Will someone please translate companion "ranks?"

lordomedon

So, I'm about to step into the wonderful world of companions. I ding'ed 15 yesterday, and logged out to oogle the foundry before bed.

The zen purchased companions have been beckoning me for 15 levels, but I held out. The thing that made them shiny was the "rank" mechanic, which isn't defined anywhere. Everyone talks about how the "white" quality quest-given healer companion smokes the heck out of the "blue quality" zen-purchased healer, but there's that whole "quality level" which is tied to "rank" that makes me question the logic.

What is the "rank" of the companion, what does it mean, and how can a blue (expandable to purple) companion be so vastly inferior to a white? I don't get it. I wish these features of zen purchases were spelled out better. Even the official wiki says not to buy the zen healer.

What is rank, and how important is it? I'm not looking for a reason to buy the zen healer, that ship has sailed, all sources point to "don't," so is "rank" a non-issue then?

someoneod

White - 15
Green - 20
Blue - 25
Rare (epic) - 30

The levels are basically equivalent to double their own level, so a 30 comp works fine at 60. There are upgrade books that are supposed to be available but they are not in the game yet (they are in the game, i guess, but cannot be purchased or used).

The other issue is that the zen shop cleric is not really a cleric, more like a monk or offensive vampiric healer, which is not really specified.

lordomedon

someoneod wrote: »

White - 15
Green - 20
Blue - 25
Rare (epic) - 30

The levels are basically equivalent to double their own level, so a 30 comp works fine at 60. There are upgrade books that are supposed to be available but they are not in the game yet (they are in the game, i guess, but cannot be purchased or used).

The other issue is that the zen shop cleric is not really a cleric, more like a monk or offensive vampiric healer, which is not really specified.

I was aware of the numbers, and was afraid that it would equate to "level cap." How can a 30th level "healer" be better than a 60th level "vamp healer/protector" in doing level 30+ content?

jcfisher3rd

The lifetap is weaker than a 20% heal over 10 seconds. Plus the cleric draws aggro which gives you time to kill off some enemies and thus you take less damage and use fewer potions and get healed between fights.

lordomedon

jcfisher3rd wrote: »

The lifetap is weaker than a 20% heal over 10 seconds. Plus the cleric draws aggro which gives you time to kill off some enemies and thus you take less damage and use fewer potions and get healed between fights.

I can see how a percentage heal would be really useful. I really hope the zen-purchased healer gets an update. It's kinda bad that it's essentially a dead-end currency sink. A currency most often acquired with RL cash.