Why buy the Zhentarim Warlock for 1.4 mil, when it's going to be a (kinda)bad companion soon?

mightyeriksson

I thought most people would have seen the bonding changes coming tomorrow on PC, and when they hit Xbox soon after, the Zhentarim is going to be pretty bad for most classes...

The companions attack-speed is going to be kinda low priority, and since we'll never get more than one stack/Bonding stone, the Zhentarim really loses most, if not all of it's goodness...

rhadamathys

a ton of people don't keep up with news and events...we call those people fools...and as the saying goes, a fool and his money are soon seperated...

muckingfuppet

I would have thought it would still be one of the better companions, I like the mercenary because it can teleport to the fight and gets into the fight fast and I'm not spending another million ad on getting another companion to legendary

cesar

What are the bonding changes? I like to stay in the loop as much as I can.

armadeonx

They are going to do what they say which is 1 proc per bonding stone at its stated value. Currently you can get multiple procs by your companion dying and getting up again.

Specifically - they will all proc at once for the total combined value which is kinda good in that the companion only needs to hit once but yeah no more stupidly high multiples.

cesar

Thanks so much for the info. I don't need bondings yet (using a stone a main) but eventually -- perhaps two or three years from now?? lol -- I will need to switch.

mightyeriksson

cesar#6784 said:

Thanks so much for the info. I don't need bondings yet (using a stone a main) but eventually -- perhaps two or three years from now?? lol -- I will need to switch.

With the new changes, you'll break even with 3 rank 8 Bondings, as they will give 105%, as long as the companion proc. the Bondings at least once / 20 sec and you'll get the other benefits, CA and so on as an added bonus...

fluffy6977

Just to make sure it's totally clear, this is from the PC Patch Notes from today.
Bonding Runestones now grant their combined effect in a single stack.
For example, if a summoned companion has two Bonding Runestones (Rank 12, 95% each) equipped, the related buff now gives the player 190% of the summoned companion's current stats.
This effect no longer stacks.
This gives the effect a maximum of 285% of the summoned companion's current stats (with three R12s equipped).

ltsmithneko

Simple words for those on xbox who haven't bought a striker companion, but is thinking about it, personally I would say the Mercenary since he has the two ring slots and a belt as well as two offensive slots, personally I find him to be better than the Zhentarim Warlock, since the Z Warlock wields two offensive and a defensive with two Tailsman and a ring as well as we don't have access to the "good" offensive classes Tailsman. Plus it's a lot cheaper than a Warlock currently, by the way you can get for free if you guys just wait till the next fest...

justdave1315

I'd think picking any companion that actually has a good active bonus would be best when the new changes hit. Sure, there are those that might be a bit better in attacking, but if the active bonus they give is trash, why bother? I'm using an Air Archon, and in my opinion, he'll be far better than just about any companion listed due to his active bonus, two rings/neck and three offense slots.

I could be wrong, but with the changes and the influx of a whole lot of viable companions, people may as well just choose one that has an active bonus worth having. I mean, stat boosts such as 165crit/power (or whatever the mercenary gives) is kinda garbage compared to a flat out overall damage boost that the Archon gives.

d4rkh0rs3

The Lillend, which *pats self on back* I still have, *makes obnoxious noise and stretches, then yawns* has three offensive runestone slots and three ring slots.

fluffy6977

Depends on the class. I don't mind the Warlock on some (I already have it..) for a mix of stats, I prefer my Yeti's for the DPS classes for the extra survivability + active bonus + 3 offense and all neck/belt slots. With my GF I'm thinking about seeing how the Angel of Protection does with the update, I've got it to proc every once in a while as is with just 1 stone (testing to see if it works), so hopefully it'll do just fine.

I think Mercs and other companions that were popular for exploiting the death bug won't be very good, because you don't really want them to die anymore, you want them to keep refreshing Companions Gift.

mightyeriksson

ltsmithneko said:

Simple words for those on xbox who haven't bought a striker companion, but is thinking about it, personally I would say the Mercenary since he has the two ring slots and a belt as well as two offensive slots, personally I find him to be better than the Zhentarim Warlock, since the Z Warlock wields two offensive and a defensive with two Tailsman and a ring as well as we don't have access to the "good" offensive classes Tailsman. Plus it's a lot cheaper than a Warlock currently, by the way you can get for free if you guys just wait till the next fest...

Pretty much this, it would be a lot cheaper to just get the Heirloom pack, which gives you the Mercenary to all characters, a re-training token and a character-slot, and a Greater Bag of Holding that you can sell to recoup some (most?)of the cost...

ltsmithneko

fluffy6977 said:

Depends on the class. I don't mind the Warlock on some (I already have it..) for a mix of stats, I prefer my Yeti's for the DPS classes for the extra survivability + active bonus + 3 offense and all neck/belt slots. With my GF I'm thinking about seeing how the Angel of Protection does with the update, I've got it to proc every once in a while as is with just 1 stone (testing to see if it works), so hopefully it'll do just fine.

I think Mercs and other companions that were popular for exploiting the death bug won't be very good, because you don't really want them to die anymore, you want them to keep refreshing Companions Gift.

Well depending on how you play, and wheither or not you have the bell it's a different story. Personally my Mercenary doesn't die much and keeps my bondings and mount bonuses going.

justdave1315 said:

I'd think picking any companion that actually has a good active bonus would be best when the new changes hit. Sure, there are those that might be a bit better in attacking, but if the active bonus they give is trash, why bother? I'm using an Air Archon, and in my opinion, he'll be far better than just about any companion listed due to his active bonus, two rings/neck and three offense slots.

I could be wrong, but with the changes and the influx of a whole lot of viable companions, people may as well just choose one that has an active bonus worth having. I mean, stat boosts such as 165crit/power (or whatever the mercenary gives) is kinda garbage compared to a flat out overall damage boost that the Archon gives.

All ready have the Air archon and fire, as an active, no. Im going to replace both of them soon with better companions bonuses anyways.

kitaar

The mercenary is still great , hard to beat his attack/proc speed, but is of course having problems with Protectors Comradery stacks.

wdj40

Yes the Merc is brilliant... just be warned though he comes as Blue, so to get the most out of the stats sent over via Companions Gift you need to spend 1.5mil AD to get him to Legendary, for the most stats. Also his Active is poo compared to some of the ones we get now.

kuero21

Until the update isnt live the current prices are legit

masteroga

You are going to be looking for:

1) Active Bonus
2) Equipment Selection and 3x offensive runestone slots (defensive for tanks)
3) Entry into combat
4) Speed of attack (Protector's Comrodery).
5) Special buff/ Debuffs on the companions attacks.

Fire Archon is what i currently plan on using for my GWF. He has a solid active bonus (7% damage to half dead enemies) . He can wear 3x 'bites' equipment, and has 3 offensive slots. He enters combat at a reasonable pace. However, he's a little slow at triggering Comrodery, and had no special buff or debuff.

mightyeriksson

kuero21 said:

Until the update isnt live the current prices are legit

Well, why spend a 1000k on something that will be obsolete in a month?

And the Mercenary from Heirloom pack does pretty much everything better than the Zhentarim. (even dies better, if you have a Liira's bell)

kuero21

Well, I would not spend anything for this companion, I dont like it at all.
However, I do not believe anything anymore that the developers are stating. They have lied so often, they lost all credibility.
Also, Xbox and pc Neverwinter are two different games. The lack of content on xbox which is avalaible on pc is quite amazing.
So, if i wanted to buy this ugly warlock, why would I do so? Because I consider all kind of news/announcements of future update as lies which are not going to happen. Thats why.

wdj40

I upgraded the basic (2 Gold) Con Artist up to Epic lol... wonder if anyone else has done that

Anyhoo he is a GWF... 3 ring slots, 2 Offence and a Defence slot. His attack decreases an enemies Defence by 10% on the 3rd swing and he hits multiple enemies around him.

Not as good as the Merc at all... but once the changes hit I`m hoping he will work out great with that 10% debuff

xrawcarnage

Yup I did the same. Pushed the con artist to epic and geared him out. Not as good as the merc but I am hoping the same once the fix comes.

pr3stigex

Can we talk about the mounts necessary to have protector camaraderie? As of now no of my mounts can be slotted for it.

mightyeriksson

pr3stigex said:

Can we talk about the mounts necessary to have protector camaraderie? As of now no of my mounts can be slotted for it.

Try this tool, super useful for the new mount-system.

https://two30.github.io/neverwinter-insignia/?6

pr3stigex

Thanks man

pr3stigex

I still can't decide what companion to run, as aesthetics are just as important to me as the benefits the companion provides. Thinking long and hard about the Lillend as she has 3x rings and 3x offense but looks kinda feminine. I have a Fire Archon which is most likely best in slot for my GWF, but doesn't appeal to me aesthetically. I wish the Shadow Demon had more viable equipment slots as the Bites equipment is $$$ right now. The yeti I don't want active as it cuts the chances of getting "Blood Thirsty" in half. Hmmmm.

Any thoughts or opinions?

wdj40

Merc... cant go wrong with the Merc he is awesome all round

pr3stigex

Yea he's pretty cool. I wish the erinyes had better slots and gear layout.

shazza53

Has the issue with the Merc NOT proccing Protector's Cameraderie been fixed?

wdj40

Nope, but he is still great... My top 3 Companions are all broken and not in a good way

ltsmithneko

Currently still using merc, but im replacing him with a bink dog and putting my fire archon as active.