A new companion system

tankready

So there was some talk today about non augments and augments companion i figured id come to fourms and see what people think about this idea

Now augment comps have special abilitys like transferring bondings stats to charaters like powershare, combat advantage, ect but non augment comps dont have this ability to transfer stats in the way augments do

What if both augement and non augments comp had same stat transfers but also keep active abilities.

So for example chulten tiger would have all of its active abilitys plus another tab you open up to see its augment special abilities tab like powershare, combate avantage, critstrike shared

I do know bonding transfer some stats over but a chulten tiger with powershare lol

Same way for the reverse effect a bullette pup would be a fighter comp with its active abilitys added

So that non augment comps can play there part in end game content and both non augments and augments can die and have heath bars

So 2 tabs
1 for Active abilitys
2nd for Special ability

Not there could be more added to this but thats why i came to fourms for your insight and opinion on make non augements liable in harder content to make stat caps

sandukutupu

They are not about to turn companions into fighting augments. The balance between augments and companions was there prior to module 16 over a year ago. Augment gave you 100% of their stats and still do. Companions dealt damages almost equal to your own and in most cases they did much better. They nerfed the companions because, a select few felt, the players were relying too much on the companions for the win. The real solution is to return companions back into being better at what they did before.

We don't need more convoluted menus and mechanics. The best companions that still function (somewhat normal) can be found in the AH and while Xuna is expensive she is not all that they make her out to be. I own Xuna since the free companion choice box of the 5th Anniversary. Xuna can do "bloodbath" about 3 times per min which is awesome, but she will also agrro every mob from miles around you. The cheaper and better version is the blue rank Zhentarim Warlock, the key is fast cool downs and she has a blast roughly 5 to 6 times per min that hits for damage in the thousands. The only reason Xuna's cost is supply and demand. She is a very rare epic drop, the Warlock is more common drop, in fact, I had her jump out of a bag of Juma's Chicken in Avernus twice!

Some other active companions that can work for you, Quickling came from a charge event long ago. I think there are some green versions for 1 million AD still floating around. Dwarven Battlerager is FREE from the first few quests in the Maze Engine. The Pig from the Summer Festival has some big crits. I have found a lot of the companions on the Invoker page (CTRL+J) are good to use.

My advice is to look for the companions with short cooldowns and large counter strikes. If you are still having issues, I would look at your companion gear. Running Stardock for companion gear is not my idea of fun, but this is a free grinding source for high end gear. The AH has some Stardock Expedition gear cheap that new players, who are below level 80 or just starting out, can make their companions god-like at lower levels. Many of the blue ranked items such as; Imperial Quartz Belt of the Companion, Charred Belt of the Companion, Cracked Belt of the Companion and Barbed Belt of the Companion are found in the AH for about 10K AD each. To find the cheapest just search the prefix (Imperial, Cracked, Charred, or Barbed) as the item type no longer matters.

tankready

yeah but all non companions cant be used at end game just some. i mean do we want the future of neverwinter to have non kill able companions? like augments indestructible

greywynd

Rule 1: Have fun
Rule 2: Use whatever you want that helps with Rule 1

sandukutupu

My husband and I are big fans of the BECMI boxes. We still have table top games in our house and he allows for retainers. In fact, when my husband is the DM and he tells us to be sure to hire some retainers.... we all know we are in trouble. The retainer system is based on your charisma score and at most you can hire three. This means when a party of three players the total size can increase to 12 with good charisma. Their morale checks in combat allow for them attacking or fleeing to safety. In Star Trek Online, Cryptic allows for an away team of 4 NPCs to join you, they are bridge officers. The only problem with this, you don't end up with a lot of PUGs or players wanting to team up, unless they already know you. If retainers were introduced at the beginning, the max you were allowed is two, it left you two open slots for players. Then the game wouldn't even require companions and augments. Changing the game that radically at this point, would be a bad idea. I therefore agree with @greywynd 's suggestion to just have fun with what is available. I do hope they revamp the companions and give them the attention they deserve. Meanwhile here is a list of my 8 companions my characters currently use active to this day. That is not to say, they don't have alternate companions, because they do. All of them are rank 40 and run rank 9 bonding. Have fun!

Count Byron Zorg	Renegade Invoker	Llorna married Byron in the guild stronghold, the guild leader presided.
Undead Prince Rurik	Skeleton	The undead Prince only remembers he was animated by a lich in an unknown kingdom lost and forgotten. He serves and sails with Captain Dirk Anvil Slade
Vhex Ironcrown	Cambion Magus Demon	His wife Aero, a follower of Asmodeus, her loyal husband Vhex has been by her side for centuries. She is mother of many demons. Her pact is for immortality and beauty.
Zhuanth Phindar	Wayward Wizard	He is an old wizard from the Underdark, Goro Thay blatantly uses him as a meat shield and constantly shows no respect.
Capricous Darkblood	Zhentarim Warlock	Under contract through the Harpers, she is in service to agent Will Robert Snooks.
Stoffel	Honey Badger	Hladgerd is a barbarian from the north and believes him to be an Ice Weasel. She declares that Stoffel has not made any honey but has produced yellow snow.
Morbius of Debian	Renegade Illusionist	Right hand man in the Order of the Manshoon to Nicholas Magnus, now full time chef in the Undermountain at Nick's Gith Meat Emporium
Xuna	You know... Xuna.	She travels the land helping Silvane Stardust locate her father's sword stolen by a drow theif.