Best Avowed Companions, Ranked by Helpfulness

Avowed's Companions: A Ranked Guide from Worst to Best

Beyond their narrative roles and dialogue, Avowed's Companions offer practical in-game advantages, from pathfinding to combat prowess. This guide ranks each companion from least to most effective.

4. Marius

My experience with Marius proved limited synergy with my playstyle. While his passive skills aid early exploration, he's quickly outmatched by later companions. His strengths lie in item and plant discovery, but his combat capabilities are underwhelming.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Blinding Roots: Roots enemies (upgradeable to stun, trap multiple, and inflict Bleed).
• Heart Seeker: Piercing shot (upgradeable to hit two enemies, increased damage vs. low-health enemies, reduced cooldown).
• Shadow Step: Vanishes and strikes (upgradeable to instantly kill stunned enemies, increased damage vs. low-health enemies, strike multiple enemies).
• Wounding Shots: Inflicts Bleed (upgradeable to reduce enemy damage reduction, slow enemies, reduce enemy damage).

Marius's abilities primarily focus on crowd control and weakening enemies. Effective against certain enemy types, particularly when paired with a melee-focused Envoy, his overall impact diminishes significantly during the later stages of Avowed's campaign.

3. Giatta

Giatta, a support-oriented Animancer, excels at healing, shielding, and buffing the party. While not a damage dealer, her utility proves invaluable in challenging encounters, especially boss fights. She also possesses the unique ability to activate Essence Generators, opening up late-game areas and loot.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Purification: Heals allies (upgradeable to increased healing, enemy interruption, increased ally damage reduction).
• Barrier: Provides temporary health to allies (upgradeable to increased temporary health, healing on barrier expiration, self-protection).
• Acceleration: Increases ally movement and attack speed (upgradeable to damage reduction, extended duration, ability cooldown reduction).
• Reconstruction: Attacks heal allies (upgradeable to increased healing for low-health allies, temporary health for full-health allies, ally revival on enemy kill).

Giatta synergizes exceptionally well with magic-focused Envoy builds.

2. Kai

Despite being an early companion, Kai remains consistently useful throughout the game. A formidable tank, he delivers substantial damage with minimal player intervention.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Fire and Ire: Blunderbuss attack with stun and taunt (upgradeable to ignite target, increased stun, reduced cooldown).
• Unbending Defense: Health regeneration and damage reduction (upgradeable to increased damage reduction, increased health regeneration, area-of-effect damage on expiration).
• Leap of Daring: Area-of-effect stun and taunt (upgradeable to increased area of effect, temporary health per enemy hit, increased attack damage per enemy hit).
• Second Wind: Self-revival (upgradeable to increased health restoration, attack speed burst, ability cooldown reset).

Kai's abilities are highly effective against various enemy types, offering both single-target and crowd control options. His self-revival further enhances his value as a low-maintenance, high-impact combat partner. He can also utilize fire to clear obstacles.

1. Yatzli

Yatzli, a powerful Wizard, boasts high-damage attacks and excellent crowd control. She provides a form of "air support" in Avowed's world.

Abilities & Upgrades:

• Essence Explosion: Explosive arcane damage (upgradeable to increased blast radius, fire accumulation, reduced cooldown).
• Minoletta’s Missile Battery: Volley of homing missiles (upgradeable to increased fire rate, range, shock accumulation).
• Arduos Delay of Motion: Slows enemies (upgradeable to increased slow, area-of-effect slow, frost accumulation).
• Blast: Area-of-effect damage on hit (upgradeable to explosive damage for breaking blocks, destroying walls, shattering frozen enemies; additional upgrades increase stun and inflict status effects).

Yatzli’s potent abilities and obstacle-clearing capabilities make her the most valuable companion in Avowed. While recruited last, she's a crucial asset for the remainder of the journey.

Avowed launches on PC and Xbox on February 18.