ESO Companion System guide including ESO Companion Gear Drop Locations. Companions are customizable NPC’s you get through quests in the Elder Scrolls Online. ESO Companion System starts at level 1 and levels up as you take them on adventures with you. You can give the gear and set up a prioritized skill rotation for each companion. To aid you in combat a companion can take on the role of Tank, Healer, or Damage Dealer.
Your companions in the Elder Scrolls Online have personalities and their affection or loyalty to you will increase or decrease depending on your actions.
Links to: Companion System Guide | Mirri | Bastian | Isobel | Ember
How the ESO Companion System works.
When the ESO companion system goes live, you will be able to get two different companions, but only have one active at a time. In a group setting, each player will be able to have a companion by their side to aid the group, whether this will work as a small DoT if the companion is set as Damage Dealer or a pocket healer if set for that is still unknown, as too strong companions would shift the balance of the game.
That’s why I believe the eso companion system will be best suited for solo players or low-level groups where you will feel the aid a companion will provide the most. Another great place where this will help a lot is when you want to do a dungeon and just need that 4th person.
Make sure to read about the Tanking, Healing, and Damage Dealing companions below.
How to get Companions in ESO.
Companions in the Elder Scrolls Online are procured through Quests. When your new companion joins you they start at level 1, and you will have to level them up so they get better skills, and can wear better armor.
You do however need to purchase the Blackwood Chapter to be able to get Companions, but once this is done they will follow you all over Tamriel, except in solo arenas. With the Blackwood Release, we get to quest for the Companions Bastian and Mirri.
Bastian is the son of a Noble but comes from a history of strife that you’ll learn more about while adventuring with him. He ended up becoming a servant to another noble family and is essentially being the protector of a rich, sniveling idiot. The questline that you go through with him to unlock him as a companion covers one of those adventures. And then once you unlock him, you find out a little bit more about who he is and what his personal tragedy is.
Mirri’s story we do not know yet, but nimble on her feet and light-fingered might best describe this companion.
Each companion also has its own series of likes and dislikes. There’s a reporting system associated with this.
This system will change as a player progressed through the story to unlock new quests to get to know each companion. While Bastian might frown on thievery Mirri just might applaud.
I for one would have loved to be able to have Lyris Titanborn as a companion or what about Cadwell?
The Companions we get to choose from are not that battle-scarred, but still, I look forward to having a sidekick!.
Companions Rapport De- & Increasers.
Mirri and Bastian reacts differently to what you do in the game, where Mirri don’t care if you steal something, Bastian will decrease his rapport with you. On the other hand Mirri won’t let you kill insects or sail on boats, while she appluds if you kill a snake.
The rapport increasers and decreasers are all on cooldown timers, so it won’t help you to kill two snakes in a row.
here are the ESO Companion Inreasers and Decreasders for Mirri and Bastian.
Increase Rapport With Mirri.
- Visiting a Daedric Delve or Public Dungeon
- Fighter’s Guild daily quest
- Crafting an alcoholic beverage
- Reading a book from a bookshelf
- Antiquity Excavation
- Stolen drinking and reading-related treasures
- Murdering Goblins
- Murdering Large Snakes/Serpents (Not Lamia’s)
Decrease Rapport With Mirri.
- Gathering flying insects
- Killing using the Blade of Woe
- Visiting Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary (cooldown takes forever)
- Completing a Sacrament
- Boats
Increase Rapport With Bastian.
- Visiting Eyevea
- Reading a book from a bookshelf
- Mage Guild daily quest
- Antiquity Scrying
- Visiting Artaeum (cooldown time unknown)
- Killing all bandits or cultists in random encounters
- Looting treasure chests and boss chests
Decrease Rapport With Bastian.
- Entering combat with a friendly NPC
- Finishing combat or using the Blade of Woe on a friendly NPC
- Looting the friendly NPC you just murdered
- Stealing absolutely anything and Pickpocketing
- Looting Thieves Troves
As showcased on the ESO twitch stream, Bastian got Dragonknight skills:
- Lava Whip (Damage)
- Searing Strike (Damage)
- Stonefist (Damage)
- Cauterize (Heal)
- Obsidian Shield (Heal)
- Molten Weapon (Heal)
- Fiery Grip (Tank)
- Dragon Blood (Tank)
- Dark Talons (Tank)
ESO Companion Gear Drop Locations:
ESO Companion Gear Drop are very relevant, since your companions can’t use the gear you can.
To recieve Companion Gear drops no matter the location, you need to have an active companion.
- World, Delve, Public, and Group Dungeon Bosses
- Chests
- Psijic Portals
- Heavy Sacks
- Ordinary Mobs
- Dolmen Chests
- Mini Dolmen “boss”
Companion Gear Setup.
Your Companions can acquire armor and weapons, by you looting them while they are at your side.
Companion gear in ESO can be of any quality up to Epic (Purple) and will match the Companions level when looting it.
You cannot use your own player gear on Companions at the moment even though it would be great.
If it changes in the future only time can tell, as there are no plans or leaks from Zos about giving companions gear from players.
From the get-go you can get 9 Companion Gear Sets, know as Aggressive, Augmented, Bolstered, Focused, Prolific, Quickened, Shattering, Soothing, and Vigorous. All sets can be from normal to Epic, and you can use as many pieces of a set as you like, as they all have only one “bonus” or Trait. Besides the bonus from the armor, your companions also have armor passives, very basic armor passives.
Companion Gear Traits.
| Aggressive | Increases Companion Damage Done per piece equipped. |
| Augmented | Increases duration of all Companion Buffs and Debuffs per piece equipped. |
| Bolstered | Reduces Companion Damage Taken per piece equipped. |
| Focused | Increases Companion Critical Strike Rating per piece equipped. |
| Prolific | Increases Companion Ultimate Generation per piece equipped. |
| Quickened | Reduces Companion Ability Cooldowns per piece equipped. |
| Shattering | Increases Companion Penetration per piece equipped. |
| Soothing | Increases Companion Healing Done per piece equipped. |
| Vigorous | Increases Companion Maximum Health per piece equipped. |
Here is a list of the Companions gear sets in Blackwood:
Aggresive: Increase Damage done by x% pr piece worn.
Augmented: Increase Duration of all Buffs and debuffs by x% pr piece worn.
Bolstered: Reduce Damage taken by x %
Focused: Increase Critical Strike Rating by x amount pr piece worn.
Prolific: Increase Ultimate Generation by X %, pr piece worn.
Quickened: Reduce ability cooldowns by -X % pr piece worn.
Shattering: Increase Penetration by 1300 pr piece worn.
Soothing: Increase Healing Done by X % pr piece worn.
Vigorous: Increase Max Health by X % pr piece worn.
Tanking Companion
Time will tell if you can use the ESO companion System for tanking the Hard Mode Veteran dungeons, what gear they will need, and how high level they need to be. I will be making Best in Slot Builds for the tanking companion and share here.
I could see Tanking Companions running Ebon Armor with Claw of Yolnahkriins like an end-game trial tank.
With every update I will update this page, so make sure to come back and check if anything has changed every 3 months when we get a new update.
We don’t know yet if ESO Companion System works like pets, or if you can have the companion attack, someone before you do.
It would be great if a Companion Tank could attack forst and take aggro. I do believe it will be possible, but time will tell.
Healing Companion
Like the Tanking Companion, the Healer Companion is very interesting. Will it be able to give shards and orbs? if so solo players can use gear like Moon Dancer or Roar of Alkosh (funny that both these sets that need a synergy to proc are from the same trial). Maybe you just want the benefits of healer sets like Spell Power Cure and Worm Cult without having to wear them yourself.
End-game Veterans Dungeons on Hard Mode won’t be healed by a lonely companion with a restoration staff, since companion skills are on cooldowns, and can only be cast every X seconds.
Best Companion Healer setup:
Damage Dealer Companion
Again if you just need that fourth person to join the group, it’s great to have this pocket DoT with you, however Damage Dealers are a dime a dousin, so this damage dealer companion would more be for solo content.
I would prefere this companion above any n00b player or E-bay bought account.
Any companion can wear armor, and share that bonus with you and the group, so you will always have that advantage as well as the pocket DoT it provides.
If our companions pick up synergies, a armor set as Alkosh could be a fun way to get the most out of you Damage Dealer Companion.
Where can I use Companions in ESO?
All we know for now is that the ESO companion system can be used everywhere execpt in PvP and Solo Arena’s (Maelstrom and Vateshran). But it might be subject to change, as more restrictions could be nessesary to balance the game.
Companion Combat Rotation:
A Companions rotation is very basic, all skills are on a cooldown and your companion will start by using the skill you set in slot one, then slot two and so forth. The companion only got 5 skill spot and the cooldown is 8 seconds, this will give som time for the companion to do a light attack or maybe even block.
As you level up your companions, they get more skills to choose from, and you can choose those skills that best support your own playstyle and needs.
Companion Collectibles: Outfits, Mounts, and Costumes
The ESO Companion System is also designed to help the player feel more involved in the game.
We have already talked about the emotional range of your personal NPC, and how he or she will be affected by your actions. To take that connection to a whole new level, you will also be able to use mounts, costumes, and outfits on your companion. How it will affect Bastian if you try and make him fit into the wedding dress, only time will tell, but this opens up for a lot of fun combinations
How to use Costumes on Companions.
You can use all the costumes you have earned on your account for both you and your companions.
Some custumes can nly be worn by certain races, that still apply to your companion.
The ESO Companion System closing remarks.
The Blackwood chapter released on June 1st for PC and St, while consoles have to wait until June 6th.
You will find ESO Companion System Builds on my Youtube channel.