Ember: Don't trust in gods to help you, you'll be a much stronger person if you just believe in yourself instead! :) Also Ember: *Receives godly power and is personally watched over by a demigod archon of heaven*

Camellia would get instantly killed by like 80% of the party but the game's like "nahhhhh she's sneaky about it" when she's constantly talking about killing everyone

As you mentioned, so much of the story has to do with redemption. Which makes Camellia even more interesting. Because she says she's possessed by a malevolent spirit that causes her to murder. So as with many other companions and the themes of the story overall, you want to help her. But she's lying and just loves murder haha

I haven't watched the video yet, but I'm already sure you're wrong

I can't help but love Daeran. Immediately after meeting him in game I could tell he was using humor to hide behind depression and loneliness and that really resonated with me.

Man, everyone hates Lann, I love his sarcasm, and the dude is easily slaughtering the most enemies of my group.

This is the only game that did incredible job at evil companions, we have everything, chaotic, lawful and neutral evil and they all have very good stories and fit the campaign.

Ofc Trever had rough life, he put most of his points into STR while neglecting INT and WIS.

Nenio meeting Baphomet is the funniest line in the game.

Lann is deeply troubled, he has to live life with honor and dream. Dream is the only thing he can have. That is why he want to end it in Act3. I respect that he can fight for good without any hope.

Yeah the slave market scene as Azata is a scene that genuinely chokes me up whenever I see it. I'm a sucker for stories about slave liberations and similar plot points, so it was INCREDIBLY satisfying in that scene, for all the demons to be like "mmmuahahaha! You're in OUR house puny mortal, there is nothing you can do!!" And your Azata champion is like "....oh really?" 😈 *unleashes the power of chaotic liberation on the slave market* And just the sound of the triumphant signature song for the Azata to play with the more heroic chorus to it, while the energy washes over the market, freeing the slaves, killing demons, and ensnaring the others, was just SO satisfying. 🤣 I never finished the game because I just hated that Demon city level so much, but that part, that part was awesome.

We’re so far apart on this haha, obviously just a matter of personal preference. I think Daeran is such a unique and interesting companion, Ember is bottom half, super boring goody-two shoes above it all archetype reminds me of when they put infallible child characters in like any popular show or movie, Then we have Regill, the undisputed GOAT for me, what an outrageously cool companion from his lore to his personality to his stellar VA.

Insanely terrible list. Thats why i love you

I used to dislike Lann a lot more until recently because he was extremely pushy with his romance for female characters. If you were even vaguely polite to him he'd keep trying to ask you out. Fortunately they reduced that in a patch. Regill was probably my favourite character overall even though he clearly didn't like my character that much since she was an Azata. I'm really excited to see him being a lot happier in my Aeon playthrough next. He looks like a miniature Sauron, is extremely grumpy, gives pretty good advice (his Military options especially are generally good) and does pretty solid damage with his weird hooked hammer.

I gotta say Lann is kind of my favourite. Yes he is a simple mind, but just kind of refreshing at that 😊

i like lann already just bc hes a sarcastic memelord sometimes like that one time where he just goes "oh no, i love being a genetic freak who will most likely die before the age of 40, its great"

Ember hellfire ray machine gun build is super funny both lore and gameplay wise.

Interesting that you consider Arue to be the Anime character instead of Ember. And yeah, her getting into horny jail was hillarious.

Daeran is easily my favorite companion. One, he has a great class for healing or damage. Two, his story is very intriguing and weaves into his personality very well. And finally his interactions with Lann and Ember are priceless and some of the best banter in a rpg. With Daeren and Lann making fun of each other like brothers or close friends. He also never says a mean word to Ember and treats her like a little sister or (our adopted)daughter. (I call him Gorden Ramsey of WotR because he is an a hole that always cooks at camp but treats kids well.) Needless to say my Azata fell in love with him at fist sight and vowed to free the caged count from The Other. The symbol of freedom personified that he is.

"I wont let you hurt my friends!" 😭😭😭 Ember is the best girl and must be protected at all costs!

This video clearly shows that its a taste thing with the companions: I personally have Lann and Greybor as two of my main companions, while Camellia, Seelah and Wenduag are my least favorite ones. I used to dislike Daeran but grew to really appreciate him. I dont really like Nenio as a companion but I always find myself in the need of a true wizard.

Hey now, Arueshalae being an anime character just makes her even better. Best Companion.

Oh wow, I requested a companions ranked video and you didn't disappoint Mort! My man!

I never noticed the game trying to convince you not to kill Camellia but yeah, overlooking her act 5 quest was a huge stretch that even a MC on the gold dragon path about redemption would've had enough.

Wenduag is one of those characters I feel like theres no real in game justification for ever siding with. Even if youre evil shes shown to be extremely fickle and willing to betray anyone at the drop of a hat if she feels she can get an advantage for doing so. I kill her and move on every time because it feels like the smarter option even if Lann isnt a good fit for an evil party outside of being naïve cannon fodder.

It's easy to hate Daeran, but his narrative is styled just like Camellia did. The game never tells you outright, but the hints are on every pebbles on the step. On their true nature, that is.

why ember is my fav companion: she's ember and she is a wholesome cute little baby, don't hurt her... also she is my weapon of mass destruction

I might swap out the top two because I absolutely love Aivu but I definitely agree with most of this list. My first playthrough was Chaotic Good so I went with the Azata mythic path and romanced Arueshalae and all that jazz. It was definitely fun.

Regill too low, you must be a demon.. you fiend!

Regill might just be my favourite, which I never expected going into my first playthrough. He's so often the most reasonable voice in the room and one of the few characters that just 100% feel like he's exactly where he's supposed to be and actually deserves to be there. I also appreciate that despite being rigid and lawful, he's actually one of the most 'loyal' characters-because he cares about your results and not how you get them, making him very flexible in terms of what playthrough your doing. Case in point, he even stuck around for the entirety of my trickster playthrough and his ending slide singlehandedly made that my favourite ending by far! Camellia is probably my second favourite. I love how uniquely unhinged she is but I think there's not a single playthrough where her narrative actually fully works. She obviously doesnt fit in lawful/good, but she also doesnt fit into chaotic/evil either because she just keeps hiding and excuse crimes that most demons and evil trickster simply wouldnt think twice of. as for the other side of my tier list. I dislike Seelah and HAAAATTE Lann. He's such a hypocrite. A naive idealist who constantly insults others for being idealistic

Ember is absolutely the best character. One thing that the game never straight up tells you, but can be seen in her class progression, is that her Oracle's Curse actually progresses slightly earlier than normal. She is treated as being one level higher for all her Curse bonuses.

Arue being so low is a crime, she is such a well-written character and such a genuinely good person/being

I confess I'm a bit boring when it comes to companions in RPGs. I like playing good guys, and I like surrounding my PC with other good (or at the very least neutral) folk who more-or-less get along.

Daeran grew on me. He reminds me of Anders from Dragon Age 2, someone who I would find grating but my MC won't. It's easy to like a character when you, the player, like them to begin with. But characters like Daeran bring out the roleplayer in me more.

Woljif was a total turnoff when he cowardly ran away from my party, what made it worst is he was my best dps guy I made into a Baked Trickster. Never used him again after that.

Wenduag best girl.

Great list, would be interested to see the companions ranked by build power (without re-leveling)

Daeran, regil, camilla top 3 for me. Superb depiction of evil with many faces and levels. Pretty much only this game has it. Daeran is just exquisitely interactive character and i love how he put noctila and iomede in their place when they barked at mc. Regil os extremely cool with his unwavering devotion and dedication Thanks to him no-bullshit gnome is the only kind of gnome i tolerate. Lastly Camille... Her romance path is so twisted that i loved it, i was baffled at everything shes done and was at the edge of my seat each time thinking "nah, they wouldnt go THAT FAR... would they?". My wife especially, as crime podcast fanatic was enthralled by this sort of first person seat at psychopatic serial killer couple(she doesnt play, but she likes to sit in my lap of kids are asleep and experience games with me)

My usual party consists of Seelah, Woljiff, Arueshalae, Ember and Nenio with me playing another melee class, usually Paladin or Cavalier.

Nenio's quest is fantastic. To me, it (along with the secrets of creation and probably sacred lands) is a perfect example of what puzzles in games should look like. I've enjoyed a great deal solving them, and I wish I could wipe out my memory and figure out their principles again. Also, Daeran's nihilistic attitude is like a breath of fresh air in this world of Extremely Serious Existential Struggle Of Good Vs Evil. He's not even really evil in the same way Wenduag or Camellia are. He just wants to be left alone. I have to put a serious effort into not romancing him on every single one of my playthroughs 😆

I haven't gotten super deep into my runs before I've restarted playthroughs a couple times, but on a run I think will stick. Wasn't sure if I should watch the video due to spoilers. Thanks for making it clear when they were coming so I could skip, and I 100% found and am really excited for the mythic path I want to go this time thanks to this vid.

Ember is great! Even my evil Zon Kuthon’s Warpriest was impressed by her force of Will and determination despite all physical and social abuse she experienced. Plus Queen Wenduag is number waifu as it should be! Awesome list Mort!

I actually cried with tears of like emotions on Embers quest line she is propably one of my favourite game characters of all times, her tears cracking up in half baphomets altar is one of the most heartwarming moments and at a same time funniest moments I ever experienced im my gaming life

Ember and her "easy" way to do good has to be number 1. She is the only character that break the wall and can talk to your soul.

Yeah i share your opinion on Lann. In the beginning i liked him, but the more i interacted with him the more it was clear he was this games carth.

I really need to actually make camp on a map more than I do. Because of this video I looked into companion interactions, and a lot of how they are as a character happens while camping, their interactions with each other etc. Also Daeran, Regil and Lann are all companions I rate very highly, Ember is also my favourite, partially for the reasons you described but also because you can take her in wildly different directions. Her lawful ending is dififcult for her, but ultimately it helps her grow up a bit and be less naive and feels like she learns the lesson Andoletta wants her to learn, she even gives Ember a new spell: Storm of Burning Righteousness. Her evil ending is very sad but it is cool that Owlcat gives you the option to play with a victim and essentially bully her and eventually break her soul. I had to kind of force myself to do this because I tend to dislike playing evil characters but at the same time are curious as to the unique content Owlcat made for them, and it rarely dissapoints in that regard.

Now for the Super Mega Owlcat companion list. PFKM, WOTR and WHRT.

For me, the ending fight as Angel against Deskari : he dies to Nenio's Weird (the mass and stronger version of Phantasmal Killer on lvl 9 spells)

I know variety is required but man, it's so refreshing to have new WOTR content from you! Can see how you appreciate it and we like seeing you excited dude!

I like Arueshalaes build, she is a great buffbot for a party with lots of natural weapon DDs as well. My top 5 favorites: 5. Sosiel 4. Woljif 3. Ulbrig 2. Aivu 1. Arueshalae

I don't think I've played a game that gives us such a pathetic awful person like Wenduag. And the fact that Owlcat does and then gives her so much depth and nuance is such a testament to the quality of their writing.

They really did great job on Regil and Seelah, both are lawful by rule but they also somewhat chaos. Seelah is fun to interect since you get somewhat borderline chaos but still lawful enough reaction from her. While Regil, this guy just do straight very lawful stuff but if you think about it, somehow it feel like chaos things might because he is a gnome 😂

During my first playthrough I played an Angel/Paladin... and then Camillia happened... damn I struggled but decided on the role playing route and did what a lawful good paladin was meant to do... That character really surprised me lol.

I gave Selaah one lvl dip into Sable Company Marine to give her a hippogriff mount and its bad ass charging into the front line of a giant hippogriff. Currently she is lvl 11 paladin lvl 1 Sable Marine and lvl 1 Cavalier. I will get her to lvl 8 Cavalier order of the sword to get her to add pet str to charge. and since the flying attack counts as a charge it should work quite nicely

Nenio is by far and away my favourite. Then again, Harrim was my favourite in Kingmaker, so there may be something wrong with me.

I've yet to take Wenduag, even for an evil character it's insane to take her with you given her introduction if you're roleplaying it. One day I'll do a demon run or something.

Wild, Aivu and Ember are some of the worst for me while Lann is high up. Tastes really are different. =D

Haha, Mortismal showing what alignment of character he enjoys playing here. Thanks for the refresh on me needing to replay Pathfinder.

The best companion in my opinion is Daeran. To me, he's what a normal dude from our world would become if suddenly he was thrown in a world where your bed might try to eat you or that the cute, playful cat that purs when you pet it, is actually a demon lord that wants to turn you into a living table. I'd be "f this world and everyone in it. let's get hammered and party all day long" too. Generally though, most of the companions seem a bit exaggerated and too anime-like in a bad and cliched way. Camellia and Arue are basically the same "I can fix her" trope with the difference being that Camellia has the "haha, some humans are worse than demons" "twist". Lann and Regill have the same "I must perform my duty before I die" story Sosiel and Seelah are in the "I doubt my own self and beliefs" category Ember is the cliche "cinnamon bun" character that you just don't want to make sad, so you go along with every ridiculous thing she does, which somehow ends up rewritting the rules of the universe. At least, seeing her change the alignment of literal hell creatures with a speech, is a bit funny in its absurdness. There's also Trevor, but I don't really care about him to read his story.

Oh woah. I didn't even realise until reading the comments that this was only posted 5 days ago! I fully thought this was an old video. With that in mind: I absolutely love Daeran, and his romance is just lovely to play through. I'm a big fan of the quirky remarks, and breaking down his walls. Also, you get to push him into a waterfall, and that's amazing.

Thanks for the spoiler warning before revealing Camelia's secret identity!

Man we're quite different in our rankings, though granted I've just reached Act 5. Regill is really high for me. Whenever there's a council decision, he usually makes really good arguments. Daeran is really funny, but I'm not super into him. Camillia is probably the most annoying of the whole cast, with Ember not far behind, and Nenio on thin ice. I do agree though that Lann is really bland, but his reunion with his mom was surprisingly the only companion quest that's moved me so far.

Ember with hellfire ray go brrrrrr

Love the videos! Currently in act 4 for the first time (I always stopped in act 3 lmao). Failed to get trevor, but good to know I didn't miss much

There's no way this guy talked down my main man, Lann. Lol. Being fair, i just love the guy for bailing me out of a lot of stupid situations. Zen archer is deceptively powerful. Personality wise i actually like the guy, he's probably the best representation of what i think an Everyman lawful neutral type should play as.

Lann is pretty much my deeps and must have for me...but I'm playing them as rolled rather than multiclassing

I played it only once, Lann and Aru were the ones who put everything down, the rest was just for the number. I didn't use Nenio as a wizard myself, Phantasm Killer was always ineffective/resisted. Well, i'm not a pro :-) I liked Ember, Aru and Aivu the most, maybe even Seelah. The rest were lucky that i played as a good guy :-)

My favorite companions were Lann, Seelah, Nenio, Sosiel and Daeran. Sometimes, I would switch Daeran for Amber when I needed some firepower. Overall, most companions were really cool and well written. The only one I thought was bad is Camellia. I thought her drama was too on the nose and stupid. I try usually to keep all companions on my first playthrough to see all the content available, however, when finally given the chance, I didn't hesitate to kill her. I really wasn't interested in her.

Wow our companion ranks are different 😂 and I think I killed 3-4 of the companions in the unfolding of the story. Camellia had to go when I caught her red handed....Aeon Hellknight. My hands were tied 🤷 Greybor wanted to extort me for money. Like. No. Woljiff stole and deserted. Wenduag was a traitor.

Hey, Kostaglyr is not that bad - you can free his wife's ghost, and overall undead companions with their undead immunities are superior in combat, if you are going a lich path. Lann's banter with Daeran is gold, and Lann is not that naive. He is just desperately optimistic, which is a good way to live your short mongrel life. Also, I would always choose Greybor over the Woljif - Greybor is calm, reliable, and professional. Woljif annoys me... And yes, Camelia is the best - basically because she is kinda unique in game design. She is an example is that not everything could be fixed, saved, etc. She is just a very real-life character.

Poor Rekarth, Sendri and Penta were shown the cold shoulder. Poor sods...

Regill done dirty.

I love Ember. She really pull out my "Must protect" emotion. There are some things you can do that actually makes her sad, and those are unacceptable. I need her to always be smiling. A gameworld where Ember is sad isn't a world worth saving.

I don’t know if she gets better as the game goes on, but I literally quit one of my playthroughs because of Aivu. That entire mythic path is so unbelievably cringe I just couldn’t take it.

This came at a perfect time for me, i picked the game up a couple of days ago and have been stressing over my party. I WANT EVERYONE IN MY TEAM

Great list. I agree with most of your choices and I can understand the reasoning for the ones that we don't match up.

For me Aru is #1. Great character, story arc/quest and fantastic romance.

I like Kestoglyr, the fact that he is a lvl3 fighter when he joins makes him super flexible.

Regill is my favorite here, it is rare to see a well written stoic discipline lawful evil type of man like him in any game i've played

Oo more Pathfinder stuff! More plz

Regil is the best in the game no contest. The king of gnomes, the most based character in all of fiction. The forces of good aren't weak, it's you.

"i'm sure you'll disagree on something"... Ember N1 - nothing else matters thus nothing to disagree to. She's one of those fictional characters that not only interesting to read about, but also makes one to ponder about his real life (and what sheer/borderline psychotic selflesness can be)

Some thoughts on a companions: Aivu: In addition to her personality, she also gives you one important additional benefit: She can be a mount for classes, that usually don't have mounts, such as Sword Saints and Titan Fighters. Galfrey: While she has great stats, the main problem mechanically is that you have zero customisation options and a paladin build without a mount is really not that great. Arushalee: If you could respec her from level 1, she would be great as mix of charisma based caster and dexterity based warrior. With the worst ranger subclass however she is not that great. However, being the only female love interest, that is neither a serial killer, nor a cannibal, nor only present for the last 10 minutes of the game is a benefit. Regill: His build is ok but not great, but I really like him as character, as he examplifies the idea of the hellknights and of a lawful evil character who is far more lawful than evil. Camellia: She is certainly powerful mechanically, as she is both good at rogue skills, has level 9 spell, the option of getting an animal companion and good debuffs. However, keeping her around in a non-evil playthrough just doesn't make much sense. Trevor: He is basically an example of how not to build a character. Sosiel: Good mechanically, but in a way the most generic good healer character you could come up with. As a rule of thumb, the sooner you meet a companion the more useful they are, because you can give them far better builds than the default builds late game companions have.

I’m glad I’m not the only that doesn’t like Lann. Everybody seems to love him for some reason.

Got both Pathfinder:Kingmaker n Pathfinder: WotR on sale, don't have dlc for either, but definitely getting 2 season for WotR once all are on sale. Any dlc worth for Kingmaker?

I love Daeran. Especially when you have Ember and Lann. Daeran picks on Lann, but he's very protective of Ember, and it makes for an amazing dynamic. Also, I think he's pretty funny.

I never not take Aru, she's my top 1. And I really really like the honest and straightforward Ulbrig as well, his quest being pretty reactive with more "impact" than just changing the character himself was also pretty cool. Aivu, Seelah and Daeran are coming just behind that. I never, never play Nenio, I hate her quest, and will she's pretty funny once, I find here midly irritating.

My favourite team for this run is Seela, Ember, Ulbrig, Daeran and Woljif. Great banter, healer heavy (which I LOVE, nowhere near enough RPG's these days have viable healers), and just enough grunt with Woljif sneaking around causing chaos. Love it. This game really does deserve far more love than it gets 💜 Nenio grates on me the way you described Daeran grating on you. I LOVE Daeran, but Nenio makes me want to tear out my hair. Cannot stand her personality. I wish I liked Camelia more, because her story is delightfully evil. It took me SO long to figure out what was going on with the heads lol.

Lann and Wenduag are two possible sides of the way people react to traumatic childhoods (speaking as someone with a traumatic childhood and who knew others with said). Lann has realistic flaws of depression and low self-esteem, but in the end is a decent person who reacts to his trauma primarily by wanting to protect innocent people, while Wenduag is the type of traumatized person who reacts with the whole "If I'm the one oppressing other people then nobody can ever hurt me again" mentality. I ended up vastly preferring Lann to Wenduag as a result, especially since a lot of Wenduag's behaviors and attitudes are so utterly horrible. I also will stump for Sosiel again, in that he's an absolute expert at diplomacy, passive-aggressive snark, and Politeness Judo (him running circles around Konomi in particular was a joy to watch). He also has an interesting arc about trying to overcome his anger issues. It's just that this character archetype is not one typically applied to male characters versus female characters, so it reads less interestingly than if he was a female character. Finally, credit to Daeran for being biggest surprise for me. When we first read the character's description in the KS updates I was prepared to dislike him, but he's written as a genuinely hilarious and complex character. Him being an actually self-aware troll who's upfront about being a jerkass goes a long way I think.

Arueshalae has a mix of bizarre and insightful narratives. If you can digest the bit of "anime" there is also quite a lot of substance and philosophizing. If her character was realistic, there would be no redemption. You also get more insight on *Desna*, whom I find truly awesome (and the only likeable deity from the setting, once you understand them) I also find Arue to be the most personable rogue that the game gives you as I can't stand Camelia and dislike Woljif. Mechanically, Arue is quite strong and from espionage expert she is part rogue, that's actually ok to fill the need for such a role.

Pretty solid list, I agree that Wendu is absolutely fantastic, I started out straight up disliking her but she ended up my favorite, her writing is stellar. My most dissapointing, tho I still like her is Arue, something about how her story was done feels unsatisfying, I expected a lot more conflict with her nature and our actions and decision to bet he thing that make or break her, instead the evil path decision with her feels rather random and uninvolved, her Abyss quest could have been done if there was some sort of lure or decision there to be made. At the end of the day it feels like she is at the very taild end of her journey one way or the other and our actions dont serve much purpose, also her realisation to Desna's riddle was pretty anticlimactic, I know thats the point and I understand why it was hard for her to understand but it just feels like it was too easy to keep her on the path of good, I just expected a lot more emotion and a lot more epicness when it comesto redeeming a demon, dunno. Kinda the same with Ember, tho I absolutely adore her and her story, I felt like very little was explained and it left me with a lot of questions as to her true nature and such, again I know thats not the point and what her growth is about but still. I was also missing more fathering moments, I wanted some pats on the head and such, also to be able to actually force her to wear shoes, I would just keep giving her shoes and new clothes untill she wouldnt have anyone to give it to and have to wear it herself, just in general more wholesome slice of life interactions with her. Kind of like what we get with Aivu, who is adorkable. I generally really like the companions in this game tho.

my only real gripe with wotr is that you cannot torment your lich companions more. as i was working towards lich i took great pleasure in tormenting staunton and i was hoping to torment him for the rest of the game... but no edit: delamere is a outright murderer, in fact she should have a unique subclass called... "murderer" also a neat thing that some people might have missed with her is she comes with a unique piece of eqiupment that only she can use but cant use because youve corrupted her... nice little easter egg

Wenduag is best waifu and therefore best companion.

Yeah...my first ever playthrough was as a paladin and I was deadset on romancing Camellia. Awkward moments where you have to explain your girlfriend's behavior to your chosen deity.

ember and camellia are among the most memorable characters I ever had in a crpg.

I'll have to disagree with your placement of Lann. While yes, he does feel a little grating at times, I still found value in him, both in terms of interaction and in combat, as I was able to turn him into a zen-powered machine gun with a longbow.

out of the games Pathfinder 2, Pillars of Eternity 2, and Rouge Trader what would you suggest to pick up on the Steam Summer Sale? Open to other suggestions as well.

That's a huge fat like for the best girl Ember there from me! Peace!

I virtually never used Ember during my playthrough, forgot all about her until act 4!

I never could find Woljiff after he left, and just gave up because I wanted to finish the game I am noticing I am going to want to do multiple play throughs because I want that dragon companion, but went with the Gold Dragon mythic path, which is the VERY wrong one for that companion