Neverwinter Utility Slot

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Note that companions drop very rarely in dungeons nowadays, so green augments are much more expensive than they were in the past. Also note that there is a big rework on companions and bondings runestones coming : Bonding Runestones & Companion Changes. So it may be wise to wait a bit before investing too much into companions and bonding runestones until we have more information.

Companions are your main source of stat points thanks to bonding runestones, augment companions, and companion gear and runestones. There are two types of companions : Augment Companions, which only boost your stats and follow you around, and Non Augment Companions, which fight with you.

Utility

Augment Companions

Neverwinter Utility Slot both to players and casino operators, and give help tothose whomight have a gambling problem. Utility Enchantments Overload enchantments are enchantments that fit in their own personal enchantment slot called Overload Slots, were introduced in Module 3: Curse of Icewind Dale. Overload enchantments cannot be refined, and vanish when their timers run out. The timer runs only in-combat.

Augment companions are companions which have the Augmentation and the Enhancement powers. They do not fight with you, but follow you around. The non augment companions usually have 2 active skills, 1 passive that enhance their skills and 1 passive that improves their stats (role expertise). They do fight with you but, with the exception of a couple of them, do not expect much from them.

The Augmentation skill is available at lvl 1 and makes your companion share their stats to you. You get all of their stats, including companion gear and runestones slotted in your companion gear (except HP from runestones for some reason). That’s about 3 rank 8 bonding runestones you get for free, on top of your own bonding runestones. Thanks to this skill alone, an uncommon (green) augment companion lvl 25 gives you more stats than a non augment epic (purple) companion lvl 35. And a rare (blue) lvl 30 augment companion gives about the same stats as a legendary (orange) non augment companion lvl 40. At lvl 40, a legendary augment companion gives an average of 8k more to all stats compared to a legendary non augment companion.

The Enhancement power (unlocked at blue quality, lvl 30) gives 1k bonus to 3 stats of your companion… Which translate to a 3.1k bonus to these stats for you (with rank 15 bonding runestones). The Enhancement power is what makes all the augment companions different. They would be strictly identical otherwise. And so they are, below lvl 30, which is why it doesn’t matter which augment companion you get for leveling.

In higher end dungeons, you need very high stats to be able to perform properly. But, in lower end dungeons, the scaling mechanic makes your stats melt. In both cases, a non augment companion will perform very poorly. You absolutely need an augment companion if you are going to play random dungeons. Otherwise, you are just a dead weight for your party.

Non Augment Companions

Most of the Non Augment Companions are useless. They deal very little damage, heal about nothing... But there are 2 companions which are actually good : the Abyssal Chicken and Xuna ! It is important to equip them properly, to max out their damage output. Alternatively, the Stalwart Golden Lion is also interesting, though it's not for its damage.

The Abyssal Chicken is extremely potent on single targets. It has a power that can deal millions of damage on a very small aoe (the aoe is too small to be very effective on multi targets), with a long cooldown (so it's not that great for solo). It has one huge problem though : if more than 2 people have it in the same group, there are pretty high chances for the game to crash for everyone in the group. It is awesome on an end game tank or healer who can have capped stats with it. Once properly equipped, it can deal more damage than many newer Damage Dealers.

Xuna is a multimillion AD prize which can deal huge damage in a big aoe. Her damage is not as high as the Chicken's, but the aoe makes her perfect for killing groups of monsters. Great for solo. Great for dungeons, as long as your stats are capped. And the game doesn't crash with her, so anyone can use her... as long as they can afford her !

To equip the Abyssal Chicken or Xuna properly, you should use the highest bonding runestones possible (to cap your own stats), and companion gear with Armor Penetration (as this is the only stat that really makes a difference for non augment companions). Empowered runestones are great on them, but Indomitable runestones are also an option (they will boost your companion's damage more, at the cost of you losing up to 24k Power).

The Stalwart Golden Lion is actually very good for solo content : it tanks very well, it gives a damage buff to you, and it gives combat advantage. There is no point trying to boost its damage to the maximum, as it's not that high (though better than nothing), so use whatever kind of companion equipment that are useful for you in priority.

Any other Non Augment Companion can be used to gain combat advantage in solo content if you have your stats capped, but keep in mind that most of them will be only good to give you combat advantage, and that you'll often be better with an Augment Companion. Never use them in dungeons, ever.

Ranking Up Companions

It is very important to rank up your active companion, for it will gain stats (and you will too through bonding runetones and the augmentation power if it's an augment). It is also necessary to rank up your campanions to improve their quality.

The easiest way to make a new companion rank up, is to put the companion as active when you complete a quest. You can even boost the experience with the “Experience Points Bonus” Guild Boon and with Azure enchantments. No need to have a ball at your feet all the time.

Always train your companions when you leave the game. Otherwise you won’t have access to them for the time of their training, or it will cost AD to get them back earlier.

Upgrading Companions’ Quality

The best way to upgrade your companions is to wait for a sale in the ZEN market (you can also get 25% coupons from time to time by invoking your god), and to buy Companion Upgrade Packs (that’s 75 tokens for a maximum of 375k AD when there’s no sale).

With a -20% coupon for Companion Upgrade Packs, upgrades cost a maximum of 4000 AD per companion upgrade token (depends on the exchange rate) :

  • Common (grey) to Uncommon (green) : 30 tokens or 50k AD : always use AD.
  • Uncommon (green) to Rare (blue) : 60 tokens or 250k AD (save at least 10k AD)
  • Rare (blue) to Epic (purple) : 90 tokens or 500k AD (save at least 140k AD)
  • Epic (purple) to Legendary (orange) : 120 tokens or 1M AD (save at least 520k AD)

When there’s no sale, a companion upgrade token costs a maximum 5k AD. So, it’s not worth it to upgrade an uncommon companion this way if the AD to Zen rate is at 750 AD/ZEN. But it’s still worth to upgrade a Rare companion to Epic (and of course better to upgrade an Epic companion to Legendary).

With mod 18, we can occasionnaly get 20 companion upgrade tokens from Juma bags (in Avernus, lvl 80+). It takes time, but it’s a good way to upgrade your companions !

With mod 19, we can now buy companion upgrade tokens for 3 Tarmalune Trade Bars each. You can obtain Tarmalune Trade Bars by opening lockboxes (for which you need keys, either bought in the Zen store or obtained daily with VIP).

Bonding Runestones

Now that we have established the fact that an augment pet is a necessity because they gives 100% of their stats to you… Consider the fact that Bonding Runestones can transfer up to 210% of your companion’s stats to you. Yes, they are absolutely fantastic, and an absolute priority for everyone. Get these to rank 15 as soon as possible. The only thing you should buy before upgrade your bondings is your active companion for your main role (and upgrading it to epic if it’s not already).

To upgrade your bonding runestones, better start with rank 9 (super cheap) while you are leveling, then buy rank 13 one after the other, then upgrade them to rank 14 and 15 with materials you will collect along the way. If you buy the next upgrade and sell the previous one, you will lose 10% of the value of each upgrade in auction house fees. By getting rank 13 directly, you will only lose 10% of the value of your rank 9 bondings when you sell them, and nothing else.

The best way to get wards for upgrading your rank 13 is to wait for a sale in the ZEN market and to buy regular wards (you need an average of 38 wards per bonding)… or wait to get free ones during an event ! The best way to get wards for upgrading your rank 14 is to invoke your god every day (on all of your characters) in order to get a Coalescent Ward. This will guarantee an upgrade, and you will get it for free ! The marks of potency can be acquired by completing weekly missions (which help completing your legacy campaigns) given by Sybella in Protector’s Enclave. The enchanting stones rank 6 can be acquired in the hardest dungeons (many of which are in the epic dungeon queue and are pretty accessible).

Bolster

Neverwinter Utility Slot Enchantments

Bolster improves your companion's base stats by up to 15% at maximum (with 5 companions at the legendary quality in the same category as your active companion). Each rarity improvement on one of your top 5 companion in a category gives you 0.5% Bolster. Let’s face it : 1% in Bolster with a legendary companion only improves your stats by about 134 points. Upgrading Bolster is not worth it. You will get plenty of companions along the way, there’s no need to spend AD for a useless companion.

Companion Influence

Companion Influence improves your companion's stats. Five rank 15 Dark enchantments (30% Companion Influence) give a total of about 1866 in all of your stats and 6726 HP (with a legendary augment companion and rank 15 bondings), or 2422 in all of your stats but no HP (with a legendary non augment companion). It’s really not a big stat.

Best Companion for Leveling

Make sure to have an uncommon augment companion (cat, watler, goldfish, goat, whatever), rank 9+ bonding runestones, 965+ item level companion gear, and empowered runestones, as soon as possible. Nothing can make you stronger than these while you are leveling (at such a cheap price too). Bonding runestones and most of the companion gear items can be transfered to any of your characters at any time. So, if you have a high level character, make your new Cleric happy with proper companion gear !

Best companions for a Tank

Active : any augment without HP or Awareness as a bonus

Awareness is useless if you position properly. And the HP bonus is acutally a malus, for some reason, because they couldn't code it properly, and it's been like this for more than a year... It doesn't matter which augment companion you use, as long as your stats are capped.

Passives

Main ones :

  • Apprentice Healer : 8k HP, 3% Incoming Healing
  • Red Dragon Ioun Stone : 8k HP, 3% Incoming Healing
  • Energon : 32k HP

Options :

  • Chicken : 40% movement speed for you, and 10% damage debuff on your attacker, if you take damage greater than 25% of your Hit Points in a single hit.
  • Erynies of Avernus : 10% damage resistance against Demons
  • Hezrou : 10% damage resistance against Devils
  • Frozen Galeb Duhr : up to 10% damage resistance as your HP decreases
  • Crystal Golem : 16k HP, 2k Power
  • Rimefire Golem : 16k HP, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Iron Golem : 16k HP, 2k Defense
  • Star of Simril : 16k HP, 2k Critical Strike, 4% Gold Gain
  • Moonshae Druid : 16k HP, 2k Critical Avoidance
  • Vanguard of the Citadel : 16k HP, 2k Critical Avoidance
  • Zhentarim Warlock : 16k HP, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Cave Bear : 16k HP, 2k Accuracy
  • Kingfisher Intern : 16k HP, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Storm Rider : 8k HP, 4k Power
  • Boar Shoat : 8k HP, 4k Armor Penetration
  • Goat : 8k HP, 4k Deflection
  • Helmite Paladin Ghost : 8k HP, Critical Strike
  • Hunting Drake : 8k HP, 4k Accuracy
  • Skeletal Dog : 8k HP, 4k Critical Avoidance
  • Ioun Stone of Allure : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Power
  • Cleric Disciple : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Power
  • Duergar Theurge : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Werewolf : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Defense
  • Silver Scaled Cleric Disciple : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Critical Strike
  • Deva Champion : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Critical Avoidance
  • Goldfish : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Critical Avoidance
  • Dedicated Squire : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Accuracy
  • Acolyte of Kelemvor : 3% Incoming Healing, 4k Deflection
  • Battlefield Medic : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Green Slime : 8k Defense
  • Duergar Guard : 8k Critical Avoidance

It has to be HP and Incoming Healing. What else ? Of course, capping defensive stats takes priority.

Best companions for a Healer

Active : Polar Bear Cub

The best active companion for a Devout Cleric is the Polar Bear Cub. It is an augment companion that gives a bonus to Power, Critical Strike, and Awareness. Power and Critical Strike are the two most important stats for you. The only other augment companion with a bonus to Power and Critical Strike is the Icosahedron Ioun Stone, but it gives Combat Advantage instead of Awareness, which is less useful to you. On top of being the best augment companion, the Polar Cub also is one of the passive companions you will have equipped all the time, making it the most important companion for you. The first companion you should buy and upgrade to legendary.

Passives

  • Polar Bear Cub : 3% Outgoing Healing + 2k Defense
  • Quickling : 3% Outgoing Healing + 2k Critical Strike
  • Ioun Stone of Radiance : 3% Outgoing Healing + 2k Deflection
  • Neverember Guard : 3% Outgoing Healing + 2k Awareness
  • Rebel Mercenary : 3% Outgoing Healing + 2k Accuracy

Of course, you want those sweet 3% Outgoing Healing bonuses (nerf from 10% in mod 19…). They will boost your healing more than anything else. There’s also one version of the Faithful Initiate that gives Outgoing Healing, but with Combat Advantage as a secondary stat, not too useful. And the Vallenhas Elite Soldier (which you can obtain as a random reward from the Box of Vallenhas treasures, and is equivalent to the Neverember Guard with 5% damage against Demons). The Quickling is very expensive but it’s also one of the best passive companions due to it giving Critical Strike, a stat you will hardly cap as a healer.

Note that with the huge healing nerfs in mod 19, the Deepcrow Hatchling is now a better option than a 3% Outgoing Healing companion until you reach about 155k Power. And the Alpha Compy becomes a better option once you reach above 200k Power. The Tamed Velociraptor is also a solid option if everyone in the group has it. Look at Janne’s website to get the exact values for you.

Enhancement

Slot
  • Potency : chance on hit to increase Power by 2k (<= 1% healing) and companion’s Critical Avoidance by 4% (Critical Avoidance doesn’t work, at least not shown on your companion sheet, and doesn’t transfer to your stats either).
  • Potent Precision : chance on hit to increase Critical Severity by 5% (> 1.5% healing if Critical Strike close to cap)

It works both with an augment or a non augment companion. The chance is pretty high too !

Potent Precision is better than Potency by a solid margin, even with relatively low Critical Strike.The Rebel Mercenary (which you want for its passive), has this enhancement. Enhancement scales on your summoned companion quality. The quality of the companion which has Potent Precision doesn’t matter.

Companion Gear

  • Gold Icon of the Companion (12k Critical Strike, 2 Empowered Runestones) x2/x3
  • Platinum Icon of the Companion (12k Critical Avoidance, 2 Profane Runestones)

You can get these by completing the questline in the Stardock (12 days) on 3 different characters. That’s the easiest way, as it doesn’t rely on RNG. With these, you will easily cap your Critical Strike (unless you have tons of Power), and your Critical Avoidance. The Profane Runestones will help you cap Defense and the Empowered Runestones will give you 4k power each at rank 15, with Bonding Runestones at Rank 15.

If you do not have your Defense capped, it takes priority over Critical Strike or Critical Avoidance.

Best companions for a Damage Dealer

Active for solo : Stalwart Golden Lion / Abyssal Chicken / Xuna (if your stats are capped, any augment otherwise)

The Stalwart Golden Lion is a non augment companion. It can buff you, taunt, has a large HP pool, and is shiny ! Non augment companions are only good if you have your stats capped for the content you are running. That is, if most of your stats are above 60k (110k for combat advantage) in most places, or above 85k (135k for combat advantage) in Avernus (mod 18 area).

The point of using a non augment companion is to benefit from their buffs (if they have any), and from combat advantage. There’s also Xuna, who actually deals pretty good damage (but is super expensive) and the Abyssal Chicken, which is a lot more affordable (and is better for bosses rather than groups of monsters because its power has a pretty small aoe). But if your stats are not capped, it’s not worth it : using an augment companions will boost your stats a lot more, and you will end up dealing more damage and also being tankier.

Using a non augment in Undermoutain and in the Stronghold is a good idea if you have high bonding runestones. But it is a lot harder to use one in Avernus and you will have to trade a lot of Power to get your stats where they need to be. I highly recommand using an augment companion in Avernus unless you are a very end game player (even then, the difference between an augment and a non augment is not that big, and the augment is always better when you play with other people around).

Active for dungeons : Deepcrow Hatchling / Bulette Pup / etc.

Bulette Pup, Quasit or Icosahedron Ioun Stone have a better enhancement power for a dps and are considered best in slot (bis), but they are not a priority : you need rank 15 bondings first to really take advantage of their enhancement power anyway. Polar Bear Cub is also good, no need to buy another augment if your main role is healer. Deepcrow Hatchling is the best budget augment pet, as it is epic from the start, can be bought with tarmalune trade bars (vip rewards), and gives 8k power at legendary. So, get a Deepcrow Hatchling before even thinking getting a Bulette Pup or any other bis companion.

Passives

The only ones that really matter on these lists are the ones that give +% damage or Power (if you have your stats capped). All the others are only good if you need to cap your stats. As capping your stats for Vallenhas and The Infernal Citadel is harder than before, the Wolf, Staldorf, and Black Dragon Ioun Stone are much better than the others, and really helpful if you want to use a non augment companion in Vallenhas (for which you need rank 15 bonding runestones and very good gear) ! Stats are displayed for companions at Legendary quality (lower stats at lower quality). 4% Critical Severity is not as good as 4k Power, most of the time (thanks Janne for the Maths). Many companions can be used in many slots, but they can only be used once. You cannot use the Mercenary both in Offense and Utility at the same time, for instance. You have to choose, and pick another companion for the other slot.

Offense slot (2) :

  • Netherise Arcanist : +5% damage to enemies that are not facing you (has an internal cooldown, so not all hits will be affected)
  • Batiri : +4% damage against bosses
  • Deepcrow Hatchling : 8k power (better than 4% damage below 100k Power, up to 166k Power if you have BiS gear with +% damage)
  • Chultan Tiger : 10% Movement Speed + 6k Power for 10s at start of combat
  • Tamed Velociraptor : 2k Power per player with the Tamed Velociraptor in the group
  • Kenku Archer : 4k Power, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Mercenary : 4k Power, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Ghost : 4k Power, 2k Critical Strike
  • Wolf : 8k Armor Penetration
  • Wandering Scarecrow : 4k Armor Penetration, 2k Defense
  • Alphonse Knox : 4k Armor Penetration, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Assassin Drake : 4k Armor Penetration, 2k Accuracy
  • Barbarian Shaman : 4k Armor Penetration, 2k Power
  • Boar Shoat : 4k Armor Penetration, 8k HP
  • Dog : 4k Armor Penetration, 2k Power
  • Hawk : 4k Armor Penetration, 2k Critical Strike
  • Staldorf : 8k Combat Advantage
  • Book Imp : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Accuracy
  • Laughing Skull : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Defense
  • Mystagogue : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Flame Sprite : 4k Accuracy, 2k Critical Strike
  • Black Dragon Ioun Stone : 8k Critical Strike
  • Armored Orc Wolf : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Accuracy
  • Alchemist Experimenter : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Fawn of Shiallia : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Power
  • Lightfoot Thief : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Traveling Entertainer : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Defense
  • Helmite Paladin Ghost : 4k Critical Strike, 8k HP
  • Cambion Magus : 4% Critical Severity, 2k Accuracy
  • Razorwood : 4% Critical Severity, 2k Accuracy
  • Dancing Blade : 4% Critical Severity, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Crystal Golem : 16k HP, 2k Power
  • Cave Bear : 16k HP, 2k Accuracy
  • Zhentarim Warlock : 16k HP, 4k Combat Advantage
  • Kingfisher Intern : 16k HP, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Rimefire Golem : 16k HP, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Star of Simril : 16k HP, 2k Critical Strike, +4% gold gain
  • Wayward Wizard : 4k Defense, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Mini Apparatus of Gond : 4k Defense, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Werewolf : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Defense

Defense slot (1) :

  • Minstrel : 4k Power, 2k Awareness
  • Yojimbo : Increases deflect chance by 4%. Whenever you take damage, your power is increased by 2000 and your deflect chance is reduced by 2000 for 10 seconds
  • Red Slaad : 4k Accuracy, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Fey Panther : 4k Accuracy, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Cantankerous Mage : 4k Accuracy, 2k Defense
  • Hunting Drake : 4k Accuracy, 8k HP
  • Ice Sprite : 4k Accuracy, 2k Critical Avoidance
  • Laughing Skull : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Defense
  • Phase Spider : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Critical Strike
  • Redcap Powrie : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Critical Avoidance
  • Grazilaxx : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Deflection
  • Ioun Stone of Allure : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Power
  • Duergar Theurge : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Red Dragon Ioun Stone : 3% Incoming Healing, 8k HP
  • Wayward Wizard : 4k Defense, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Mini Apparatus of Gond : 4k Defense, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Man at Arms : 4k Defense, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Pewter Golem : 4k Defense, 2k Critical Strike
  • Sergent Knox : 4k Defense, 2k Accuracy
  • Green Slime : 8k Defense (seems to be bugged and does not work properly)
  • Iron Golem : 16k HP, 2k Defense
  • Moonshae Druid : 16k HP, 2k Critical Avoidance

Utility slot (2) :

  • Stalwart Golden Lion : 10% damage buff (equivalent to 25k power if you have 150k power) for 10 seconds after your companion uses a power (50% chance, for 10s, 15s cooldown). Only works with a non augment companion ! So, only good for solo !
  • Owlbear Cub : If you fail to critically hit, you have a 10% chance to do an additional hit for damage equal to 50% of your Power (not the best for a Cleric, but an average of 5% of your Power per hit is not too bad)
  • Alpha Compy : +5% Power (very expensive, but best in slot)
  • Githyanki : 4800 Power + 8% stamina regeneration (best power in utility after the Alpha Compy and the Stalwart Golden Lion). Comes from the Gith Booster Pack (which is very valuable if you have multiple characters, because it gives a 30 slot bag, an epic mount and an epic Githyanki companion to all of your current and future characters, and more, for 4k Zen).
  • Neverember Guard Archer : 4k Power, 2k Defense
  • Ghost : 4k Power, 2k Critical Strike
  • Kenku Archer : 4k Power, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Mercenary : 4k Power, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Minstrel : 4k Power, 2k Awareness
  • Storm Rider : 4k Power, 8k HP
  • Wandering Scarecrow : 8k Armor Penetration, 2k Defense
  • Wolf : 8k Armor Penetration
  • Barbarion Shaman : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Power
  • Book Imp : 4k Combat Advantage, 2k Accuracy
  • Alchemist Experimenter : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Fawn of Shiallia : 4k Critical Strike, 2k Power
  • Helmite Paladin Ghost : 4k Critical Strike, 8k HP
  • Snowy Fawn : 4% Critical Severity, 2k Defense
  • Pewter Golem : 4k Defense, 2k Critical Strike
  • Energon : 32k HP
  • Crystal Golem : 16k HP, 2k Power
  • Star of Simril : 16k HP, 2k Critical Strike, +4% gold gain
  • Cave Bear : 16k HP, 2k Accuracy
  • Zhentarim Warlock : 16k HP, 4k Combat Advantage
  • Kingfisher Inter : 16k HP, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Rimefire Golem : 16k HP, 2k Armor Penetration
  • Iron Golem : 16k HP, 2k Defense
  • Moonshae Druid : 16k HP, 2k Critical Avoidance
  • Cleric Disciple : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Power
  • Ioun Stone of Allure : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Power
  • Battlefield Medic : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Combat Advantage
  • Dedicated Squire : 3% Incoming Healing , 2k Accuracy
  • Red Dragon Ioun Stone : 3% Incoming Healing, 8k HP
  • Silver-Scaled Cleric Disciple : 3% Incoming Healing, 2k Critical Strike

List of all companions (thanks to Rainer)

Enhancement

  • Potency : chance on hit to increase Power by 2k (<= 1% healing) and companion’s Critical Avoidance by 4% (it doesn’t work, at least not shown on your companion sheet, and doesn’t transfer to your stats either).
  • Potent Precision : chance on hit to increase Critical Severity by 5% (> 1.5% healing if Critical Strike close to cap)

It works both with an augment or a non augment companion. The chance is pretty high too !

Potent Precision is better than Potency by a solid margin, even with relatively low Critical Strike. Companions with the Potent Precision Enhancement are : Fire Archon, Hawk, Panther, Rebel Mercenary, Swashbuckler, Traveling Entertainer, War Boar, Werewolf, and Xuna. Pick the cheapest you can find (or the Rebel Mercenary for your Devout Cleric build). Enhancement scales on your summoned companion quality. The quality of the companion which has Potent Precision doesn’t matter.

Companion Gear

  • Noble Emerald of the Companion (7k Armor Penetration, 5k Defense, 1 Empowered Runestone, 1 Profane Runestone)
  • Prestine Belt of the Companion (7k Combat Advantage, 5k Defense, 1 Empowered Runestone, 1 Profane Runestone)
  • Imperial Diamond Belt of the Companion / Prestine Belt of the Companion (7k Combat Advantage, 5k Defense, 1 Empowered Runestone, 1 Profane Runestone)
  • Burnt Belt of the Companion (7k Accuracy, 5k Defense, 1 Empowered Runestone, 1 Profane Runestone)
  • Silver Talisman of the Companion (7k Accuracy, 5k Combat Advantage, 2 Empowered Runestones)
  • Gold Talisman of the Companion (12k Armor Penetration, 2 Empowered Runestones)
  • Gold-Clasped Sword Knot of the Companion (12k Accuracy, 2 Empowered Runestones)
  • Chained Talisman of the Companion (7k Armor Penetration, 5k Accuracy, 2 Empowered Runestones)
  • Gold-Leafed Grimoire of the Companion (12k Combat Advantage, 2 Empowered Runestones), it’s a 4 leaf one !
  • Ivy Grown Grimoire of the Companion (7k Armor Penetration, 5k Combat Advantage, 2 Empowered Runestones)

Any combination with 5k Defense, 7k Armor Penetration, 7k Accuracy, and as much Combat Advantage as possible is great. You do not need Combat Advantage if you are playing with an augment companion in solo content. But if you can cap your stats with a non augment companion, you should use one instead, for benefiting from Combat Advantage and doubling your damage output.

Only the single stat companion gear can be acquired from the questline in Stardock. You will have to farm WE’s (and Zok Boxes) quite a lot to loot the best pieces of Companion Gear. But there are slightly lesser pieces of gear with an item level of 990 instead of 1010 which are about as good. Worst case, non epic companion gear has very good stats too. You will only miss out a runestone slot, not as important as the stats on the items, really.

Welcome to our Wizard Thaumaturge Guide, updated for Mod 18: Infernal Descent and Mod 19 Avernus.

To learn more about the new mod, check out our Mod 19 Avernus Guide.

In this guide, we will give you tips and info on how to play the Wizard class.

The Wizard is a ranged DPS class capable of doing single target and AoE damage.

The purpose of our class guides is not just to show you a build that you can copy and use on your character, but to show you a base build and teach you the mechanics and stats of the game, so you can understand and play your class to its fullest capabilities.

Try different gear, feats, and powers and learn to tailor your own build for your playstyle. See our guide to making your own build for more info.

Basic Wizard Thaumaturge Info

Other Wizard Builds

Best Wizard Thaumaturge Races

  1. Metallic Ancestry Dragonborn – 3% + Healing – +2 to Any two stats – 1500 Crit – 3% Increased Damage
  2. Dragonborn – 3% HP + Healing – +2 to Any two stats – 1500 Crit – 3% Increased Damage
  3. Tiefling – 5% + Damage to targets below 50% health – +2 Cha and +2 Con or Int – 10% to reduce damage of target for 5 sec by 2.5%
  4. Sun Elf – 2% Action Point Gain – +2 Int and Dex or Cha – 10% Control Resistance

Wizard Thaumaturge Ability Score Priority

Put all your available Ability Scores into Intelligence and Dexterity.

Wizard Thaumaturge Stat / Rating Priority

Offensive Stats:

  1. Armor Penetration (Caps at 90K)
  2. Critical Strike (Caps at 90k)
  3. Accuracy (Caps at 90k)
  4. Combat Advantage (Caps at 140k)
  5. Power (No Cap)

Defensive Stats:

  1. Defense (Caps at 90K )
  2. Deflection (Caps at 90K)
  3. Critical Avoidance (Caps at 95K)
  4. Awareness (Caps at 100K )
  5. Health (No Cap)

Wizard Thaumaturge Paragon Path, Feats, Powers & Rotation

Wizard Thaumaturge Combat Powers

At-Will Powers:

  • Ray of Frost
  • Chilling Cloud

Encounter Powers:

  • Icy Terrain
  • Fanning the Flame
  • Conduit of Ice
  • Fireball (Spell Mastery)

Daily Powers:

  • Furious Immolation
  • Ice Knife

Class Features:

  • Critical Conflagration
  • Swath of Destruction

Wizard Thaumaturge Feats

  • Smoldering Recovery
  • Glowing Flames
  • Chilling Advantage
  • Critical Burn
  • Directed Flames

Wizard Thaumaturge Rotation

Neverwinter Utility Slot

  • Use your artifact and or mount power
  • Icy Terrain
  • Conduit of Ice
  • Fanning The Flames
  • Fireball
  • Ray of Frost
  • Daily

Wizard Thaumaturge Boons

You should always choose boons based on what stats you currently need. Therefore a selection of several viable boons is available to you for each tier.

At end-game you should hit the stat caps without needing any of the boons.

Tier 1 Boons

  • Recruit’s Training – 250 Power
  • Critical Strike – 250 Crit
  • Cultist Bulwark – 1000 HP
  • Cultist Power – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. Cultists.

Tier 2 Boons

  • Squire’s Training – 250 Power
  • Armor Penetration – 250 Armor Penetration
  • Demonic Bulwark – 1000 HP
  • Demonic Mastery – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. demons.

Tier 3 Boons

  • Knight’s Training – 250 Power
  • Combat Advantage – 250 Combat Advantage
  • Dino Bulwark – 1000 HP
  • Simple Support – 2% Companion Influence
  • Dino Power – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. dinos.

Tier 4 Boons

  • Captain’s Training – 250 Power
  • Accuracy – 250 Accuracy
  • Necrotic Bulwark – 1000 HP
  • Necrotic Mastery – 1% Increased damage and damage resistance vs. undead.

Tier 5 Boons (Choose 2)

  • Severe Criticism – 1% Crit Severity per rank
  • Call of Power – 1% Action Point gain per rank
  • Quick Turnaround – 1% Recovery Speed per rank.

Master Boons

Neverwinter Utility Slot Gear

  • Deathly Rage – 3/3

Guild Boons

  • Offense – Power
  • Defense – Hit Points

Wizard Thaumaturge Weapons & Gear

If you are new to Neverwinter and need to know how to get better gear and increase your item level, check out our Gearing Up Guide.

The best way to gear up in Neverwinter is by making a lot of Astral Diamonds, check out our Astral Diamond Guide to learn all the secrets of AD farming.

Head

  • Lion Guard’s Raid Cap (Best in Slot)
  • Fancy Duelist Mask of Cormyr (Boss Fights)
  • Infernal Forged Cowl

Armor

  • Ebony Stained Robes
  • Seer of the Star’s Robes

Arms

  • Lion Guard’s Raid Armlets (Best in Slot)
  • Bralliel’s Planar Bindings

Feet

  • Lion Guard’s Raid Shoes
  • Fiend / Devil Forged Shoes
  • Rusted Iron Leggings

Weapons

  • Celestial Set
  • Lionheart Set
  • Legion Guard Set
  • Alabaster / Burnished Set

Main Hand Modification:

  • Ray of Frost

Offhand Modification:

  • Critical Severity

Rings

  • Ring of Fallen Power +5
  • Ring of the Brutal Fiend +5
  • Gold Ring of the Herald
  • Guiding Ring of the Sharp-shooter
  • Ring of the Shadowstalker +4/+5

Neck & Waist

  • Dark Remnant’s Set (Book of Vile Darkness, Whip of Erinyes, The Engine Master’s Mantle)

Shirt

  • Slip of the Herald
  • Infernal Forged Shirt

Pants

  • Leggings of the Herald
  • Infernal Forged Trousers

Wizard Thaumaturge Artifacts

Primary Artifact

  • Envenomed Storyteller’s Journal
  • Wyvern-Venom Coated Knives

Secondary Artifacts

Choose secondary artifacts based on the stats you are lacking.

  • Frozen Storyteller’s Journal
  • Flayed Storyteller’s Journal
  • Darkened Storyteller’s Journal
  • Arcturia’s Music Box
  • Trobriands Ring
  • Staff of Flowers
  • Halaster’s Blast Scepter

Wizard Thaumaturge Enchantments

When getting enchantments, always get the ones with the stats you are lacking in with your gear, boons, etc in mind. For example, if you’ve capped Crit with your gear and boons, don’t get azure enchantments for your offense slots. If you still need to refine your enchantments, see our Refinement Guide for tips on how to farm refinement.

Offense Enchantments

  • Radiant Enchantments

Defense Enchantments

  • Radiant Enchantments

Utility Enchantments

  • Dark Enchantment
  • Fey’s Blessing / Dragon’s Hoard / Quartermaster’s Enchantment

Armor Enchantments

  • Elven Battle Enchantment
  • Barkshield Enchantment
  • Shadowclad Enchantment

Weapon Enchantments

  • Lightning Enchantment

Overload Enchantments

  • Demonic Empowerment / Bulwark Of Brimstone from Hell Pit
  • Various Marks from Stronghold Vendor
  • Corrupt Black Ice / Lethal / Piercing
  • Black / Red Dragon Glyph

Armor Reinforcement Kits

  • Power Kit

Jewelry Reinforcement Kits

  • Combat Advantage Jewel

Wizard Thaumaturge Consumables & Buffs

Consider to get VIP for the Power of VIP HP buff if you aren’t already. Also always stand in campfires to get the +1 ability campfire buff.

Get one from each of the rows below:

  • Awakened Forger’s Box
  • Wild Storm Elixir > Elixir of Fate
  • Watermelon Sorbet > Squash Soup

Wizard Thaumaturge Companions

Summoned Companion

The most important thing to consider for a summoned companion is to get an Augment Companion. There are a bunch to choose from, some have more useful powers than others.

  • Bulette Pup
  • Deepcrow Hatchling
  • Owlbear Cub
  • Ioun Stones
  • Quasit

Enchantment Power

  • Potent Precision

Companion Powers

Below is a selection of viable companion powers.

Offense Powers

  • Tamed Velociraptor – 2000 Power per party member using it.
  • Staldorf – 8000 Combat advantage
  • Deepcrow Hatchling – 8000 Power
  • Batiri – 4% Damage against bosses

Defense Powers

  • Minstrel – 4000 Power and 2000 Awereness
  • Broom – 4% Critical Severity
  • Splinters – 4% Critical Severity and 2000 Critical Avoidance
  • Green Slime – 8000 Defense
  • Phase Spider – 2000 Critical strike and 4000 combat advantage

Utility Powers

  • Alpha Compy – 5% Power
  • Owlbear Cub – 10% chance to hit for 50% of you Power

Companion Equipment

Double offense slotted “Of the Companion” gear

Companion Runestones

  • Empowered Runestone
  • Any runestone you might need for stats

Wizard Thaumaturge Mounts

When choosing a Legendary Mount for the Mount Powers, look for a mount that has both a useful equip and combat power. The best choices for a first legendary mount as a Wizard Thaumaturge is a Swarm.

What other mounts you use is not that important. What is important is to get the right insignia bonuses, and many different mounts can offer the various bonuses. To find out what mount has the bonus you want, check out our Insignia Bonus Guide.

Mount Insignia Bonuses

All classes and specs should consider using Wanderer’s Fortune before you have refined all your gear and enchantments, for extra refinement every day.

  • Cavalry’s Warning
  • Combatant’s Maneuver
  • Artificer’s Persuasion
  • Gladiator’s Guile
  • Survivor’s Gift
  • Survivor’s Blessing
  • Barbarian’s Revelry
  • Knight’s Rebuke

Insignia Type

Brutality / Dominance for Power, or alternatively any other with stats you need. You can also use Insignia’s to get your defensive stats to cap for survivability.

Neverwinter Utility Slot

Mount Equip Power:

  • 5000 or 10000 Power

Mount Combat Power:

  • Bat Swarm (Swarm) (Best in Slot)

If you have any questions or suggestions about our Neverwinter Wizard Thaumaturge guide, please leave a comment below! More info about the Wizard class can be found at The Neverwinter Reddit.

For the latest Neverwinter news, go to the MMOCULT Neverwinter Hub.