Feedback: Companions, Companion Mechanics, Companion Bugs and Questions.

Hiya,

Playing something self brewed in HC. Wanted to make companions work as something more than 'aurabot' and there's just so many issues with them :)

Take from feedback what you will. Questions on end.

TL;DR: Companions are weak at best.

Thanks :)

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Character Idea: "Beastmaster"
Main Focus Companions, Tactician, Spear/Mace+Shield(HC), Spear/Mace+Sceptre(SC*)

Current Build (HC):
IronReflexes, GlancingBlows, Trusted Kinship*
Defense: Max Armor/HP/Armor%Elemental/Shield - deflect trough armor(Tactician).
Offense: Companion (Frozen Mandible) + Spear (rake, spearfield, herald of blood,..)
Utility: Companion2/3 (whatever, auras/shock/x..)

The Good:
* up to ~300%+ increased damage on paper (Inspiring Ally)
* up to ~300% increased armor (companion+armor nodes)
* 100%+ EleArmor (pasive, gear)
* Lucky Deflection from Armor hitting ~50% effective chance
* Bleed or Poison immunity (helm)
* Shock/Ignite or Chill immunity (Crystalised Immunities)
* Mobility (negative hidden MS is scam :))
* Uninterupted Leech close at hand
* Decent Block (~40+)
* Crit Damage Protection (nodes+shield, 85%)
* The Spring Hare (un-lucky enemy hits 1/5)
* 2.5-3k HP, ~100 regen
* 2 Beast Bodies. Either with TrustedKinship or YF armor (3 companions possible even).
* 15%? hit damage redirected to Beasts. 5% Node, 10% loyality in one.
* Tactician's spirit reserve discount enabling few cheap persistent buffs even with 2 companions.

Overall, this results in decent(HIT) tankines and enables use of whatever weapon you wish, more or less.

The Bad:
* Frozen Mandibles is THE only semi-viable DPS beast. And we know it will get nuked as it's too good spectre. Second best DPS beast would be Prowling Chimeral but to find decent one is near impossible before maps, and even then unlikely. It needs fast attack, Flesh Harvesters while ok are waaaay to slow on attack speed to fit.
* Frozen Mandibles is also most anoying of beasts with it's inbuild cold explosions.
* Without Minion Levels, companions are not tanky and do not deal comparable damage to similary invested spectres. They lack all Armor/Evasion for some reason. Only way to get them resilience to phys damage is jewels (%phys reduction).
* Alchemist Boon / Nurturing Guardian (and likely Umbilicus Imortalis belt) do not work unless player itself is damaged. Making player unable to heal beasts directly. You need to invest into 21 spirit cleric(s) which conflicts with Companion revive nodes (and eats skill slot).
* Beasts show large life regeneration numbers, but those seem to be either fake or maybe just out of combat - is this perhaps coded as Life Recharge? (they die a-fucking lot in constant combat).
* Linked to regeneration, a 85% fire resistance is not enough for Beast 'not to' burn to death with lvl2 Infernal Legion. While clerly listed life regeneration should cover the damage 2x (again, that seems to be bug)
* Beast Aura areas are miniscule. Would be tiny better if they (also) worked for player's while in pressence area (like rest of companion conditionals). Minion AreaOfEffect support doesn't affect this range (its always 5m).
* Lots of beasts are incredibly slow moving, making them despawn constantly or waddle 2 screens behind you / make aura area issue even bigger issue. Fast Beasts are unable to have Haste Aura. Or they have bad AI/damage. (eg. good luck with quill crabs, half of time they waddle left and right instead attacking, and then they deal 10% hp damage to white mobs while being overleveled and near fully specced into).
* Finding 'right' beast is PITA. Even with checkpoint reload it will take you 5 hours to get proper FrozenMandible. And then another 5 to get decent support boar (must have low reserve, boar is not low - but it's lowest guaranteed spawn...). Without this step or incredible luck, you will not have damage. Right now ideal would be... Mandible (dps) + Rhoa/Chimeral/Slitherspitter/Vulture..(sub 38% reserve, medium+ speed beasts)
* Multiple beasts can't be same type - this further limits ability to aquire desired mods.
* Multiple rare mods dont actually work, but are present after tame (powerfull minions, reviving minions, damage taken from minons first,... - only 2 beast can summon and are both bugged/bugs), Accurate(minions always hit*), Armored/Evasive (100% of 0 is still 0), Triggers Ligtning Mirages (didn't work when tested), Siphons Flask Charges..., --- this dead mod pool also further limitits posibility of finding decent 2-3/4 mod beast, but ok.
* Bunch of mods just add to visual clutter while seemingly not doing anything (periodic explosions and the like, even with all companion nodes those abilities are joke/do nothing) which further reduces usable beasts.
* Loyality on pet reduces it's max HP 30%. Loyality goes on support beasts. Support beasts must be low reserve. Low reserve beasts have low base life, there's no (more)/increase life supports...
* Beasts with skills, are unable to be supported with some support gems relating to those skills. Not big but confusing at times.
* Monster Mods do not show in beast info (eg. periodic explosions, ligtning storm, auras,...) so stats are hidden and you can't 100% know if support gems do anything or how much.
* Having 2 beasts, icon for 2nd one is constantly vanishing - does not show revival timer (with faster revieve nodes on tree, not sure if also without*)
* Spear is only weapon with companion mods (desecrated), but no +companion(minion) levels, why?
* If issue is mod pool, introduce hybrid bases. Eg. 'Minion Spear' = can roll some sceptre and some spear mods (like Rune Daggers in PoE1 for instance, that are caster-melee*)
* There's extremely limited companion mod pool (jewels, spears, anumanu desecrate)
* Blood Queen spawns hostile flies. Gilded Bettle is not tamable - would probably spawn hostile beetles. :)
* Beast armor breaking, doesn't trigger Scavenged Plating.
* 0 Beasts that have any kind of utility skill (eg. warcry, smite, temp buff,...) - exception to confirm rule: Snake Shamans with vulerability curse, that lasts 1 second instead listed 8 or somehting. If it's even working and not just visual.
* Lots of support gems not able to support beast (stomping ground, crater,... even when beast has charge/leap/etc..).
* Companions have area of effect skills/abilities, have area of effect increasing node on tree... but are unable to be supported by increased area. Does this increased area even work, on what?. Does it work on Companion Auras?

Merc specific-
* Merc has bunch of Armor+Evasion % nodes, but Iron Reflexes ignores evasion% as it's converted before.
* Merc has access to improved deflection nodes, but all come with prerequisite evasion % nodes (that doesn't work with iron reflexes*). This is especially noticable on Tactician that could benefit from those deflection nodes, but must eat penality in dead nodes, making it not worth it.
* Deflection on gear stat is ignored when Iron Reflexed as gear has '0' evasion.

The Unknowns / Questions :
* Multiple Loyality beasts, do they stack (3x Beast with 10% loyality + 5% Passive + 15% Starkonja = is this 50% hit damage redirect? - with each beast getting 17% hit(10+20/3).
* Does Loyality work while beast is in Last Grasp.
* Romiras Loyality gem, is that 200% recup working on gems 10% or on total you have from gear/nodes. Will recup work if beast is in Last Grasp, as beast has 0 life.
* What happens with multiple Romiras? 2x 200% recup? (possible with Solus Ipse helm atm)
* Does companions Rage go over 30 (Eg. If player has increased max)
* Does companions being granted Rage via Warlord Berzerker node, and behing hit... stop Rage loss or ignore that part (rage loss should be paused if hit*)
* Fast Metabolism + Thirsting Ally? Leech persist on full hp companion?
* Lifelong Friend + Unleash Hell/Supporting Fire? UH/SupportingFire is pseudo-minion, blocking Lifelong Friend? (not that Unleash Hell is any good or worth using)