Animal Companion comparison (1.03+)

[b0rsuk]

Animal Companion stats have been updated in patch 1.03 . Here they are:

-------- Might, Constitution, Dexterity, Perception, Intelligence, Resolve,  Sum
Boar       11,         16,        8,         10,         5,          15      |65
Antelope   10,         10,        14,        15,         5,          9       |63
Bear       15,         12,        9,         13,         5,          10      |64
Lion       13,         13,        12,        11,         5,          11      |65
Stag       13,         10,        12,        15,         5,          10      |65
Wolf       10,         10,        10,        10,         10,         10      |60
Itumaak    10,         8,         15,        15,         5,          12      |65

Comments:

- Wolf is the only one that can do a decent Takedown. It knocks enemies prone for 5 seconds, as advertised. Other animals: 3.8s, including Itumaak (games started after 1.03). Wolf is also described as dealing more damage.

- Bear supposedly has more Damage Reduction.

- idiot intelligence affects mostly Lion (roar duration a little over 10s instead of 15s) and Stag (reduced area).

- I checked accuracy on some of them and it seemed to be 60.

- I don't know what the base damage for each animal is.

- Animals have no Athletics, they get tired very easily but their health can't be lowered.

- Itumaak is the master of interruption attacks.

Edited April 18, 2015 by b0rsuk

[Schyzm]

yah animals get fatigued crazy easily, its obnoxious and probably a design oversight.

 

I dont see much point in taking much other than the bear, companions die easily enough that living a little longer seems to beat most other things, but I often just leave the animal companion in the back anyway.

[dukefx]

Well, in my 1st playthrough (1.02) Itumaak did surprisingly well  (got knocked out twice and did decent damage) so I decided to give the ranger a chance in my 2nd (1.03). The wolf constantly died like a fly (with almost all animal companion abilities taken). Huge disappointment. That's pretty much all I can add.

Edited April 18, 2015 by dukefx

[b0rsuk]

yah animals get fatigued crazy easily, its obnoxious and probably a design oversight.

 

I dont see much point in taking much other than the bear, companions die easily enough that living a little longer seems to beat most other things, but I often just leave the animal companion in the back anyway.

 

On level 12, Itumaak has 168 Endurance and 16.5 DR with Resilient Companion. What exactly did you expect ?????????? An animal that can outtank Eder ? It's a helper, not a tank barrier. I guess I'm the only player skilled enough to use animal companions without having them knocked out all the time. The trick is to engage only a single enemy at a time.

 

Stay with your bears.

 

They have some bad stats that need updating ASAP: 60 Accuracy, 60 Deflection, 0 Athletics on level 12. If they were bumped to 80 they would be fine.

Edited April 18, 2015 by b0rsuk

[Brimsurfer]

how can a wild animal have 0 Athletics? 

Edited April 18, 2015 by Brimsurfer

[Adhin]

Yeah it's a little weird, you would think they would have +3 bonus athletics + whatever your base spent points are. Wolf attribute allocation also seems like a giant oversite. All animals have 5 int, but wolf just happens to have all 10's? Little weird. Hopefully we see some more balancing changes down the road, but I still think they work fine. As b0rsuk said, there supplementary. A Ranger is the 2 of them combined really.

 

Most games that have Rangers (usually hunters) where an animal companion is a basic feature, they tend to have absurdly pointless dmg but can 'tank good enough' for solo work. We have companions that actually do some solid dmg, seem to be 14-20-ish. The do about same dmg as a 2H'er which is pretty solid overall, least my wolf does, same with Ituumak. Add a Cipher and Priest into the mix with a bear and you could, late game, get there DR up to...30-ish? Universal 30 DR isn't exactly crappy. Course that's 2 other characters to make that Bear like that lol.

[famousringo]

how can a wild animal have 0 Athletics? 

That's what domestication does to you. Let your bipedal buddy shoot your food in the face for you and you laze around all day chewing bones.

 

Next thing you know, it's shampoo, pink bows, and a puppy pedicure.

[Jojobobo]

I found the bear to be a huge let down on hard, even with Resilient Companion. I wasn't expecting the same kind of resilience as a fighter, but a modicum of tankiness would have been nice. Now that I'm playing PotD, I can't see myself ever using a PC ranger.

[b0rsuk]

In my first party, where Itumaak had 1.00 stats(all stats at 10), saw the fox suffer greatly from Confusion, Charm, Domination. The fox was usually the first to be targeted and to fall. That was with Sagani's "Faithful Companion" talent, which gives +15 to those saving throws. Now in 1.03+,  all companions except Boar and Wolf have an even lower average of Intelligence and Resolve. They are even easier to charm. This makes me think that perhaps Faithful Companion should be changed. Maybe +30 to saving throws, maybe halved duration, or completely immune to one charm per encounter.

 

Animal Companion damage stats on Ranger 'Character' page would be grreat !

Edited April 19, 2015 by b0rsuk

[Blovski]

The lack of Athletics is a huge problem, I think, especially as I, playing as a ranger, wouldn't have ever found out about it without the forum.

[dukefx]

You aren't very observant I constantly saw critical fatigue on the pets.

[Ineth]

On level 12, Itumaak has 168 Endurance and 16.5 DR with Resilient Companion. What exactly did you expect ?????????? An animal that can outtank Eder?

 

Well within one battle it can't outtank Eder, but if you look at the whole day, it sort of can.

 

Because no matter how often it is knocked out, it starts with full health again for the next battle...

 

Itumaak is imo more useful than Sagani, because of this. When enemies run around Eder and try to get to my squishy Cipher and Aloth, Itumaak intercepts them and holds them off long enough for me to kill them. So what if it often ends up being knocked out before the end of the battle - nothing permanent is lost, unlike the Health loss in my Cipher and Aloth that would have ensued otherwise...

Edited April 19, 2015 by Ineth

[ErlKing]

I added 6 athletic to itumaak via console because I count this as design oversight.

 

Animals not good tanks, but they:

 

- don't lose health, so can take hits without need for rest.

- can be buffed by priest/cipher to hold better (Ignore pain is crazy good).

- have really high move speed and very mobile in combat - throw cipher echo on it and you can flank crowds in no time.

- sponge for unbalanced charm/dominate spells,  animal got dominated - its not that bad if your guys hit it accidentally (no health loss).

Edited April 19, 2015 by ErlKing