I have found that Life Steal is great while leveling, but it was previously hard to get in useful amounts at lower levels. So I got a Skeletal Dog (+190 LS) and a Skeletal Warrior. It was a bit of an investment, but it was worth it (IMO).
But that was only referencing the companion active bonuses. If you are just looking for a combat pet, then the man-at-arms is a solid choice. He can hold some aggro and keep the mobs away from you. The Sellsword is also decent, but the MAA is better. And a Cleric is also a good choice for the heals.
Having Used the Phoera (rank 30 max), the cleric, and the MAA on my HR, I can tell you that the MAA is by far the most USEFULL for openworld pve. The cleric coming in a close second if you dont mind getting pounded on a bit. The phoera or any other bird or striker are mostly usefull in Dungeon and skirmish pve as an additional source of DPS. And dungeons in perticular the Phoera with its summoning bonus after being revived.
Well,for me Epic helmite ghost paladin(was about 250k to buy,500k to blue and 750k to purple quality,a total of 1.5kk AD) was best,as it grants regeneration and recovery,2 best stats(maybe crit>regen,but when you have no regen its the opposite.At 30 it also gives helmite seal(3% hp heal when you attack your paladin's target).The only downside is that he's slow and his attacks hardly ever hit,but he can get focused by attacks if you stand far enough from target,thus tanking for you.He also does some pretty decent damage for non-striker companion(at 15 lvl,when my ranger did 2.5k crits from aimed shoot and 300 for non charged split,it was 350 for aoe slash and about 500-600 for shield bash,crits were 600,1100 or so).
I would say the skeleton warrior if you have one, it takes low damage and puts out alot of damage and can solo the low level mini bosses for you as well.
First Companion: Master at Arms: buff his HP as much as you can his job is to run in and distract while you lay down the dps. His deflect bonus is good.
Second Companion: Cleric: her 25 Regen passive is a win and when the MAA is not around her healing is good for pulling agro and covering up your loss of a walking shield.
If you are going to invest AD/Zen then the Ranger Pack Hawk is a good companion for everything but melee builds as it hands out bonus damage based on distance away.
Other than that look at the collections and read the passive bonuses for the pets and make your choices based on the active bonus, don't forget to leave a slot for a stone/cat for t2 running.
Obsidian Moonlight - Paladin Obsidian Oath - Warlock A whole lot of other Obsidian toons as well.
Well now that we also have the Companion Bonuses, it's less of an issue (the % chance to interrupt is awesome BTW) but I started out with a CD nursemaid, up to about lvl 15.
Now I'm running the Dire Wolf, and that's totally changed the gameplay.
With a CD you feel more tanky and tend to ignore hits (at lower levels) Where as once the enemies start getting tougher and harder hitting, you want to keep enemies at a distance until it's on your terms, so I'd say any striker/tank companion, who is running forward an drawing aggro is a must.
Once I get better gear, I might bring my CD back out and see if I can tank/kite some of the higher mobs
Comments
But that was only referencing the companion active bonuses. If you are just looking for a combat pet, then the man-at-arms is a solid choice. He can hold some aggro and keep the mobs away from you. The Sellsword is also decent, but the MAA is better. And a Cleric is also a good choice for the heals.
Second Companion: Cleric: her 25 Regen passive is a win and when the MAA is not around her healing is good for pulling agro and covering up your loss of a walking shield.
If you are going to invest AD/Zen then the Ranger Pack Hawk is a good companion for everything but melee builds as it hands out bonus damage based on distance away.
Other than that look at the collections and read the passive bonuses for the pets and make your choices based on the active bonus, don't forget to leave a slot for a stone/cat for t2 running.
Obsidian Oath - Warlock
A whole lot of other Obsidian toons as well.
Now I'm running the Dire Wolf, and that's totally changed the gameplay.
With a CD you feel more tanky and tend to ignore hits (at lower levels) Where as once the enemies start getting tougher and harder hitting, you want to keep enemies at a distance until it's on your terms, so I'd say any striker/tank companion, who is running forward an drawing aggro is a must.
Once I get better gear, I might bring my CD back out and see if I can tank/kite some of the higher mobs