Top 5 HR companions for a high crit build?

rhadamathys

If money weren't an issues what would your top 5 be?

I'll update this as the conversation evolves as of 1/25/2015 this is what I have:

Summoned:
Legendary Mercenary w/ Bonding Stones
Pros:
1) Very often gets 3 procs at the start of the fight.
2) Dies, comes back and gives you additional procs some of the time
3) Does decent damage, including bleed.
4) Provides CA (with or without AotP as he gets behind the mob)
5) Base stats + summoned stats are great, gives you even more of a boost
Cons:
1) Doesn't hold agro at all
2) Requires the Heirloom Pack via Zen store + 2 upgrades (1.5M AD)

or

Legendary Yeti w/ Bonding Stones
Pros:
1) Agros everything and does a great job holding it
2) Doesn't die very often so keeps the agro going
3) You'll see 2 procs up, but 3 is less often
Cons:
1) Doesn't deal much additional damage
2) Base stats don't really help you much
3) His active ability often times applies to him, not you
4) Requires finding/buying him in AH, then 3 upgrades (1.75M AD)

Which you choose is based on your style. If you run in lots of groups, Merc is way to go...if you solo and have high LS, the Merc is still better way to go...if you solo and need a little help? Yeti is the way to go...

Active:
Epic Fire Archon (+7% damage when they are < 50% health)
Epic Earth Archon (+7% damage when you are at full health, depending on play stayle, Dancing Blades (+5% Csev) might be better option)
Epic Air Archon (+6% damage when they are damaged)
Epic Erinyes of Belial (+10% CSev)

So I'm a dork and put together a comparison spreadsheet for a side by side comp of yeti, air, cat, and now merc...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fZt4W_SIDx9tMFcJLet5gevDmls1dyti88_G5j5kmR8/edit?usp=sharing

Long story short (all gear is rank 12):
Cat gives you a total of 13,331 points
Pro: always active, consistent
Con: no Afro, no extra dmg, doesn't let you use aotp

Air archon gives you 11,976 puts on 1 proc, 22,318 on 2 procs, and 17,147 if u avg 1.5 procs over time
Pro: air deals damage as well (3-4K), if u get 3 procs it spikes to 32,661
Con: dies easy, doesn't pull/hold Afro,

Yeti gives you 11,105 / 20,695 or 15,900 if u avg over time
Pro: yeti draws mad Afro and deals some damage (about 1-2k), 3 procs = 30,285
Con: doesn't do much dmg, costs 2m to upgrade

Merc gives 23,885 for 2 procs and 34,800 for 3 procs which he gets a lot more than the yeti
4000 extra points is a fair amount...that would be like me saying, how'd you like to have 10% more power?

please review numbers and confirm

wdj40

I would swap out the Cat for a Companion with 3 Perfect Bonding Stones as that is now better in the latest mod... like a Yeti or Air Archon.

I would also swap out the Dancing Blades for maybe something that increases Combat Advantage by a %.

davidagaldo

wdj40 said:

I would swap out the Cat for a Companion with 3 Perfect Bonding Stones as that is now better in the latest mod... like a Yeti or Air Archon.

I would also swap out the Dancing Blades for maybe something that increases Combat Advantage by a %.

+1, I use an Epic stone, with bonding, leveling your bonding is a huge benefit.

rhadamathys

So I'm curious of the Legendary Yeti Stats (the active bonus seems bad imo as it doesn't help you directly and the Yeti has low base dmg from what I understand? I'm assuming it's decent since it has threat?)

so to clarify, what is the odds of Companion's Gift Triggering? 5%, 50%?

Assuming a Rank 12 Bonding Stone...
Once it triggers it lasts for 20 seconds, then 10 second cooldown. It says it stacks independently, so I assume you can have one of 4 scenarios:
285% stat pass through for 20 seconds followed by 10 seconds of nada + additional seconds until it procs again
190% stat pass through for continuous time followed by no cool down (they are continuously overlapping their procs to ensure 2 are always on)
95% stat pass through continuously followed by no cool down (they are not quite overlapping their procs but are essentially on continuously)
0% stat pass through as you kill things too quickly as your yeti never gets a chance to attack/proc...

Is this the correct assumption? Am I missing something?

davidagaldo

I noticed companions standing idle too often and is what prompted my use of a stone. I agree with all your info above.

wdj40

I disagree, try using an Air Archon rather than a Yeti... Its stats and stats sent over are much better for a DPS HR. I find I have 2 stacks of the Boon at most times, if things die to quick for it to proc then some extra DPS in the 1st place is not going to change much.

My Air Archon has over 3k power and I think 2k Crit along with a bunch of other stats... 65% of these each proc is very noticeable... if the Air Archon dies just use that bell and its immune for 10 secs and will proc 3 times and you can use your biggest DoT attacks.

It procs very consistently even when fighing general mobs.

wdj40

I`ll do a vid of it later... I`ll do the Master of Hunt Skirmish again solo or maybe Kessell's.

wdj40

Here we go... I did a short 4min clip of the 1st part of The Master of the Hunt Skirmish... as I`m fighting just stare at the buff bar and you can see how many stacks of Companions Gift I have at most times.

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/wdj40/video/13642154

rhadamathys

What I'm noticing is it's a 4 for 1...please confirm my assumptions and calcs...

Air Archon Pros:
1) You get CA all the time since you have a companion...which should be around 8-14% more damage, depending on your CAB/how you are geared...
2) Each proc gives you X% stats from your companion. So, if you are running a Legendary Air Archon with 3 Rank 12 Bonding, you get one of 4 levels: 15% all the time +
Level 1) 0% (only at start of combat/if you have bad luck procing)
Level 2) 95% (most common)
Level 3) 190% (less common but probably more common in longer battles)
Level 4) 285% (rare cases).
3) Air Archon does additional damage (not a ton, but every 2-3k helps...
4) Takes some of the threat away (but not a lot or for very long)

Air Archon Cons:
1) Air Archon doesn't have a ton of HP and probably dies a lot in epic dungeons?
2) The proc happens but it's a bit random, so in certain situations it might fail you, or really help you...adds uncertainty
3) Doesn't proc a lot of threat since you'll do more damage than it

Ioun Stone Pros:
1) Always on and always passing same numbers

Ioun Stone Cons:
1) Doesn't have the level 3/4 spikes
2) Doesn't attach, thus doesn't do any extra damage
3) Doesn't grant you CA

Math Stuff
Assuming Legendary Air Archon with maxed gear (3 rank 12 bonding, personalized rings, etc)...
The archon will have around 5500 Power, 2200 CS, 2200 (ArP, or Recovery) I'll ignore the other stats for now...Here's what is passed through to you from the companion:
Level 1) 15% only: 780 P, 330 CS, ArP
Level 2) 15% + 95% = 110%: 5720 P, 2420 CS, ArP
Level 3) 15% + 190 = 205%: 11,275 Power, 4510 CS, ArP
Level 4) 15% + 285 = 300%: 16,500 Power, 6600 CS, ArP

Assuming Legendary Ioun Stone with 2 Bonding rank 12 and an eldritch rank 12, again 5500 power, 2200 CS/ArP
1) 15% (Legendary) + 12% (eldritch) + 100% (augment) = 127%: 6,985, 2794 CS/ArP

Overall, the Ioun would win straight up if you base it on consistent stat passthrough vs the likelihood of levels 3 & 4 procing...which is low in solo and higher in epic dungeons)...
However, the Archon's ability to grant you CA (and a ~10% bump to overall damage) + additional overall damage from the Air Archon's attacks, makes this the better option.

My questions would be mainly this:
1) What happens in Epic Dungeons? The air archon has a bit of a glass jaw...how often does it actually proc on the boss fights vs spending its time dead?
2) Master of the Hunt can be a bit deceiving since it's one long, continuous encounter. Most Epic dungeons are shorter, broken up encounters unless you have a really good bubble paly. Most Solo encounters (campaign dailies) are laughably short as the trapper just dominating them before they even start (I can run all 3 sharandar zones in < 15 mins, Sharandar weekly in ~8 mins, all encounters and dungeons in dread rings in about 15-20 mins). As such, is the Ioun Stone better for Solo?

davidagaldo

Nice vid wdj40. A glass jaw is precise. I prefer the consistent contributions from the Stone. I opted for the decent chunk of defense stat the Bonding offers over the Eldritch.

rhadamathys

k, just ran the air archon (epic, not legendary) with bonding stones....I'm sold so far...but haven't done everything yet so holding off some judgement until I run T2s and a few more solo things...I will say that I'm excited so far...

davidagaldo

I ran mine yesterday, nothing on it. It is tenacious but there were moments of idle time. I like the slots, I will play with it after this weekend.

wdj40

Yeah once you go Companion with 3 Perfect Bonding stones you probably will not go back to an Aug lol, its what I found

Also the point is you do want your Companion to die every now and then, if you have 3 stacks of Companions Gift and he goes down, just pop the bell for 10 seconds of Immunity for him, he can then proc another 3 times so you could for a very short time have 5/6 stacks. Its why I like a Striker Type Companion instead of a Defender... plus better stats sent over.

Just stack the stats you want multiplied on the Companion, so best to stack Power, Crit and Life Steal... You would be surprised how much health he Steals for himself lol

soonergm

How much ad did it cost you to get 3 perfect bonding stones?

blackyluke

Choice for me is:
Shadow Demon active with r12 bondings
passive:
erinyes of belial
cambion magus
air archon
dancing blade

rhadamathys

omg, I'm so sold on the air archon right now...saving up to make him legendary...I have 3 rank 12 Bondings on him and holy smokes....I had all 3 proc at the same time and it boosted by power to over 30k...that was great...even if he dies, he gets up at full health after 3 seconds and starts attacking.

Blackyluke, anyway to get the cambion magus anymore? I thought it was just a special event. Also, I'm assuming you are PC since I don't think shadow demon is live on xbox yet?

wdj40

soonergm said:

How much ad did it cost you to get 3 perfect bonding stones?

£0

As with everything in this game you can make everything yourself

Edit... oh just realised you said AD and not cash lol... I`m not sure, each Bonding Stone stakes 3 Lesser's to make, then each Greater Stone takes 3 Bonding, then each Perfect is 3 Greater Stones each. Then all the marks and RP to go into each one.

I got mine during the last double RP... I think I did have to buy a few stones off the AH but I made my own Perfect ones.

One of the reasons I left my Aug Build on this forum and not updated it, an Aug build is heck of a lot cheaper and less time consuming as a Companion Build... but having a Companion is so much more fun than an Aug

wdj40

rhadamathys said:

My questions would be mainly this:
1) What happens in Epic Dungeons? The air archon has a bit of a glass jaw...how often does it actually proc on the boss fights vs spending its time dead?
2) Master of the Hunt can be a bit deceiving since it's one long, continuous encounter. Most Epic dungeons are shorter, broken up encounters unless you have a really good bubble paly. Most Solo encounters (campaign dailies) are laughably short as the trapper just dominating them before they even start (I can run all 3 sharandar zones in < 15 mins, Sharandar weekly in ~8 mins, all encounters and dungeons in dread rings in about 15-20 mins). As such, is the Ioun Stone better for Solo?

He he this sounded like a challenge lol, so I did a Dread Legion Skirmish solo for you guys to have a look at, you can see the entire Skirmish in 3 parts and look what the Air Archon is like, I completely forgot at the time to switch powers to Lone Wolf ha ha so I`m surprised I did it with no deaths, Archon had a few not a lot though

Unfortunately you cannot do any of the main dungeons solo as there is no option, with my build I can solo the 15 man HE in the SH as well. I`m just testing out other Companions now for procs and survivability.

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/wdj40/video/13735796

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/wdj40/video/13735854

http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/wdj40/video/13736025

rhadamathys

doesn't your companion negate lone wolf? I'm assuming it would since the AotP triggers with it...

wdj40

No, Lone Wolf gives you flat out 20% extra Deflect (at 4 points) which is huuuuuuge, and then an extra 10% if there are 5 enemies or more near you. The Companion as far as I know does not effect it, the buff stays in the buff bar even with one.
Then you could also add the Off-Hand Power which boosts DR with Lone Wolf on top of what it already does... I use Oak Skin which adds another around 12% DR on top of everything, I`m starting to think I might change Soulforged in my armour soon

Lone Wolf is amazing and probably the best Passive to have after AotS.

soonergm

So does lone wolf give you 20% more deflect on its own or does it amplify your deflect by 20%?

In other words if you have a high delection stat does that increase the effectiveness of lone wolf?

I was also just looking at pathfinder's action.. at 4 points, it provides 20% deflection and also 24% run speed. But it's for a "brief period of time" whatever that is. But with enough recovery or with a haste cleric in party you may be able to use dailies often enough to make pathfinder's a better option. Thoughts?

wdj40

It just adds 20% to your Deflect %, you can see the change in the stats screen when you equip it. I have not checked in battle to make sure it adds another 2% per enemy but I presume it does, you can really tell when it is equipped as so many more hits are deflects

davidagaldo

I did a proper test yesterday... and during the eLoL and SoTe boss tights I noticed chunks of health removed. By the second SoTe boss fight I decided to check my stats.

I want to preface with how fast the stats return to normal when attempting to view, but I managed to snap to the stats quick enough to see the power had swelled to 41k and dropped fast. That I can live with!

I am sure my other active archons help with this but I do from this point sport the Air archon. I notice when I benefit by the enemy's melting health and now also have one shots with some trash.

wdj40

I tried out the Black Ice Prospector at Lv35... he was awful and died so many times in places I have not taken damage for months lol.

Levelling up a few more at the moment to test out when they are at max level

Until then Air Archon is just amazing for me too

I heard the Mercenary is supposed to be excellent as well, mine is only Blue though and I do not have 500k to upgrade him, one day though. Same with my Zhan Warlock, its Blue and would love to try it out when it is Purple.

soonergm

I have heard good things about the Accolyte of Kelemvor for the bonding stone set up as well. Question is would a HR have room for it in companion slots. Chances are most of us have an Air Archon already or at least have it on our wish list.

But the Accolyte definitely brings more survivability to the table.

rhadamathys

What makes the merc so good? Looks pretty weak at first glance...also hearing great feedback on the yeti once u upgrade it...pricy but 10% more damage for u and the bonding pricing seems solid...and despite the hp, he rarely dies....and he pulls Afro big time

davidagaldo

rhadamathys said:

....and he pulls Afro big time

I would like to see a Yeti deflect mobs with an Afro.

rhadamathys

Lol damn you autocorrect

wdj40

rhadamathys said:

What makes the merc so good? Looks pretty weak at first glance...also hearing great feedback on the yeti once u upgrade it...pricy but 10% more damage for u and the bonding pricing seems solid...and despite the hp, he rarely dies....and he pulls Afro big time

I laughed so hard at Afro, I really want to put one on my Yeti now

I`m not sure about the Merc yet as I do not have 500k, but looking at it I think its because he teleports to the enemy and gives you a stack of Gift, then he attacks every couple of seconds 4 times including a Bleed DoT at the end. Sounds good on paper.

My Yeti is still also Blue so now gathering dust in my bag.

I had a decent drop from the SH HE's yesterday which is a ring with over 500 power and over 300 Crit with a Defence slot for Life Steal and an Overload slot, that has gone on my Air Archon and he now has 3500 Power and 1500 Crit along with other stats

rhadamathys

Nice, I got the yeti to legendary, he proca a ton and helps a ton with Afro...elol he kept the Afro of first boss and the scorpion I was kiting for the group...I hate autocorrect

soonergm

I decided to give the bonding stones a try last night. I have wanted to for a while now, i just did not want to part with the AD.

I only took 3 bonding stones to level 9 because i cant afford to take them to 10 yet. But 9 is good too! There were times when my power was boosted by up to 12k which was more than enough to justify putting my stone in to retirement.

I went with the warlock companion because they are still decently priced and I know they are one of the fastest to proc. My concern was with only level 9 stones i wanted to make sure i got 3 stacks asap.