How would people rate each of the companions in terms of strength/usefulness in a party?

[Raindrops]

IMO, Cait is incredibly useful, as she is both a healer and a strong offensive caster in her default configuration, and with her witch set she is still a good healer but switches out the offensive spells for defensive ones. Very useful for just about any party, unless you yourself are playing a white mage

Brint/Brienne I feel like is pretty strong, because he/she deals a ton of damage while being reasonably tanky, so they can kinda sorta fill the tank role


For Atugia, IMO she's... kinda bad? LIke yeah, she's tanky as fuck, but I've noticed that whenever I use her instead of Brienne, enemies just die sooo slowly because Atugia can't seem to do any damage. It would be nice if we could get another set for her that let her deal some more damage without sacrificing too much of her tankyness

I honestly haven't used any of hte other companions (looking at the wiki, I can see several that I didn't even realize could be companions in the first place), so I'd love to hear what y'all think of them

 

[Alypia]

IMO, most companions are at a decent place.

The only one that's really an active drag on the party in combat is Berwyn (and you can still kludge your way through difficult content if you build around him); the only ones that are probably too good are Bimbazzy and Pyro Brienne. All of the other sets range from okay-but-situational to good.

As far as I know, the idea is to prevent the player's preferences - who they want to spend time with, who they want to share their bedroll in camp, etc. - from dragging them down in combat, and in my experience the balance crew has mostly managed to deliver on that.

 

[Kesil]

Going by my experience so far and without counting Brienne and Bimbo Azyrran...

• Azyrran is a good mix of brute strength with magic. Also viable for teasing.
• Etheryn would go here if it wasn't because I dislike having to relieve her. In her absence...
• ...Cait goes here as a healer and as a holy magician. Her other set is currently covered by my main Champion.
• Brint and Arona (in this order) go well for sheer force. Haven't tested their alternate sets too much.
• Berwyn should go here due to the summons, but he can be easily outclassed if running certain companion sets.
• Kiyoko can be tricky to deal with, but can be brutally effective when facing certain enemies.
• Quintillus is mostly viable for a tease-focused team.
• I'm with Raindrops when it comes to Atugia. Good for defending, but that's all... for now, hopefully.

 

[Ireyon]

IMO, most companions are at a decent place.

The only one that's really an active drag on the party in combat is Berwyn (and you can still kludge your way through difficult content if you build around him); the only ones that are probably too good are Bimbazzy and Pyro Brienne. All of the other sets range from okay-but-situational to good.

As far as I know, the idea is to prevent the player's preferences - who they want to spend time with, who they want to share their bedroll in camp, etc. - from dragging them down in combat, and in my experience the balance crew has mostly managed to deliver on that.

The current strongest content just seems biased in pyro Brienne's favour since fire > frozen wasteland.

As far as I'm concerned: Atugia and Berwyn are definitely the weakest of the bunch. Berwyn kind of wants his stone golem but that means you can't use your own summon if you're a black mage. Atugia is just a stone wall tank and due to her low damage output she still struggles to keep her threat once my thief or black mage start blasting. She's been benched for a while now. Berwyn having group-heal just baffled me, it feels like his set was designed as a beginner's crutch so you didn't have to choose between picking a mage or a healer... but Cait signs on early too so WTH?

Winter Brint suffers from the same problem. He somehow generates less threat than standard Brint and does less damage besides. He also needs someone else to help him keep the frigid debuff up so you can make the most of his abilities. I want to like the set because the visual and theme are great but I feel it just needs a rework because, like Atugia and Berwyn, it's just not worth the effort to make it work.

Quin and Azzy suffer from late inclusion syndrome but they're in a decent spot at the moment, as are the other characters and sets. Kiyoko of course steals the show since she comes fully equipped with three whole sets of her own, though I struggle to find a spot for her on my team in my usual black mage/brint/witch cait setup. On the other hand she fits perfectly into a team with my thief since she has a load of debuffs.

As an aside, Witch Cait and Zo's group heal + resolve heal ability (plus her silver mask) is a great combination to basically defeat anything that doesn't one-shot you. I generally like Witch Cait the most out of all her sets since a pure healer of her caliber is just a god sent in so many fights.

 

[Raindrops]

Hmm, do people think it viable to bring Cait and Kiyoko along if you yourself are a Black Mage?

I kinda want to try because yay kitty and slutsune, but that leaves my party with no tank whatsoever, which seems... unwise

 

[Ireyon]

Hmm, do people think it viable to bring Cait and Kiyoko along if you yourself are a Black Mage?

I kinda want to try because yay kitty and slutsune, but that leaves my party with no tank whatsoever, which seems... unwise

If it's Witch Cait, yes. Kyoko has a perk that lowers her threat and Cait heals, so chances are your main character will be the main target. Even if you're squishy Cait will be able to keep you alive. As a Witch she has healing and shields galore and you have both her devotion and Kiyoko's sash to revive you.

There is a problem with that setup though. Cait won't be able to do much damage and both you any Kiyoko are magic damage dealers. You'll have trouble with enemies that have lots of ward.

 

[YEsManKablaam]

I can deal with just about anybody in the party so far the only one that actually bothers me is Etheryn always getting horny after we've went like 8 spaces otu of town tbh lol. I'm like wtf woman jeez. That actively discourages me from taking her along.

 

[Ireyon]

I can deal with just about anybody in the party so far the only one that actually bothers me is Etheryn always getting horny after we've went like 8 spaces otu of town tbh lol. I'm like wtf woman jeez. That actively discourages me from taking her along.

Same. I really wish I could just tell her to go to Cait and have her help her out.

 

[zagzig]

The only companion I struggle to make work on Normal/Auto is Quin. You can build around Berwyn and Atugia, but Quin in anything other than a charmer set is just... sweetie, please stop using your turn healing the resolve damage you're inflicting on yourself with Firewalk.

 

[Alfenjeiser02]

Brint / Brienne: It is the crutch from the beginning of the game I cannot imagine the ordeal it would be to start the game without it.

Cait: Despite not being the best curandela, I consider her the best support unit and she improved with her last set.

Kiyoko: Wonderful, its variables of sets allows you to make a lot of combinations, especially if you are a thief or magician, I'd be in a higher position if it weren't for its durability equal to wet paper.

Arona: Unfortunately it is overshadowed by others but even so for the simple fact of the ability "Berseker" and "Inspire wrath" it is already worth it.

Etheryn: the best point of her is to be a curandela and the normal set of her is quite good if you damage enemies by for "crushing"

Quintillus: Good / Bad It depends on the situation but I don't usually use it unless your team is currently dedicated to being Horny!

Atugia: I never use it except when I am a charmer, the only positive thing I can say about it is that it is good at attracting the attention of the enemy

Berwyn: Worst companion when it comes to combat Berwyn is the perfect example "apprentice of everything, master of nothing" It is supposed to be a magic unit but it only has Fire Bolt, Group heal is useful but not he is not someone who can endure so many blows, Charm Spell attacks from the resolve side and his ultimate only works in summons, the only thing that is worth it.

Azyrran: I haven't played enough yet to have an opinion

 

[Kesil]

Brint / Brienne: It is the crutch from the beginning of the game I cannot imagine the ordeal it would be to start the game without it.

I began my first game in the Harvest Valley, and didn't leave it until I finished traversing through it and completing its by-then available quests. When I went to the forest and Brint joined the fray, it felt extremely awkward XD

 

[Emerald]

Brint / Brienne: It is the crutch from the beginning of the game I cannot imagine the ordeal it would be to start the game without it.

You should've see how difficult of a time people were having when the game's starter zone was only the Foothills. Those damn harpies being level 3 enemies made going in as a level 1 aggravating. Brint absolutely made it easier to fight them at a low level when he came in to where the Foothills is an actually viable starting zone now.

 

[Raindrops]

I used to ignore brint (I don't like minotaurs) and just use Cait until I could beat Atugia and recruit her

it made the early levels somewhat spicy, to say the least

 

[SmithEK]

I don't really recruit them for their strengths. I have my herm PCs adventuring with Kiyoko (because who doesn't want their sexy floof around) and the second slot I rotate between Etheryn (her goddamn horniness is a let down, can't wait to get that damn cage off) Brienne, Azzy (if I recruited her) and Atugia. I used to have Cait on the team permanently but grown bored of the pink kitty.

I don't use Berry or Quin as I don't like them.

 

[SH60]

I swap between them a lot the only ones I don't use are-

Quintillus - Because I don't really find much use in his kit (for the champion i'm using) and I get him late because I go to Harvest Valley after complete the other two areas.

Azyrran - Because I didn't know she can be a companion.

 

[Wint3rRyd3r]

That's a hard one. Buuuuuuuuuuut hot takes time. In order from most to least:

1. Brienne. She has a good base set with great stats for damage. Pyro is a good magical alternative so she's got good stats and options. Plus by the horns is her ultimate. It is the final form of cleave.

2. Azzy. She's like Brienne but has venin edge instead of execute which poisons the enemy. Combined with the BimbAzzy set she has options for health and resolve. That versatility in damage gives her an edge over most.

3. Kiyoko. Do you hate that guy over there? Do you like scorched earth? Do you just want that guy to get fucked to death by a hail of hellfire? Then get a slutty fox wife. Kiyoko has a lot of options for ruining everyone's day with magic. The only reason she's the bronze medal is because her ultimate is really something to be reserved for bosses. Kinda restricts her.

4. Brint. Brint isn't really inferior to his gender swapped self, but at the time of posting his only other set is tanky ice knight. That's a problem when most of the enemies are winter themed. Aside from that, he's still got his base set which is good. Early game cleave anyone?

5. Ryn. As a damage dealer she's kind of middling. Her base set lacks any real utility and a slot is used for summoning which I haven't found that useful. Her healer set is the best for heals though. So basically, as a damage dealer and archer she's meh. But she's a damn good heal slut.

6. It hurts to put Cait this low but here she is. Whitefire and sun of jassira are good skills but pulling double duty as a healer and damager hinders both from their full potential. Her witch set is full support but because it's a mix of buffs and debuffs it has the same issue of jack of all, master of none that her priestess set has. Haven't really had a chance to try her hexblade set yet.

7. Quin. He's got Cait's problem of trying to pull double duty but with a worse skill spread and one set. His resolve heal skill is meh and he lacks reliable damage for health and resolve. Plus firewalk hurts him just as much as his enemies. I do like that his portrait changes when it's active though. The only reason he's not lower is because mind snap is pretty good.

8. Berwyn. I'm sorry Berry but spending time summoning is not a good use of a turn. His skills are all over the place. He has a group heal, resolve heal, fire damage bolt thingy, and a summon. It sounds good on paper but in practice the lack of focus just kills his viability. Even with Cait and Quin they only go between two archetypes. Berry tries to go for all and suffers as a result. He needs a set to focus on something at least. Even if it is summoning and summon support.

Unsorted: Arona and Atugia. I haven't really used either enough to judge them one way or the other.

God-Tier: Kohaku. The power of smol and business are too great. Only Kinu has had the honor of glimpsing a fraction of the fluffy shortstack's power. All shall revere the great Kohaku noyja.