Animal Companion is a ranger ability in Pillars of Eternity. Rangers choose an animal companion during Character Creation.
Description[ | ]
All rangers form a strong spiritual connection with a single creature, their animal companion. This connection allows rangers and their companions to coordinate attacks and efficiently take down prey. In most situations, the companion runs interference while the ranger attacks at range.
Despite these advantages, there are risks to the relationship. Rangers share a literal life bond with their animal companions. When one is wounded, the can sense it and feel intense emotional pain. If a ranger or animal companion are knocked unconscious, the partner suffers from Bonded Grief, affecting Accuracy and other stats, until the downed ally is revived. If a ranger is ever killed, the animal companion immediately dies from grief.
Effect[ | ]
The animal companion does not share Endurance with the ranger, and unconsciousness of one does not imply unconsciousness for the other (apparently this was not true in beta versions). However, should either the ranger or their Animal Companion be knocked Unconscious the other will be afflicted with the Bonded Grief effect (-2 Might, -2 Resolve and -10 Accuracy) until their partner becomes conscious again.
If the ranger dies, so does his animal companion.
Animal companions have high inherent Damage Reductions that allow them to run interference for their masters.[1] You control animal companions in the same way as other companions. Their icon appears at the bottom right corner of their ranger's icon. On area transitions they always appear immediately next to their ranger.[2]
Scaling[ | ]
All animal companions "wear" an armor which gives them -40% Recovery Speed, and a base Damage Reduction of 9 which scales at +2 every 3 levels after level 1 (4, 7, 10, 13, 16).
All animal companions deal a base of 11-17 Pierce damage which is scaled by +20% every 3 levels after 1. This additional percentage is cumulative, it is applied on top of the last value, not the base value. The formula is 11 * (1.2 ^ increment), where increment is 0 at levels 1-3, 2 at levels 4-6, etc. The companion's bonus accuracy with this attack is 0, which scales by +5 every 3 levels after 1 (on top of the usual level and Perception bonus).
| Level | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
DR 
|
9 | 11 | 13 | 15 | 17 | 19 | ||||||||||||
Damage 
|
11-17 | 13-20 | 15-24 | 19-29 | 22-35 | 27-42 | ||||||||||||
Accuracy 
|
+0 | +5 | +10 | +15 | +20 | +25 | ||||||||||||
Upgrades[ | ]
The characteristics of Animal Companion can be further upgraded by learning several ranger talents:
| Talent | Effects |
|---|---|
| Vicious Companion |
|
| Faithful Companion | |
| Resilient Companion |
|
| Merciless Companion |
|
List of animal companions[ | ]
| Image | Creature | Ability | Description | Attributes | Defenses | Damage | Accuracy | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Antelope | Antelope Companion | Antelope companions have naturally superior defenses (+7 to Deflection, Fortitude, Reflexes, and Will). | 11-17 
|
35
|
| ||
|
Bear | Bear Companion | Bear companions have unusually high (+2) Damage Threshold, giving them superior protection from all forms of damage. | 13-20
|
33
|
| ||
|
Boar | Boar Companion | All boar animal companions gain a bonus to damage (+20%) for as long as their Endurance is below 50%. | 11-18
|
30
|
| ||
|
Lion | Lion Companion | Lion companions have the ability to Terrify enemies with a powerful roar. | 12-19
|
31
|
| ||
|
Stag | Stag Companion | Stags can activate (40s duration) a melee attack that does damage (66% of attack damage) to all enemies in a small area around the main target (0.77m). | 12-19
|
35
|
| ||
|
Wolf | Wolf Companion | Wolf animal companions do high damage (+2) and can more easily avoid Disengagement Attacks (+12 defense). | 13-19
|
35
|
| ||
|
Itumaak (Sagani's polar fox) | Arctic Fox Companion | 13-19
|
35
|
|