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Companion suggestions for the budget CW?

aaramis75aaramis75 Member Posts: 348 Arc User
in The Library
Summary for the quick reader: This is a CW alt that I'm growing to like more and more as days go by. I used to play TR and HR quite a bit, as one was fantastic at single-target but only ok at AoE; the other was the opposite, great AoE but only ok single-target dps. CW seems to be a great middle ground, and suits my playstyle pretty well, so I'm strongly tempted to give him a run and see how I like him fully decked out.

Problem is, the meta for companions (notably archons) are SILLY expensive these days, and there's no way I can deck him out with those. Even if I could max my AD farming daily (which I can't), it would literally take months to get him the fire / air / earth combo.

Soooooo..... any good, cheap alternatives for companions?
I picked up an Energon for fun as it was cheap (20k AD for a purple companion? Sure!). I'm still testing him out, as he's a bit of a lemming in combat, but the return on his daily APs if he survives combat is actually pretty decent.

Not sure what else to fill in here that's cheap.

Any suggestions?

Comments

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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    Sellsword is one of if not the best end game companions.
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    urabaskurabask Member Posts: 2,923 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    Unfortunately any companions a CW would find worth using are DPS oriented and virtually every other DPS class uses the same companions. The only exception would be Wild Hunt Rider which goes for around 180k and you don't need to upgrade it even. It's BiS since you get a +10% damage bonus from it and can keep the buff up for a whole dungeon basically.

    If you don't have bonding runestones there are also some really cheap augments. You can get a Chicken for 200k but it comes with a lesser bonding runestone so the net cost is 75k for an epic augment.
    niadan said:

    Sellsword is one of if not the best end game companions.

    Sellsword is meta because of bondings. I don't think someone with bondings would be budgeting this much.



    Post edited by urabask on
    I8r4ux9.jpg
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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    Urabask is spot on with the wild hunt rider. Sorry I misinterpreted your request for "budget" companions as meaning good companions that are not too costly. Obviously if you are on a budget, bondings may not be what you are focused on at the moment.
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    zekehubriszekehubris Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 79 Arc User
    I really like the bear cub companion. It gives a massive boost to your survivability.
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    aaramis75aaramis75 Member Posts: 348 Arc User
    niadan said:

    Urabask is spot on with the wild hunt rider. Sorry I misinterpreted your request for "budget" companions as meaning good companions that are not too costly. Obviously if you are on a budget, bondings may not be what you are focused on at the moment.

    No, that's exactly what I was asking for :)
    Bondings and weapon enchantments aren't the issue; I can steal those from my TR. I used to swap them between TR and HR often, so borrowing them for my CW isn't an issue. But spending 1mil+ to get a set of archons *is*. I'm currently cash poor.

    Wild hunt rider is a good one, I had forgotten about him, thanks. Was just curious if there are any other hidden gems out there outside of the usual archons / siege master / erinyes / etc. typical setups.
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    urabaskurabask Member Posts: 2,923 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    aaramis75 said:

    niadan said:

    Urabask is spot on with the wild hunt rider. Sorry I misinterpreted your request for "budget" companions as meaning good companions that are not too costly. Obviously if you are on a budget, bondings may not be what you are focused on at the moment.

    No, that's exactly what I was asking for :)
    Bondings and weapon enchantments aren't the issue; I can steal those from my TR. I used to swap them between TR and HR often, so borrowing them for my CW isn't an issue. But spending 1mil+ to get a set of archons *is*. I'm currently cash poor.

    Wild hunt rider is a good one, I had forgotten about him, thanks. Was just curious if there are any other hidden gems out there outside of the usual archons / siege master / erinyes / etc. typical setups.
    It used to be intellect devourer and blink dog but they got nerfed. You could just use those at green until you're willing to splurge on archons and such. They're not as good as they used to be but they still at least increase your damage a bit.
    I8r4ux9.jpg
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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    Ca companions add to crit severity when you crit and add to CA damage when you do not crit. For what it is worth, I use:

    Summoned: Sellsword (cheap) BIS imo
    Active:
    Wild Hunt
    Air Archon
    Siege Master
    Eneries (spelling too early in morning lol)
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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    Focus as much as you can on plus damage pets in active slots
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    thefabricantthefabricant Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 5,248 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    Sellsword is imo the BiS choice (and the great thing is it doesn't cost much), however, one should keep in mind when investing in 1, there is always the possibility it gets nerfed.

    When it comes to sellsword vs fire archon here are my thoughts:

    Will you do better on paingiver if you use a fire archon? Probably.

    Will the run be faster if you use a fire archon? No.

    To me, faster run>paingiver position.
    Our Imaginary Friends are better than yours.
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    urabaskurabask Member Posts: 2,923 Arc User
    niadan said:

    Ca companions add to crit severity when you crit and add to CA damage when you do not crit. For what it is worth, I use:



    Summoned: Sellsword (cheap) BIS imo

    Active:

    Wild Hunt

    Air Archon

    Siege Master

    Eneries (spelling too early in morning lol)

    Well yeah, but the point is that a blink dog and an intellect devourer will cost you 7.5k in total.
    I8r4ux9.jpg
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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    Im not disagreeing with you @urabask , Quite the opposite. I think your advise on this matter is spot on.
    Post edited by niadan on
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    aaramis75aaramis75 Member Posts: 348 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    Just had a look for blink and intellect on the AH - wow, those have come down in price. Intellect was 1000 AD...lol. Blink was about 2500.
    One daily dungeon covers that, easily. Definitely good companions for the starting out or AD-challenged folk.

    I also found a Rimefire on one of my alts that I had forgotten about, so there's a free blue tank companion. As I'm not going the archon route, it's a nice alternative for a tank I guess.

    Sellsword at green level would be 2 gold + 20k AD - not bad.

    Thanks for the ideas folks. Think I'll go with Intellect, Blink, Energon, Rimefire, and Wild hunt rider as my cheap alternatives for the moment. Maybe grab a Sellsword too.
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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    Forgot about young yeti, it is quite fun and procs often enough. At least it did when I used it. Not sure what it costs on AH cause, well, I have had three free ones from running the IWD need for mead in the past.
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    dupeksdupeks Member Posts: 1,789 Arc User
    niadan said:

    Forgot about young yeti, it is quite fun and procs a lot.

    I think Sharp mentioned that he found it doesn't actually give you a damage bonus, just increases your size.

    Unless they ninja-fixed it.
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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    Then that would put a damper on the fun. But you are correct, that is probably why I forgot about it...lol
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    mamalion1234mamalion1234 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,415 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    thefabricant said:

    Sellsword is imo the BiS choice (and the great thing is it doesn't cost much), however, one should keep in mind when investing in 1, there is always the possibility it gets nerfed.

    When it comes to sellsword vs fire archon here are my thoughts:

    Will you do better on paingiver if you use a fire archon? Probably.

    Will the run be faster if you use a fire archon? No.

    To me, faster run>paingiver position.

    http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/comment/12865354

    and i post this to remember about fire archon vs meelee pets ( like air archon)
    [URL=auplod.com/i-ldoupaa9270.html][IMG]http://www.auplod.com/t/ldoupaa9270.png[/IMG][/URL]

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    urabaskurabask Member Posts: 2,923 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    mamalion1234 said:

    thefabricant said:

    Sellsword is imo the BiS choice (and the great thing is it doesn't cost much), however, one should keep in mind when investing in 1, there is always the possibility it gets nerfed.

    When it comes to sellsword vs fire archon here are my thoughts:

    Will you do better on paingiver if you use a fire archon? Probably.

    Will the run be faster if you use a fire archon? No.

    To me, faster run>paingiver position.

    http://www.arcgames.com/en/forums/neverwinter/#/discussion/comment/12865354

    and i post this to remember about fire archon vs meelee pets ( like air archon)
    I mean I'd assume they didn't know Sellsword's debuff was uncapped when making those posts.
    I8r4ux9.jpg
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    niadanniadan Member Posts: 1,635 Arc User
    edited February 2017
    Things do change. I was a big fire archon guy until Sharpe clued me in to the benefits of Sellsword. Damn guy knows this game as well as a Dev.

    If I ever get to South Africa...or wherever he is rumored to live...I will by the Hamster a drink, and make a toast to all the Jolly Roger, Winning Boozer, Tuxedo T-Shirt Wearing Fools of Neverwinter.
    Post edited by niadan on
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    mebengalsfan#9264 mebengalsfan
    mebengalsfan#9264
         Member Posts: 3,169 Arc User
    Manticore for around 100K AD isn't a bad option if you have bonding stones. Another option is any other EPIC mounts you can pick up for under 100K that have all offensive slots.
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    solbergxsolbergx Member Posts: 654 Arc User
    niadan said:

    Things do change. I was a big fire archon guy until Sharpe clued me in to the benefits of Sellsword. Damn guy knows this game as well as a Dev.



    If I ever get to South Africa...or wherever he is rumored to live...I will by the Hamster a drink, and make a toast to all the Jolly Roger, Winning Boozer, Tuxedo T-Shirt Wearing Fools of Neverwinter.

    I saw a MOF 4kIL with one and i bought 4 in case they go up!!! lol I am waiting on buying bonding runestones to try it out!!!
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    pitshadepitshade Member Posts: 5,665 Arc User
    Except for exteme impulse buying, Sellsword prices are fairly well capped at the cost of upgrading one from White quality, since the actual companion is sold for 2gp and the AD costs are built into the UI.
    "We have always been at war with Dread Vault" ~ Little Brother
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