I think the main reason the spider is so much better is because it is finished as a monster already. I don't recall running into many bears, wolves, or ravens in the wild and just a couple boars.
They absolutely need a balance pass. Bear should be the beefiest with the most HP and probably the most damage too. On the monster manual it has 34 HP, so I am not sure where Larian got the idea to make it so fragile. It should also have the most damage output too as the brown bear has 1D6+4 claws, 1D8+4 bite, and multi-attack.
Meanwhile the giant spider should only have 26HP and its web attack should have some kind of cool down. On tabletop you roll a D6 to see if web recharges or not. This might be an area where just giving it a cooldown is more balanced and less potentially frustrating, as a video game can use cooldowns while DnD typically can't.
The wolf is fine as far as statblock goes but needs Pack Tactics. This is what you brought a wolf for on the tabletop. Weirdly Pack Tactics is already in the game on hyenas, so I dunno why the wolf doesn't have it. It also should have the ability to knock enemies prone with its bite attack if they fail a strength save. Between these two abilities wolf is a very good support pet option.
The boar really just needs its charge to be fixed. Right now it is... Finnicky and often doesn't hit anything, or is easily obstructed.
The raven isn't really a combat companion. It is more of a scouting familiar, so the 1HP isn't a big deal. That said it should be ignored by enemy AI when they see it, allowing it to scout around without drawing aggro. It is just a bird after all.
Beyond all that I also hope we get some more exotic animal options eventually. Things like a giant snake, crocodile, or maybe a giant frog. We need variety. I mean come on, right now you can't even have a panther to make an appropriate Drizzt clone!
Also ALL PETS need to be able to keep up with the party. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten into a fight with my entire sub-class missing because my spider failed to climb up a ladder with us and I just forgot to re-summon.
I also wouldn't mind if we had to only pick ONE pet when we choose Beastmaster. Right now we can summon basically any animal we want which is good for versatility, but it loses the flavor of a nature warden who has bonded with a specific beast. Beastmasters aren't supposed to be summoners. The animal companion is a bonded pet, not a creature you summon from another plane and bind to your service.
Though I guess shifting the flavor to "you can call upon a variety of beasts to serve you" can also work. It just feels... Kind of odd. Not sure why.
Last edited by SaurianDruid; 28/10/20 11:20 PM.
