All Avowed companions and how to recruit them

Avowed companions Kai and Marius standing with the envoy outside the Emerald Stair gateway
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Assembling the Avowed companions into a party happens over the course of the main quest, with all of them bringing their own abilities to battle. From stunning gunshots and explosive magic, to grasping vines and supportive spells, all four of the companions are forces to be reckoned with, but you can only have two with at once, so party composition to fit around your best Avowed build is also key!

Outside of Avowed combat, your Living Lands allies will help with exploration by being on hand to uncover secrets and remove obstacles and socializing, occasionally offering their perspective during conversations. Although don't expect to smooch any of them. Here's everything you need to know about the companions in Avowed, including how to recruit each one and what their abilities are.

All companions in Avowed

Avowed companions Kai and Marius fighting a bear and xaurips

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

There are four companions in Avowed – Kai, Marius, Giatta, and Yatzli – all of which you'll recruit over the course of the game's main quests. I've gone into more detail about when exactly you'll recruit each one below but it's impossible to miss any of the companions as you play and venture to new regions.

Avowed companion abilities menu

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Once they've joined your party, they can level up, letting you unlock and enhance an array of skills for them to use in combat and while exploring via the Companion abilities tab (however, companion levelling is quite slow!). Each companion has three active skills and one passive, all of which have three different upgrades to unlock too. Any of a companion's active abilities can be assigned to the quick actions on the D-pad while all of them can be found at once on the action radial by pressing LB.

Three of the companions in Avowed also get an environmental interaction command which you can use if you don't have means of performing the interaction yourself. For example, Kai's Firestarter command, which can also be accessed via the action radial, allows him to destroy vines and webs by setting them on fire, but you can do that with a fire spell or weapon.

Avowed envoy talking to Kai in camp

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

When you rest at an Avowed party camp, you can also talk your companions to learn more about them, and they may even offer to teach you something they know, providing a permanent buff to one or two of your Avowed Attributes. And, no, there isn't any Avowed romance with the companions either – sort of.

When you're ready to leave camp, you'll have to assemble your party, which is capped at three – that's you and two other companions – so you'll need to choose who you'll be leaving behind. Remember, that camps act as Avowed fast travel points, so if you want to alter your party, you can easily get to a camp, swap your companions, and then exit from the point you fast travelled from to get back to where you left off with a new party.

With that, here's what you need to know about every companion in Avowed:

Avowed Kai

Avowed companion Kai talking to merchant in harbour

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Kai, the big, burly, blue auamaua fishman is the first companion you recruit and acts as a sort of distraction tank, drawing aggro and stunning enemies to make them easier to bring down. He's great to have in any party thanks to his durability, but he's particularly good for ranged builds and fragile spellcasters.

  • Kai is recruited almost immediately after completing the tutorial section of Avowed during the "Message From Afar" quest in Dawnshore.
  • Abilities:
    • Fire and Ire (Active): Kai fires a powerful blunderbuss shot that deals high Stun to a single enemy and Taunts them for 10 seconds.
    • Unbending Defense (Active): Kai regenerates health and increases his damage reduction by 25%.
    • Leap of Daring (Active): Kai leaps into the aim and crashes into enemies below, Stunning and Taunting all nearby enemies.
    • Second Wind (Passive): When Kai is downed, he revives himself and restores half of his own health.
    • Command: Kai can burn away vines and webs that block pathways.

Avowed Marius

Avowed companion marius talking to envoy

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Mountain dwarf explorer and survivalist Marius is the party ranger. He uses his bow to deal damage from afar and can deploy crowd-control abilities and lethal attacks to assist in combat. He's great to have around if you're playing a more melee-focused build.

  • Marius is recruited during the Dawnshore main quest "An Untimely End" near the beginning of the game.
  • Abilities:
    • Binding Roots (Active): Marius Roots an enemy in place for 8 seconds.
    • Heart Seeker (Active): Marius fires an arrow that can never misses and passes through what it hits.
    • Shadow Step (Active): Marius goes invisible and reappears near an enemy to attack with his dagger, and he repeats this up to three.
    • Wounding Shots (Passive): Marius' attacks apply Bleed Accumulation.
    • Hunter's Sense: Marius marks nearby enemies and loot. He has this extra ability instead of a command.

Avowed Giatta

Avowed Companions Giatta talking to Envoy in camp

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

As an animancer, Giatta is the party's support wizard capable of using spells aimed at buffing allies and debuffing enemies. Naturally, she fits into any party regardless of your build but she's not essential if you're well stocked on consumables that can apply buffs and heal.

  • Giatta is recruited at the end of the main quest "The Animancy Method" which takes place in the second region in Avowed, Emerald Stair.
  • Abilities:
    • Purification (Active): Giatta creates a wave of energy that heals nearby allies for 25% of their maximum health.
    • Barrier (Active): Giatta provides all allies with a Temporary Health shield that lasts for 20 seconds.
    • Acceleration (Active): Giatta boosts the movement and attack speed of all allies for 15 seconds.
    • Reconstruction (Passive): Giatta's attacks heal all allies by a small amount.
    • Command: Giatta can zap switches with shock damage.

Avowed Yatzli

Avowed Companions yatzli talking to envoy in Thirdborn

(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

Ytazli is a scholarly wizard who wields destructive power in combat, though her spells lack elemental power. She's more of a glass cannon companion, so if you want her to succeed, a robust melee build will be ideal.

  • You first meet Yatzli right at the start of the Emerald Stair region, but you can't recruit her to the party until the "Face Your Fears" main quest in Shatterscarp, the third region in Avowed.
  • Abilities:
    • Essence Explosion (Active): Yatzli tosses out an explosive bolt of magic that deals explosive damage and releases Essence.
    • Minoletta's Missile Battery (Active): Yatzli fires a volley of seeking magic projectiles.
    • Arduous Delay of Motion (Passive): Yatzli slows an enemy for 10 seconds.
    • Blast (Passive): Yatzli's regular attacks create a small explosion when they hit an enemy.
    • Command: Yatzli can dispel magical illusions.

The four Avowed companions all offer great benefits and the right combination of them to complement your Avowed build will help you sail through combat encounters. If you want even more buffs, you need to hunt down and assemble totems across the different regions, such as the Avowed Totem of Rightful Rulership and Avowed Totem of Defiance.

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Will Sawyer
Guides Writer

Will Sawyer is a guides writer at GamesRadar+ who works with the rest of the guides team to give readers great information and advice on the best items, how to complete a particular challenge, or where to go in some of the biggest video games. Will joined the GameRadar+ team in August 2021 and has written about service titles, including Fortnite, Destiny 2, and Warzone, as well as some of the biggest releases like Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, and God of War Ragnarok.

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