Top Avowed Companions Ranked by Utility

In Avowed, the Companions not only enrich the narrative and dialogue but also play crucial roles in gameplay mechanics. From unlocking new paths to excelling in combat, here's a detailed ranking of every Avowed Companion from worst to best, based on their practical utility and effectiveness.

4. Marius

In my experience with Avowed, Marius (depicted on the right in the image above) didn't quite sync with my preferred play style. While his passive abilities are beneficial for early-game exploration, helping to locate items and plants, he quickly becomes overshadowed by other Companions. Marius's combat capabilities are underwhelming, making him less valuable as the game progresses. Here's a breakdown of Marius's abilities and their upgrades:

• Blinding Roots: Roots enemies in place for 8 seconds. Upgrades allow for stunning, trapping multiple enemies, and causing Bleed Accumulation.
• Heart Seeker: A piercing shot that always hits the target, even through obstacles. Upgrades enable it to hit two enemies, increase damage on enemies below 50% health, and reduce cooldown by 33%.
• Shadow Step: Marius disappears in a smoke cloud and reappears to strike an enemy, up to three times. Upgrades allow for instant kills on stunned enemies, increased damage to low-health enemies, and up to six strikes.
• Wounding Shots: Marius's attacks cause Bleed Accumulation. Upgrades reduce enemy damage reduction, slow hit enemies, and decrease enemy damage.

Marius's abilities primarily focus on controlling and weakening enemies, which can be useful in specific scenarios, especially against melee-focused foes with low health. However, his niche utility limits his overall effectiveness across the expansive world of the Living Lands in Avowed.

3. Giatta

Giatta is an Animancer who specializes in support, using magic to heal, shield, and buff the party. Though not the top choice for dealing damage, her abilities are invaluable in maintaining the party's health and resilience, especially during intense battles like Avowed's boss fights. Here's an overview of Giatta's abilities:

• Purification: Heals allies by 25% of their maximum Health. Upgrades can increase healing to 50%, interrupt and knock back enemies, and provide a 20% damage reduction for 15 seconds.
• Barrier: Grants allies a shield of temporary health for 20 seconds. Upgrades enhance the amount of temporary health, heal enemies when the barrier ends, and protect Giatta from melee hits.
• Acceleration: Boosts move and attack speed of all allies for 15 seconds. Upgrades add 15% damage reduction, extend acceleration duration by 10 seconds, and reduce ability cooldowns by 50%.
• Reconstruction: Giatta's attacks heal allies slightly. Upgrades improve healing for allies below 20% health, grant temporary health at maximum health, and revive incapacitated allies when Giatta kills an enemy.

Giatta's unique ability to power Essence Generators also allows access to otherwise unreachable areas, enhancing late-game exploration. She pairs particularly well with Envoys using Wizard builds focused on magic, making her a solid choice for those who prioritize support and utility.

2. Kai

Kai, the first Companion you encounter in Avowed, remains a reliable asset throughout your journey. As a tank, Kai can absorb damage and deal significant blows without requiring constant attention from the player. Here are Kai's abilities and their upgrades:

• Fire and Ire: Fires from his Blunderbuss, dealing high stun and taunting enemies for 10 seconds. Upgrades can ignite targets, increase stun, and reduce cooldown by 50%.
• Unbending Defense: Regenerates health and increases damage reduction by 25%. Upgrades reduce incoming damage by 50%, enhance health regeneration, and unleash 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 enemy hit, and boost attack damage per hit.
• Second Wind: Revives himself by restoring 50% of his maximum health. Upgrades increase this to 75%, provide a temporary attack speed boost, and reset all ability cooldowns.

Kai's versatility makes him effective against both single high-health enemies and groups, thanks to his crowd control abilities. His self-revival feature further enhances his reliability, making him an excellent choice for players who prefer a hands-off approach to combat. Kai's fire abilities also help clear obstacles like spider webs and roots, adding to his utility.

1. Yatzli

Yatzli, a powerful Wizard, stands out with her high-damage attacks and excellent crowd control. Her abilities make her akin to air support in the fantasy realm of the Living Lands. Here's a detailed look at Yatzli's abilities and their upgrades:

• Essence Explosion: Explodes on impact, releasing essence and dealing explosive damage. Upgrades increase the blast radius, add fire accumulation, and reduce cooldown by 33%.
• Minoletta’s Missile Battery: Fires a volley of enemy-seeking arcane missiles. Upgrades enhance fire rate and range, and add shock accumulation.
• Arduos Delay of Motion: Slows an enemy for 10 seconds. Upgrades intensify slowing effects, create an area of effect, and cause frost accumulation.
• Blast: Yatzli's attacks create a small area of effect upon hitting enemies. Upgrades enable explosive damage to break blocks and walls, shatter frozen enemies, increase stun, and have a 5% chance to inflict Frozen, Ignited, or Shocked status.

Yatzli's powerful and versatile abilities complement her fierce personality, making her a formidable ally. Her ability to clear obstacles also provides access to new areas, enhancing exploration. Although she joins the party late in Avowed, Yatzli's capabilities make her an indispensable Companion for the rest of your journey.

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