Recruitment Priority Order (Meta)
Recruit in this order to minimize Act 1 wipes. You do NOT need to wait for the game to send you. Go find them immediately:
| # | Name | Class | Where to recruit | Available |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 โญ | Eder | Fighter | Magran's Fork tavern (ask about Warden) | L1+, immediately after Vale |
| 2 | Aloth | Wizard | Black Hound Inn, Gilded Vale, upstairs | L1+, prologue completion |
| 3 | Durance | Priest (Magran) | Roadside shrine between Gilded Vale and Magran's Fork | L1+, on the main road |
| 4 | Kana Rua | Chanter | Caed Nua great hall (east wing) | L3+, after Caed Nua unlocked |
| 5 | Sagani | Ranger | Defiance Bay, Hearthsong Market (Day's End) | L5+, arriving in Defiance Bay |
| 6 | Pallegina | Paladin (Darcozzi) | First Fires VTC Embassy, Defiance Bay | L5+, quest from Duke for Vailian Trading Company |
| 7 | Hiravias | Druid | Oldsong, Defiance Bay (outside in the ruins) | L5+, Act 2 |
| 8 | Grieving Mother | Cipher | Brackenbury Sanitarium, Defiance Bay (inside) | L6+, Heritage Hill quest or access to sanitarium |
Pro Tip โ Loyalty Thresholds
Every companion has a hidden Approval score (0โ100). Keep all companions in party during relevant quests for maximum loyalty. Locking their personal quest finalizes their Approval score. Companions at Approval โฅ 80 unlock their "Perfect" epilogue slides.
Companion Deep Dives (All 8)
๐ก๏ธ Eder โ The First Recruit (S-Tier)
Role: Main Tank / Engager โข Default Build: Fighter (Unbroken) โข Voice: Unwaveringly loyal, friendly, small-town farmer vibe.
- Best Stat Line: PER 16, RES 17, MIG 12, CON 16 โ he is already built like a tank. Don't reassign.
- BiS Gear: The Unbroken belt (+engagement), Little Savior shield, Durance's Gloves of Manipulation (if not needed elsewhere), Darguls armor 12 DR.
- Best Ability Order: Constant Recovery (L1) โ Disciplined Barrage (L1) โ Defender (L3) โ Clear Out (L5) โ Unbroken (L7) โ Hold the Line (L9).
- Companion Quest: "A Farmer's Plight" โ help him search for his missing brother. Final outcome: choose to save or sacrifice Woden at the end to affect ending.
โ๏ธ Pallegina mes Rei (S-Tier)
Role: Off-Tank + Flames of Devotion Burst โข Default Build: Darcozzi Paladini Paladin (S-tier subclass).
- Natural high Might and Fire affinity make her a Flames of Devotion machine. Set her AI to: If enemy โฅ 3 HP, FoD โ charge.
- BiS Gear: Modwyr soulbound sword, Viela plate armor, Cloak of the White Forge from WM2.
- Companion Quest: "At All Costs" โ VTC loyalty vs. Dyrwood independence. Three endings: Diplomat (best), Zealous, Disgraced.
๐ Kana Rua โ S-Tier (Meta Defining)
Role: AOE DPS + Summoner + Party Utility โข Default Build: Chanter. The Dragon Thrashed chant is required.
- Ignore everything but the Dragon Thrashed 3-phrase invocation. It outputs more AOE per round than Wizards casting 2 spells.
- Best Phrase Loadout: But Reny Daret's Ghost (phrase 1) โ At the sound of his voice (phrase 2) โ Dragon Thrashed (phrase 3, repeat).
- BiS Gear: The Golden Gaze (spear, summons 1 skeleton), Heritage Hill Armor (INT/MIG), Shield of the Rising Sun.
- Companion Quest: "The Final Note" โ find his sister's fate in the Stormwall Gorge. Endings: Closure vs. Failure.
๐ง Aloth Corfiser (A-Tier)
Role: AOE DPS + Crowd Control โข Default Build: Wizard (Evoker).
- His class ability Arcane Veil + Grimoire gives you two free defensive spells every fight.
- Recommended Grimoire Loadout (L7+): Fan of Flames, Slicken, Confusion, Combusting Wounds, Miasma of Dull-Mindedness, Ninagauth's Freezing Pillar.
- Companion Quest: "His Old Self" โ uncover his split personality (Iselmyr the Leaden Key agent). Important Choice: Accept Iselmyr โ unlocks unique wizard abilities at high approval.
๐ฆ Hiravias (B-Tier)
Role: Melee Druid (Spiritshift) + AOE Storm Caster โข Default Build: Druid.
- Cursed by the Glanfathan to grow antlers. Excellent spiritshift stelgaer damage if you pump MIG + CON + DEX.
- Companion Quest: "The Parable of Wael" โ sacred book recovery. Three separate endings based on quest decisions during Act 2/3.
๐น Sagani (B-Tier)
Role: Consistent Ranged DPS โข Default Build: Ranger with Itumaak (Arctic Fox pet).
- Itumaak the fox will outdamage some companion melee characters if microed properly.
- BiS Gear: Persistence hunting bow from WM1, Healing Chain armor, Hearth Companion bracers (+pet damage).
- Companion Quest: "The Hunt at Longfellows" โ search for the elder Perlyrn through WM1 and WM2 regions. Takes two DLCs to complete!
๐ฎ The Grieving Mother (C-Tier)
Role: Cipher / Off-Healer โข Default Build: Cipher (Beguiler).
- Her base stats are actually worse than a custom Cipher โ low PER. However, she is the only pre-made Cipher option and has great dialogue in the Hallowborn Plague main-quest arc.
- If using her: immediately respec to pump PER (18+) and INT.
- Companion Quest: "A Moment's Respite" โ deeply tied to Watcher's flashbacks at Heritage Hill. Must complete to unlock her "best" ending. Resolve issues with her lost baby.
๐ด Durance (C-Tier)
Role: Priest (Magran) + Fire Support Healer โข Default Build: Priest.
- Flavor-superior but stats-inferior to custom. Low PER (12 by default) hurts all spells. Pump PER first.
- Still the only Priest companion available. Always bring Barring Death's Door on your spell bar โ it's the #1 wipe-saving spell in the game.
- Companion Quest: "The Condena Trial" โ his relationship with Lady Webb and Magran. Endings vary wildly: Forgiven, Faithful, or Crucible-Martyr.
Meta Party Build (Patch 3.7)
| Slot | Role | Who | Key Task |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tank | Engager | Eder | Defender + Hold the Line pins 5 enemies |
| Burst Tank | Off-Tank / Burst | Pallegina | Flames of Devotion โ Holy Radiance aura |
| AOE Sustained | Dragon Thrashed | Kana Rua | Nonstop chanting, summon 1 ogre/phrases-5 |
| AOE Burst | Grimoire Swap | Aloth | Combusting Wounds + any DOT you have |
| Single-Target | Ranged DPS | Sagani + Itumaak | Marked Prey + Driving Flight focus |
| Heals + Buffs | Support | Custom Priest (Skaen) | Barring Death's Door bot, Marks + Crown buffs |
FLEX Options: Swap Sagani โ Hiravias (more AOE, less consistent ranged), swap Aloth โ Grieving Mother (solo-target burst if you want 2 Ciphers). Durance can replace the custom Priest but loses some effectiveness.
FAQ
Unlike Pillars 2 (Deadfire), Pillars 1 does NOT have explicit romance mechanics. What exists are loyalty/approval endings and "strong bond" epilogue slides. The closest to "romance" is high approval with either Aloth, Pallegina or Sagani leading to slides describing your Watcher's future with them. There is NO sex or confession scene in the base game (mods exist for it, but it's not vanilla).
Mechanically, yes. You can always build a custom adventurer from any inn (500 copper L1, scaling). That said โ benching Kana = lose the #1 meta AOE class. Keep him. For everyone else: play who you like; the game's combat is only punishing on PotD and you can clear on Normal with any combination.
Maneha (Barbarian, WM1) and Zahua (Monk, WM2) are DLC-only companions. Maneha is the best barbarian you can get โ great stats, strong AOE Heart of Fury build potential. Zahua suffers from the same "base Monk requires specific build" problem but has amazing quest lines. Always get the DLC.