Introduction
The Neverwinter companion system is a hired-helper system available for all characters. At rank 16, the quest "A Companion" becomes available from Sergeant Knox in Protector's Enclave. This quest is not required to use the companion system as companions acquired via trade, auction, zen store, promotion, or other means can be used as soon as a character completes the tutorial.
You can hire a number of companions that initially take the form of an item in your inventory. Double clicking the companion item will activate it. Companions can range from simple mercenary humanoids to pet-like creatures and even glowing stones that circle the head. A single companion can be summoned at any time outside of combat to help you in combat. Each character in a five-player group can summon their own companion. If a companion runs out of health during combat, it can be revived by approaching it and selecting the option in the same manner as reviving a fallen player. Unlike a player it doesn't have a limit on how frequently it can be brought back during the same battle. If combat ends while a companion is out of health it will automatically revive with all hit points returned. If a companion dies in a manner other than losing health (for instance by falling off a cliff or into a spiked pit) then it will have to be summoned again.
Companions are classified by the following types just like classes:
Companions can be purchased for Gold, Astral Diamond, Zen, Seals, Ardent Coins, Trade Bars, Glory or found as rare drops. Most companions can be acquired from the Grand Emporium in Protectors Enclave, or from the Zen market. A unique companion is also included in several of the games purchasable Packs.
At level 16 you will be given the A Companion Quest. The reward is your choice of one of four companions for free. The Cleric Disciple, Man-at-Arms, Wayward Wizard and Dog are the reward choices and are tradable. All four are of white quality, with a max rank of 15. All four of these, along with the Sellsword, are available to purchase for 2 
each from the companion vendor who you will be directed to when you receive the companion quest.
1. This is the rank of your companion. A rank 30 companion is comparable to a level 60 player. Notice the (Max 15) — this means that the highest rank this companion can achieve is rank 15 (
Since module 6, max rank of companions has been increased by 5, thus max rank of Common companions is 20). A companions rank can be upgraded by one rank (Common → Uncommon → Rare → Epic → Legendary) with the COMPANION QUALITY UPGRADE feature being added with the Fury of the Feywild module on 2013-08-22. Legendary quality is available since Module 6: Elemental Evil.
This feature let`s you invest Astral Diamonds to upgrade the quality of a companion when it is already at Max Rank
- Common quality pets have a max rank of 20 (Costs 300,000
or 30 to upgrade Common to Uncommon) - Uncommon quality pets have a max rank of 25 (Costs 500,000 or 60 to upgrade Uncommon to Rare)
- Rare quality pets have a max rank of 30 (Costs 750,000 or 90 to upgrade Rare to Epic)
- Epic quality pets have a max rank of 35 ( Costs 1,000,000 or 120 to upgrade Epic to Legendary)
- Legendary quality pets have a max rank of 40
2. This is your companion`s experience bar. While your companion fights at your side, it will gain experience. Once it has gained enough experience points to ascend to the next rank, the "Begin Training" button will appear. Click this button to send your companion for training.
- While your companion is training, they will be unable to fight at your side or gain experience. Just as if the companion was idle.
- You can speed up the training process by contributing an amount of astral diamonds toward their training. The time that the companion is unavailable for while in training is accumulative. Each rank the companion is sent to train for is added together if you skip a training period. There is a shorter training time for one rank than waiting to train after your companion gains two ranks.
3. These are your companion`s powers. Mouse over them for details.
4. Every companion has three equipment slots starting with one slot open at rank 1. As your companion gains ranks, the other two slots will unlock at rank 15 and rank 25.
- Your companion can wear gear from any class, of any quality, even gear that has been enchanted.
5. These are your companion`s Runestone slots automatically starting with one slot open at rank 1. As your companion gains ranks, the other two slots will unlock at rank 10 and rank 15. Here you can give your companion additional bonuses depending on what kind of slot your companion has.
6. As your companion gains in rank, they will gain additional costumes or skins at ranks 10, 20 and 30.
7. While there is a limited number of active companion slots, you can have a large number of Idle Companions. You start with three active companion slots, a fourth active companion slot unlocks at Character Level 30, and a fifth active companion slot unlocks at Character Level 60. You can buy early unlocks of these last two active companion slots with Zen. Idle companions must be switched into an active companion slot before they can be summoned. You can only have one active companion summoned to assist you and gaining experience at a time.
List of Companions
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Before Patch NW.5.20130812b.13, Cleric Disciples, Faithful Initiates and Lillends were Controllers. However, the patch applied only to newly-created companions. Previously-created companions remained Controllers.
Active Bonus
Active Bonuses are a feature introduced in Module 2: Shadowmantle. Companions provide bonuses when in an active slot, even if not summoned. For a list of active bonuses, see Active Bonus.
Legendary Bonus
Legendary Bonuses are a feature introduced in Module 6: Elemental Evil. All Legendary Companions provide 15% of its ratings to its owner, even when not summoned.
Companion Advancement
- Whenever a character is rewarded experience, the currently-summoned companion also receives 75% of the rewarded experience.
- When training multiple ranks at once, the training time is summed.
- Companion training can be hastened with Astral Diamonds.
- The formula appears to be: training time in seconds * 1.111 = AD cost.
- Waiting during training does not reduce the speed up cost. It costs the same at the start as near the end.
| Rank | Total XP | XP to Next Rank | Training Time | Speed Up Cost | Features Unlocked |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 258 | Powers 1 & 2, Runestone Slot 1, Equipment Slot 1, Skin 1 | ||
| 2 | 258 | 772 | 30s | 33 |
|
| 3 | 1,030 | 1,030 | 1m 30s | 99 |
|
| 4 | 2,060 | 1,545 | 3m 30s | 233 |
|
| 5 | 3,605 | 2,318 | 5m 00s | 333 |
|
| 6 | 5,923 | 2,832 | 7m 00s | 466 |
|
| 7 | 8,755 | 3,605 | 9m 30s | 633 |
|
| 8 | 12,360 | 4,378 | 12m 00s | 799 |
|
| 9 | 16,738 | 5,407 | 15m 00s | 999 |
|
| 10 | 22,145 | 6,180 | 18m 00s | 1,199 |
Runestone Slot 2, Skin 2 |
| 11 | 28,325 | 7,210 | 21m 30s | 1,433 |
|
| 12 | 35,535 | 8,240 | 25m 30s | 1,699 |
|
| 13 | 43,775 | 9,528 | 30m 00s | 1,999 |
|
| 14 | 53,303 | 10,557 | 35m 00s | 2,333 |
|
| 15 | 63,860 | 11,845 | 40m 30s | 2,699 |
Runestone Slot 3, Equipment Slot 2 |
| 16 | 75,705 | 13,133 | 46m 30s | 3,099 |
|
| 17 | 88,838 | 14,420 | 53m 30s | 3,566 |
|
| 18 | 103,258 | 15,707 | 1h 01m 00s | 4,066 |
|
| 19 | 118,965 | 16,995 | 1h 09m 30s | 4,632 |
|
| 20 | 135,960 | 18,540 | 1h 18m 30s | 5,232 |
Skin 3 |
| 21 | 154,500 | 19,828 | 1h 29m 00s | 5,932 |
|
| 22 | 174,328 | 21,372 | 1h 40m 00s | 6,665 |
|
| 23 | 195,700 | 22,918 | 1h 52m 30s | 7,499 |
|
| 24 | 218,618 | 24,462 | 2h 06m 00s | 8,399 |
|
| 25 | 243,080 | 26,008 | 2h 21m 00s | 9,399 |
Equipment Slot 3 |
| 26 | 269,088 | 27,810 | 2h 37m 30s | 10,498 |
|
| 27 | 296,898 | 28,355 | 2h 55m 30s | 11,698 |
|
| 28 | 325,253 | 32,157 | 3h 15m 30s | 13,032 |
|
| 29 | 357,410 | 32,960 | 3h 37m 30s | 14,498 |
|
| 30 | 390,370 | 4h 01m 30s | 16,098 |
Power 3, Skin 4 |
Companion Hit Points
A companion's base hit points depend on rank, quality and role. The majority have predictable hit points, but a few exceptions exist. The companion's total hit points depend on equipment, runestones, charisma and buffs.
- Augments have 10 hit points for each level they have (so 10 at level 1 and 300 at level 30).
- Controllers have 15% less hit points than Strikers.
- Defenders and Leaders have 10% more hit points than Strikers.
- Uncommon companions have 10% more hit points than common companions.
- Rare companions have 20% more hit points than common companions.
- Epic companions have 25% more hit points than common companions.
- Legendary companions have 39% more hit points than common companions.