When to use an eidolon or an animal companion?

[siegfriedliner]

So clearly some people are mistaking the intent of an ediolon to be the same as an animal companion when they are meant for different roles so here are a list of the uses for eidolons vs animal companions.

You want something to support your already powerful character. For this you want a companion not an eidolon

You want something to provide another body and pool of hit points between the enemies and the squishiest. You want a companion not an eidolon

You want something to flank with, you probably want a companion rather than eidolon because the companion can also boost your damage directly or provide some nice status effects.

You want something that can fly/spot invisible enemies with echolocation? You want an animal companion until late levels.

You want a ally with martial proficiencies? You want an eidolon

You want to speak to two people at one you want an eidolon.

You want something experimental and like nothing else in the game? You want an Ediolon.

I hope that clears things up.

[Verzen]

Sounds like AC are far more interesting.

[KrispyXIV]

siegfriedliner wrote:

You want something that can fly/spot invisible enemies with echolocation? You want an animal companion until late levels.

Just as a note, Eidolons can gain Imprecise Scent which is mechanically superior in most cases to other imprecise senses, so long as the target isn't incorporeal or something - at level 1, from Evolution Surge.

That means that if you need something to point out invisible creatures, Eidolons probably* have you covered.

[Temperans]

You already know my views. Correspondingly, I feel like an Eidolon who can't do most of the things you listed (even if its a choice) fails to meet the bar.

Eidolons really should be the best companion not just the one with most damage.

[Bluescale]

Temperans wrote:

You already know my views. Correspondingly, I feel like an Eidolon who can't do most of the things you listed (even if its a choice) fails to meet the bar.

Eidolons really should be the best companion not just the one with most damage.

Agreed, if your entire class is built around having a companion, said companion should not be upstaged by the optional companion of a non-dedicated class. A druid is just fine without a companion, but a summoner is barely functional without the eidolon. If the animal companion is superior to the eidolon in many situations, then the summoner has to ask why they didn't just hire a bodyguard instead of learning to summon.

[Deriven Firelion]

I would definitely like the eidolon to feel more like an independent creature. It wouldn't take much for me either. 1 independent action would be sufficient.

I imagine some people like the Jojo Stand feel for the eidolon.

I kind of picture it like the two wizards fighting at the end of Big Trouble in Little China when they had manifestations of ancient warriors battling each other that they have actively controlled.

[graystone]

KrispyXIV wrote:

That means that if you need something to point out invisible creatures, Eidolons probably* have you covered.

Only if you know there are invisible creatures before hand: you aren't likely to randomly find one with it's 1 min duration. This one of the reasons I wasn't too excited with scent attached to Evolution Surge. I found more often than not by the time I knew there were unnoticed creatures around, I knew where they where because we'd rolled initiative. [things casting 4th+ invisibility aren't too common]

[RexAliquid]

graystone wrote:

KrispyXIV wrote:

That means that if you need something to point out invisible creatures, Eidolons probably* have you covered.

Only if you know there are invisible creatures before hand: you aren't likely to randomly find one with it's 1 min duration. This one of the reasons I wasn't too excited with scent attached to Evolution Surge. I found more often than not by the time I knew there were unnoticed creatures around, I knew where they where because we'd rolled initiative. [things casting 4th+ invisibility aren't too common]

There *is* the feat for scent if you are more interested in ambushes than chasing down fleeing/hiding foes.

[graystone]

RexAliquid wrote:

chasing down fleeing/hiding foes.

Only if the Eidolon alone can catch up in 1 min: if they are spending their focus on scent, they aren't spending it on the speed boost. I just don't find it very useful with it's duration.