Why is Gold Companion gear so coveted?

Erickson9610 · June 25

Our first piece of Gold Companion equipment was the Companion's Ascendant Ring, which was tied to a one-time event and was in the Quickened trait. Then, for Heart's Week, we could get Legendary-quality Companion Rings in any trait, not just Quickened.

Now, we learn that we can get other pieces of Legendary-quality Companion equipment from Solo Dungeons, but not all pieces will be available from our first two Solo Dungeons; more will be added as more Solo Dungeons are implemented.

On the one hand, it's cool that we have something rare to grind for, in the style of a classic MMORPG. I think it's a worthwhile grind, even for a marginal buff to something completely irrelevant in PvP and most PvE. Actually, since we can use Companions in Solo Dungeons, it feels like dropping Gold Companion gear from Solo Dungeons is designed to encourage us to bring our Companions to help us tackle the harder challenges of Solo Dungeons. I am pretty excited about that challenge.

On the other hand, the stat increases really are just marginal. We can't craft or upgrade Companion gear, so gating Gold Companion equipment behind grinding and events can feel like a step backwards compared to the QoL we have for player equipment, all for a barely noticeable difference. Of all of the things to be put behind a grind like this, why is it so irrelevant to the endgame playstyles?

Why is Companion gear specifically designed like this? Although I am complaining about it, I'm still very excited to unlock more Legendary Companion gear.

DenverRalphy · June 25

They're only marginal increases when viewed individually. But you have to remember, pennies add up to dollars.

[edit] spelling

AScarlato · June 25

I'm just going to speak for myself. I understand it's a rather pointless luxury.

After a certain CP and maxing out your gear, the horizontal progression of this game makes me feel very stagnant. So, this is probably the last source of obvious improvements to my account.

I do know we get power creep and they rearrange sets and skill power, but it's not vertical progression to strive towards once you hit a certain point in your account.

BretonMage · June 25

I know it's sounds ridiculous, but yes, I covet the extra 0.4% increase in stats as it is the only way so far to boost their survival. We don't get much gear choice with companions and their AI leaves much to be desired, so the only thing we can hope for is to give them the best gear we can get, choose their skills carefully, and hope for the best. (I'd like to add though that I do think companion gear needs a bit of a tweak, to make some of the traits actually useful. Having more transparency with regard to their baseline stats would be helpful too.)

I have to admit, the solo dungeons are sounding much more interesting than I had expected. I thought it would be just easier versions of normal dungeons with even more trivial rewards, but that doesn't seem to be the case.

Arunei · June 25

Small amounts add up. It might not be much, but that extra bit of damage or healing they wind up doing might be the difference between getting nuked or not. Or that few extra hundred HP might let them take enough damage that you can finish off whatever you're fighting before it can turn to you.

I mean we could honestly say the same for player Gear, in terms of Purple to Gold. I hear it said over and over that the difference between Purple and Gold isn't really all that much, yet we still do it so we get as much out of our Gear as we can. Granted...it's a lot easier for player Gear since we can obviously upgrade it and that's not an option for Companion Gear.

Honestly though that makes zero sense to me. You mean to tell me these people we travel with, and who we trust to keep us alive and vice versa and who have us help them with X or Y quests...don't trust us to make their Gear better for them or something?

Luneca · June 25

No clue. The only companion I ever need is my siege.

kind_hero · June 25

I would much prefer a ring that would make companions jump from red zones

I believe the way the last ring, the golden one, was introduced as a reward from activities, is a much better way of obtaining items, rather than grinding. I like how the tomes work, they give you a sense of progress and the tomes don't force unwanted items on you. Allowing to save more points for later tomes might be a good idea as well, similar to the way I was saving up seals, so I can afford Apex rewards. Grinding just makes me quit and play something else.

SkaiFaith · June 25

Also... I guess it will be bound. Otherwise companion gear market will absolutely crash XD

Malprave · June 25

First problem I see is players still mentioning companions and damage in the same sentence. Companions can't do damage. their damage is practically zero, Zero + gold gear still = zero.

Companions are great tanks for overland stuff but absolutely suck in vet dungeons. Even with all gold gear they are still going to suck.

I really enjoy the companions and have every one max level and rapport, but I enjoy them for the dialogue and the color they add, not because they are all that useful. But, if players want to chase gold companion gear because they enjoy doing it I can't say that they're wrong. To each their own.

Arunei · June 25

Malprave wrote: »

First problem I see is players still mentioning companions and damage in the same sentence. Companions can't do damage. their damage is practically zero, Zero + gold gear still = zero.

Companions are great tanks for overland stuff but absolutely suck in vet dungeons. Even with all gold gear they are still going to suck.

I really enjoy the companions and have every one max level and rapport, but I enjoy them for the dialogue and the color they add, not because they are all that useful. But, if players want to chase gold companion gear because they enjoy doing it I can't say that they're wrong. To each their own.

Companions absolutely can do damage, I'm not sure why you think they can't? They might not do as much as a player but they were never meant to.

code65536 · June 25

Once I got their collectible, I never use my companions again. So I also don't care what I equip them with. Green, blue, purple, none of it matters. But apparently people do care, which is why unbound purple/gold companion gear sell for so much and why ZOS felt they would be a good reward for solo dungeons. Meh.

tomofhyrule · June 25

I feel like the solo dungeons are natural sources for them.

They did confirm that “solo” dungeons can still be “you and a Companion” dungeons, so I’m sure a lot of the people interested in doing them are those who want a stronger Companion for combat, especially since the optional debuffs added are there so you can have the “solo” dungeon be a bit on the sweatier side.

I do hope that new traditional 4-mans are not gone forever though. The lack of them this year (especially after the home run that was BGF HM) is really sad for my standard dungeon group and - even though there are a lot of people who like playing their MMO solo - there are also those who like the group aspect. Dungeons and Trials also do have different bases, so while they overlap, many favor one and tolerate the other as a means to get gear. I don’t want to see challenging organized small-group content permanently dropped in favor of “large-group trials or open world zergfests or content designed to be soloable but bring friends to make it trivial,” so I hope 2027 can bring more of the traditional small-scale stuff back.

SirBanana1992 · June 25

I have the silliest reasons for really wanting gold companion gear and that's just because I want the number values of gear stat/traits to be nice and rounded. I am tired of looking at gear that have values of 400s-900s or decimal traits with values of .2 or .7, etc.

Veinblood1965 · June 25

Arunei wrote: »

.

Honestly though that makes zero sense to me. You mean to tell me these people we travel with, and who we trust to keep us alive and vice versa and who have us help them with X or Y quests...don't trust us to make their Gear better for them or something?

Just a heads up, they aren't people they are NPC's. They have no feelings about it one way or the other. (Don't tell Azandar I said that, he'll stop helping me....).

freespirit · June 25

Malprave wrote: »

First problem I see is players still mentioning companions and damage in the same sentence. Companions can't do damage. their damage is practically zero, Zero + gold gear still = zero.

Companions are great tanks for overland stuff but absolutely suck in vet dungeons. Even with all gold gear they are still going to suck.

I really enjoy the companions and have every one max level and rapport, but I enjoy them for the dialogue and the color they add, not because they are all that useful. But, if players want to chase gold companion gear because they enjoy doing it I can't say that they're wrong. To each their own.

Set your difficulty to Vestige, take your fav Companion for a spin, suddenly notice, "Oh wow they do actually do damage!"

Malprave · June 25

Arunei wrote: »

Malprave wrote: »

First problem I see is players still mentioning companions and damage in the same sentence. Companions can't do damage. their damage is practically zero, Zero + gold gear still = zero.

Companions are great tanks for overland stuff but absolutely suck in vet dungeons. Even with all gold gear they are still going to suck.

I really enjoy the companions and have every one max level and rapport, but I enjoy them for the dialogue and the color they add, not because they are all that useful. But, if players want to chase gold companion gear because they enjoy doing it I can't say that they're wrong. To each their own.

Companions absolutely can do damage, I'm not sure why you think they can't? They might not do as much as a player but they were never meant to.

Their damage is so low it’s negligible.

Malprave · June 25

freespirit wrote: »

Malprave wrote: »

First problem I see is players still mentioning companions and damage in the same sentence. Companions can't do damage. their damage is practically zero, Zero + gold gear still = zero.

Companions are great tanks for overland stuff but absolutely suck in vet dungeons. Even with all gold gear they are still going to suck.

I really enjoy the companions and have every one max level and rapport, but I enjoy them for the dialogue and the color they add, not because they are all that useful. But, if players want to chase gold companion gear because they enjoy doing it I can't say that they're wrong. To each their own.

Set your difficulty to Vestige, take your fav Companion for a spin, suddenly notice, "Oh wow they do actually do damage!"

Player damage will still far, far exceed companions even at vestige difficulty.

tomofhyrule · June 25

Malprave wrote: »

freespirit wrote: »

Malprave wrote: »

First problem I see is players still mentioning companions and damage in the same sentence. Companions can't do damage. their damage is practically zero, Zero + gold gear still = zero.

Companions are great tanks for overland stuff but absolutely suck in vet dungeons. Even with all gold gear they are still going to suck.

I really enjoy the companions and have every one max level and rapport, but I enjoy them for the dialogue and the color they add, not because they are all that useful. But, if players want to chase gold companion gear because they enjoy doing it I can't say that they're wrong. To each their own.

Set your difficulty to Vestige, take your fav Companion for a spin, suddenly notice, "Oh wow they do actually do damage!"

Player damage will still far, far exceed companions even at vestige difficulty.

There are counterexamples to everything.

On Vestige, me and a friend bringing out Companions to Short Tusk. Both of us with fairly kitted out DPS companions:

… so my Companion did over 84% of our total damage. I personally did 15%. He not only out-DPSed me, he blew my damage out.
For my friend, he did outDPS his companion, but in about a 66/33 ratio.

I suppose I should mention that I play a tank. And, while I prefer building overland for character-appropriate RP instead of using my full trial stuff, it’s not a total meme build. (I play him all in on HP and he’s very dragon- and steel-themed, so he’s in pYol and Ironblood because I like the proc).
My friend, on the other hand, is in a meta DD build, so yes, his was still smoking everything even on Vestige.

freespirit · June 25

Malprave wrote: »

freespirit wrote: »

Malprave wrote: »

First problem I see is players still mentioning companions and damage in the same sentence. Companions can't do damage. their damage is practically zero, Zero + gold gear still = zero.

Companions are great tanks for overland stuff but absolutely suck in vet dungeons. Even with all gold gear they are still going to suck.

I really enjoy the companions and have every one max level and rapport, but I enjoy them for the dialogue and the color they add, not because they are all that useful. But, if players want to chase gold companion gear because they enjoy doing it I can't say that they're wrong. To each their own.

Set your difficulty to Vestige, take your fav Companion for a spin, suddenly notice, "Oh wow they do actually do damage!"

Player damage will still far, far exceed companions even at vestige difficulty.

My Companions are a tank/DD mix, mostly tank, on Vestige I am being out damaged by my companions pretty regularly.

Maybe my set up is just "different" to yours?

katanagirl1 · June 26

I set my companions that I use as tanks for my dps, and gold vigorous gear should increase their survivability even more. Already in blue gear Bastian rarely lets me down.