Online:Companions

This article is about NPC followers. For the faction, see Companions (faction). For quest-related followers, see Followers.

Azandar and Sharp-as-Night

Tanlorin and Zerith-var

Companions is a system introduced with the Blackwood Chapter and expanded with the High Isle and Necrom Chapters. Companion NPCs fight alongside you everywhere except PvP and Solo Arenas. You can build a relationship with them to unlock their questline. Fighting alongside your Companion will improve their effectiveness and taking actions they approve of will allow you to build rapport. As you earn their trust and strengthen your bonds of fellowship, your Companion may share personal quests with you. You may also give them Companion-specific gear and customize them in a wide variety of ways, including setting their abilities, mounts, costumes, outfits and more.

Acquisition and Activation

If you have access to the respective chapter or DLC (except if you only have access due to an ESO Plus free trial), you can meet a Companion during the first quest of their questline. Once the first quest is completed, that Companion collectible will be added to your account, but may only be summoned when logged in as a character who has completed the quest - other characters attempting to use the collectible will be given the quest instead.

Companion		Gender	Class	Race	Racial Skill	Acquisition	Recruitment Quest	Companion Perk (and Keepsake effect)
	Bastian Hallix	Male	Dragonknight	Imperial	Tough: Increases Max Health by 3% and damage done by 3%.	Blackwood	Competition and Contracts	Bastian's Insight: Potions looted from monsters have a 30% chance to be improved by Bastian's Insight.
	Mirri Elendis	Female	Nightblade	Dark Elf	Dynamic: Increases damage done by 3% and healing done by 3%.		Shattered and Scattered	Mirri's Expertise: Treasure chests found through treasure maps and in the Overland have a 30% chance to provide additional loot from hidden compartments.
	Ember	Female	Sorcerer	Khajiit	Cunning: Increases Critical Chance by 3% and damage done by 3%.	High Isle	Tower Full of Trouble	Ember's Intuition: When pickpocketing, bestows a chance to acquire hidden wallets your mark hoped to keep secure. Hidden wallets may contain additional gold.
	Isobel Veloise	Female	Templar	Breton	Enchanted: Decreases ability cooldowns by 3% and damage taken by 3%.		Tournament of the Heart	Isobel's Grace: Bestows a chance, after defeating a world boss, to recover the pack of a slain knight. Packs may contain additional loot.
	Azandar al-Cybiades	Male	Arcanist	Redguard	Son of Kozanset: Increases Max Health by 3% and decreases ability cooldowns by 3%.	Necrom	The Fateweaver Key	Azandar's Inquisitiveness: When searching containers, bestows a chance to discover research portfolios. Portfolios can contain crafting recipes, treasure maps, research notes, survey reports, and other documents of value.
	Sharp-as-Night	Male	Warden	Argonian	Survivalist: Increases Physical and Spell Resistance by 3% and healing done by 3%.		The Double Edge	Sharp's Patience: Fish bite at an increased rate and have a higher chance of being trophy fish. Note that this does not reduce your chance to hook special items.
	Tanlorin	None	Dragonknight (with Soul Magic)	High Elf	Spirited: Decreases damage taken by 3% and increases damage done by 3%.	Crown Store	The Garland Ring	Tanlorin’s Finesse: When lockpicking, bestows an increased time to pick a lock, an increased chance to force a lock, and a reduced chance to break a lockpick.
	Zerith-var	Male	Necromancer	Khajiit	Third Moon's Chosen: Decreases ability cooldowns by 3% and increases Health by 3%.		A Moonlit Shadow	Zerith’s Guidance: Ja'kh uses his keen eyes to point out heavy sacks.

A player may have only one Companion or Assistant active at a time; summoning a Companion will also unsummon any active Assistant and vice versa. Summoning a Companion takes several seconds for them to appear, during which no other Companion or Assistant may be summoned.

Restrictions and Limitations

In population-limited instances such as dungeons, group arenas and trials, each Companion present counts toward the population cap as if they were a player.

Players will always take priority and Companions will be auto-dismissed as players zone in. Companions cannot be summoned in PvP areas, solo arenas or in housing instances. They also cannot be summoned while if the summoning character has not yet completed the associated introductory quest, even if the collectible has been unlocked by another character.

Companions cannot normally be summoned while you are in combat, but if you summon a non-Companion assistant (such as a banker or merchant), they will replace your current Companion, and when you put the assistant away, the Companion will return, even if you are in combat. Note that this can happen even if your Companion falls in battle, and this can be a quick way to get them back without having to resurrect them as normal. However, it is subject to a rare bug. You may not use this method to switch to a different Companion in combat.

If the relationship between the character and Companion deteriorates into very low rapport states, the Companion may voluntarily unsummon themselves and be unavailable to the associated character for a time.

Companion visibility may also be briefly suppressed in some situations where they are unable to navigate to your character, such as while swimming.

Interaction and Customization

To engage with your Companion, simply initiate dialogue with them and select the Companion Menu dialogue option. This menu provides you with detailed information regarding the status of the Companion, as well as tools for adjusting the Companion's combat behavior and visual customization.

Beyond the Companion Menu, dialogue with your Companion is also a way to get to know them better and their responses will vary based on rapport, quest status, and other factors. The overview section of the Companion character tab provides a summary of Companion information including level, slotted abilities, rapport status, Companion perk details and outfit application status.

Combat

Selecting the equipment option of the Companion character tab displays any Companion equipment in your inventory which can be equipped on your Companion via the display on the left.

The skills tab of the Companion menu provides a list of available skill lines and associated abilities which may be slotted into the Companion's active ability bar. These abilities may have usage restrictions such as requiring a specific weapon type is equipped.

Companions attempt to use their abilities in priority order from left to right, if they have a valid target and meet any associated requirements of the ability. Companion abilities utilize a cooldown system to determine frequency of usage, with various Companion abilities having an array of cooldown times.

Companions have a large pool of abilities available to them, which are thematically similar to abilities you may recognize from various skill lines. These abilities provide the opportunity to customize the Companion's combat role including tanking, healing, damage, and any hybridization desired to perfectly complement their player's ability configuration.

Cosmetic

Companions can be customized using many of your own cosmetic collectibles. This includes mounts, costumes and outfits. Companions have a default mount which they will utilize when you mount up, but this can be overridden through the Companion menu in the Collectibles tab.

Unlocked costumes may be applied through the Collectibles tab as well, with any associated applied dyes being shared across your character and Companion's appearance per costume. Visiting an outfit station allows you to configure a dedicated outfit slot, with each Companion having a dedicated slot per account. This outfit can be activated through the overview screen of the Companion UI.

Note that a Companion's head armor is automatically hidden at all times and will not be displayed regardless of equipment or cosmetic override settings. Additionally, a small subset of mount, costume and outfit collectibles may not be usable by the Companion based on gender, race, or other restrictions.

Progression

With the exception of quests and rapport, which collectively represents the relationship between each character and the Companion, all Companion progress is account-wide.

Combat Level

Companions are level 1 when unlocked, with a limited set of ability bar slots and a maximum potential level of 20. Companions level up via a percentage (15% + Rapport Bonus), rounded up, of non-Enlightenment experience gained with your character directly from combat.

Experience increasing effects such as holiday bonuses and consumable boosters applied to your character will provide an indirect benefit to the Companion as well.

As Companions gain combat levels, their health and overall power (which affects weapon and spell damage) increases automatically, additional ability bar slots unlock, and more class abilities become available. This includes an Ultimate slot and ability, which unlock at combat level 20.

Skill Lines

Companions have access to several skill lines, each with associated abilities. Most Companion skill lines have 3 active abilities which can be acquired through leveling up of that skill line.

Companion class skills resemble those of certain player classes (Dragonknight for Bastian, Nightblade for Mirri, Sorcerer for Ember, Templar for Isobel, Arcanist for Azandar, Warden for Sharp), but organized into separate skill lines suiting damage, tanking and healing. Companion armor skills are likewise broken down into light armor for healing, medium armor for damage, or heavy armor for tanking; this means that a Companion who primarily uses spell damage attacks might be better equipped with medium armor, in contrast to player characters for whom light armor is optimal for spell damage.

Companion abilities do not require skill points to unlock and do not rank up or morph over time.

Each Companion unlocks with some progress in skill lines based on their background, as well as with multiple combat abilities pre-slotted so they are immediately combat ready. These may be changed as desired.

Class Skill Lines

Class Skill lines all increase at the same rate as each other, and similar to the combat level of the Companion. Unlike player character class skill lines, slotting skill(s) from a line does not impact on the rate at which it levels.

Bastian Hallix	Mirri Elendis	Ember	Isobel Veloise	Azandar al-Cybiades	Sharp-as-Night	Tanlorin	Zerith-var
Ardent Warrior Draconic Armor Radiating Heart	Deadly Assassin Living Shade Soul Thief	Lightning Caller Mischievous Caster Playful Schemer	Blazing Might Brilliant Shield Healing Grace	Quill Knight Revitalizing Researcher Scholar of Apocrypha	Beasts of the Hunt Verdant Growth Winter's Bite	Draconic Armor Empathic Fighter Radiating Heart	Guardian's Commitment Remedy of Atonement Warrior's Banishment

Weapon Skill Lines

Weapon skill lines increase through combat experience based on the equipped weapon(s).

Two Handed One Hand and Shield Dual Wield

Bow Destruction Staff Restoration Staff

Armor Skill Lines

Armor skill lines increase through combat experience based on the equipped weight of the armor on the Companion. Unlike player armor skill lines, an armor skill level will only increase if 5 or more armor pieces of that weight are equipped, meaning only one armor skill can be levelled at a time.

• Light Armor
• Medium Armor
• Heavy Armor

Guild Skill Lines

Guild skill lines (Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, and Undaunted) increase through completing specific solo daily quests associated with the guild, for the active Companion. Each solo daily quest is worth 100 experience each, and each level requires 100 experience to level. Guild levels have a max of 10. Note: The Thieves Guild and the Dark Brotherhood are not skill lines available to Companions.

• Fighters Guild
• Mages Guild
• Undaunted

Racial Skill Lines

Racial skill lines do not include active abilities and are immediately applied based on the race of the Companion.

XP Tables

Combat Level / Class Level Experience 1 0 2 500 3 1,500 4 3,500 5 7,000 6 12,500 7 19,500 8 27,500 9 36,100 10 45,200 11 54,600 12 64,300 13 74,300 14 84,500 15 94,900 16 105,400 17 116,000 18 126,700 19 137,500 20 148,500

Weapon / Armor Level Experience 1 0 2 250 3 750 4 1,750 5 3,500 6 6,250 7 9,750 8 13,750 9 18,050 10 22,600 11 27,300 12 32,150 13 37,150 14 42,250 15 47,450 16 52,700 17 58,000 18 63,350 19 68,750 20 74,250

Rapport

All Companions have strong personal preferences, which you can learn about through dialogue and experimentation in the world. Based on your actions in the world, while a Companion is active to observe them, their opinion of you may be raised or lowered. Rapport adjustments are displayed in real time in the loot stream, and most actions that affect rapport have limitations on how often they can be triggered. Rapport is character-based and can vary from one of your characters to another. Some Companion quests are locked until a specific rapport level has been reached on that character.

As rapport increases or falls, various thresholds will be met, with corresponding changes in the Companion's dialogue with you. The numeric value of a Companion's rapport is usually hidden from the player, but can be inferred from the rapport status in the overview window of the Companion UI, and its exact value can be exposed by certain add-ons on PC or Mac.

• Or you can type "/script d(GetActiveCompanionRapport())" in the chat window.

Minimum	Maximum	Status	Description
-5000	-4000	Disdainful	Companion feels nothing but contempt for you.
-3999	-2500	Irritated	Companion strongly dislikes you.
-2499	749	Wary	Companion tolerates you.
750	999	Cordial	Companion counts you as a friendly acquaintance.
1000	1999	Friendly	Companion respects you as an ally. (5% companion experience bonus)
2000	2999	Close	Companion greatly admires you (10% companion experience bonus)
3000	3999	Allied	Companion holds you in high esteem. (15% companion experience bonus)
4000	5500 (max)	Companion	Companion regards you as their greatest ally and dearest friend. (20% companion experience bonus)

When you first meet a Companion, they will have a Cordial status with 750 rapport. When Friendly status is reached, the Companion will be inclined to share personal information with you and ask you for your assistance with associated quests. When the lower tier is reached, the Companion may choose to part ways with you for a certain amount of time. Each rapport tier above Cordial provides an additional 5% absolute experience gain. Once a companion has reached max level, and maxed their weapon/armor skill line(s), and you have achieved max rapport with one character, there is no longer any particular benefit to boosting their rapport with other characters, other than to avoid dipping into the negative values where they may not want to help you out anymore.

Mirri Elendis

Ways for Mirri to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that give Positive Rapport
+500	Returning A Mother's Obsession, Dead Weight companion quests	Once each
+125	Returning Dark Anchor contract offered by Cardea Gallus in Fighters Guild	10:00am UTC (6:00am EDT) Reset
+125	Returning Numani-Rasi relics daily in Vvardenfell	10:00am UTC (6:00am EDT) reset
+10	Mirri commenting Clockwork City while visiting it.	Between 24 and 44 hours
+10	Enter certain daedric delves and public dungeons, such as Ashalmawia, Broken Tusk, Mehrunes' Spite, Sanguine's Demesne, The Cave of Trophies and The Grotto of Depravity	30 minutes
+10	Talking to Sotha Sil	(?)
+10 / +1	Taking all loot from a treasure chest	60 minutes / no cooldown
+5	Excavate an Antiquity	5 minutes
+75 / +5	View a completed Khajiit of the Moons	20 hours
+75 / +5	View a completed Library of Vivec	20 hours
+75 / +5	View a completed Kari's Hit List	20 hours
+75 / +5	View a completed House of Orsimer Glories	20 hours
+75 / +5	View a completed Vault of Moawita	20 hours
+75 / +5	View a completed Rithana-di-Renada	20 hours
+1	Kill a goblin	5 minutes
+1	Kill a riekling	5 minutes
+1	Kill a snake. Includes passive snakes, giant snakes and others (cooldown shared across all snake types)	150 seconds
+1	Craft an alcoholic beverage	5 minutes
+1	Reading a book from a shelf	> 30 minutes (?)
+1	Summoning certain Daedric pets such as a Daemon ChickenWhich other ones?	(?)
Actions that give Negative Rapport
-25 / -5	Use the Blade of Woe, including against enemies	5 minutes / no cooldown
-10	Enter the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary	(?)
-1	Harvest a torchbug, butterfly, or honey bee (cooldown shared)	(?)

Bastian Hallix

Ways for Bastian Hallix to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that give Positive Rapport
+500	Complete Things Lost, Things Found and Family Secrets companion quests	Once each
+125	Complete a Mages Guild daily offered by Alvur Baren	0
+10	Visit or pass by a Mages Guild guildhall within Alliance zones	20 hours
+10	Visit Artaeum via portal in Keep of the Eleven Forces, the Grand Psijic Villa, quest specific zone, by stepping one meter away from the wayshrine, or Eyevea (cooldown shared across both)	20 hours
+10	Completing random Encounters that help people such as rescuing merchants from bandits, summoners from Daedra, and travelers during Ambushes. not sure about other encounters	(?)
+5	Scry an Antiquity	5 minutes
+5	Loot a Psijic portal	(?)
+5	Kill a Worm Cultist at the start of a Dark Anchor	5-10 minutes(?)
+5	Kill any Cultist	1 minute
+5	Killing bandits anywhere	1 minute
+5	Read a book	15 minutes
Actions that give Negative Rapport
-25	Murder	(?)
-10	Attacking innocents	(?)
-10	Getting caught stealing or pickpocketing	(?)
-5	Stealing	(?)
-5	Pickpocketing	(?)
-1	Cooking food with cheese	(?)
-1	Attempting to flee from guards	(?)

†Scrying for Gabrielle's Bottle of Proving during The Antiquarian's Art does not increase rapport.

Ember

Ways for Ember to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that give Positive Rapport
+500	Returning Cold Trail, Cold Blood, Old Pain, or Green with Envy companion quests	Once each
+125	Returning Thieves Guild heist with or without the time bonus	Daily
+125	Returning relic retrieving quest offered by Alvur Baren in Mages Guild	Daily
+125	Returning delve quest offered by Wayllod at High Isle	Daily
+25 / +5	Fence a purple-quality stolen item	24 hours
+10 / +1	Win a game of Tales of Tribute	1 hour
+10 / +1	Begin a Black Sacrament	24 hours
+10 / +1	Pickpocket a guard	1 hour
+10	Using clemency	24 hours
+5 / +1	Loot a thieves trove or safebox	1 hour
+5	Using a Counterfeit Pardon Edict	(?)
+5	Returning a Thieves Guild job from a Tip Board	1 hour
+1	Visit outlaws refuges or Thieves Guild	1 hour
+1	Harvest a runestone	5 minutes
+1	Kill a werewolf	5 minutes
+1	Kill a wolf	5 minutes
+1	Summon the Big-Eared Ginger Kitten or Witch's Infernal Familiar pet	24 hours
+1	Sell a purple-quality item to a vendor	(?)
+1	Successfully flee from the guard	(?)
+1	Trespass a restricted area	(?)
Actions that give Negative Rapport
-25 / -5	Pay a bounty to a guard after being caught	1 hour
-10	Get caught committing a crime	5 minutes
-10	Get spotted while trespassing in a restricted area	(?)
-10	Entering The Halls of Colossus	(?)
-5	Pay a bounty to a guard after being caught while the other bounty rapport cooldown is active	(?)
-5 / -1	Start fishing	5 minutes

Isobel Veloise

Ways for Isobel to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that give Positive Rapport
+500	Completing The Lost Symbol, A Mother's Request, The Princess Detective companion quest	Once each
+125	Return a Undaunted daily challenge offered by Bolgrul	Daily
+125	Return High Isle group boss daily offered by Parisse Plouff	Daily
+25 / +5	Visit an Undaunted Enclave	20 hours
+10 / +5 / +1	Talk to an alliance leader (Emeric / Ayrenn / Jorunn)	1 hour
+10	Talk to Lyris Titanborn	1 hour
+10	Complete a volcanic vent	(?)[verification needed — bugged?]
+5	Craft sweet delicacies or fruit dishes	1 hour
+5	Craft an item at a blacksmithing station	1 hour
+5	Kill a world boss	1 hour
+5	Kill a delve boss or group dungeon boss	(?)
+5	Kill a daedric boss	1 hour
+1	Kill a daedra	210 seconds
+1	Use a repair kit	Daily
+1	Accept a duel	(?)
+1	Summoning a dog non-combat petThis doesn't seem to work, including the list below	1 hour
Actions that give Negative Rapport
-10 / -1	Murder	0
-5	Enter the Dark Brotherhood Sanctuary	20 hours
-1	Steal from container or loot a thieves trove	(?)
-1	Enter an Outlaw's Refuge	(?)

† Dog pets include the Alik'r Dune-Hound, Druadach Mountain Dog, Imperial War Mastiff, Bravil Retriever, Jerall Rescue Dog, and Greenhill Farmdog.

Sharp-as-Night

Ways for Sharp-as-Night to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that give Positive Rapport
+500	Returning Between a Rock and a Whetstone, Dim and Distant Pasts, and Light the Way to Freedom companion quests	Once each
+125	Returning Daily Boss quest offered by Ordinator Nelyn in Necrom	Daily
+125	Completing an Ashlander daily quest offered by Huntmaster Sorim-Nakar or Numani-Rasi in Vvardenfell. Only one or the other, not both.	Daily
+10	Obtain monster trophy	10 minutes
+10	Visiting the Hist tree sapling in Ebonheart, Hatching Pools or Haj Uxith.	10 minutes
+10	Talking to M'aiq the Liar	(?)
+5	Eat a meal	1 hour
+5	Craft a poison	1 hour
+5 / +1	Find Treasure Map Chest	No cooldown
+5 / +1	Find Heavy Sack	No cooldown
+5 / +1	Catch a rare fish (green or better)	1 hour / no cooldown
+1	Kill a Ghost	5 minutes
+1	Kill a Fabricant or Dwarven Construct	5 minutes
+1	Repair Gear (Can be done at a merchant as well as repair kit)	Daily
+1	Recharge Weapon with Soul Gem	(?)
+1	Travel via Wayshrine[verification needed — see talk page]	(?)
+1	Using soul gem to resurrect someone	(?)
+1	Go fishing	10 minutes[verification needed — see talk page]
+1	Harvest plant-based material	1 hour
Actions that give Negative Rapport
-10	Pay a Bounty to a guard	(?)
-5	Destroy Item or multiple Items of the same type at once in Inventory worth over 20 gold	>5 minutes
-5	Pickpocket a beggar, laborer, or fisher	(?)
-1	Let your gear break	(?)
-1	Use an outfitting station (Rapport decreases even if the outfit is not changed)	(?)

†This only applies to digging up the chest, not looting it, meaning that you can, after digging it up, switch to Mirri before opening the chest to get her rapport boost as well.

†This also includes Glenmoril Wyrd Treasure Maps, despite there being no physical chest to dig up.

‡This does not apply inside player homes, so if you wish to change his outfit without annoying him, simply set him active before entering a home with an outfitting station.

Azandar al-Cybiades

Ways for Azandar to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that lead to gaining Rapport
+500	Complete Paths Unwalked, Adversarial Adventures, and Tempting Fates companion quests	Once Each
+125	Return Ordinator Tilena, Necrom delve daily	Daily
+125	Return Enchanter Writ daily	Daily
+15	Returning Master Enchanter writ	15 minutes(?)
+15	Collect a Psijic portal	15 minutes(?)
+10	Visit the Brass Fortress, The Hollow City, Fargrave City District (cooldown shared across all) (?)	Daily
+10	Visit any Mundus Stone	Daily(?)
+5	Complete an Oblivion Portal[verification needed — Appears to give +3 heart rapport, not +2]	No cooldown(?)
+5	Interact with any Ayleid Well. Aetherial Wells on Auridon do not count.	1 hour(?)
+5	Read a new mages guild book	1 hour(?)
+5	Upgrade an item	(?)
+5	Acquire a lead	(?)
+5	Scrying	15 minutes(?)
+5	Consume any tea type beverage	1 hour(?)
+5 / +1	Steal treasure type of Magic Curiosities, Maps, Writings, Ritual Objects	(?)
+5(?) / +1	Brew any tea type beverage	1 hour(?)
+5 / +1	Read a lorebook	(?)
+1	Kill a chaurus	15 minutes(?)
+1	Kill a duneripper	15 minutes(?)
+1	Kill a dreugh	15 minutes(?)
+1	Kill a harpy	15 minutes(?)
+1	Kill a mudcrab	15 minutes(?)
+1	Kill a nix-ox	15 minutes(?)
+1	Kill an ogre	15 minutes(?)
+1	Kill a troll	15 minutes(?)
Actions that result in losing Rapport
-10	Visit Artaeum or Eyevea (He's okay with The Scholarium)	15 minutes
-10	Give to a beggar	(?)
-10	Light a Campfire (Lightbringer)	(?)
-5	Consume a beverage with Coffee	(?)
-1	Pick a mushroom	15 minutes(?)
-1	Brew a beverage with Coffee	(?)
-1	Play a game of Tales of Tribute	(?)

Tanlorin

Ways for Tanlorin to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that give Positive Rapport
+500	Returning their companion quests (?)	Once
+125	Returning an Alchemy Writ daily	Daily
+125	Returning Dark Anchor contract offered by Cardea Gallus in Fighters Guild	Daily
+25	Scribe a spell	(?)
+10	Visit a Mundus Stone	(?)
+10	Use a Mystery Transformation Verse in the Infinite Archive	(?)
+10	Use the Persuasive Will passive in dialogue	(?)
+10 / +1	Pickpocket a guard	(?) / no cooldown
+10 / +1	Pickpocket an aristocrat	(?) / no cooldown
+5	Visit Alinor	(?)
+5	Use the Campfire Kit memento	(?)
+5	Use the Glanir's Smoke Bomb memento	(?)
+5	Drink wine	1 hour
+5	Successfully lockpick a container or a door	1 hour
+5	Hide in a basket while trespassing	(?)
+5	Use an Ayleid well	(?)
+5 / +1	Obtain a skyshard	(?)
+5	Gain a skill point from obtaining skyshards	(?)
+5	Use the Antiquarian's Eye at a dig site	1 hour
+5	Obtain a vision in the Infinite Archive	5 minutes
+5 / +1	Harvest a flower	1 hour / no cooldown
+5 / +1	Filling a Soul Gem using Soul Trap Skill	1 hour / no cooldown
+5 / +1	Loot a Scribing script	(?) / no cooldown
+5 / +1	Returning a Witches Festival Writ or Imperial Charity Writ	(?) / no cooldown
+5 / +1	Interact (dance/pet) with an animal	(?) / (?)
+5 / +1	Craft a Furnishing	(?) / no cooldown
+5 / +1	Return a New Life Festival quest	1 hour / no cooldown
+1	Learn a furnishing plan	1 hour
+1	Craft a wine	1 hour
+1	Mount an Indrik	(?)
+1	Trespass	(?)
+1	Successfully run away from a guard	(?)
+1	Kill a hostile daedra	4 minutes
+1	Kill a hostile Maormer	5 minutes
+1	Obtain a verse in the Infinite Archive	no cooldown(?)
+1	Loot a Plunder Skull	(?)
Actions that give Negative Rapport
-10 / -1	Murder	3 hours / no cooldown
-10 / -1	Use the Blade of Woe, including against enemies.	5 minutes / no cooldown
-5	Visit Artaeum	(?)
-1	Loot a Psijic Portal	(?)
-1	Kill a Gryphon, Indrik or Chimera	(?)
-1	Harvest Nirnroot or Crimson Nirnroot	1 hour
-1	Visit a Mages Guild guildhall	1 hour
-1	Read a lorebook	(?)
-1	Steal treasure type of Children's Toys or Dolls	(?)

† You need not enter the guild hall to trigger this - just being in the vicinity of one can trigger it.

Zerith-var

Ways for Zerith-var to lose or gain rapport

Amount	Action	Cooldown
Actions that give Positive Rapport
+500	Completing his companion quests	Once per quest
+125	Complete a Defense Force quest offered by Zahari at Grahtwood Northern Gate	Daily
+125	Complete a Tales of Tribute daily quest	Daily
+25	Complete an Antiquity that has multiple leads, such as a Mythic	(?)
+10 / +1	Complete a Dark Anchor encounter	1 hour
+10 / +1	Killing a Dragon	1 hour
+10 / +1	Completing a Tales of Tribute match	(?)
+10	Kill a Marauder in the Infinite Archive	(?)
+10	Curing yourself of Vampirism	(?)
+10	Drink a Purifying Bloody Mara	(?)
+10	Excavate an Antiquity whose codex is incomplete	(?)
+10	Giving to a beggar	(?)
+10	Healing yourself in combat while below 25%	(?)
+5	Visiting Baandari Trading Post	(?)
+5	Looting a heavy sack	5 hours
+5	Harvesting a water node	1 hour
+5	Defeat Tho'at Replicanum in the Infinite Archive	(?)
5-10	Defeat Aramril in the Infinite Archive	(?)
+1	Kill an undead enemy (Vampire or Skeleton)	3 minutes
+1	Kill a dro-m'Athra	2 minutes
+1	Defeat a boss in the Infinite Archive	(?)
Actions that give Negative Rapport
-25	Infecting another player with Vampirism	(?)
-10	Soultrapping someone with the Soul Trap skill	(?)
-5 / -1	Stealing a medicinal, religious, or sentimental item	(?) / no cooldown
-5	Using a Counterfeit Pardon Edict or Leniency Edict	(?)
-5	Fencing stolen goods	(?)
-5	Drinking a Corrupting Bloody Mara	(?)
-5	Travelling to the Hollow City in Coldharbour	(?)
-5	Speaking to Cadwell	(?)
-1	Getting a bounty	(?)
-1	Selecting the Dro-m'Athra skin	(?)
-1	Murdering an innocent	(?)
-1	Feeding as a vampire, including on hostile NPCs	(?)

±Only applies to one quest per day.

†Negative rapport is not gained if soultrapping is from Soul Lock passive.

Equipment and Sourcing

Companion equipment is distinct from player gear with no overlap between them. Companion gear unlocks with a set of untraited white equipment based on their background.

• Bastian begins wearing Medium Armor and an Inferno Staff.
• Mirri starts off with Light Armor and a Bow.
• Ember starts off with Medium Armor and a Lightning Staff.
• Isobel starts off with Heavy Armor, a Sword and a Shield.
• Azandar starts off with Light Armor and a Restoration Staff.
• Sharp starts off with Medium Armor and two One Handed Axes.
• Zerith-var starts off with Heavy Armor and a Two Handed Sword.
• Tanlorin starts off with Medium Armor and two Daggers.

Companion equipment does not include level, cannot be enchanted, does not require repairs and does not include an inherent style appearance, but instead inherits the style of the Companion it's applied to.

Basic Companion equipment can be purchased from Weaponsmith, Woodworker, Armorer, Leatherworker, and Tailor merchants throughout the world, allowing you to customize your Companion role accordingly.

Fine, superior and epic quality Companion equipment with traits are obtained from monster drops throughout the world, particularly from bosses. This equipment can be traded so it can be bought and sold on the market.

Legendary Companion equipment exists, but so far there has only been one such item, a ring, released as part of a one-time special event.

Equipment above white quality also comes with Companion-centric traits:

• Quickened (Cooldown Reduction)
• Prolific (Ultimate Generation)
• Focused (Critical Strike Chance)
• Shattering (Penetration)
• Aggressive (Damage Done)
• Soothing (Healing Done)
• Augmented (Ability Buff and Debuff Duration)
• Bolstered (Reduce Damage Taken)
• Vigorous (Max Health)

Companion equipment slots are account-wide. If you equip a companion on one character, that companion will be equipped when another character summons them.

Quests and Rewards

In addition to the quest objectives which introduces and unlocks the respective Companions, each Companion has a few associated personal side quests (two each for Bastian and Mirri, three each for Ember, Isobel, Azandar and Sharp) which will become available to you once a sufficient rapport has been established.

Completing the final Companion quest will unlock a houseguest collectible of the Companion, allowing them to be placed and utilized similarly to other houseguest collectibles. Note that the houseguest version will be wearing a unique outfit, rather than whatever outfit or costume you've customized them with.

Completing any Companion side quest will result in a large rapport boost.

Perks and Keepsakes

Each Companion has a unique associated non-combat perk which benefits you while active.

• Mirri's Expertise: Treasure Chests found through Treasure Maps and in the Overland have a 30% chance to provide additional loot from hidden compartments. The treasure from these hidden compartments may contain additional gold, sellables or recipes.
• Bastian's Insight: Potions looted from chests and monsters have a 30% chance to be improved by Bastian's Insight.
• Ember's Intuition: When pickpocketing, bestows a chance to acquire hidden wallets your mark hoped to keep secure. Hidden wallets may contain additional gold.
• Isobel's Grace: Bestows a chance, after defeating a world boss, to recover the pack of a slain knight. Packs may contain additional loot.
• Azandar's Inquisitiveness: When searching containers, bestows a chance to discover research portfolios. Portfolios can contain crafting recipes, treasure maps, research notes, survey reports, and other documents of value.
• Sharp's Patience: Fish bite at an increased rate and have a higher chance of being trophy fish.
• Tanlorin’s Finesse: When lockpicking, bestows an increased time to pick a lock, an increased chance to force a lock, and a reduced chance to break a lockpick.
• Zerith’s Guidance: Ja'kh uses his keen eyes to point out heavy sacks.

By completing meta-achievements associated with each Companion (including completing their personal quests, summoning them at max level, and hitting max rapport,) you can unlock a keepsake collectible for each Companion which provides the benefits of the non-combat perk even while the Companion isn't active. These collectibles are located under the Upgrades section of the Collections menu.

Responsiveness and Miscellaneous Items

Companions can respond to a wide array of situations that occur while adventuring with you, both in and out of combat. While they will always respond to some critical triggers, you can adjust the frequency your Companion will vocally respond by opening the settings menu, selecting gameplay, and adjusting the "Companion Reactions" setting to Minimal, Infrequent, Normal, and Frequent.

Beyond ability and equipment selection, Companions can also be directed in battle in a couple additional ways. While Companions will always attempt to engage in combat to support you, utilizing pet commands allows you to direct the Companion to engage with specific targets or to pull back, respectively.

By default, hold Y and left click on mouse and keyboard, or press L3+R3 along with the left bumper on gamepad will direct them to attack the targeted enemy. They will also attack an enemy if you use a Heavy Attack or Ultimate skill against them.

Hold Y and right click on mouse and keyboard, or press L3+R3 along with the right bumper on gamepad will direct them to hold back and stop attacking anything.

Additionally, Companions will utilize their Ultimate when available and conditions are met by default. However, you can choose to have them wait until directed to utilize it.

The Companion Ultimate Auto Cast setting in gameplay section of the settings menu allows you to set the Companion to wait until they are directed to use their Ultimate by clicking on the new Ultimate icon^{[verification needed — see talk page]} which is present next to your hotkey bar when a Companion is active on keyboard, or pressing Y on the keyboard with no mouse click, or L3+R3 with no bumper input on gamepad.

Companions will also attempt to block incoming heavy attacks, interrupt some abilities and break free from crowd control effects. However, their timing is not always perfect, and they do have a cooldown between uses of these actions.

If a Companion dies in battle, they can be revived using a soul gem, similar to reviving other players. Any Companion who is still defeated at the end of combat will recover within a few seconds of battle concluding.

Buffs to Companions

The following armor sets help amplify your companions:

• Telvanni Efficiency - While you have a living companion, reduce the cooldown of their abilities by 50%.

Bugs

†* Companions may briefly appear naked and without any equipment immediately after being summoned. If this occurs during combat (because they were temporarily replaced by summoning a non-Companion assistant such as a banker or merchant, they may remain naked and weaponless until the end of the fight, making their weapon skills unusable and forcing them to attack only with their fists and other skills. ^?

Notes

• For April Fools' Day 2023, a joke article was published on the ESO website announcing Stuga as an upcoming Companion.

Further Reading

• Companions System Guide — The Basics