Best Avowed Companions, Ranked by Helpfulness

In Avowed, Companions not only enrich the narrative and dialogue but also play crucial roles in gameplay mechanics, from unlocking new paths to enhancing combat strategies. Here's a detailed ranking of every Companion in Avowed, from least to most effective, based on their practical contributions to your journey through the Living Lands.

4. Marius

During my adventures in Avowed, I found Marius (depicted on the right in the image above) to be less compatible with my preferred playstyle. While his passive abilities are beneficial for early-game exploration, helping to locate items and plants, he quickly becomes outclassed by other Companions. Marius's combat abilities focus on controlling and weakening enemies, which can be useful in specific scenarios, particularly against melee-focused foes with low health. However, his overall impact on combat is limited, making him less desirable for the majority of your journey. Here's a breakdown of Marius's abilities and their upgrades:

• Blinding Roots: Roots enemies in place for 8 seconds, with upgrades to stun, trap multiple enemies, and inflict Bleed Accumulation.
• Heart Seeker: A piercing shot that always hits, with upgrades to target multiple enemies, increase damage against low-health foes, and reduce cooldown.
• Shadow Step: Vanishes and reappears to slash enemies, with upgrades to kill stunned enemies instantly, increase damage against low-health targets, and affect more enemies.
• Wounding Shots: Inflicts Bleed Accumulation, with upgrades to reduce enemy damage reduction, slow hit enemies, and further reduce enemy damage.

Marius's abilities are niche, making him a situational choice, especially for Envoys focused on melee combat.

3. Giatta

Giatta, an Animancer with a focus on support, uses magic to heal, shield, and buff the party. While she may not excel in direct damage, her utility in protecting the Envoy and maintaining party health is invaluable, particularly during intense encounters like boss fights. Here are Giatta's abilities in Avowed:

• Purification: Heals allies by 25% of their maximum Health, with upgrades to increase healing, interrupt enemies, and boost damage reduction.
• Barrier: Grants temporary health to allies for 20 seconds, with upgrades to enhance the shield, heal enemies upon expiration, and protect Giatta from melee attacks.
• Acceleration: Boosts ally move and attack speed for 15 seconds, with upgrades to add damage reduction, extend duration, and reduce cooldowns.
• Reconstruction: Heals allies with attacks, with upgrades to focus on critically injured allies, grant temporary health, and revive incapacitated allies upon enemy kills.

Giatta's ability to power Essence Generators also unlocks new areas, making her a valuable asset, especially for Envoys using Wizard builds.

2. Kai

As the first Companion you encounter in Avowed, Kai remains a reliable ally throughout your playthrough. His tank-like abilities allow him to absorb damage and deal significant blows without much need for player intervention. Here are Kai's abilities and their upgrades:

• Fire and Ire: Fires from his Blunderbuss to stun and taunt enemies, with upgrades to ignite targets, increase stun, and reduce cooldown.
• Unbending Defense: Regenerates health and increases damage reduction, with upgrades to further reduce damage, enhance regeneration, and unleash a damaging shockwave.
• Leap of Daring: Stuns and taunts enemies upon landing, with upgrades to expand the area of effect, gain temporary health, and boost attack damage.
• Second Wind: Revives himself with 50% health, with upgrades to increase revival health, gain attack speed, and reset ability cooldowns.

Kai's versatility in handling both single targets and crowds, combined with his self-revival ability, makes him an essential combat partner requiring minimal micromanagement. He can also clear obstacles like spider webs and roots, opening new paths.

1. Yatzli

Yatzli, a powerful Wizard, brings high-damage and crowd-control abilities to the table, making her an invaluable asset in Avowed. Her abilities are akin to having air support in the fantasy world of the Living Lands. Here are Yatzli's abilities and their upgrades:

• Essence Explosion: Explodes upon hitting enemies, with upgrades to increase blast radius, inflict fire accumulation, and reduce cooldown.
• Minoletta’s Missile Battery: Fires a volley of arcane missiles, with upgrades to enhance fire rate, range, and inflict shock accumulation.
• Arduos Delay of Motion: Slows enemies, with upgrades to intensify the effect, create an area of effect, and inflict frost accumulation.
• Blast: Causes a small area of effect upon hitting enemies, with upgrades to deal explosive damage, break blocks, destroy walls, and apply status effects like Frozen, Ignited, or Shocked.

Yatzli's powerful abilities and her capacity to clear obstacles make her an essential Companion, despite being the last to join your party. Her fierce personality and combat prowess make her a top choice for the remainder of your journey in Avowed.

Avowed is set to release on PC and Xbox on February 18.