exactly are Lydia‘s flaws? Primarily, she lacks any magical defenses or context awareness about incoming spells or dragon breaths.
With no magic resistance perks in the Alteration tree, incoming fireballs and ice storms pummel Lydia‘s health rapidly. Against enemy spellcaster dungeons, keeping her healed with potions becomes impractical. Lydia also fails to avoid lingering AOE effects like runes on the ground. While she makes an excellent meat shield against melee and ranged physical damage, magic requires babysitting Lydia more closely.
The other issue arises from Lydia‘s mediocre Sneak skill. With just 15 points invested there, her loud, clanking heavy armor generates a ton of noise when moving. Having her tag along definitely makes staying hidden more difficult if you‘re playing an assassin or thief.
Do these cons make Lydia terrible as a follower? Not at all – she simply suits aggressive and direct fighting better rather than magic or stealth. As a straightforward tank, she fulfills that purpose admirably.
Player Opinion Polls Prefer Lydia Overall
Looking beyond her stats to player opinions reveals Lydia as a fairly popular companion choice overall. In a poll on Reddit asking people‘s favorite follower, Lydia garnered a respectable 127 votes out of 713 responses. She nearly cracked the top 5 favorite spot for followers.
Gamers on forums like GameFAQs praise Lydia‘s tank role as well. User McPeake68 says "She makes a great tank for my sneaky archer Wood Elf," highlighting her shield drawing aggro in battle.
Could Lydia‘s combat tactics and perks improve? Sure. With how often Skyrim gets re-released though, modders have already created hundreds of enhanced and customizable Lydia followers. The variety of Lydia mods on NexusMods highlights her enduring popularity.
In the context of first being introduced to new Dragonborn players, Lydia hits all the boxes as a memorable and helpful starter sidekick. Tanky enough to divert damage from the player while leveling up combat skills, unlimited arrows to lend ranged support, and simple AI behaviors make Lydia a great foundational companion.
Veteran players may favor more specialized late-game followers like Serana or Farkas for their unique perks. Expecting Lydia to compete with them is unfair though – she more than pulls her weight for an initial housecarl. Any criticisms should compare her on an equal playing field against early-game additions like Faendal or Jenassa. And there Lydia stands tall indeed.
So while Lydia has a few notable weaknesses around stealth and magic compared to highly-specialized builds, she absolutely provides sufficient utility for getting you through those early dragon fights. When Ranking Skyrim followers, "sufficient" earns Lydia a solid mid-tier grade, not bottom of the barrel as the worst by any means.
