The great companion debate

wdj40 · February 2016

john6522 said:
@wdj40 not sure. I can with the striker. I just have a warlock ready for mod 8 to test out.

I`ll have a play around with the Warlock tonight as I have the right equipment for it now. Its only Blue though and I don't really want to upgrade it if I end up not using it, plus I already have my Merc at Orange.

sundance777 · February 2016

rhadamathys said:
We discussed this on the ranger board...top 5 companions... Ultimately it comes down to what you can afford... The mercenary is the best companion if you can afford rank 10+ bonding stones...here's the numbers...

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fZt4W_SIDx9tMFcJLet5gevDmls1dyti88_G5j5kmR8/edit?usp=docslist_api

Long story short... Cat aka augment will get you a consistent 13,331 total points...

The merc routinely gets 3 procs right away and 4-5 isn't unheard of... He dies and comes back right away to proc more...Those 3 procs get you 34,800 total points...even if you don't get 3, 1 proc is 12968, 2 is 23,884...

Additionally the merc deals damage (decent dmg), bleed damage, grants you combat advantage since he gets behind the mob, and he'll occasionally draw aggro, freeing u up...

Btw, I play a trapper and a permabubble... Both run a legendary merc, both routinely have insane stats

Great post and spreadsheet, would you be willing to do a table on the dancing blade or at least comment on how you think it would compare to mercenary?

zak3056 · February 2016

wdj40 said:
Also its only worth getting Perfect Bonding Stones or higher for the 65% procs.

I think it's "worth it" at greater. On paper, you're getting the same bonus as your augment (3 * 50% * (20/30) = 100%) but you have the chance of extra procs, which boosts things a bit. Also, I think if you wait for perfects and you're on a budget, you'll never get there. Building up from three greaters seems like the best way to ensure progress.

By the way, with regard to the numbers on mercenary vs air archon, it's obvious the merc wins on a pure stat level, but I've gotta ask: what happens when you factor in the 5% damage buff from the archon? 2200 stat points is pretty big, but I don't know if it's big enough to offset the active (and the lower ranked your bondings are, the more pronounced the difference becomes).

soonergm · February 2016

You can have an air archon as an active and a merc as summoned.

bahamutzero · February 2016

For me, the Air Archon should always be in at least an unsummoned active slot even if you go with the Mercenary as your summoned companion. So the 5% buff wouldn't count as an additional benefit as you will be getting it regardless. Hope that makes sense.

wdj40 · February 2016

zak3056 said:

wdj40 said:
Also its only worth getting Perfect Bonding Stones or higher for the 65% procs.
I think it's "worth it" at greater. On paper, you're getting the same bonus as your augment (3 * 50% * (20/30) = 100%) but you have the chance of extra procs, which boosts things a bit. Also, I think if you wait for perfects and you're on a budget, you'll never get there. Building up from three greaters seems like the best way to ensure progress.

By the way, with regard to the numbers on mercenary vs air archon, it's obvious the merc wins on a pure stat level, but I've gotta ask: what happens when you factor in the 5% damage buff from the archon? 2200 stat points is pretty big, but I don't know if it's big enough to offset the active (and the lower ranked your bondings are, the more pronounced the difference becomes).

I have the Air Archon as an Active anyway so I still benefit from that extra damage, along with a Fire and an Earth Archon all Purple

xalorus · February 2016

@john6522 Yes the warlock can give up to 6 procs of the gift. I have video of it and if you need a pm of my tag I would be happy to provide it. Tc and have fun

zak3056 · February 2016

soonergm said:
You can have an air archon as an active and a merc as summoned.

Good point, I did indeed miss that in my calculations. I'll modify my position somewhat: what are you giving up by having the mercenary equipped? Another Archon? Erinyes? Blink Dog? Intellect Devourer? In the end, you're trading 2k stat points for SOME active bonus that MIGHT be better. Just wondering if anyone has done the math on that?

wdj40 · February 2016

xalorus said:
@john6522 Yes the warlock can give up to 6 procs of the gift. I have video of it and if you need a pm of my tag I would be happy to provide it. Tc and have fun

All Companions can give up to 6 procs of Gift. I tested the Warlock out the other day and my DPS lowered due to the stats. I put 2 Talisman`s from the SH HE's and a double slotted Recovery item. I also tried swapping out that double slotted item and put in a 3rd item that can have Overload Enhancements.

I enjoyed watching and playing with the Warlock with 2 and 3 overloads, but it still gave me far fewer stats I actually wanted for my HR. Power was half of what I get with the Merc. Warlock was under 2k Power whilst my Merc has 3.7k plus 1.7k Crit.

I have to admit my Warlock is only Blue but I cannot imagine the stats are that much better at Epic.

xalorus · February 2016

@wdj40 What works for me may not work for others. Stick with what works for you. I push 40k power from 31k from the merc. 21k crit compared to 17k from the merc (for me he is dead before he can get anything else off. Maybe what works for ranged may not work as well for melee). I run power/crit talis-dragonflight ring crit/recover. You like having you extra offensive slot and bis I get that. Tc and enjoy.

wdj40 · February 2016

xalorus said:
@wdj40 What works for me may not work for others. Stick with what works for you. I push 40k power from 31k from the merc. 21k crit compared to 17k from the merc (for me he is dead before he can get anything else off. Maybe what works for ranged may not work as well for melee). I run power/crit talis-dragonflight ring crit/recover. You like having you extra offensive slot and bis I get that. Tc and enjoy.

Oh yeah I totally understand that, its why I said earlier in the thread that the best Companion is probably different for each class

Weirdly since the last patch something has happened to my Merc. He had been doing fantastic for quite some time, then ever since the last downtime he literally dies all the time, to trash mobs in places like Dread Ring.

I`m sure something has happened, I have been mentioning on the bug report forum that the stats are not working properly for Companions (you can see when you revive a companion the HP number does not match up with what they are supposed to have etc) but that is a different issue I think.

randomhateforums · February 2016

I am curious what the numbers look like for Aranea, with 4 abilities it seems to offset some of the slower times.

Right now running Merc & Warlock and both seem to do well but looking at other supporting options from Leader/Controller roles.

bahamutzero · February 2016

How much would the stats of the Merc increase if it was upgraded from Epic to Legendary (assuming you already have a different legendary companion in an active slot and get the 15% bonus regardless).

amafia313 · February 2016

Stat increase from epic to legendary is very minimal. But the extra 15% could be worth your while with bondings proccing

cscriv79 · February 2016

A bit off topic, kinda.

Got the blacksmith companion and was unable to see any indications on screen or in the log of its active bonus, is this just a constant effect whether summoned or just active and is there a way to tell if it is activating and how often/much it is doing?

wdj40 · February 2016

randomhateforums said:
I am curious what the numbers look like for Aranea, with 4 abilities it seems to offset some of the slower times.

Right now running Merc & Warlock and both seem to do well but looking at other supporting options from Leader/Controller roles.

I have one of these and upgraded it to Purple, it is level 35. Its actually pretty decent and did not die much. I ended up going back to my Merc soon after. I am the same as you, I want to try out more Leader/Controller Companion... I`m after one that buffs/debuffs but procs Gift pretty fast.

wmadoss · February 2016

bahamutzero#2802 said:
How much would the stats of the Merc increase if it was upgraded from Epic to Legendary (assuming you already have a different legendary companion in an active slot and get the 15% bonus regardless).

The stats increase by around 200 (from around 420 to 620 depending on your companion bonus ability) for each power,crit and armpen so in total u get 600 extra statpoints.
And with rank12 bondings and 3 stacks thats around 600 extra of each stat (around 1800 in total).
And if you already didnt have a legendary companion you also get the 15% added aswell which can be up to another 800-1000 power, crit, armpen for instance.

buffalonightmare · February 2016

So where can I get the Merc? I have air archon and Z. warlock but I'm getting Merc based on everyone's input here

armadeonx · February 2016

I'm considering getting the Mystic Phoera, does anyone know how that compares to the Merc?

wmadoss · February 2016

buffalonightmare said:
So where can I get the Merc? I have air archon and Z. warlock but I'm getting Merc based on everyone's input here

heirloom pack zen market

kohndre · February 2016

So when searching for a merc or warlock, what would I search under companions under trade house? I'm looking at getting 1. Running a HR, with stone atm.

zephyriah · February 2016

kohndre said:
So when searching for a merc or warlock, what would I search under companions under trade house? I'm looking at getting 1. Running a HR, with stone atm.

You won't find a merc in the AH, it's Zen store Heirloom pack only. For the warlock, searching for the word warlock will work.

buffalonightmare · March 2016

wmadoss said:

buffalonightmare said:
So where can I get the Merc? I have air archon and Z. warlock but I'm getting Merc based on everyone's input here
heirloom pack zen market

Is it a guaranteed pull? Me and the RNGesus don't get along

zephyriah · March 2016

buffalonightmare said:

wmadoss said:

buffalonightmare said:
So where can I get the Merc? I have air archon and Z. warlock but I'm getting Merc based on everyone's input here
heirloom pack zen market

Is it a guaranteed pull? Me and the RNGesus don't get along

It's not random, it's an account unlock. Every character you have, or make in the future, will be able to get a Merc for free after the initial purchase.

The great companion debate

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