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So, who are the BiS (summoned) companions?

adinosiiadinosii Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,294 Arc User
edited May 2019 in General Discussion (PC)
With healing companions not really healing and fighting companions not really fighting, the answer is clearly an augment - but which augment?

One answer is
  • For BiS gear, you want a legendary Deepcrow Hatchling anyhow for an offensive slot for the +8000 Power bonus, so why not make it do double duty and use it as summoned as well?
The Deepcrow Hatchling gives a special bonus to Critical Strike, Deflect and Awareness, so if you are below cap on any of those stats, fine. However, if you have capped those and cost is not really an issue, you would be looking at using a different augment companions as summoned - one that gives a special bonus to Power.

Those are:
  • Bulette Pup (Power, Defense, CA)
  • Star of Simril (Power, Crit Avoidance, Awareness)
  • Quasit (Power, Defense, Accuracy)
  • Polar Bear Cub (Power, Critical Strike, Awareness)
If you have reached "maximum efficiency" for all the stats, it really doesn't matter which one you use, but otherwise what is "best" really comes down to which stats you are lacking. In my case the best active augment would be either Bulette Pup (CA not maxed) or Star of Simril (Crit Avoidance not maxed). I already have the other stats maxed, so Quasit and Polar bear cub would not be as good for me.
Hoping for improvements...
Post edited by adinosii on
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Comments

  • tassedethe13tassedethe13 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 806 Arc User
    May I add that if you have 3 bondings runes 15, and for example a bulette pup legendary 40, it will give to your character 3K more in power, defense, CA compared to another augment.
  • adinosiiadinosii Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,294 Arc User

    If you are looking for more outgoing healing, then use the Ioun stone of the Feywild it gives you 10% more outgoing healing.

    Don't confuse the issue please. That's just what it adds when you are using it in an utility slot - it has nothing to do with the question of what the best summoned companion is.

    Hoping for improvements...
  • midnightitamidnightita Member Posts: 227 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    Bulette pup because combat advantage is the hardest stat to cap. assuming you are using all radiant enchantments + empowered runestones
  • zimxero#8085 zimxero Member Posts: 876 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    I have Deepcrow Hatchling at Legendary & a Bulette at Blue. I am considering getting Ioun Stone of Allure for the HP bonus instead. How much does the HP bonus become? +1000 STR becomes about +3000 strength after bonding. Is the +1000 for hit points actually +4000? & does it get boosted by the bonding stones? Anyone know?


    As far as summoned companions (the OP question):
    At lower levels, the summoned companions do more comparitive damage I am told. Of all the companions I've tested (about 20 at legendary)... the best ones were Zhentarim Warlock & Air Archon (but they are not that good). My take away is that physical damage companions suck dogshit. The AoE companions are the only ones that "might" be good. I'm told that Death Slaad is good... but im not gonna upgrade mine for 1.75 million just to find out. (its sitting at green).
  • mamalion1234mamalion1234 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 3,415 Arc User
  • exgardianexgardian Member Posts: 255 Arc User
    Black Dragon Ioun Stone give extra HP. Nice for tanks.
    2fv72Fw.png
  • merik1999merik1999 Member Posts: 141 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    If you are only using augment, then you are using your companions wrong.
    I use many different companions for many different fights. If I am fighting mobs i use the Groot dude who just does a good job mitigating the mob and also the con-artist as he does hit hard and boosts your crit strikes on everyone he hits.
    also I like to use the leprechaun, as he does hold a mob every 30 seconds. he will hold one of the mimics for you in LOMM
    the Grung frog dude is pretty cool but he can't see. most of his attacks will be in the opposite direction of the mob, but if he somehow hits they are poisoned will die much easier. He even poisons bosses, but again he is near blind and will miss alot...

    I have lots of other pets i use and they are all great whether epic or legendary... so if yours are not fighting then fire them and use something else. but yeah, healers suk.
  • adinosiiadinosii Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,294 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    @mamalion1234 said:
    > owlbear cub is not bad .

    Well, neither is the goldfish or the goat - what's your point? I'm not talking about which companions are not bad - but which ones are best - and the Owlbear Cub is just not quite in the same category as several others as far as summoned companions are concerned.

    It gives a special bonus to ArPen and Accuracy (which will be wasted for BiS players) as well as CA. That makes it inferior to many other augments.

    Now, what makes the Owlbear bub potentially interesting is if you slot it in a utility slot, for a 10% chance to do an additional hit for up to 50% of your Power when you fail to critically hit. For a BiS player way can assume a 50% Crit chance and at least 140K Power, so this is really 0.5*0.1*0.5*140K or 3500 per hit on the average, which is pretty nice - but which companions are best in the offensive/defensive/utility slots is an entirely different issue.
    Hoping for improvements...
  • adinosiiadinosii Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,294 Arc User
    > @bobo#5090 said:
    > How about a list of BiS for each type of comp slot?

    That's a big question. I do not think there is a single set that is "best" for everyone. There are a few that are really good for most players - I already mentioned the Deepcrow Hatchling (for the +6000/+8000 Power bonus), but another of my favourites is the Energon (for 24.000/32.000 HP). Howver, there are numerous other issues to consider.

    For example, for a Healer loadout you might want companions that give a bonus to outgoing healing: Ioun Stone of the Feywild, Neverember Guard, Polar Bear Cub, Quickling or Rebel Mercenary.

    Companions like Xuna and Owlbear Cub might be suitable for some - others want a max Power build and go for Alpha Compy and various companions that give a Power boost.

    Also, if you have not maxed some of the more important stats like Armor Penetration, a companion that boosts those will generally be superior to most other choices.
    Hoping for improvements...
  • adinosiiadinosii Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,294 Arc User
    > @exgardian said:
    > Black Dragon Ioun Stone give extra HP. Nice for tanks.

    Ah, yes...you are right. Not everyone focuses on Power. So, the augments that give a special HP bonus also Include the Ioun Stones of Allure/Might, the Goldfish and the Infant Gorilla.
    Hoping for improvements...
  • adinosiiadinosii Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,294 Arc User
    > @merik1999 said:
    > If you are only using augment, then you are using your companions wrong.
    Well, the issue is if whatever benefit the companion brings compensates for the loss on stats you get from not using an augment. and the potential inconvenience of using a killable companion.

    Granted, this might be the case in some circumstances, for example while leveling up or if you are a bit undergeared, but I have a really hard time seeing this for anyone close to BiS.
    Hoping for improvements...
  • darthpotaterdarthpotater Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,259 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    I think they will (soon) release a BIS augment in the Zen store. Wait and see.

    The actual difference between 1 augment and other is not very high. We are talking about 3K power in 150k power builds
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  • schietindebuxschietindebux Member Posts: 4,292 Arc User
    Owlbear did not work in utility slot last time I checked, is it fixed?
  • artifleurartifleur Member Posts: 642 Arc User
    Unless they fixed this bug, which they probably didn't since it wasn't listed in any patch notes, augmentd with HP listed under their enhancement skill actually give less HP, not more.

    Some also have errors in their tooltips (black ice ioun and red drag ioun), so don't trust them. Rainer has all the correct values in his pocket wiki.
  • silverkeltsilverkelt Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 4,235 Arc User
    merik1999 said:

    If you are only using augment, then you are using your companions wrong.
    I use many different companions for many different fights. If I am fighting mobs i use the Groot dude who just does a good job mitigating the mob and also the con-artist as he does hit hard and boosts your crit strikes on everyone he hits.
    also I like to use the leprechaun, as he does hold a mob every 30 seconds. he will hold one of the mimics for you in LOMM
    the Grung frog dude is pretty cool but he can't see. most of his attacks will be in the opposite direction of the mob, but if he somehow hits they are poisoned will die much easier. He even poisons bosses, but again he is near blind and will miss alot...

    I have lots of other pets i use and they are all great whether epic or legendary... so if yours are not fighting then fire them and use something else. but yeah, healers suk.

    I have loads of comps 100 or so different ones or whatever amongst my alts, There isnt much occasion to use anything besides an augment, run the content with both through and you will see little difference.

    To be honest, they made a cluster really of comps.. Im not at all sure why this new system is better then the old one, you just have to spend more AD.. and have little to no choices in the end.

    Even if they upped healers a bit, I bet it wont be by much.. because they dont want a situation where healing comps, can heal you through content designed for groups.. which will always make their heals pretty pathetic probably.

    The new comp system , is like pretty much the rest of mod 16.. lousy imo.

    All they have done is replace a debuff/buff pet with a stat pet. Thats what we get for you complainers though..
  • merik1999merik1999 Member Posts: 141 Arc User
    Sorry if you guys are not seeing any difference in companions. I am 20k IL and I see a huge difference.
    But i guess its all how you play the game. If they just fix the dungeons, I think the game will be playable. little tweaks here and there will help with regular content but playing the dungeons are just not fun...
  • artifleurartifleur Member Posts: 642 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    I tested all augments before I was made aware of Rainer's spreadsheet.

    My results were the same as his.

    He doesn't mention the HP enhancement bug though so maybe it was fixed.

    EDIT : I double-checked. The wrong tooltips are still wrong and HP enhancement still gives -4k instead of +4k.
    Post edited by artifleur on
  • robai#6206 robai Member Posts: 344 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    Since companions no longer heal, and they no longer do damage then it doesn't matter which is summoned (all c.r.a.p anyway).
  • nemesrichnemesrich Member Posts: 85 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    merik1999 said:

    If you are only using augment, then you are using your companions wrong.

    As summoned augment gives third of my stats I could argue with that.
  • bobby4700bobby4700 Member, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 179 Arc User
    What we've got here is failure to communicate. (Axl Rose, "Civil War") wrong that statement is from Cool Hand Luke made by captain played by Strother Martain copied by axl rose
  • mebengalsfan#9264 mebengalsfan Member Posts: 3,169 Arc User

    merik1999 said:

    If you are only using augment, then you are using your companions wrong.
    I use many different companions for many different fights. If I am fighting mobs i use the Groot dude who just does a good job mitigating the mob and also the con-artist as he does hit hard and boosts your crit strikes on everyone he hits.
    also I like to use the leprechaun, as he does hold a mob every 30 seconds. he will hold one of the mimics for you in LOMM
    the Grung frog dude is pretty cool but he can't see. most of his attacks will be in the opposite direction of the mob, but if he somehow hits they are poisoned will die much easier. He even poisons bosses, but again he is near blind and will miss alot...

    I have lots of other pets i use and they are all great whether epic or legendary... so if yours are not fighting then fire them and use something else. but yeah, healers suk.

    I have loads of comps 100 or so different ones or whatever amongst my alts, There isnt much occasion to use anything besides an augment, run the content with both through and you will see little difference.

    To be honest, they made a cluster really of comps.. Im not at all sure why this new system is better then the old one, you just have to spend more AD.. and have little to no choices in the end.

    Even if they upped healers a bit, I bet it wont be by much.. because they dont want a situation where healing comps, can heal you through content designed for groups.. which will always make their heals pretty pathetic probably.

    The new comp system , is like pretty much the rest of mod 16.. lousy imo.

    All they have done is replace a debuff/buff pet with a stat pet. Thats what we get for you complainers though..
    The only good news was that now we can use the comp we want but the reality is we will still pick the summoned one that helps us out the best, though there are a bit more now other than the Tiger but over time we will eventually all end up with the same summoned companion, it will happen.

    What players wanted was a way to change the companion visual to another companion but not losing anything on the summoned companion. For instance instead of the Tiger some wanted to see another companion such as Fire Archon, Air Archon, etc...

    Once again we asked for A and got Z.

    The thought I had on companions was this, make the summon companion a non-combat pet - augment. This would allow us to pick whatever companion we wanted summoned. What we do get from companions with be the active bonus, stats, etc... based on the companion ranking. We pick 5 actives and there is no enforcement of taking offensive, defensive, or utility. The five we pick will provide us a combined stat rating based on the five active companions we selected. Than we would get those along with whatever gear and runestones we have on our companion. Than we can add a debuff from a list based on companions we have acquired. This is very similar to what is in mod 16 but removal of attacking/healing companions as they are mostly useless.

    As for what is BiS, I'm sure once we all play a bit more and spend more playing we will find out what is truly BiS.


  • fogcrowfogcrow Member Posts: 82 Arc User
    I disagree with the suggestion to turn all companions into auguments.

    The companions who participate in fights allow all classes to make use of combat advantage in single player content, which makes a huge difference for players with non-overkill dps for what they´re doing.

    Also my dps companion has saved me from having to click on a few trash mobs every once in a while xD. Still...yes, its disappointing that:
    1. the dmg output of dps comps isn´t more meaningful
    2. its impossible to reach stat tresholds like arp for full damage on companions without insanely overstacking on the main char.(would be nice if bondings worked both ways, at least for the capped stats)

    haven´t experimented with other types yet, but companions control powers might do a little more now that the players own have longer cooldowns related to uptime.
    Also, some other effects read promising, if they work xD. F.e. the angel of protections "summoner takes 5% less dmg", might be worth it on tanks if it really gets us from 50% damage resistance to 55%
  • zimxero#8085 zimxero Member Posts: 876 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    I'd like to see a damage boost for 'summoned' companions when there are no duplicate allied summoned companions .

    EXAMPLE: your level * companion's level / 100 = Unique companion damage boost (goes up to 24% max)
  • vorphiedvorphied Member Posts: 1,870 Arc User
    I would argue that summoned companions quickly become irrelevant in regards to CA, because you quickly reach a point where you really don't care whether or not you get it when doing solo content. The time spent trying to finagle a single mob between you and your companion generally outweighs the benefit.

    The best you could hope for is using it to grant CA on things like expedition bosses, but those die so quickly even without CA that it doesn't matter much.
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  • natureyouscarynatureyouscary Member Posts: 12 Arc User
    Actually curious about this too but more what would be bis for a Healadin?
  • frozenfirevrfrozenfirevr Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 1,475 Community Moderator
    Are any non-stat bonuses good? They all seemed bad to me, but maybe I missed something?
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  • zimxero#8085 zimxero Member Posts: 876 Arc User
    edited May 2019
    YEah there are some good ones... These 8 are the most significant options:

    COMPANION - - - - - - - PLAYER BONUS POWER:
    Owlbear Cub (bugged) - - - - - - - On encounter use, if you fail to critically hit, you have a 10% chance to do an additional hit for damage equal to 50% of your power.
    Cockatrice - - - - - - -  10% chance to do 40% weapon damage and root the source of the damage for 6 seconds (3 seconds if target is player).
    Pig - - - - - - -  5% of your Max HP healed every second you are Controlled.
    Stalwart Golden Lion - - - - - - -  50% chance, on companion power use, to apply a stack of Celestial Lion's Presence to you. Celestial Lion's Presence grants 10% additional damage as radiant damage for 10 seconds.
    Astral Deva - - - - - - - 10% chance to heal companion and player for 8,000 health
    Bulette Pup - - - - - - -  If you take more than 20% of your Max HP in a single blow, you Heal for 20% of your Maximum Hit Points over the next 5 seconds. This effect may only occur once every 60 seconds.
    Tutor - - - - - - -  On combat start, your Armor Penetration is increased by 12,000 and your Combat Advantage is increased by 6,000 for 10 seconds. (when summoned, Tutor boosts allied Combat Advantage)
    Hunting Hawk - - - - - - -  Damage bonus increases as the range increases with a maximum of +10%.

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