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Should I care about companion?
momaw
Member Posts: 0 Arc User
Haven't played Neverwinter in months, it's all very bizarre and inexplicable now. And with the new "collections" page I can't feeling like I'm being pressured to... Anyway.
What I'm wondering is if I should care about what companion I use. Was looking at maybe getting one of the animals to go with my new Ranger. Maybe the bear to tank for me since I prefer the archery mode? But I've never bought a companion before. Just used the free ones. From my understanding you still have to invest MASSIVE amounts of diamonds even into bought companions to level them up, and they will still never be relevant to end game?
So...Should I even care? If their only purpose is to make leveling easier then it's not worth any zen.
What I'm wondering is if I should care about what companion I use. Was looking at maybe getting one of the animals to go with my new Ranger. Maybe the bear to tank for me since I prefer the archery mode? But I've never bought a companion before. Just used the free ones. From my understanding you still have to invest MASSIVE amounts of diamonds even into bought companions to level them up, and they will still never be relevant to end game?
So...Should I even care? If their only purpose is to make leveling easier then it's not worth any zen.
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Did you miss that companions now provide a bonus to their owner while in an active slot, whether summoned or not? (Also, all 5 active slots now unlock as you level.)
So companions have become much more relevant beyond levelling. The higher they can rank up, the better their bonuses, but even the ones bought for gold or gotten from events can provide some buffs. At the very least, 5 companions you got for free or cheap are better than nothing at all.
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Most pets are good for the active bonuses ones I really like on an HR are.
Vicious Dire Wolf -- Guardian pack, does an interrupt, not 100% reliable to do it when you want but can help lower caster damage
Ioun Stone of Allure -- the slow is small but can help with kiting, and helps increase the dps of gwf/gf running trample the fallen
Dancing Blade -- Crit Severity enough said
Flame Archon -- More Damage
Roland Mac Sheonin GF | Tarron Direheart SW |
Not entirely true.
I just did the math on the AD/Stat Point cost of upgrading enchantments vs. upgrading companions. Enchantments are cheaper (per stat point) up to Rank 7. At that point, upgrading stat-granting companions is the cheaper option.
Of course, enchantments can be unslotted and sold, while companions are character bound.
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What incremental benefits do you get from upgrading a stone to purple? Last I checked, the benefits were very marginal.
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It's an upgrade of well I forget what %, but a guildie I trust worked out the math and it's a better power increase for your ad than rank 10's etc so once you get things to rank 7 or 8, it's usually worth upgrading the stone then working on tens unless your focus is pvp.
Regardless, they're a nice addition to the game, and definitely help while leveling up or soloing. While the stone is great, it is also, IMO, boring. Each to their own, though...
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Screw that noise?
Alright then, so what is a "reasonable" expectation of cost versus reward when it comes to this stuff? Give me some examples.
Let me put it to you like this: A purple companion costs 2500 Zen right now. The AD:Z conversion rate right now is about 340:1. So, to buy a purple companion would cost 850,000 ADs.
So:
White -> Green 300,000
Green -> Blue 500,000
Blue -> Purple 750,000
IMO, the cost to upgrade a companion should be somewhat on par with the cost of buying a companion of that rank outright. Of course, the price could be a little higher since the expense could be spread out over time and what-not, but it shouldn't be a multiple of times the cost...
"Is it better to be feared or respected? I say, is it too much to ask for both?" -Tony Stark
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Then, there is a number of green and blues that can be achieved without spending a single AD, but most of them are related to events. I got the Fawn, which is a very solid solo companion, and the mimic during the Winter festival, so now you would need to pay for them. But the blink dog drops in Celadaine tower, is a decent green.
You can later get a wererat (blue) for 200 seals of the drake, and also, there is now a free promo that gives you a green companion granting 55 lifesteal and recovery (I think...could be different stats).
Ultimately, though, I guess nothing beats the Ioun stones.
I can't help feeling, coming from STO, that... Well, for example, a fleet-level ship in STO costs 2000 zen. Compared to a regular version of the same ship, that entails a 10% increase to base shield and hull strength, an extra console slot (11% improvement), usually some style options, all on top of the fact that it's an entire playable starship which forms the core of the game's experience. A new top end ship is an enormous and easily observable upgrade. A new top end companion, especially when the only reason to have one seems to be to hoard their enlistment bonuses, seems... disappointing. :-/
As I look here:
http://neverwinter.gamepedia.com/Companion
Active bonus can be improved so there is not only +25 but much more. So to have 5 companions will can improve not bad your stats. (If all wrote there is true ofc)
Actually, the green promo companions are pretty interesting. I have 4 of them - The Archmage's Apprentice (Life Steal and Power) Faithful Initiate (Recovery and Defense), Mercenary (Power and Critical Strike) and Renegade Illusionist (Life Steal and Deflect), and actually found it worthwhile to upgrade two of them to purple for the stat bonuses.
Moreover, for those that care about gear score, those companions give the highest boost if upgraded to purple....better than the companions that only increase a single stat (and have a maximum of +300)
As for upgrading white companions - I do consider the cost for going from white to green to be excessive - but there is one case where it might be worth it - if you intend to upgrade the cleric disciple to purple for the +300 regeneration bonus - it is one of the few ways to get decent regeneration without having to resort to blue gear.
Yes, very true, but the thing is, you have to pay big ADs for the upgrade. If you are filthy rich, sure, go for it, but for me, it is not an option, for the moment. I get much better bang-for-the-bucket working on my R7s.
I'm a four-year STO Vet, too. And your comment is spot-on. I've been a Neverwinter Vet since february and, frankly, the Z-Store pricing back then was shocking (almost literally heart-stopping). Z-Store pricing for Neverwinter has been adjusted since then (Companions twice) to where the the pricing is within reasonable levels.
Also note that I have been playing NW for almost a full year, so I have become desensitized to the Z-Store Pricing. Fresh newcomers from Champions or STO will always undergo sticker-shock. But a quickie point: CO and STO are both subsidized by Gold members (monthly or lifetime) - Neverwinter has zero such subsidies, so it makes sense the Z-Store pricing is a little steeper.
Regarding Companions: most here seem to be focusing on the active bonuses they provide. I'll remind the community and speak to the OP that there also is a tactile practical use for companions in-game and that is the companion itself. The AI is not perfect, but vastly improved over the last couple months, though they are very slow to actually do anything in-game, they can be useful when soloing (and in some cases, Group-play in environment) depending on which companion, your class and play-style.
For example: as a Devoted Cleric: screw the stupid stone, the Galeb Duhr was the best 3500 Z (at the time) I spent in this entire game since launch and I simply could NOT have reached level 60 without it (I am not a min-maxer who spends his life online). Obviously I'm speaking for myself, but I think my point is made.
@OP The answer is pretty simple: research and compare. Then when you have a short list, research and compare each to derive any benefit (both the player bonuses and the companions' 'battle style' in game) - then and only then: decide for yourself which, if any you'll obtain for yourself.
I think we have differing opinions of what "reasonable" is.
Universal opinion seems to still hold that companions are useless as actual combat pets at the high end of the game. So you are literally only buying them for the 5% more of this diminishing returns stat, or one-in-ten chance of that insignificant debuff. Is that really worth 25$? Bearing in mind that this stuff is only for one character, as well. Or, horses. A free horse gives +50% movement speed, a purple horse gives +110% movement speed. Is that really worth 25$? The equivalent in STO would be if the Borg engine, which gives a visual option and higher sector speed than other engines, cost 25$ instead of a few weeks grinding out a reputation (which gives twenty other useful things for your time).
You say STO has lower prices in general because it's being subsidized by whales, but to me it seems like Neverwinter is the one doing the whaling. The cost:return strikes me as ludicrous.
A few things. First STO has a sub option that lets them have some steady income from the subber's. I wish NW had this to be honest.
The mount yes it's pricey but it's account wide. Also keep in mind there is no upfront charge to play NW. Other games you have to buy the initial game.
Also something to consider for people is don't buy pets etc with zen you buy with real money. Put the real money into things like character slots. Get your characters to level 11 for invoking and proffessions. Now some people go with crafting items for shirts etc with their alts. I prefer leadership as you can then start getting rad on multiple toons. You won't likely hit refining cap but after putting in some time to get them leveled up to 20 you can start getting several thousand per day from from them for just logging onto the gateway a couple times a day. This means you can start getting steady ad income. Add to this buying and selling on the ah and you can start getting respectable ad income coming in. This means as long as you have some patience you won't need to buy zen to buy companions you can turn in your ad for it.
This means that unless you have to have something NAOW you won't ever have to spend money for pets etc.
I tend to agree with you on the mounts though as vanity rather than utility unless over the long run one ends up spending less time in travel and more time farming.
Actually some of the newer companions have been quite strong and durable to the point I have opted not to get an Ioun Stone for my Guardian Fighter.
That being said there are plenty of great pets which don't give stat buffs and those are worthwhile to look out for.
My Guardian Fighter's Companions:
Dread Warrior - Chance to become enraged, increasing threat genertation. (Summoned)
Rust Monster - 25% chance upon taking damage to reduce attacker's damage by 5%. Stacks 3 times.
Blacksmith - 15% chance to reflect 10% of the damage taken. If the same enemy receives reflected damage 4 times it reflects 30%.
Renegade Evoker - Upon suffering a critical hit do fire damage to nearby enemies.
Neverember Guard - On Damage Taken: 1% chance to heal 1% of your max HP.
I don't care for the stat buffs, but those types of effects...those I love. Those are the companions I don't mind spending money on and would recommend other players to buy as well.
If this game had more depth than a kiddie pool then I might agree on some of those. The stat buffs I receive from my Stone of Allure are way more valuable to me than any of those companion effects, and I do have several of those companions. People in this game level ridiculously fast as per game design, so most of the game happens at level cap and most companions frankly, are worthless in epic dungeons.
Seriously, Renegade Evoker does fire dmg to nearby enemies (if there are any at that exact moment) when taking a critical hit OR I can have +200-300 to power and buffs to other stats? I think it's safe to say most people who spend more time in game doing end game epic content vs admiring the scenery, would and do agree the Stones are much more useful than the slew of mediocre companions that pop up every other week.