Top Avowed Companions Ranked by Utility

In Avowed, the Companions not only add depth to the narrative through their dialogues and stories but also play crucial roles in gameplay mechanics. From unlocking new paths to bolstering combat effectiveness, here's a comprehensive ranking of the Companions from least to most beneficial.

4. Marius

During my adventures in Avowed, I found Marius (depicted on the right in the image above) to be the least synergistic with my preferred playstyle. While his passive abilities aid in early-game exploration by helping to locate items and plants, he quickly becomes outshined by other Companions as the game progresses. Marius's combat prowess is notably weaker, making him less useful in battle. Here's a detailed look at Marius's abilities and their upgrades:

• Blinding Roots: Roots enemies in place for 8 seconds. Upgrades can stun enemies, affect multiple targets, and cause Bleed Accumulation.
• Heart Seeker: Fires a piercing shot that always hits the target, even through obstacles. Upgrades allow it to hit two enemies, deal increased damage to those below 50% health, and reduce its cooldown by 33%.
• Shadow Step: Marius vanishes in smoke before reappearing to slash an enemy with his daggers, repeatable up to three times. Upgrades can instantly kill most stunned enemies, increase damage against foes with lower health, and expand to six targets.
• Wounding Shots: Marius's attacks cause Bleed Accumulation. Upgrades can reduce enemy damage reduction, slow hit enemies, and further decrease enemy damage.

Marius's abilities primarily focus on controlling and weakening enemies, which can be helpful in specific scenarios, especially for melee-focused Envoys. However, his limited power makes him less desirable for most of the journey across the Living Lands in Avowed.

3. Giatta

Giatta, an Animancer with a support focus, uses magic to heal, shield, and buff the party. While she doesn't excel in dealing damage, her utility in protecting and enhancing the party's performance is invaluable, especially during intense encounters like boss fights. Here are Giatta's abilities in Avowed:

• Purification: Heals allies by 25% of their maximum Health. Upgrades increase healing to 50%, interrupt and knock back enemies, and boost ally damage reduction by 20% for 15 seconds.
• Barrier: Grants temporary health to all allies for 20 seconds. Upgrades enhance the temporary health, heal enemies when the barrier dissipates, and protect Giatta from melee attacks while knocking them back.
• Acceleration: Boosts move and attack speed of allies for 15 seconds. Upgrades provide 15% damage reduction, extend the duration by 10 seconds, and reduce ability cooldowns by 50%.
• Reconstruction: Giatta's attacks heal allies slightly. Upgrades offer greater healing for allies below 20% health, grant temporary health at maximum health, and revive incapacitated allies upon Giatta killing an enemy.

Additionally, Giatta can activate Essence Generators, unlocking new areas and accessing valuable late-game loot. She pairs exceptionally well with Envoys who favor Wizard builds focused on magic.

2. Kai

As the first Companion you encounter in Avowed, Kai remains a valuable asset throughout your entire playthrough. His tank-like abilities and damage output make him a formidable ally requiring minimal micromanagement. Here are Kai's abilities and their upgrades:

• Fire and Ire: Fires a high-stun shot from his Blunderbuss, taunting enemies for 10 seconds. Upgrades ignite targets, increase stun, and reduce the cooldown by 50%.
• Unbending Defense: Regenerates health and increases damage reduction by 25%. Upgrades can reduce incoming damage by 50%, boost health regeneration, and emit a damaging shockwave upon expiration.
• Leap of Daring: Crashes down on an enemy, stunning and taunting nearby foes. Upgrades double the area of effect, grant temporary health per hit, and increase attack damage per enemy struck.
• Second Wind: Revives Kai by restoring 50% of his maximum health. Upgrades can increase this to 75%, provide a temporary attack speed boost, and reset all ability cooldowns.

Kai's versatility shines in both single-target and crowd control scenarios. His self-revival ability further enhances his value, making him a reliable combat partner. Additionally, Kai's fire can clear obstacles like spider webs and roots, granting access to new areas.

1. Yatzli

Yatzli, a powerful Wizard, excels in dealing high-damage attacks and controlling crowds. Her abilities make her the closest thing to air support in the fantasy world of the Living Lands. Here are Yatzli's abilities and their upgrades:

• Essence Explosion: Releases arcane power and explosive damage upon hitting an enemy. Upgrades increase the blast radius, cause fire accumulation, and reduce the cooldown by 33%.
• Minoletta’s Missile Battery: Fires a volley of enemy-seeking arcane missiles. Upgrades increase fire rate and range, and cause shock accumulation.
• Arduos Delay of Motion: Slows an enemy for 10 seconds. Upgrades enhance the slowing effect, create an area of effect, and cause frost accumulation.
• Blast: Yatzli's attacks burst into a small area of effect upon hitting enemies. Upgrades can deal explosive damage to break blocks and walls, shatter frozen enemies, increase stun, and have a chance to inflict Frozen, Ignited, or Shocked statuses.

Yatzli's powerful and versatile abilities align well with her fierce personality. She can also clear obstacles, providing access to new areas. Although the last Companion you recruit in Avowed, Yatzli's value makes her an essential ally for the remainder of your journey.

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