Optimal DPS Summoned Companion?

mrshabok

Lightfoot thief or Zhent Warlock with Greater or better bondings are considered the best on PC. We do not have access to the talismans/avenger equipment on xbox, nor can we access the thief yet. Is augment the best way to go until one of these two things changes? I'm not holding my breath for the talismans since we will never be getting Sword Coast Adventures...

yourenext2die

I've always been partial to the Chicken augment, if going the augment route. As for the rest of your question, I'm sure someone else would be able to better answer. The Yeti is also good, even though it's a striker and can have trouble getting to a quick target from a distance.

amafia313

Companion talismans drop from SH HEs. The 10man and 15man HEs. Not the 5man though. Theyre specific companion only talismans. Rings and icons also drop.

shazza53

And, artificing can produce a decent talisman, even though it only has one gem slot.

tsk0n3

As shazza53 stated those talismans are a good start also if your looking 4 crit the guild pve ring works well too. I can confirm the Zant Warlock works really well on my gwf using 1 perf 2 greater bonds atm. Get a liars bell to help keep the procs going as well. My crit can hit over 22k vs 16k w Aug and 34-36k power.

If your a cw yeti still works best cause of his mighty tanking ability.

Sk_0n3
3.4k GWF
Well Endowed

wdj40

yourenext2die said:

I've always been partial to the Chicken augment, if going the augment route. As for the rest of your question, I'm sure someone else would be able to better answer. The Yeti is also good, even though it's a striker and can have trouble getting to a quick target from a distance.

The Yeti is a Defender not a Striker, also I found he needs to be Upgraded a lot to make him good.

Anyhoo @mrshabok try an Air Archon at Purple as a Companion with 3 Perfect Bonding Stones, it Is actually very good and I have stacked power, crit and recovery on mine with 3 personalized double slotted items. I have put a short 4min clip of my HR with him in action over on the Hunter Ranger Forum if you are interested in seeing.

The Stats for an Air Archon are perfect for a DPS.

mrshabok

Thanks for your help everyone. I'll run those HE's and see if I can get a drop. @wdj40 Sounds good I'll give Air Archon a try in the interim!

wdj40

I`m just levelling up some other Companions to see how their procs are as well... only one I have not got to test really that I want to test is that new Warlock. I would like to try out a Purple Mimic but do not have the spare AD to get him to Purple.

mrshabok

Yeah the cost to upgrade is ridiculous compared to the ZAX rate tbh... I'm interested in trying out the Shadow Demon active with Yeti passive when Underdark releases. I wonder if Bloodthirsty procs well on it.

wdj40

mrshabok said:

Yeah the cost to upgrade is ridiculous compared to the ZAX rate tbh... I'm interested in trying out the Shadow Demon active with Yeti passive when Underdark releases. I wonder if Bloodthirsty procs well on it.

Yeah its annoying as I want to try out so many things but the cost to upgrade them is just too much, even after 1500hrs of gameplay I cannot afford to just upgrade all the ones I want to test. I thought I heard the cost is going to come down in the future or something so I am not upgrading any more for now.

amafia313

They already changed the upgrade costs

mrshabok

^ Correct. Don't count on it being anything reasonable anytime soon... Part of the reason I have to frequent forums and ask so many questions is that I don't want to make a terrible investment, as they are all costly and can set you back for weeks.

wdj40

Wow I thought the price is going to drop for some reason, just to upgrade to Purple is still 500k

mrshabok

Yeah, it's brutal. Even going green to blue its 250k. I think cutting all the companion upgrade costs in half would be acceptable. 500k to upgrade to maz rank is totally reasonable. 125k to upgrade from green to blue would also be good. I've got my ioun stone of might and blink dog both at green because I just don't see how such a minor increase in stats justfies the cost of upgrading, which is what this is really about imo. If my companion got way better, as opposed to marginally better, going to next rank then I'd be ok with spending that amount.

raymond00713

Stones cannot come close to actual companions. It's not even a question. I saw someone post in PC that most trash die to fast and a stone is better for that reason. Ha! Get a fast attacking companion with low cool down. We're talking 3 times what a ion stone can do, with a single proc from each bonding stone. And my companion is near instantaneous with gifts. I don't care how fast they die, you won't compete on paingiver against an actual fighting companion if you're still using ioun stone

mrshabok

@raymond00713 While I agree with you, what you say must be said with an asterisk. If I proc companion's gift using s fast attacking companion without the stats I want, it's not better than an Ioun sone that has the stats I want. The bonding runestones also need to be, at the very least, rank 8-9. You also need to be able to supply the companion with good gear. Perfect example is Zhent Warlock. Good talismans are extremely difficult to find on Xbox, but on PC you have access to the Loyal Avenger set. That alone makes a huge difference. But yes, with the right companion, right stats, and right gear there is no contest, you're correct.

raymond00713

Yeah there's a companion for all. You're getting power with bonding for offensive types, defense for defensive types, or even a mix.

Then just slot the rings, belt, icon, (whatever your companion comes with) with the other stats you need. Mine power heavy with rank 12 bonding, then crit and recovery stacked with belt, rings and enchants. Make it how you want.

wdj40

I picked up a Merc Talisman from soloing one of the Big HE in the Stronghold, I was pretty happy so it gave me the chance to try out the Fire Archon. I use the Air one as an active with 3 Perfect Bonding Stones and he is really good at proccing and not bad at staying alive (my Fox`s Cunning and Oak Skin help him)... Anyhoo the Fire Archon is actually pretty good as well, he procs from distance so stays alive more than the Air.

Fire can have 2 double slotted items and a Talisman with an Overload Slot.... makes a change from the Air

I`m just levelling up a few Companions to try them out next, going to try out the Black Ice Prospector, Mimic, Alchemist and a few others once they are levelled up.

mrshabok

Nice, interested to know how that turns out Does anyone know if upgrading Ioun stones to blue/purple brings any benefit worth the AD spent? Currently have a green Ioun Stone of Might.

wdj40

mrshabok said:

Nice, interested to know how that turns out Does anyone know if upgrading Ioun stones to blue/purple brings any benefit worth the AD spent? Currently have a green Ioun Stone of Might.

I don't know the answer to that one, I know they give you more base stats as you have levelled them up.

Anyhoo I have posted a couple of vids over on the HR section of the forum with an Air Archon in action through a whole Dread Legion Skirmish solo to show how good he is for a HR. Other classes I don't know how effective he will be as I only main 1.

I have a Black Ice Prospector levelled up to 35 now so I am just going to test him out

raymond00713

@mrshabok upgrading any companion gives it more of it's base states. The active bonus increase up to epic. There is no active bonus increase from epic to legendary, but the base stats do increase. Also, one active legendary companion gives 15% of your summoned companions stats to you.

No more ion stone talk though. They can't compare

wdj40

raymond00713 said:

@mrshabok upgrading any companion gives it more of it's base states. The active bonus increase up to epic. There is no active bonus increase from epic to legendary, but the base stats do increase. Also, one active legendary companion gives 15% of your summoned companions stats to you.



No more ion stone talk though. They can't compare

Which Legendary does that?

urabask

raymond00713 said:

Stones cannot come close to actual companions. It's not even a question. I saw someone post in PC that most trash die to fast and a stone is better for that reason. Ha! Get a fast attacking companion with low cool down. We're talking 3 times what a ion stone can do, with a single proc from each bonding stone. And my companion is near instantaneous with gifts. I don't care how fast they die, you won't compete on paingiver against an actual fighting companion if you're still using ioun stone

Well it's true for trash mobs. Bonding runestones are mostly good because you get a big boost against bosses. They're also problematic in Dragonflight because it counts companions toward the character limit on a dragon (it doesn't count augments).

wdj40 said:

raymond00713 said:

@mrshabok upgrading any companion gives it more of it's base states. The active bonus increase up to epic. There is no active bonus increase from epic to legendary, but the base stats do increase. Also, one active legendary companion gives 15% of your summoned companions stats to you.



No more ion stone talk though. They can't compare

Which Legendary does that?

Any companion upgraded to legendary does that but only one of them applies (i.e. if you have three companions upgraded to legendary you'll only get the bonus from one of them).

rockstargfu

If cryptic is gonna openly compare zen exchange to compabion cost and how yes xbox gets the shaft, shouldnt the somple solution be to say ok zen is now how you upfrade companions? Fair play right?

wdj40

urabask said:

raymond00713 said:

Stones cannot come close to actual companions. It's not even a question. I saw someone post in PC that most trash die to fast and a stone is better for that reason. Ha! Get a fast attacking companion with low cool down. We're talking 3 times what a ion stone can do, with a single proc from each bonding stone. And my companion is near instantaneous with gifts. I don't care how fast they die, you won't compete on paingiver against an actual fighting companion if you're still using ioun stone

Well it's true for trash mobs. Bonding runestones are mostly good because you get a big boost against bosses. They're also problematic in Dragonflight because it counts companions toward the character limit on a dragon (it doesn't count augments).

wdj40 said:

raymond00713 said:

@mrshabok upgrading any companion gives it more of it's base states. The active bonus increase up to epic. There is no active bonus increase from epic to legendary, but the base stats do increase. Also, one active legendary companion gives 15% of your summoned companions stats to you.



No more ion stone talk though. They can't compare

Which Legendary does that?

Any companion upgraded to legendary does that but only one of them applies (i.e. if you have three companions upgraded to legendary you'll only get the bonus from one of them).

Ah wow I had not idea about that, I now have to save 1mil ASAP

wdj40

Try the Merc for a DPS class... I upgraded him to Purple and put my 3 Perfects on him... I was that impressed I upgraded him to Orange... He procs are incredible and he does it very fast indeed

mrshabok

Nice. I'd love to but I have no idea how to get one on XB1...

wdj40

mrshabok said:

Nice. I'd love to but I have no idea how to get one on XB1...

He comes from the Heirloom Pack if my memory serves, from the Zen store and in my opinion worth getting. You can then use him for every character you create... Plus you get equipment every 5 levels, which makes it handy for any Alts you are levelling up, including Shirt/Pants Main and Off-Hand Weapons etc... ah here we go :

Heirloom Pack

The Heirloom Pack contains precious items that have been passed down through many generations. Luckily, they can be yours and grant you the power sealed within them.

From levels 5-50, this pack will grant you new heirlooms every 5 levels. The types of equipment you can receive are:

Main-hand Weapons

Offhand Weapons

Shirts

Pants

Defensive-based Rings

Offensive-based Rings


Mercenary Companion – This Mercenary has decided to lend his weapon to your cause and follow you on your adventures.

1 Extra Character Slot – Unlock an additional character slot on your account!

Retraining Token (1 per account) – This item will allow you to respec all of your feats, powers and abilities.

Greater Bag of Holding (1 per account) – This ordinary-looking bag is bigger on the inside. Adds an additional 24 inventory slots.

wdj40

I did a short 5 min clip of the start of Dread Legion (I posted this on the HR forum), forget what I am doing and just watch the Mercenary (he is Legendary)... he is extremely quick at proccing Companions Gift and at a couple of points I very briefly had 4 procs of it... unfortunately he did not die in this short clip, probably because I had Crushing Roots set as a Passive which I forgot about until after the Skirmish.


http://xboxdvr.com/gamer/wdj40/video/13942132

raymond00713

Yeah heirloom pack.

The thing about a legendary companion. ANY companion that is legendary and is in an active gives you a gift of 15% of the currently summoned companion, regardless of the rank of the summoned. So.. should probably make the summoned companion your legendary choice