Avowed's Companions: A Ranked Guide from Worst to Best

Beyond their narrative roles and dialogue, Avowed's Companions offer practical benefits, from path clearing to combat prowess. This guide ranks every companion, from least to most useful.

4. Marius

Early game exploration benefits aside, Marius quickly becomes outmatched. His strengths lie in item and plant discovery, but his combat capabilities are underwhelming.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Blinding Roots: Roots enemies (upgradeable to stun, trap multiple, and inflict Bleed).
• Heart Seeker: Piercing shot (upgradeable to hit two enemies, increased damage vs. low-health foes, reduced cooldown).
• Shadow Step: Vanishes and attacks (upgradeable to insta-kill stunned enemies, increased damage vs. low-health foes, increased targets).
• Wounding Shots: Inflicts Bleed (upgradeable to reduce enemy damage reduction, slow enemies, and reduce enemy damage).

Marius excels against specific enemy types, particularly with a melee-focused Envoy, but his overall impact is limited for most of the Avowed journey.

3. Giatta

Giatta, a support-oriented Animancer, prioritizes healing, shielding, and buffs. While lacking in raw damage, her utility shines in challenging encounters, proving invaluable during boss fights. She also possesses the unique ability to activate Essence Generators, opening late-game areas.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Purification: Heals allies (upgradeable to increased healing, enemy interrupt/knockback, increased ally damage reduction).
• Barrier: Provides temporary health to allies (upgradeable to increased temporary health, healing on barrier expiration, self-protection).
• Acceleration: Increases ally movement and attack speed (upgradeable to damage reduction, extended duration, ability cooldown reduction).
• Reconstruction: Heals allies with attacks (upgradeable to increased healing for low-health allies, temporary health for full-health allies, ally revival on enemy kill).

Giatta synergizes exceptionally well with magic-focused Envoy builds.

2. Kai

Despite being an early recruit, Kai remains consistently valuable. This tank deals significant damage with minimal player intervention.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Fire and Ire: Blunderbuss shot with high stun and taunt (upgradeable to ignite target, increased stun, reduced cooldown).
• Unbending Defense: Health regeneration and damage reduction (upgradeable to increased damage reduction, increased health regeneration, damage-dealing shockwave).
• Leap of Daring: Stunning and taunting area-of-effect attack (upgradeable to increased area of effect, temporary health per hit, bonus attack damage per hit).
• Second Wind: Self-revival (upgradeable to increased health restoration, attack speed burst, ability cooldown reset).

Kai's abilities are effective against various enemies, offering both single-target and crowd control options. His self-revival further enhances his effectiveness. He can also utilize fire to remove obstacles.

1. Yatzli

Yatzli, a powerful Wizard, delivers high damage and exceptional crowd control. She's the closest equivalent to air support in the Living Lands.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Essence Explosion: Explosive arcane damage (upgradeable to increased blast radius, fire accumulation, reduced cooldown).
• Minoletta’s Missile Battery: Homing arcane missiles (upgradeable to increased fire rate, range, and shock accumulation).
• Arduos Delay of Motion: Slows enemies (upgradeable to increased slow, area-of-effect slow, frost accumulation).
• Blast: Area-of-effect damage on hit (upgradeable to explosive damage for breaking blocks/walls, shattering frozen enemies, increased stun, status effect chance).

Yatzli's potent abilities and obstacle-clearing capabilities make her the top companion choice. While recruited last, she's invaluable for the remainder of the game.

Avowed launches on PC and Xbox on February 18.