Companions Tyranny Guide
Last update: 17 January 2017
Basic information
You can come across several potential companions. You can travel with three of them at a time. Your other companions, who do not travel in your team will be sent to a spire, where you can swap them as you want. Thus, you should conscribe every character that is willing to join you.
Remember that not all of them will want to follow you: this depends on your decisions, favor and wrath of certain fractions and selected dialogue options during your conversations. Just like your hero, your companions have their own specializations and abilities - one should build his/her team in a way that will allow to maximize the effectiveness during combat (e.g. don't use characters that use only ranged weapons). Some abilities of your companions can be used outside the battlefield, e.g. use Subterfuge to open locks- if one of your companions have more points of Subterfuge than you, he/she will open the chest. The same goes for a number of activities that require Athletics. However, during dialogues it is you who needs to reach the required ability level.
Companion Combos
Your companions will develop as you request. However, there are some talents that can lead to powerful combos and require team work (your and one of the companions). Such actions need to be performed together and often you need to stand close to each other. Every character has one special ability that can be used from the very beginning and you can unlock two more by gaining Loyalty and Fear points towards your companions. You can achieve that by conversations, and deciding on certain situations (your companions don't have to agree with all of them and e.g. if you decide to kill peasants instead of letting them free, you are likely to gain Fear).
List of companions
Verse
Verse - you will meet her for the first time in Edgering Ruins. She belongs to The Scarlet Chorus. It's wise to travel with her, at least in the early stages of the game, as engaging into combat alone may be very difficult. She uses dual weapons and can use her bow, which makes her a perfect unit to engage in close combat and mid-distance. She is an offensive character and it's best to upgrade her fighting skills more than her health (she can effectively use parry and dodge for defensive purposes). She has highly developed Subterfuge, which will help you open complex locks.
Verse has two skill trees (Duelist and Skirmisher), which refer to melee attacks and ranged weapons. One should unlock Battle Mind as soon as possible and improve skills of the entire team (Dual Weapons, Athletics, and Bows).
Suggested talents to develop: Quickness and Finesse, Might from time to time.
Suggested equipment: dual weapons characterized by high speed and a bow. Add a set of light armor which will allow you perform actions more quickly.
Barik
Barik - a member of the Disfavored that you can come across in the Disfavored Camp. He can join your team during The Battle of Echocall Crossing. This character is a so-called "tank"- a character that fights in the first line and makes all the enemies focus on him. He has highly developed parry and dodge skills, can carry a shield and has decent Vitality. His special abilities lure enemies towards him.
Barik has a very characteristic feature - you cannot replace his armor. This can make him a less effective character during further stages; however, you can upgrade his armor by building a Forge in your second Spire (Lethian's Crossing). If you have enough blacksmiths and resources, you will be able to improve his armor greatly. Just remember that upgrading armor requires a lot of rings.
Barik has two skill trees (Punisher, Sentinel). It's best to focus on the latter as it affects Barik's defense, (e.g. Stance) and gives a major boost to other companions (Defender's Watch, Sounds of War). Clash of Iron and Iron Tolling (combo) will make nearby foes focus on Barik.
Suggested talents to develop: Vitality and Quickness, Finesse to some point.
Suggested equipment: one-handed weapon and a good shield.
Remember - If you support The Scarlet Chorus after your visit in Archons' Tent, (final part of Taking the Outer Valley) Barik will leave your team for good.
Lantry
Lantry is a sage, who can heal and boost skills of you team (Sigil of Life and Vigor). Apart from that, he is a rather friendly character who often speaks about his feelings and comments on your decisions. He is using his quill as a thrown weapon. As this parameter is not highly developed, you can change his weapon to a magic staff or even use two weapons (not recommended).
Lantry has three skill trees: Quill (refers to any type of thrown weapon, not just his quill), Sage and Preservation. The first tree focuses on thrown weapons and upgrading it can make Lantry hit multiple targets at the same time. Sage will improve abilities of all the companions (Voice of Ages is a very useful skill) and you simply cannot forget about Preservation - it affects magic that can be used to heal and regenerate your team.
Suggested talents to develop: Wits and Vitality / Might, depends whether you prefer to heal or boost defense of your allies.
Suggested equipment: thrown weapons or a magic staff and light armor - this combination will allow him to cast spells and perform range attacks rapidly.
Draw your attention to the fact that the used weapon and magic work well together: if you want to focus on Vigor magic, you need to develop Might. If you prefer healing magic, you improve Vitality, and invest some points in Wits, which determines how you use your magic staff. Just remember that there are no special talents for magic staffs, and you will have to depend on magic.
Sirin
You will first encounter her in The Scarlet Chorus Camp, by a tent. Your conversation can affect how she is going to react in the future. You will be able to add her to your party in Lethian's Crossing. She is not really a warrior but will support your team with so-called Songs. Each verse lasts a couple of seconds and has a different effect - decreasing your foes' abilities or boosting your own. These effects are combined. You can switch between songs by choosing the right icon, next to Sirin's picture.
Of course, you don't have to focus entirely on Songs - her magic focuses on offensive spells. They require Breaths that Sirin can obtain during battles. One should draw attention to the fact that Songs are performed constantly and are not affected by magic or melee attacks. There are three types of talents: Songs - they cannot be upgraded but you can unlock new once you have enough skill points; Peace - magic which improves defensive skills of your allies; War - offensive magic that will harm your enemies (Quick Breath is an interesting option and will let Sirin for a more aggressive approach from the very beginning of a battle).
Suggested talents to develop: Vitality, which directly affects Performance - skills affecting Might critical strikes of Songs.
Suggested equipment: Light or Average armor, magic staff. The helmet cannot be removed but you can upgrade it in a forge.
Kills-in-Shadow
The Beastwoman is a warrior that you will meet after The Voice of Kyros and travelling to the supported Archon in order to begin another main quest. You will be ambushed and a simple dialogue will let you add this companion to your team. Kills-in-Shadows is easy to train and definitely a good solution for players, who don't like to focus too much on their inventory (or cannot afford expensive items). The beast cannot equip any items apart from accessories and a weapon - also optional.
There are two skill trees, and it's wise to focus on just one of them: It depends whether you want to use weapons (Ravager), or prefer unarmed combat (Titan). Draw your attention to the fact that many skills can have a bonus that depends on stealth attacks.
Suggested talents to develop: Finesse - the pace of strikes will be poor, so make every blow hit your target. Furthermore, if you want to focus on unarmed combat - develop Quickness, and Might if you are using weapons. You may want to invest some points in Vitality.
Suggested equipment: one-handed or two-handed weapons, no items (optional).
Eb
Eb is a sorceress who is related to the Vendrien Guard from the beginning of the game. Regardless of whether you sided with the Rebels or chose another path, you will be able to include her in your party after securing the Ascension Hall at the end of Act I. If you're not interested in her help, you can kill her at that point.
Since Eb is a mage, the majority of recommended equipment must be based on high Recovery rate, just like in case of Lantry. Eb has two talent trees. Depending on how you want to use her power, you have to focus on one of them and develop it extensively. Remember that trainers can significantly speed up character development which lets you gradually develop the second tree before the game ends.
The Gravelight tree is focused on offensive spells that let you manipulate foes while dealing damage. It will be perfect support for the first fighting line and, at the same time, will let Eb neutralize enemy mages from a distance.
The Tidal tree consists mainly of crowd control effects and party-member bonuses that often prohibit the enemy from landing successful strikes or let the party catch a breath in combat.
Recommended Attributes to develop: Might and Wits
Recommended equipment: Magical staffs and light armor which lets you land subsequent attacks quickly.