Best ranger companion - also, can you change?

[tedmann12]

What is best ranger companion for PoTD? I think bear or boar? Bear for armor or Boar for healing?

 

Can you change animal companion later in game?

[Sanctuary]

For PoTD use Ghost Heart and ignore the pet entirely.  The best use for the pet was for the prone combo buff, but prior to 1.1, the pet seemed to only able to land a knockdown 5% of the time, and it was more hassle than benefit to micromanage to prevent getting the bonded grief debuff.

Edited June 5, 2018 by Sanctuary

[Climhazzard]

Are any of them immune to engagement? Ghost heart?  That's one thing I like about Maia's bird.  What's the cast/recovery on ghost heart pet?  For most cases I would probably just take the bear.

[Sanctuary]

The reason to pick Ghost Heart is so that you don't actually have a pet...

[grasida]

Ghost heart’s pet is instant cast, no recovery, one bond. Your pet will never meaningfully contribute to damage, but people say the bear is good at taking a hit, the ghost pets are all immune to engagement, and if it dies you can just summon it again. The pets for ghost heart are legitimately good, just disappointing compared to the first game.

Edited June 5, 2018 by grasida

[Sanctuary]

Ghost heart’s pet is instant cast, no recovery, one bond. Your pet will never meaningfully contribute to damage, but people say the bear is good at taking a hit, the ghost pets are all immune to engagement, and if it dies you can just summon it again. The pets for ghost heart are legitimately good, just disappointing compared to the first game.

 

This is why you pick Ghost Heart.  It's so that you don't have to get the bonded grief debuff.  The pets are a waste of space anyway, and the Bear could take all of two hits (sometimes three on weak stuff) prior to 1.1 on the not-so-hard PotD.  Since you don't actually start with the pet, you never get the debuff, and I'd argue it's not even worth spending a single bond on.  Maia has the best pet anyway.

 

Also, pets are really a big hassle if you have your healing setup to function through the AI.  It will constantly try to heal your pets.  It's not just a Ranger issue, since it does the same thing with Chanter pets, but it's still something to avoid if possible.

Edited June 5, 2018 by Sanctuary

[dunehunter]

Stalkers link is bugged right now, it gives u permanent +10 accuracy no matter if u have pet or not.

[Retro1210]

Best ranger pet is bear I suppose. Currently running a Terminator-Space-Marine Gun, and shield style Shepard, and Stalker's bonuses also stack with Goldpact's golden buff. Bear also gets some love with its natural AR plus the paladin auras, and talents. Considering restarting just to get the lion pet for style reasons though, honestly I don't think there is really a bad pet with this build with all the armor buffs going on.

[Yonto]

Best ranger pet is bear I suppose. Currently running a Terminator-Space-Marine Gun, and shield style Shepard, and Stalker's bonuses also stack with Goldpact's golden buff. Bear also gets some love with its natural AR plus the paladin auras, and talents. Considering restarting just to get the lion pet for style reasons though, honestly I don't think there is really a bad pet with this build with all the armor buffs going on.

I’m using the lion with my Paladin / stalker for style like you said, and it rarely goes down.

 

Sure, I’m playing only on veteran but careful positioning, lay on hands - used on the pet just few times-, paladin aura and the healing flames of devotion from kind wayfarers keep him safe and sound.

 

If you want just to give it a try you can change your animal companion with the unity console mod

[Dorftek]

I really like Ghostheart ranger with bear pet. Giving the bear an engagement slot is worth it as well as stalkers link.

[Lokithecat]

Maia was one of my main companions, and I honestly forgot about the bird most fights.  Occasionally I'd notice in combat, but rarely was it taking damage.  I'm sure intelligent placing of them, not putting them in until the enemies engaged, and some caution, they might contribute a bit of damage. 

 

I still wouldn't bother with one, at this stage, the risk / reward, of Grief vs how much they contribute is really badly balanced.  Ghost Heart, until pets become more meaningful, is probably the safest path.  You can drop one if you feel you need it, but don't have to sweat the downside.

[evilcat]

Boar healing is fixed in time, does not scale with number of attacks.

But bear armour is better the more hits you get.

 

Maian birdie is good, but not avaible for player.

[dbarbarian14]

I started a Shepherd build As King Wayfarer + Stalker.  As it is since you want your pet attacking only stuff you are attacking that means he will be with me at all times. He goes low, FoD will heal it since that's the bonus from the Wayfarer.  And with good defenses and good accuracy you still crit left and right.

[gkathellar]

The reason to pick Ghost Heart is so that you don't actually have a pet...

 

It really isn't, except in the sense that if you're absolutely committed to the ranger class and absolutely committed to not having a pet, Ghost Heart is the only way to do that. But that's not exactly sound build advice, since a ranger without a pet is just a crappy rogue. Like it or not, Ranger is the pet class, and if you want to play a non-pet build, you should roll a different class.

 

The main reason to pick Ghost Heart is that it's actually pretty good! In a party setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is a decent harasser. In a solo setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is an engagement-proof green circle on the field that requires a negligible drip-feed of Bond to maintain. And this is without going into Ghost Heart/Cipher, which is a big goofy pile of shenanigans.

 

I started a Shepherd build As King Wayfarer + Stalker.  As it is since you want your pet attacking only stuff you are attacking that means he will be with me at all times. He goes low, FoD will heal it since that's the bonus from the Wayfarer.  And with good defenses and good accuracy you still crit left and right.

 

I was pondering something like that - good to hear that it works okay! What pet did you go with, incidentally?

Edited July 23, 2018 by gkathellar

[grayrest]

Ghost Heart pet (I use bear) is excellent for absorbing arcane dampeners or shots at the start of ship fights. Even if it does no damage it's a target for the AI that isn't a party member.

[Manveru123]

I agree with everyone who suggested Ghost Heart. Currently the best pet is a temporary pet.

 

I suggest you wait a bit tho. After Obsidian is done with nerfing everything, they will start buffing obviously broken stuff like Ranger pets. Should take no more than 2 or 3 more patches.

[Verde]

Picking a Ranger and ignoring the pet seems to make the Ranger even worse lol

[anathanielh]

Picking a Ranger and ignoring the pet seems to make the Ranger even worse lol

Deadfire tweaks mod fixes up the ranger tree a bit and adds their modals from the first game. That’s what I’m using at least.

Now I can ignore the pet and still feel satisfied until I am not.

[dbarbarian14]

 

The reason to pick Ghost Heart is so that you don't actually have a pet...

 

It really isn't, except in the sense that if you're absolutely committed to the ranger class and absolutely committed to not having a pet, Ghost Heart is the only way to do that. But that's not exactly sound build advice, since a ranger without a pet is just a crappy rogue. Like it or not, Ranger is the pet class, and if you want to play a non-pet build, you should roll a different class.

 

The main reason to pick Ghost Heart is that it's actually pretty good! In a party setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is a decent harasser. In a solo setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is an engagement-proof green circle on the field that requires a negligible drip-feed of Bond to maintain. And this is without going into Ghost Heart/Cipher, which is a big goofy pile of shenanigans.

 

I started a Shepherd build As King Wayfarer + Stalker.  As it is since you want your pet attacking only stuff you are attacking that means he will be with me at all times. He goes low, FoD will heal it since that's the bonus from the Wayfarer.  And with good defenses and good accuracy you still crit left and right.

 

I was pondering something like that - good to hear that it works okay! What pet did you go with, incidentally?

 

I chose wolf, which I think was a little mistake. I wish I had chosen bear for higher armor rating or boar for continuous regeneration which feels right.  But since I haven't tested I am not sure.  Also I wish there was a way to re-select animal companion.  Wolf is nice and all, but he is squishy.  I am going to do a play-thru the 1st 10 levels with Bear to see how he feels in comparison.  My wolf died a few times, but it was mostly because I didn't pay attention to it to pull it close to me and attack my target only.  

 

That is something I wish they added, an option so ranger pet attacks only my target.

[anathanielh]

 

 

The reason to pick Ghost Heart is so that you don't actually have a pet...

It really isn't, except in the sense that if you're absolutely committed to the ranger class and absolutely committed to not having a pet, Ghost Heart is the only way to do that. But that's not exactly sound build advice, since a ranger without a pet is just a crappy rogue. Like it or not, Ranger is the pet class, and if you want to play a non-pet build, you should roll a different class.

 

The main reason to pick Ghost Heart is that it's actually pretty good! In a party setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is a decent harasser. In a solo setting, the Ghost Heart's pet is an engagement-proof green circle on the field that requires a negligible drip-feed of Bond to maintain. And this is without going into Ghost Heart/Cipher, which is a big goofy pile of shenanigans.

I started a Shepherd build As King Wayfarer + Stalker. As it is since you want your pet attacking only stuff you are attacking that means he will be with me at all times. He goes low, FoD will heal it since that's the bonus from the Wayfarer. And with good defenses and good accuracy you still crit left and right.

I was pondering something like that - good to hear that it works okay! What pet did you go with, incidentally?

I chose wolf, which I think was a little mistake. I wish I had chosen bear for higher armor rating or boar for continuous regeneration which feels right. But since I haven't tested I am not sure. Also I wish there was a way to re-select animal companion. Wolf is nice and all, but he is squishy. I am going to do a play-thru the 1st 10 levels with Bear to see how he feels in comparison. My wolf died a few times, but it was mostly because I didn't pay attention to it to pull it close to me and attack my target only.

 

That is something I wish they added, an option so ranger pet attacks only my target.

After trying all the pets, I’ve found that Bear and Boar are better tanks, Lion and Wolf are pretty good dps (sneak em around the enemy and flank), and Stag and Antelope are just adorable and offtankish (Maybe all-roundish)

Edited July 23, 2018 by anathanielh

[dbarbarian14]

Stupid question, but 1. is there a way to view the ranger pet stats? damage etc? 2. does the animal benefits from my armor rating and damage output? by a % or fixed by power level?

[anathanielh]

Stupid question, but 1. is there a way to view the ranger pet stats? damage etc? 2. does the animal benefits from my armor rating and damage output? by a % or fixed by power level?

Go to character sheet and scroll all the way down to see pet stats. You won’t be able to see defenses from there. I think you have to mouse over them in battle to see those or look them up.

[Verde]

 

Picking a Ranger and ignoring the pet seems to make the Ranger even worse lol

Deadfire tweaks mod fixes up the ranger tree a bit and adds their modals from the first game. That’s what I’m using at least.

Now I can ignore the pet and still feel satisfied until I am not.

The Ranger should have the Wilder perk from the Barb Tree.

[Dorftek]

Personally I prefer to use Ghostheart with Boar pet. The boar has the biggest HP pool of the pets. The bears extra little bit of armour isn't enough to prevent Pen anyway.