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Anyone else think animal companion types are a bit unbalanced? The dex based ones can get expert (nimble) and then master (using dex specializations) prof with unarmored. Strength based options leave armor prof at trained. Considering that higher dex also means higher ac, the str based companions seem really really hosed.
Typical dex companion: +3 base dex, base trained unarmored, +1 dex mature, +2 dex nimble, expert unarmored nimble, +2 dex specialized, master specialized
Base ac unarmored (not counting level) seems to be able to reach 24 with all those bonuses (10+X). Unlike PCs, I can't find a rule that caps ac from dex at 5 for animal companions. Other benefits include more sneakiness and better reflex saves.
Typical str companion: +2 base dex, base trained unarmored, +1 dex mature, +1 dex savage, +1 dex specialized.
Base ac unarmored (not counting level) seems to be 17.
The strength companion can wear heavy barding but due to the dex cap that only increases ac potential by 1. So, 18.
I know the str based companions do a bit more damage. By the time it's specialized, the strength based companion will probably do a few more points of damage due to having a higher die size weapon and like 3 more from higher strength (maybe 6 more damage on average or so).
Also, the first time you get specialized, you get +1 dex but not +1 str. So the str based companion will have 1 less bonus to attack than the dex companion.
Looking at it, str based animal companion seems like a trap to me.
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True.
AC can reach 45, you can specialize twice and add two dex that way. Reach a dex of 9, with AC that start at dex 3.
High dex also means better Attack. Meaning more hits. They might do less damage than a Str AC if they hit, but better Attack means more hits. Wolf is a very nice AC, for this reason. High dex, d8 attack, finesse. Free trip.
The strength companion can wear heavy barding but due to the dex cap that only increases ac potential by 1. So, 18.
You can use Bracers of Armor to get 2 more. And you can take the dex specialization giving you Expert Unarmored Proficiency for 2 more (but at the cost of a Specialization).
But yes, basically, Strength animal companions are a trap. I don't know why they messed up that much.| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The strength companion can wear heavy barding but due to the dex cap that only increases ac potential by 1. So, 18.You can use Bracers of Armor to get 2 more. And you can take the dex specialization giving you Expert Unarmored Proficiency for 2 more (but at the cost of a Specialization).
But yes, basically, Strength animal companions are a trap. I don't know why they messed up that much.
Unless I missed something, Animal Companions can't wear any magical gear that isn't made specifically for Animal Companions.
You might want to acquire items that benefit an animal
or beast that assists you. These items have the companion
trait, meaning they function only for animal companions,
familiars, and similar creatures. If it’s unclear whether a
creature can benefit from such an item, the GM decides.
And:
companion (trait) An item with this trait can be worn by an animal companion or
similar creature. A companion can have up to two items invested.
I suppose you could read that to mean that a GM could allow you to have your companion invest a set of bracer's of armor, but I probably wouldn't allow it personally for the same reason that I wouldn't allow an animal companion to invest handwraps of mighty blows. Those bonuses are built into the animal companion rules, as Item bonuses to AC (capped at 2 for companions) are built into barding.
Not well mind you, but it exists specifically for their use.
I have that in the rules: "You might want to acquire items that benefit an animal or beast that assists you. These items have the companion trait, meaning they function only for animal companions, familiars, and similar creatures. Normally these are the only items a companion can use. Other items may qualify, at the GM’s discretion, but an animal can never Activate an Item."
So, it's GM discretion. But bracers can be worn by most animals.
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I have that in the rules: "You might want to acquire items that benefit an animal or beast that assists you. These items have the companion trait, meaning they function only for animal companions, familiars, and similar creatures. Normally these are the only items a companion can use. Other items may qualify, at the GM’s discretion, but an animal can never Activate an Item."
So, it's GM discretion. But bracers can be worn by most animals.
The items with a Companion trait are listed online. Its not much.
The rules also state "Animal companions calculate their modifiers and DCs just as you do with one difference: the only item bonuses they can benefit from are to speed and AC (their maximum item bonus to AC is +3)"
You can get an AC bonus of +3 from heavy barding, but that comes with a DEX cap.
The rules state you can't get barding etched with runes.
Aside from GM fiat there is no way in the rules I am aware of to get rid of the DEX cap. It still applies even when the Strength rating for the armour is met. Which is unfortunate as the DEX score beomes a large part of the Animal Companions AC.
Maybe the GM could let a special material reduce the DEX cap. Or as you say allow an Animal Companion to use Bracers. But really this is the GM choosing to rebalance the game a bit. BTW: that is the sort of thing I would do, if I felt it necessary.
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Looking at it, str based animal companion seems like a trap to me.
I agree. That was my conclusion as well.
STR animals are Ok early but there AC falls behind quickly, but level 14 they are all pitiful. At that point you have to change to another animal companion. Probably a DEX based flyer.
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I think I'll put in these two fixes in my games:
1. Savage animal companions increase the dex cap on heavy barding by 1.
2. When the animal companion first specializes, they get expert in barding. If it's savage, it gains +1 strength instead of +1 dex.
That way, the AC on a str companion is still worse but it's not way way worse. Also, they don't fall behind on attack.
I have that in the rules: "You might want to acquire items that benefit an animal or beast that assists you. These items have the companion trait, meaning they function only for animal companions, familiars, and similar creatures. Normally these are the only items a companion can use. Other items may qualify, at the GM’s discretion, but an animal can never Activate an Item."
So, it's GM discretion. But bracers can be worn by most animals.
Easy work around is a wand of mage armor.
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Easy work around is a wand of mage armor.I have that in the rules: "You might want to acquire items that benefit an animal or beast that assists you. These items have the companion trait, meaning they function only for animal companions, familiars, and similar creatures. Normally these are the only items a companion can use. Other items may qualify, at the GM’s discretion, but an animal can never Activate an Item."
So, it's GM discretion. But bracers can be worn by most animals.
How do animal companions cast spells? I'm interested.
Maybe the idea is that you use the wand on the animal? Although I haven’t read the rules for wands. I’m on page 470 of the Rulebook so far... it’s taken me a few weeks to get through.How do animal companions cast spells? I'm interested.Easy work around is a wand of mage armor.I have that in the rules: "You might want to acquire items that benefit an animal or beast that assists you. These items have the companion trait, meaning they function only for animal companions, familiars, and similar creatures. Normally these are the only items a companion can use. Other items may qualify, at the GM’s discretion, but an animal can never Activate an Item."
So, it's GM discretion. But bracers can be worn by most animals.
Mage Armor is a personal spell.
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A comparison between a lvl 16 wolf (dex) and a lvl 16 crocodile (str)
Wolf ( nimble, ambusher, daredevil)
+29 hit
3d8+8 dmg
41 ACCrocodile (savage, wrecker, bully)
+28hit
3d8+14
34 ACI also prefer nimble pets because the difference is IMO not worth the +1 hit and AC difference.
Also, their hp are the same and yes, this is probably the real joke ( lower AC would also mean more hp, but whatever).
That ac difference is too large. That's almost an entire crit range difference.
As someone running a low level character with a bear animal companion, I'm disappointed to see the balance is so off later on. :(
My understanding is that indomitable companions do better, given they get Expert in barding. That’s the plan for my Badger, at least.
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As someone running a low level character with a bear animal companion, I'm disappointed to see the balance is so off later on. :(
The issue is not really Wolf to Bear, it's Nimble (and increasing Dex) to Savage (and increasing Str). A Bear that goes Nimble and all the Dex-boosting stuff winds up at -1 to hit, -1 AC, and +1 damage as compared to the Wolf, and with a much better Support Maneuver (at least, IMO).
It's still a real issue, but it's not actually broken down by creature type.
My understanding is that indomitable companions do better, given they get Expert in barding. That’s the plan for my Badger, at least.
This is objectively true. They still wind up at -5 AC (better than the Savage Companion's -7, but not great), and are even further behind in attack, though.
Nimble is, at the moment, just flatly better for all Animal Companions ever.
Now, this is actually largely fixable with one piece of errata (giving Savage companions Expert Barding Proficiency), and adding a Specialty like 'Armored' to up Barding Proficiency to Master, or even Legendary. That'd go a really long way to fixing things. But it does need to be done.
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OP, yes.
Got a PFS character coming up on this decision. At it's face, I wanted "Savage" over "Nimble" based on advertisement of title alone. Here's what we are looking at side by side:
Both
ST, DX, CON, WIS +1
One Skill > Expert
Advanced Maneuvers
Magical Attacks
Nimble
DX +2 (instead)
Damage +2
Unarmored AC > Expert
Savage
ST +2 (instead)
Damage +3
Become Large
If I go "Savage" - as mentioned better upstream - I fear that my companion will be too vulnerable to send in to fight at-level enemies across two different axis: One is the lower AC, and Two is the Larger Size!
Hoping for errata too...
"Savage" improves CON too
"Savage" improves Armored AC
"Savage" allows Orc Ferocity ability
"Savage" improves Intimidation proficiency
"Savage" increases damage w/ attacks by > +3
Savage could give expert barding and wrecker/bully could up barding proficiency one tier. This still puts them 2 points behind, so the specializations also should give armor specialization with barding being plate. Or perhaps have savage upgrade damage dice by one tier at higher levels and/or increase attack proficiency.
There's lots of things they can do to make the choices meaningful, but right now it's just best to go nimble with ambusher or daredevil, the difference is just too overwhelming. I do think fixing the current imbalance is better then adding in New options that are either just better or poorly balanced just to patch the late game problem.
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I don't have enough practical experience with this but I feel like there is something missing here because the difference is just so incredibly dramatic...
It's almost like there was at some point an assumption that Str based ACs would have more HP to soak up damage versus their harder to hit cousins but that just got left out of the equation at some point?
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Even with that assumption, there are almost not enough HP in the world to make up for -7 AC.
I mean, someone with -7 AC as compared to someone else generally takes more than double the amount of damage they do. Doubling HP would maybe be enough, given the slightly higher damage, but maybe not, too.
I agree this is a clear error, but where I think it crept in was the switch from Proficiency only granting +1 per tier to granting +2 per tier, and someone assuming that Animal Companion AC and armor works more like PC AC and armor than it does (I mean, PCs effectively cap at +5 Dex for AC because they need the armor for Saves and magic bonuses...Animal Companions get neither).
I mean, if the difference between Trained and Master were only +2 and Barding worked like PC armor (giving those who wore it +3 additional AC from magic), then it would only be a +2 AC on the Dex Companion, and that's much more manageable.
Would y'all recommend just bumping their Barding proficiency up a tier? I've got a Savage horse in my game and he is indeed very fragile.
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Would y'all recommend just bumping their Barding proficiency up a tier? I've got a Savage horse in my game and he is indeed very fragile.
My House Rules bump it up a tier at Savage and then another tier at Specialized, as well as increasing the Max Dex Mod of Barding by 2. As well as a few other ancillary bonuses (I added +1 Str Mod at Specialized to all Animal Companions, which helps all of them).
This still results in lower AC for the Str build than the Dex build (it's an eventual net of +6 AC...but the Dex build is currently ahead by 7, so it's still ahead by 1 even after all that).
Would y'all recommend just bumping their Barding proficiency up a tier? I've got a Savage horse in my game and he is indeed very fragile.My House Rules bump it up a tier at Savage and then another tier at Specialized, as well as increasing the Max Dex Mod of Barding by 2. As well as a few other ancillary bonuses (I added +1 Str Mod at Specialized to all Animal Companions, which helps all of them).
This still results in lower AC for the Str build than the Dex build (it's an eventual net of +6 AC...but the Dex build is currently ahead by 7, so it's still ahead by 1 even after all that).
Trading -1 AC in return for dealing more damage (higher strength + better damage dice in many cases) seems like a fair tradeoff, as opposed to trading -7 AC in return for dealing more damage.
Wait, you can take them multiple times?
Would y'all recommend just bumping their Barding proficiency up a tier? I've got a Savage horse in my game and he is indeed very fragile.
Yes the very first house rule I would use would be to open up the Indomitable Companion to animal companions more broadly rather than restricting it to megafauna. It helps a little by providing expert barding proficiency, and does seem to make a lot of sense for mounts.
But still not enough at the top end.
Would y'all recommend just bumping their Barding proficiency up a tier? I've got a Savage horse in my game and he is indeed very fragile.My House Rules bump it up a tier at Savage and then another tier at Specialized, as well as increasing the Max Dex Mod of Barding by 2. As well as a few other ancillary bonuses (I added +1 Str Mod at Specialized to all Animal Companions, which helps all of them).
This still results in lower AC for the Str build than the Dex build (it's an eventual net of +6 AC...but the Dex build is currently ahead by 7, so it's still ahead by 1 even after all that).
The DEX build being ahead by 1 is probably fair compared to the STR build. It will do a few points less damage. However both are probably still a bit low.
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Trading -1 AC in return for dealing more damage (higher strength + better damage dice in many cases) seems like a fair tradeoff, as opposed to trading -7 AC in return for dealing more damage.
Yup. That's the basic mechanical idea for the tradeoff, and I think an appropriate thematic one.
Wait, you can take them multiple times?
You can take up to three Specializations. You can't take the same one more than once, but you don't have to in order to get the results noted previously (a maximized Nimble Animal Companion has a +6, Specialization takes that to +7, +8 with Daredevil or Ambusher, +9 once you have taken both).
The DEX build being ahead by 1 is probably fair compared to the STR build. It will do a few points less damage. However both are probably still a bit low.
It's not the intent of my House Rule to power up animal companions as a whole (or not much, I am giving them +1 damage). I may yet do that, but this rule's intent is just to even them out so Nimble is not required.
And AC 44 or 45 at 20th level seems pretty reasonable to me. That's around PC level AC.
You can take up to three Specializations. You can't take the same one more than once, but you don't have to in order to get the results noted previously (a maximized Nimble Animal Companion has a +6, Specialization takes that to +7, +8 with Daredevil or Ambusher, +9 once you have taken both).
Incorrect, unless the APG Animal Companion Archetype changes this.
"Most Animal Companions can only have one specialization." - CRB 217
The issue is not really Wolf to Bear, it's Nimble (and increasing Dex) to Savage (and increasing Str). A Bear that goes Nimble and all the Dex-boosting stuff winds up at -1 to hit, -1 AC, and +1 damage as compared to the Wolf, and with a much better Support Maneuver (at least, IMO).
It's still a real issue, but it's not actually broken down by creature type.
Ah, thank you for clarifying. I'm not the kind of person who looks super far ahead planning characters, so I had just assumed that bears were always savage. Now I know to go for nimble.
Still, I do hope they "fix" savage so it is at least a viable option.
You can take up to three Specializations. You can't take the same one more than once, but you don't have to in order to get the results noted previously (a maximized Nimble Animal Companion has a +6, Specialization takes that to +7, +8 with Daredevil or Ambusher, +9 once you have taken both).
Incorrect, unless the APG Animal Companion Archetype changes this.
"Most Animal Companions can only have one specialization." - CRB 217
It is over ridden in the specific feats eg for the druid for all the animal companion using classes, except for the Ranger.
Would y'all recommend just bumping their Barding proficiency up a tier? I've got a Savage horse in my game and he is indeed very fragile.My House Rules bump it up a tier at Savage and then another tier at Specialized, as well as increasing the Max Dex Mod of Barding by 2. As well as a few other ancillary bonuses (I added +1 Str Mod at Specialized to all Animal Companions, which helps all of them).
This still results in lower AC for the Str build than the Dex build (it's an eventual net of +6 AC...but the Dex build is currently ahead by 7, so it's still ahead by 1 even after all that).
I'm looking at level 16, and that seems to make pets have higher AC than most party members. Which seems a little odd for a specialization not focused on tanking stuff.
I'm looking at a Savage Auspicious Horse, for what it is worth.
That's probably why I didn't know, I've only really looked at animal companions in the context of rangers.
Feels bad the Druid gets extra specializations at 14 up to three times, while the Ranger's is two levels later and only once. ):
Would y'all recommend just bumping their Barding proficiency up a tier? I've got a Savage horse in my game and he is indeed very fragile.My House Rules bump it up a tier at Savage and then another tier at Specialized, as well as increasing the Max Dex Mod of Barding by 2. As well as a few other ancillary bonuses (I added +1 Str Mod at Specialized to all Animal Companions, which helps all of them).
This still results in lower AC for the Str build than the Dex build (it's an eventual net of +6 AC...but the Dex build is currently ahead by 7, so it's still ahead by 1 even after all that).
I'm looking at level 16, and that seems to make pets have higher AC than most party members. Which seems a little odd for a specialization not focused on tanking stuff.
I'm looking at a Savage Auspicious Horse, for what it is worth.
At level 16 a typical mid range for defense with no shield or maneuver, say a Ranger PC will have an AC of 10 base, + 16 level, +4 from expert proficiency in armour, + 5 from armour including DEX, + 2 from magical runes on the armour => 27 AC
At level 16 the best DEX animal companion will have an AC of 10 base, + 16 level, +6 from master proficiency in unarmoured defense, + 7 from DEX => 29 AC
At level 16 the best STR animal companion will have an AC of 10 base, + 16 level, +4 from expert proficiency in barding, + 6 from Barding => 26 AC.
But only Megafauna can get this. Others are 2 lower in barding proficiency, or take DEX feats and are behind the best DEX companions.
So the DEX Animal Companion is OK defensively, the other less so with some really bad options available. BTW this is a high water mark for the Animal Companions AC they fall behind from here, level 17 is a big jump for the Ranger.
Where the Animal Companions fall down is on offense. Because if the STR companion looks after their AC then they don't get the best offense. Animal companions can only get to expert proficiency in their attacks and they don't get item bonuses either. So the best DEX Animal Companion can just keep up with a spell caster for their attack roll. If they are STR based they are behind more or their AC is really suffering.
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It is over ridden in the specific feats eg for the druid for all the animal companion using classes, except for the Ranger.You can take up to three Specializations. You can't take the same one more than once, but you don't have to in order to get the results noted previously (a maximized Nimble Animal Companion has a +6, Specialization takes that to +7, +8 with Daredevil or Ambusher, +9 once you have taken both).
Incorrect, unless the APG Animal Companion Archetype changes this.
"Most Animal Companions can only have one specialization." - CRB 217
After looking into it, that doesn't seem to be quite the case either. Champion doesn't get that either, so it's really Druid and Beastmaster Archetype that can get that and Ranger and Champion who can't.
I'd argue that this is something special for the Druid/Beastmaster rather than lacking for the Ranger/Champion. Druid because he's a squishy caster and if you don't have Wild Shape then you're companion will likely be taking your place in melee combat entirely and Beastmaster because...well it's Beastmaster. It would be wrong if it DIDN'T have the best Animal Companion options.
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I'm looking at level 16, and that seems to make pets have higher AC than most party members. Which seems a little odd for a specialization not focused on tanking stuff.
I'm looking at a Savage Auspicious Horse, for what it is worth.
It'll do that (hitting AC 40 vs. PCs having a 38 or so)...but the thing is that Nimble does that already, partially due to Unarmored Proficiency being increased by all Dex boosting Specializations. A Dex-based, Nimble, Companion seeking to increase Dex will just inevitably end up with +8 Dex and Master defenses as soon as it is Specialized...which results in AC 40 at level 16.
Again, I'm not trying to change the balance on animal companions as a whole, just make Str companions equal to Dex ones.
It's possible I've gone too far. I was looking at Beastmaster and Druid for number of Specializations...with only a single Specialization it's possible this favors Str companions too much, since then they have equal AC but the Str Companion has more damage...of course the Str Companion is larger, maybe that's a down side? I dunno, I'll think it over.
Anyway, looking at it in that light, I might drop the Max Dex from Heavy Barding to +4, rather than +5. That feels a little better when comparing it to Light Barding, anyway. But I definitely wouldn't change my House Rule any more than that or they fall way behind Dex Companions again.
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Anyway, looking at it in that light, I might drop the Max Dex from Heavy Barding to +4, rather than +5. That feels a little better when comparing it to Light Barding, anyway. But I definitely wouldn't change my House Rule any more than that or they fall way behind Dex Companions again.
For the record, I have personally decided not to make this change. Dex Companions have the advantage in movement speed and Reflex Saves, which I think balances out the damage advantage of Str Companions decently even with equal AC.
Beastmaster and Druid Companions still also get +1 AC, which seems acceptable to me.
Size is a pretty big deal in PF2 and almost always comes with a -AC trade off for reach. I'm not saying too large a gap is justified, but "long" creatures/ie. quadrupeds don't get a reach of 10 until they hit huge size, and having reach as well as athletics as a best skill, it can result in some nasty battlefield control that can mitigate AC differences substantially. I am not saying any of this is enough to make STR based options powerful enough, but it is hard to quantify the value of reach as directly.
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Size is a pretty big deal in PF2 and almost always comes with a -AC trade off for reach. I'm not saying too large a gap is justified, but "long" creatures/ie. quadrupeds don't get a reach of 10 until they hit huge size, and having reach as well as athletics as a best skill, it can result in some nasty battlefield control that can mitigate AC differences substantially. I am not saying any of this is enough to make STR based options powerful enough, but it is hard to quantify the value of reach as directly.
Reach is amazing, but at the moment there's no inherent way for Animal Companions to get it, since there's no Specialization or other option to make them Huge. They potentially go up to Large size with Savage or Indomitable even if they didn't start with it...but that's as far as they go.
You can potentially use Enlarge to make them Huge...but that works on literally any Animal Companion, because Enlarge always results in its targets being the same size regardless of starting size.
And, as you note, Large size does not get them Reach. As near as I can tell, the only advantage you get from a Large animal companion is the ability to ride it, which is a bit of a dubious benefit mechanically.
So...this is a true statement about the rules in general but kind of irrelevant to animal companions most of the time. I suppose it's relevant for Apes specifically if your GM is willing to count them as Tall rather than Long...but that's about it.
Size is a pretty big deal in PF2 and almost always comes with a -AC trade off for reach. I'm not saying too large a gap is justified, but "long" creatures/ie. quadrupeds don't get a reach of 10 until they hit huge size, and having reach as well as athletics as a best skill, it can result in some nasty battlefield control that can mitigate AC differences substantially. I am not saying any of this is enough to make STR based options powerful enough, but it is hard to quantify the value of reach as directly.Reach is amazing, but at the moment there's no inherent way for Animal Companions to get it, since there's no Specialization or other option to make them Huge. They potentially go up to Large size with Savage or Indomitable even if they didn't start with it...but that's as far as they go.
You can potentially use Enlarge to make them Huge...but that works on literally any Animal Companion, because Enlarge always results in its targets being the same size regardless of starting size.
And, as you note, Large size does not get them Reach. As near as I can tell, the only advantage you get from a Large animal companion is the ability to ride it, which is a bit of a dubious benefit mechanically.
So...this is a true statement about the rules in general but kind of irrelevant to animal companions most of the time. I suppose it's relevant for Apes specifically if your GM is willing to count them as Tall rather than Long...but that's about it.
Being large does increase threatened area and make it harder to get away from you, though. Which is actually pretty sweet of you have AoO, or a champion's reaction with a 15 foot zone, or other such things.
The cleric in our party just took the permanent Bless feat, and I'm curious to see if she just rides on the back of the champion's horse even more often than she already does so to share it with more people. And being able to carry multiple party members may not seem like a big thing, but when you need it you reaaaally need it.
The main problem with the squishy mount, I've found, is when you try and use it midair. At which point an intelligent enemy will focus on it to drop you both out of the sky. Well, that and AoE, but AC doesn't actually help with that.
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Being large does increase threatened area and make it harder to get away from you, though. Which is actually pretty sweet of you have AoO, or a champion's reaction with a 15 foot zone, or other such things.
The cleric in our party just took the permanent Bless feat, and I'm curious to see if she just rides on the back of the champion's horse even more often than she already does so to share it with more people. And being able to carry multiple party members may not seem like a big thing, but when you need it you reaaaally need it.
The main problem with the squishy mount, I've found, is when you try and use it midair. At which point an intelligent enemy will focus on it to drop you both out of the sky. Well, that and AoE, but AC doesn't actually help with that.
Fair. I still think that and increased damage balance out pretty well against increased movement and +4 Reflex Save even with about equal AC, though (and, actually, in a lot of cases it's still -1 AC, the AC only equals out if the Str Companion also had a starting +2 Dex Mod).
You've definitely convinced me to do at least one proficiency bump. I'm not totally sure beyond that. There's an awful lot of combinations of species stats, specializations, and Barding levels to account for. The particular pet I'm looking at is also taking the boost to intelligence over raw physical power, which definitely skews the perspective compared to any other animal companion.
Side note: cavaliers eeem like they should be the new meta for mounts, because good lordy. Those protection feats themselves do a lot to protect what could otherwise be a squishy ride. The only problem is Cavalier's Charge doesn't work with the horse support benefit, but that is more a problem with the support benefit to be honest. It doesn't work with anything.
I will say they did a lot to patch holes in mounted combat in the playtest, at least.
Looking at it, I am think my preferred fix is now..
1. Savage grants expert barding proficiency
2. Upon becoming specialized, all companions gain +1 str (in addition to previous bonuses).
3. All specializations that do not bump unarmored, bump barding proficiency instead (Up to expert. Or if savage, up to master).
That should net the Savage companion 4 more AC (when in heavy barding) and 1 more attack by the end.
So, it would be around 2 AC behind at the Savage/Nimble break and around 3 AC behind by the end. But it would not be behind at all in attack.
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There are a couple of Animal Companions who walk upright, and would get 10ft reach at Large per CRB Table 9-1. Ape and Arboreal Sapling come to mind specifically.
Myself I'd say Ape, Arboreal Sapling, Bird, Bear and Dromaeosaur could be counted as tall. For birds I'm thinking of secretarybird and seriemas, long legged birds of prey.
Your math makes no sense to me. 10 + 16 + 4 + 5 + 2 is definitely 37, no matter how many times I add it.
Same with 10 + 16 + 6 + 7 ... it’s for sure 39.
Yeah I didn't add ten in to all the numbers.