Ah, I hadn’t considered that point of view. From my own plays, I actually chose a lot of friends by the little ways I could see them being friendly. As much as the icons played an important role, some of my choices were based on who seemed like they would be fun to have an adventure with. And that was… Basically all of them. Ha!

I thought the nicknames gave them some personality beyond their specific abilities. And when I lost a beloved friend to the solo opponent, it was that friend themself (not their icons) that I really missed.

But that’s not to discredit your perspective. I hadn’t considered this before, and can see how the concept of choosing friends for what they can do might not be as positive as it could be. Friends are friends, no matter what they can do!