Avowed Companions Guide | How to Get Companion Buffs

Our Avowed Companions Guide will tell you how Companions work, how to unlock new Companions, and how you can get permanent stat buffs through Companion Training.

How Avowed Companions Work

Avowed Companions are characters that will join you on your journey through The Living Lands, assisting you in the quest to discover the origin of the Dreamscourge and put a stop to it. Each Companion will assist you with a key point of the story, but that's just the first of many bonuses.

Companions each have four unique skills. Each skill, once unlocked, can be upgraded three additional times to add extra abilities to that skill such as bonus damage or a faster cooldown. Your Companions will automatically use these abilities on their own, but some of these abilities can also be added onto your hotbar and cast whenever you like.

Additionally, Companions may have special abilities that allow you to solve certain puzzles or overcome obstacles. Giatta, for example, has the power to shoot a bolt of lightning to power electrical switches. Kai, on the other hand, can use his "Fire and Ire" skill to burn away brambles.

You do not have to worry about equipping your Companions in any way; the only thing you need to do is select which skills you'd like them to use when they earn a skill point. Much like your own character, you can reset your Companions' skill choices for a small sum of money.

Finally, some Companions are required for certain quests. For example, you won't be able to remove certain illusions in Shatterscarp without Yatzli's magical help, and you won't be able to access certain areas in Galawain's Tusks without Marius there to vouch for you as a Pargrun.

How to Get New Companions

Simply put, you can get new Avowed Companions by progressing the story. You'll encounter each of the Companions as you complete Main Story Quests and they will join your party from that point forward.

Here's how to unlock each of the four main Companions:

• Kai: Kai joins you pretty much as soon as you arrive at Dawnshore as part of the Main Story Quest "Message from Afar." He's a straightforward melee fighter who makes an excellent tank.
• Marius: Marius is an archer/rogue type character who mainly fights at a distance with his bow. He joins your party a short while later in the Main Story Quest "An Untimely End" in Dawnshore.
• Giatta: Giatta is the first Companion you get who has a focus on healing and protection magic, although she can also use some magic offensively. She joins you in the second zone Emerald Stair as part of the Main Story Quest "The Animancy Method."
• Yatzli: Yatlzi is a sorcerer focused on offensive magic with a dash of illusion spells. She gets added to your party in the third zone Shatterscarp during the Main Story Quest "A Path to the Garden."

Additionally, you will occasionally get temporary Companions in special situations. This primarily applies to the start of the game where you'll be joined by Garryck (and possibly Ilora) for the tutorial experience on Fort Northreach and the end of the game where people you've helped (such as Grakohr the Ogre) will assist you with the final battle.

How Many Companions Are There?

There are a total of four Companions available in Avowed: Kai, Marius, Giatta, and Yatzli. You can only take two Companions with you in your party at a time, with the exception of the final battle in Paradis at the end of the game where your two non-party Companions will follow along as slightly more passive teammates.

How to Unlock Companion Buffs

You'll be able to unlock special Companion Buffs in Avowed once you've leveled up a bit and spent some time with your Companions. We're not yet certain what precisely triggers this; simply keep progressing through the story and talking to your Companions at the Party Camp at every opportunity.

When a Companion is ready to give you their buff, they'll offer training to you. Each Companion gives you a choice of three options. The first option adds +2 to one core state, the second option adds +2 to a different core stat, and the third option gives you +1 to each of the two core stats that they can train you in.

Here are the dialogue choices for each Companion and which stats they'll buff as part of their training:

• Kai Companion Buffs
  1. Kai's Training: +2 Constitution: "You can withstand a lot of damage. I want to know how you stay on your feet."
  2. Kai's Training: +2 Might: "You put a lot of power into your attacks. I want to learn how to hit harder with mine."
  3. Kai's Training: +1 Might, +1 Constitution: "Teach me a little bit of everything. I'm a fast learner."
• Marius Companion Buffs
  1. Marius' Training: +2 Dexterity: "Tell me how to be quicker, quieter, and more agile."
  2. Marius' Training: +2 Constitution: "Show me how to survive conditions that would cripple the unprepared."
  3. Marius' Training: +1 Dexterity, +1 Constitution: "I trust your instincts. How about a little of everything?"
• Giatta Companion Buffs
  1. Giatta's Training: +2 Intellect: "Tell me how an animancer sharpens their mind to decipher the spiritual world."
  2. Giatta's Training: +2 Resolve: "I want to learn about how you stand up for yourself with an ironclad will."
  3. Giatta's Training: +1 Intellect, +1 Resolve: "Whatever you want to teach me. I leave it in your hands."
• Yatzli Companion Buffs
  1. Yatzli's Training: +2 Perception: "You always see the traps before I do - can you show me what to look for?"
  2. Yatzli's Training: +2 Intellect: "Let's sharpen our wits."
  3. Yatzli's Training: +1 Intellect, +1 Perception: "Whatever you want to teach me, I'm ready to learn!"

Each Companion will give you one of three possible permanent stat buffs depending on your choice. Unfortunately, you can't change it once you've made a decision — make sure you make the choice that best fits your playstyle!

Thanks for reading our Avowed Companions Guide. Take a peek at some of our other Avowed guides below!