Companion Adjustments

Companions are a vital part of our characters given that they are exactly that, our travel companions and faithful allies in battle. Therefore, I believe many adjustments need to be made in regards to how we can utilize our companions.

1. They should be easier to level. I know that there's supposed to be a bit of a grind, but it's still entirely too ridiculous to level them up. Even if I fight monsters for hours, it hardly feels as if I've made a dent in its experience bar at all. I suggest that they be able to obtain experience from FATEs. Not only just from killing enemies, but for actually completing the FATE. Currently, when you kill an enemy with your companion out, they receive a portion of the experience that you would have received. However, for completing a FATE, they should obtain half of the total EXP rewarded to you from the FATE, with NO penalty to your character. If you happen to be Lv.60 and are still participating in these FATEs, the companion chocobo should obtain FULL experience rewards from FATEs.

2. Gysahl Greens. Yes, they're easily obtainable and affordable but I think they should really last a bit longer. 30 minutes isn't bad, but an hour would be better. Who really wants to carry around more than one stack of greens in their inventory? Also, companions should NOT leave in the middle of combat. What kind of companion would abandon you in the midst of battle with an enemy? It doesn't make sense.

3. They should be usable in dungeons, as well as while you're queued up for duty. This is already frequently mentioned, so I won't get into it. It's just common sense that these are major quality of life features. Tank disconnects and no one is joining up for duty? Summon your trusty companion and have it tank for your group as you proceed through the dungeon. Or perhaps you're lacking healing power to proceed through? Call forth your mighty horsebird to mend your party's wounds.

4. Have barding actually be useful for combat. Sure, barding looks nice, but you would think all those spikes on specific barding would actually do something. Have certain barding give them a defense or magic defense boost. Have specific barding increase their attack or healing potency. There's no reason to not do this kind of thing for such a widely used feature of the game.

5. Why don't our companions get Protect? For as close range as they are forced to be in combat, Protect should be effective on them similarly to how Stoneskin is. I understand that pets don't get Protect (they're pets, entities from another dimension), but plain and simply, our companions are flesh and blood chocobos. Let them be protected by our beneficial status effects.

6. Companions should get a rested bonus while stabled, and be summonable from the stable as well. It's just like logging out in a safe zone. Maybe this is already a feature, I don't know. I can't really tell. I think it would be nice if stabling them had uses beyond what it does. I barely keep my chocobo stabled due to the fact that I'm always calling it out and am never at my house.

Thanks for reading!

1. By training our chocobo's in the Chocobo Stable every day (by two people for double the exp) and doing the Companion challenges every week I was able to hit Rank 20 in about a month of extremely casual play. It was more like leveling a Retainer. The exp from world map mobs is -ok- but I wouldn't rely solely on that if sanity is what you wish to keep.

2. Gysahl Greens are dirt cheap and stack to 99. 50 hours worth of food before needing to restock is plenty. Two stacks is overkill.

3. Last I heard plans are being implemented to have Chocobo's in dungeons.

4. Stats on Barding would be nice; but I believe this is why they added Chocobo feed and Favorite food bonuses instead of Armor stats.

5. Agreed, I find myself continuously trying to cast Protect on chocobo's with a "Has no effect" message. Stoneskin works just fine. It should be added.

6. Agreed on every one of these points. Rested exp and summoning while its doing nothing in the stable would be handy additions.

My biggest grief is still the poor chocobo AI that spams medica when only one party member is injured. Multiple times now, I've died when fighting a higher level mob (trying to get that hunt XP bonus on low level classes), and my chocobo manages to hold his own against the enemy mob after I'm dead. I'm lying there /shouting for a raise, while my chocobo just chirps merrily along. When a healer chocobo is better at keeping itself alive rather than its master, that's a problem.

And I'd rather barding remain cosmetic. There are so many cool looking bardings in the game, but if they each had stat perimeters, then everyone would basically use the same 2 or 3 bardings. I like using the halloween barding, but if that received + evasion stats while the WHM barding received + healing stats, I would never use the halloween barding again.

1) Already easy to level especially with challenge log and stables, mines been capped at 20 forever.
2) Thing is dirt cheap already, and I often don't even use up the full time, having the companion out reduces exp gain on regular mobs.
3) Agreed, and SE been saying they are looking into it since like 2.0. 3.0 now and still nothing.
4) I too rather have barding remain cosmetic, else people will be forced to use certain bardings.
5) They don't need it, they take reduced damage a lot of times already. Was doing Dragonskin Treasure Maps, the actual players actually have to dodge AOEs and the chocobos just stand there... kweh? aoe? dgaf.
6) Refer to #1

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Originally Posted by Gunspec

My biggest grief is still the poor chocobo AI that spams medica

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I avoid that problem by leaving Choco Medica locked even though my bird is rank 20.

I'm all for removing the timer, the gysahls are a pointless money sink that is grossly ineffective if that is the intention.

Hate not being able to queue for a duty with the boco out.

Also agree on lowering the level required for those of us that don't have access to stables.

Also, for the exp penalty we get I feel the chocobo should be stronger than it is.

Lastly but this only tangentially related, I'd rather have other companions besides the chocobos. Some NPC's maybe or even the option to have our retainers with us would be cool.

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Originally Posted by Khalithar

Also, for the exp penalty we get I feel the chocobo should be stronger than it is.

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Chocobo's in Heavensward are overpowered. From level 51-59 my Rank 20 Chocobo had more HP then my i130 Paladin. At level 60 it Cures me for 3600 Crits. Including a sizeable amount of damage in Attacker stance. Chocobo's are OP now.

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Originally Posted by Galactimus

Chocobo's in Heavensward are overpowered. From level 51-59 my Rank 20 Chocobo had more HP then my i130 Paladin. At level 60 it Cures me for 3600 Crits. Including a sizeable amount of damage in Attacker stance. Chocobo's are OP now.

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Not all of us have the rank 20. If it is overpowered at rank 20 they should re-balance it by making it easier to level so it's significantly easier to reach max rank and make it so it's not as powerful at that point.

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Originally Posted by Khalithar

I'm all for removing the timer, the gysahls are a pointless money sink that is grossly ineffective if that is the intention.

Hate not being able to queue for a duty with the boco out.

Also agree on lowering the level required for those of us that don't have access to stables.

Also, for the exp penalty we get I feel the chocobo should be stronger than it is.

Lastly but this only tangentially related, I'd rather have other companions besides the chocobos. Some NPC's maybe or even the option to have our retainers with us would be cool.

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I'd like to lose the Greens if only they are changed to a buff. eg "using" the greens would buff the Chocobo instead of summoning it. Yes I know "summoning" a Chocobo with greens is FF lore but it barely made sense in the other games. There are other greens in the game (for the racing Chocobo) that could be dual-purposed then.

But more importantly I'd like to see other companions. The Retainers would be a nice option, but might make the game harder to manage without "scripting" AI addons. It also makes it a bit more of a mess telling players from Retainers in the field.

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Originally Posted by Saziel

1. They should be easier to level. I know that there's supposed to be a bit of a grind, but it's still entirely too ridiculous to level them up. Even if I fight monsters for hours, it hardly feels as if I've made a dent in its experience bar at all.

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Challenge Log (kill 100 enemies), Training with Chocobo stable (1 Krakka Root each 6 hours) and Curiel Root as exp food for the Chocobo.

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Originally Posted by Khalithar

Not all of us have the rank 20. If it is overpowered at rank 20 they should re-balance it by making it easier to level so it's significantly easier to reach max rank and make it so it's not as powerful at that point.

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They already made it easier. What SE should do to make it easier is a public stable for those with no garden.

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Originally Posted by Khalithar

I'm all for removing the timer, the gysahls are a pointless money sink that is grossly ineffective if that is the intention.

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That would make Chocobo buff food overpowered. Exp bonus or heal bonus with no timer?

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Originally Posted by Limecat

I avoid that problem by leaving Choco Medica locked even though my bird is rank 20.

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My chocobo must be the odd one out since I rarely see him cast medica. Almost always he would use cure.

Can I get my retainer to be my companion instead? The bird was cute when I was 12 lets move on now though. Sometimes I want my nicely geared retainer fighting with me.

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Originally Posted by LTEvil

Can I get my retainer to be my companion instead? The bird was cute when I was 12 lets move on now though. Sometimes I want my nicely geared retainer fighting with me.

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Did you know that in V1.0 there were Path Companions?

While I'm not ~really~ sure I liked how that system worked, having the ability to summon a Retainer with some programmable AI in the field (or "solo dungeon"'ing) would be useful, as an alternative to the Chocobo.