Path of Exile 2's 0.5 update, Return of the Ancients, introduces the Spirit Walker ascendancy for the Huntress class, and with it, the ability to tame beast-type bosses as permanent companions. This is one of the most exciting additions for summoner and companion-focused players since PoE 2 launched. Alongside the new Runes of Aldur league mechanic, massive crafting overhauls, and several new unique items supporting minion builds, companion builds are receiving more support than ever before.
Updated on June 5, 2026, based on the testing after PoE 2 0.5 launched!
PoE 2 0.5 Best Beast Bosses & Companions To Tame (Return of the Ancients)
Minion and companion builds in Path of Exile 2 have historically struggled with low damage output and clunky gameplay, but the 0.5 patch is delivering sweeping improvements. The developers confirmed in the Q&A that tame beast damage is being tripled, companion nodes on the passive tree are receiving reworks, and a new scepter unique allows players to field any number of companions. The Spirit Walker ascendancy provides Catharsis Blessing (granting companions 60% of your main-hand weapon damage), the Idolatry node (10% increased companion damage per idol in your equipment plus reservation efficiency), and most notably The Natural Order, the ability to tame unique beast bosses. Combined with the new breach crafting branch dedicated to minion modifiers and 160+ new runes arriving through the league mechanic, companion builds have multiple new avenues for scaling damage that didn't exist before. With all of this in mind, here's a look at which beast bosses are worth taming, which companions work best alongside other minion builds, and what modifiers, auras, and support gems you should target.
Best Unique Beast Bosses for Spirit Walker Companion Builds
The Spirit Walker's Natural Order node allows you to tame one unique beast boss at a time. Unique tame beasts receive 30% increased movement speed from the ascendancy and get possessed by a random Azmeri spirit every 20 seconds for additional bonuses. The developers have stated that each boss is manually tuned when converted to a companion, so the raw numbers from their enemy versions won't carry over 1:1. That said, their base stat ratios, skill kits, resistances, and movement tags give us a strong indication of their relative power.
Here we rank all 32+ beast bosses by their life multiplier, damage multiplier, fire resistance, and movement speed. Below is a ranking of the most promising beast bosses from strongest to most situational, based on data points and confirmed playtesting feedback from community testers like GhazzyTV!
1. Mighty Silverfist (The Monkey)
Stats: 250% Life | 463% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Very Fast Movement | 25% Base Crit | +100 Crit Multi | Devastating in Melee Range
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 3, Jungle Ruins (map version: Sakowa the Head Crusher in Rupture and Riverside maps)
Mighty Silverfist sits at the top of every tier list and is acknowledged across the community as the strongest tameable beast in the game. The gorilla swings a massive stone pillar weapon, has very fast movement (the fastest category available), and carries a hidden 25% base crit chance with +100 crit multi according to information shared by GGG developers. The monkey moves fast, hits hard, and is basically everything you ever wished for a companion.
The monkey's default attack has a large built-in cleave radius that covers most of the screen, so you don't even need splash support to feel good. Stack the Extra Crits modifier (300% increased crit chance) and the monkey reaches 100% crit chance immediately, turning him into a guaranteed-crit slap machine. Until a future nerf arrives, every other beast is being compared against this benchmark. The map version, Sakowa the Head Crusher, is the one to farm for rare modifier rolls.
2. Morvak, the Infernal
Stats: 313% Life | 500% Damage | 75% Fire Res | Fast Movement | High Armor | Fire Damage | Highest Damage Multiplier
Damage Type: Physical + Fire (40-100% conversion on various skills)
Location: Canyon (Map Boss)
Morvak is the map-tier version of Vornas, the Fell Flame, and holds the highest damage multiplier of any tameable beast at 500%. He also carries 313% base life, 75% fire resistance, +80% armour, and fast movement. His skill kit converts physical damage to fire across multiple abilities, including flame breath, ground slashes, multi-slam combos with flame waves, and a leap slam for gap closing.
Playtest footage confirms Morvak slaps very hard in a slap-master Will Smith style, but does not always use his abilities frequently, mostly relying on basic attacks. The fire conversion was hard to verify visually but enemies appeared to erupt with fire effects on hit. The high life multiplier plus 75% fire resistance makes him the top choice for Infernal Legion specifically, since the massive HP pool produces huge fire DOT output while the fire resistance dramatically reduces self-damage. Fast movement means he can actually keep up with you during mapping, a problem that plagues most other boss beasts.
3. The Abominable Yeti
Stats: 250% Life | 463% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Fast Movement | All damage contributes to freeze buildup
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Interludes (Act 3) - Glacial Tarn (Howling Caves)
The Abominable Yeti, affectionately nicknamed "Harambe mk2," is functionally a copy of the monkey's tool kit but trades the 25% base crit and 150 crit multi for a modifier where all damage contributes to freeze buildup. Playtesting confirms the Yeti has the same cleave coverage, aggression, and mobility as the monkey, just without the burst crit damage profile.
Pair him with Freezing Mark to capitalize on the freeze buildup modifier. Once the monkey gets the inevitable nerf, the Yeti is likely the next king of hit-based companions thanks to its near-identical move set and screen-wide attack coverage.
4. The Great White One (The Landshark)
Stats: 288% Life | 300% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Fast Movement | Strong AoE | Tail Cleave
Damage Type: Physical Hit (Bleed-Focused)
Location: Act 4, Whakapanu Island
A shark with arms and legs, this beast is the bleed-focused equivalent of the monkey. He carries a 25% chance to inflict bleeding on hit, 200% increased magnitude of bleeding, and 50% movement speed. Playtest results show very consistent performance, although the tornado attack seen during the boss fight unfortunately does not carry over once tamed. The pools of piranhas, slam, and tail attacks remain effective, leaving you with a solid bleed companion.
One quirk: rarely the shark dives underground and stops doing damage. The fix is a quick weapon swap twice to bring him back up. Because minions killing enemies with damage over time effects count as player kills in PoE 2, you can run Herald of Blood for satisfying bleed pops across the screen. Run Bleed support and Deep Cuts for 100% bleed chance and doubled bleed magnitude. The community already calls this the "Street Sharks build."
5. Akthi, the Final Sting
Stats: 200% Life | 250% Damage | 30% Fire Res | Very Fast Movement | Melee | Scorpion Archetype | 10% Base Crit
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Interludes (Kari Crossing in the second interlude)
Akthi is widely regarded as the most consistent high-performing companion outside the monkey. Despite the modest 250% damage on paper, Akthi has 10% base crit, very fast movement, and an impale-stacking modifier that saves a portion of pre-mitigated physical damage on the enemy. When another minion or your attack hits the impaled target, they extract the impale stack and gain bonus damage from it.
The tail slam, while burrowed, deals stupidly high damage. With melee splash (either from the breach belt or a support gem), Akthi has reliable coverage and very consistent uptime. If GGG ever buffs his base damage slightly, he'd be a true monkey alternative.
6. Chetza, the Feathered Plague
Stats: 250% Life | 250% Damage | -30% Fire Res | Very Slow Movement | Massive AoE | Tornado Ability | Flying
Damage Type: Physical/Cold
Location: Trial of Chaos (trial version of Scourge of the Skies)
The tornado bird, one of the most feared bosses in the Trial of Chaos, now available as your companion. The standout ability is the projectile vomit spray which can outright one-shot bosses when it triggers. However, it's on a 30-second cooldown and triggers inconsistently, so single-target performance swings wildly. The corrupted blood on hit also stacks for meaningful damage.
The two major problems: very slow movement speed, often described as waddling like a chicken rather than running, and the inherent -30% fire resistance making him a poor Infernal Legion host. Flying means he won't get stuck on terrain or doorways. Good for AoE and burst boss damage, terrible for keeping up while mapping.
7. Scourge of the Skies
Stats: 288% Life | 250% Damage | -30% Fire Res | Very Slow Movement | Multiple Abilities | Tornado/Rain/Channel | Flying
Damage Type: Physical/Bleed
Location: Act 4, Shrike Island
The Act 4 version of the blood bird, and the original source of the tornado nightmare. This one is both amazing and disgusting in equal measure, summoning the Plagueling (a Silent Hill-like creature) so you effectively get two companions in one. The Plagueling is fast even if the parent Scourge is slow.
Higher life pool than Chetza (288% vs 250%) and the same devastating ability set: tornado, rain of blood, channeling vomit attack. Statistically slightly tankier, which could matter for Infernal Legion or general survivability. Very slow movement remains the drawback.
8. Bahlak, the Sky Seer
Stats: 250% Life | 333% Damage | -30% Fire Res | Slow Movement | Very Large AoE | Tornado Abilities | Flying
Damage Type: Physical/Cold Mixed
Location: Trial of Chaos
Bahlak has a 40-second cooldown tornado form that becomes a mobile damage zone picking up ground effects like a twister. The dash kick attack on a 20-second cooldown is fast with minion attack speed scaling, and the tornado looks visually amazing during play. The downside is the overall damage feels lacking compared to top-tier picks.
The Bahlak also teleports to you when you dash out of range, which is a nice quality-of-life feature. The damage just doesn't scale to monkey-tier output, and slow base movement plus -30% fire resistance keep this off the top tier.
9. Quadrilla Sergeant
Stats: 250% Life | 463% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Fast Movement | Strong AoE | High DMG | Aggressive Melee
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Vaal Ancient Beacon (randomly spawning unique monster)
A Vaal Ancient Beacon variant of the Abominable Yeti with identical offensive stats. Same 463% damage as Silverfist and the Yeti. The issue is availability—this boss spawns randomly in Vaal Ancient Beacon encounters, making it inconsistent to farm. If you find one, it's A-tier at minimum.
10. Vornas, the Fell Flame
Stats: 313% Life | 313% Damage | 75% Fire Res | Fast Movement | Good AoE | Fire-Based | Ranged Abilities
Damage Type: Physical + Fire
Location: Interludes (fire dude at the gate)
The campaign version of Morvak with slightly lower damage but the same fire resistance advantage. 75% fire resistance and 313% life make this the second-best Infernal Legion host after Morvak. If you cannot access Morvak in maps yet, Vornas is your campaign-accessible substitute.
11. The Black Crow
Stats: 250% Life | 375% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Fast Movement | Good AoE | Melee Cleave | Aggressive
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Maps
The map version of the Crowbell with black feathers. At 375% damage with fast movement, the Black Crow sits in a strong middle ground. Its smaller model size is a practical advantage: no doorway issues, no getting stuck on terrain, and better pathing through tight corridors.
12. Xyclucian, the Chimera
Stats: 288% Life | 250% Damage | 30% Fire Res | Slow Movement | Large AoE | Multi-Element | Flying
Damage Type: Fire/Cold/Physical/Poison (Mixed)
Location: Act 3, Chimeral Wetland
Xyclucian is arguably the coolest looking beast boss from the first 3 acts and a solid companion during leveling, although it sometimes feels a bit slow. The ice breath provides crowd control by slowing enemies, and it can attack at both close and long range. The flying tag lets it land on top of enemies you can't otherwise reach.
Playtest results revealed major consistency issues at the endgame: the chimera locks itself into breath animations and frequently targets stragglers far from packs, doing nothing while you're already moving forward. The poison barrage projectile with splash mortar damage is excellent when it actually triggers, but the AI uses it rarely. Visually impressive but mechanically frustrating, with the multi-element damage spread making it nearly impossible to scale through a single element with curses or support gems.
13. Rakkar, the Frozen Talon
Stats: 288% Life | 333% Damage | -30% Fire Res | Slow Movement | Large AoE | Channeling Abilities | Flying
Damage Type: Cold
Location: Interlude, Heart of the Tribe (Glacial Tarn area)
Rakkar is the ice owl/bear creature GGG showcased in their 0.5 reveal footage. Playtest results show surprisingly good damage thanks to a modifier granting 50% of all damage as extra cold. The breath attack and projectile abilities have good coverage, consistent performance, and feel responsive.
The single biggest problem is that he's just not fast enough to compete with top picks despite the consistency. If GGG buffed his movement speed, he would be a serious contender. The -30% fire resistance also rules him out for Infernal Legion.
14. Thraeven, Wing of Winter
Stats: 250% Life | 333% Damage | -30% Fire Res | Slow Movement | Large AoE | Cold Abilities | Flying
Damage Type: Cold
Location: Maps (map version of Rakkar)
Thraeven is the map-accessible version of Rakkar with one statistical difference: 250% life instead of 288%. The advantage over Rakkar is farmability. Maps are repeatable endgame content you'll be running constantly, while the Interlude is a one-time progression zone.
15. Uxmal, the Beastlord
Stats: 288% Life | 250% Damage | 30% Fire Res | Slow Movement | Large AoE | Multi-Element | Flying
Damage Type: Fire/Cold/Physical (Mixed)
Location: Trial of Chaos
The Trial of Chaos version of Xyclucian. Playtest results confirmed the same consistency problems: the leap toward target is effective, but Uxmal frequently locks himself in breath animations targeting one mob while the rest of the pack remains untouched. The poison barrage projectile is his best ability but is used very rarely. The "no regen" flag noted in the spreadsheet could be fatal for Infernal Legion if it carries over to the tamed form.
16. The Sandstrider
Stats: 288% Life | 300% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Fast Movement | Strong AoE | Melee | Shark Archetype
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Maps (map version of Great White One)
The Sandstrider is the Great White One for map farmers with identical stats and moveset. No functional gameplay difference exists. Choose based on which you encounter first and what rare modifiers roll on a specific instance. The map version's repeatability gives it a slight practical edge.
17. Geonor, the Putrid Wolf
Stats: 305% Life | 280% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Melee | High HP Pool
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 1, Ogham Manor
Count Geonor's wolf form, the second-highest life pool of any beast boss. However, the community widely suspects Geonor will not be tameable since he's technically a human who transforms, and the fight ends with him yielding rather than dying.
18. The Crowbell
Stats: 163% Life | 375% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Fast Movement | Good AoE | Melee Cleave | Fast Animations
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 1, Hunting Grounds
A fun pick for early Act 1, the Crowbell carries a bell as its weapon and smashes everything with it, constantly moving from pack to pack. The bell slam main attack takes a few seconds to channel but hits very hard.
Playtest results show it's very effective at applying stun thanks to increased stun buildup, but the auto attacks lack AoE coverage, even with melee splash equipped. Good for stunning, but damage output cannot compete with the top picks, and the 163% life pool makes it fragile in endgame content.
19. Kabala, Constrictor Queen
Stats: 266% Life | 240% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Very Fast Movement | Ranged Attacks | Possible Summons | Curse Application
Damage Type: Physical/Chaos
Location: Act 2, Keph
A ranged snake boss with summoning potential. Very fast movement speed is a major plus for mapping. The 40% increased physical damage taken curse she applies to enemies is useful for party support. Below-average raw damage but the safety of ranged attacks and very fast speed could compensate.
20. Rathbreaker
Stats: 203% Life | 281% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Fast Movement | Small AoE | Melee/Narrow Cone | Fast Animations
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 2, Vastiri Outskirts (Three Out Square)
Rathbreaker is one of the fastest beast bosses you'll find, with a lot of attacks that deal AoE damage and a fast respawn timer if it dies during the campaign. Combined playtest results show it's a solid choice for AoE damage during campaign leveling.
In higher-density endgame content, the random charge attacks cause it to miss packs entirely and the slash projectile inconsistently targets dying enemies. Pretty decent for leveling, falls off in maps.
21. Elzarah, the Cobra Lord
Stats: 288% Life | 313% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Unknown Abilities | Humanoid Type
Damage Type: Physical/Chaos (presumed)
Location: Unknown (Humanoid type with beast flag in database)
A humanoid boss with surprisingly high damage. The humanoid typing raises questions about tameability through the beast-specific Natural Order node. If it works, the stats are competitive with A-tier options.
22. Ekbab, Ancient Steed
Stats: 200% Life | 270% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Large Body | Melee Cleave | Construct Type
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 2, Bone Pit
The skeleton mammoth from Act 2, listed as Construct type but flagged as a beast. The mammoth archetype is already known for Infernal Legion builds due to large hitboxes. If tameable, the large body could be useful for AoE Infernal Legion coverage.
23. Gressor-Kul, the Apex
Stats: 250% Life | 250% Damage | 30% Fire Res | Slow Movement | Multi-Element | Flying | No Move Flag
Damage Type: Fire/Cold/Physical (Mixed)
Location: Maps (map version of Xyclucian)
Statistically weaker than both Xyclucian and Uxmal with 250% life. The concerning "no move" notation suggests this boss may have limited or no voluntary movement AI in its tamed form, potentially making it useless for mapping. Needs immediate testing.
24. Karash, The Dune Dweller
Stats: 250% Life | 250% Damage | 30% Fire Res | Very Fast Movement (base) | No Move Flag | Scorpion Archetype
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Maps (map version of Akthi)
Same scorpion archetype as Akthi with the problematic "no move" flag. A companion that won't follow you provides zero value during mapping. Do not build around Karash unless testing confirms the flag is stripped during taming.
25. Ashar, the Sand Mother
Stats: 250% Life | 250% Damage | 30% Fire Res | Very Fast Movement (base) | No Move Flag | Scorpion Archetype
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 2 (trial version of Akthi)
The trial version of Akthi with the same problematic "no move" notation. Between this and Akthi (which lacks the "no move" flag), Akthi is the clear choice from the scorpion archetype despite its lower life pool.
26. Clawcrunch
Stats: Scorpion archetype, similar to Akthi family
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 4, Whakapanu Island (optional)
A bonus pickup worth grabbing if you're already on Whakapanu Island for the Great White One. Scorpion-like boss with cool visuals. Worth testing alongside the other scorpion variants.
27. Gorian, the Moving Earth
Stats: 313% Life | 250% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Ground-Based | Burrowing Behavior
Damage Type: Physical
Location: Maps
A super-sized Devourer found in maps. The Devourer archetype has a habit of burrowing underground and becoming untargetable, during which it also stops dealing damage. The high life pool helps for Infernal Legion, but the burrowing AI could be a dealbreaker.
28. Unchained Beast
Stats: 250% Life | 275% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Melee | Average Profile
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Vaal Ancient Beacon (randomly spawning unique monster)
A Vaal Ancient Beacon variant with average stats across the board. Random spawn makes it inconsistent to obtain.
29. Anundr, the Sandworm
Stats: 200% Life | 250% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Burrowing Behavior | Ground-Based
Damage Type: Physical
Location: Interludes (Kari Crossing)
Playtest results confirmed the worst fears: Anundr cannot move on his own and barely uses abilities, making him essentially brain-dead as a companion. You have to weapon swap every single time you want to reposition him. The poison focus is decent on paper but the inability to move makes him near-unusable.
30. The Ravenous Fang
Stats: 300% Life | 250% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Melee | No Standout Abilities
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Maps (map version of Blind Beast)
The map-tier version of the Blind Beast with identical stats. The 300% life makes it technically viable for Infernal Legion, but medium movement combined with zero utility makes this one of the most boring options available.
31. The Blind Beast
Stats: 300% Life | 250% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Melee | Small Model | Generic Attacks
Damage Type: Physical Hit
Location: Act 4, Isle of Kin
The Blind Beast looks like a dinosaur with decent (but not the fastest) speed and a channeled slam attack that hits hard against groups of enemies in front of it. Once tamed, it appears as "The Ravenous Fang."
Playtest results revealed the leap attack is broken because the tamed version did not regrow its eyes - it tries to leap toward targets but only does tiny skips that don't reach enemies. Decent attack speed but generic damage. D-tier for anything other than Infernal Legion HP padding.
32. Yama The White
Stats: 263% Life | 338% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Very Slow Movement | Diverse Abilities | Phase-Dependent | Spirit-Themed
Damage Type: Physical/Mixed
Location: Act 4, Hall of the Dead
The spirit monkey from Act 4 with dramatic phase transitions. The 338% damage is strong, but very slow movement and heavy reliance on fight-phase mechanics make this a risky tame. Many of Yama's best moves are tied to specific boss phases that likely will not carry over.
33. Frozen Mandibles
Stats: 250% Life | 250% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Very Fast Movement | Large Mouth | Rare Type with Unique Generation
Damage Type: Cold/Physical
Location: Interludes
A rare beast with unique generation typing. May not be tameable through Natural Order at launch.
34. The Rain Festival Beetle
Stats: 150% Life | 227% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Slow Movement | Summons Adds | Low Stats
Damage Type: Physical
Location: Maps (strongbox boss)
A strongbox boss with add-summoning behavior. Very low life and below-average damage. One of the weakest options.
35. The Noxious Behemoth
Stats: 150% Life | 150% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Very Slow Movement | Chaos Laser | Currently Tame-Disabled
Damage Type: Chaos
Location: Act 3
Attempts to trap this boss confirmed the database notes: the Tame Beast skill simply will not cast on it. Currently tame-disabled.
36. The Devourer
Stats: 115% Life | 220% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Medium Movement | Burrowing | Projectile Attack | Low AoE
Damage Type: Physical/Poison
Location: Act 1, Mud Burrow
The first beast boss you encounter in the game. The toxic poison damage is good and the visual design is awesome, but its main problem is fixed positioning - once it emerges, it stays put. You have to lure enemies to its location.
Playtest results confirmed the brutal reality: the Devourer cannot move on its own (it has "can't be knocked back" plus 200% more magnitude of poison) and you must weapon swap every time you want to reposition him. With Poison support, Bond of the Viper, and Escalating Poison, you can get him to apply poison stacks, but the cap of poison stacks limits the build. Note from community feedback: snake bite gloves, the Stacking Toxins passive, Building Toxins, and the Thrana idol can push poison stack count higher than 2 for additional scaling.
37. The Rotten Druid
Stats: 150% Life | 200% Damage | 0% Fire Res | Very Slow Movement | Unknown Abilities
Damage Type: Chaos/Physical (presumed)
Location: Act 1
The fungus boss from Act 1, possibly not tameable. Very slow, very low stats, and questionable beast classification.
Best Unique Beast Bosses To Tame for Different Purposes
Best for Infernal Legion (ranked by Life × Fire Res)
Morvak – 313% Life, 75% Fire Res, fast_movement (clear winner)
Vornas – 313% Life, 75% Fire Res, fast_movement
Gorian, the Moving Earth – 313% Life, 0% Fire Res, medium_movement
Geonor – 305% Life, 0% Fire Res, medium_movement
The Blind Beast / The Ravenous Fang – 300% Life, 0% Fire Res, medium_movement
Best for Hit-Based Builds (ranked by Damage × Speed)
Mighty Silverfist – 463% Damage, very_fast_movement, 25% base crit
Morvak – 500% Damage, fast_movement
The Abominable Yeti – 463% Damage, fast_movement (freeze buildup)
Quadrilla Sergeant – 463% Damage, fast_movement
The Black Crow – 375% Damage, fast_movement
Best Mapping Speed (ranked by movement)
Mighty Silverfist – very_fast_movement, 463% Damage
Kabala, Constrictor Queen – very_fast_movement, 240% Damage
Morvak – fast_movement, 500% Damage
The Abominable Yeti – fast_movement, 463% Damage
The Black Crow – fast_movement, 375% Damage
Special Unique Beasts Worth Testing
Ekbab, Ancient Steed (Construct type) – 200% Life, 270% Damage, medium_movement. Has a "beast" flag in poe2db despite being categorized as Construct. Worth testing on day one.
Elzarah, the Cobra Lord (Humanoid type) – 288% Life, 313% Damage, medium_movement. Community-suggested addition despite humanoid classification.
Frozen Mandibles – 250% Life, 250% Damage, very_fast_movement. Currently tagged as Rare but has "GenerationType: Unique." May become tameable in 0.5.
Best Beast Companions To Tame for Other Minion Builds
Not every player running companions will be a Spirit Walker focused purely on boss beasts. For spectre builds, Infernal Legion builds, or hybrid setups, regular tame beasts with the right rare modifiers provide enormous value through their passive aura effects and damage contributions.
Elephant Tortoise
Remains the gold standard for non-boss Infernal Legion companions. Its 350% life multiplier as a base beast type exceeds many boss beasts when unique monster multipliers are stripped away. Its death-action flag and large model provide excellent area coverage for IL. Community testing by Previlein confirms that a Tortoise Elephant has roughly 12% higher HP than a tamed Morvak when you account for how boss multipliers are removed during taming.
Crested Behemoth
Another high-HP beast option. With investment, it can reach over 100K HP in the current patch, producing substantial IL DOT. Strong for players who haven't unlocked boss taming yet.
Drudge Osseodon
Pairs with the Lost-Men Subjugator spectre for a documented synergy combo. The companion draws aggro while the Subjugator applies debuffs. One of the few companion + spectre interactions with proven results.
Flying Beasts (Gargantuan Wasp, Vile Vulture)
For builds needing companions that keep pace and never get stuck on geometry, any flying-tagged beast works. They path more aggressively toward enemies and don't block doorways.
Bogfelled Commoner (Spectre Alternative)
Worth mentioning for context: Previlein's testing shows Bogfelled Commoner Spectres already perform on par with a 1-mod Elephant Tortoise for single-target Infernal Legion damage. Boss beasts need to outperform this benchmark to be worth the Spirit Walker investment.
Tame Beast Best Modifiers
Tamed companions retain up to four monster modifiers from their rare versions. Getting the right combination requires resetting zones repeatedly until the desired mods appear, a tedious but rewarding process. Unique boss beasts cannot receive rare modifiers, but your non-boss companions can stack these effects for the whole team.
Offensive Modifiers
Extra Crits / Powerful Crits - The single best modifier for high-base-crit beasts like Mighty Silverfist (25% base crit). It grants 300% increased crit strike chance, which on the monkey produces a guaranteed 100% crit chance immediately. Combined with the monkey's base +100 crit multi, this turns him into a constant crit machine.
AoE Mod / Extra Range - The most impactful modifier for Infernal Legion builds. Expands the DOT radius from a small circle to clearing entire packs in one pass. A beast with the AoE mod alone is enough for comfortable mapping without needing oil grenade tech.
Gains X% of Physical Damage as Extra Fire/Lightning/Cold - Stacking two of these on a 4-mod rare gives 80% damage as extra burn for IL. The optimal damage setup for companions not using AoE.
Gain Damage Mods - Flat increases to companion DPS. Straightforward and always useful for hit-based beasts.
Enraged / Periodically Enrages - High-priority modifier, on par with Haste for hit-based builds. Provides periodic damage bursts.
Shocking Ground - Forces enemies to take increased damage from all sources. Layers with other companions' attacks and your own skills.
Cold Exposure - Reduces enemy cold resistance for the whole party.
Soul Eater - If available on companion rolls, provides stacking damage and attack speed as enemies die.
Defensive/Utility Modifiers
Temporal Bubble - Slows nearby enemies, reducing incoming pressure from packs. Extremely strong in boss fights where dodging is life or death.
Haste Aura - 20% attack/cast speed + 10% movement speed for all nearby allies including you. The single most popular choice.
Energy Shield Aura - 20% of life as ES for nearby allies. Adds a meaningful defensive layer to your character.
Shroud Walker - Causes the companion to teleport onto enemies, helping with clearing in maps and giving a meme-tier mobility option for the monkey since phasing is not a possible mod.
Extra Life - Direct HP increase for IL scaling or survivability with Loyalty Support.
Modifiers to Avoid
Burrowing / Phase behaviors - If a modifier causes the companion to become untargetable, it also stops dealing damage
Proximity Shield - Does not help a companion and can interfere with your own ranged attacks
The Farming Problem
A major caveat: getting an ideal combination of 3-4 mods on a single companion requires extreme patience. Multiple community members report spending hours resetting zones for just two desired mods. Certain combinations (Haste Aura + AoE + damage mod) may take dozens of attempts. The community hopes the new Atlas system in 0.5 provides methods to add modifiers to beasts more reliably.
How To Tame Unique Beasts with 3+ Modifiers
Until 0.5, unique tame beasts could not roll rare monster modifiers at all. The new Atlas tablet system changes that completely. The trick is layering three specific tablets together so the boss spawn carries multiple rare mods.
Step 1: Find the map that contains your target boss. For Mighty Silverfist, the map version is called Sakowa the Head Crusher, who appears in Rupture and Riverside maps. Open your Atlas search bar, type the map name, and confirm you have access to it.
Step 2: Set up the three tablet slots in your Atlas node.
The first slot needs a magic waystone placed to open it.
The second slot opens when you put a rare tablet in there.
The third slot requires a waystone with six modifiers, which means alching the waystone and then spamming Exalted Orbs on it. The downside is six-modifier waystones grant zero revives in the map.
Step 3: Socket either the Cruel Hegemony tablet (which states "Map bosses have one additional modifier") or a combination of rare/magic tablets with the line "Unique bonuses have an additional rare modifier." Three of those layered together produces a boss with three additional rare modifiers. Since tame beasts can hold up to four modifiers, you still have room for one bonus mod.
Step 4 (Optional advanced trick): Run the Yedo Spike Craft chain quest on the unique Atlas. The reward node, Partial Translations, gives a 20% chance per map opened for double effect of explicit modifiers on tablets. If this rolls and applies to your unique-modifier tablets, you can spawn a unique boss with five or even six rare mods (though the tame beast itself only retains four).
Step 5: Run the map carefully. With six modifiers and zero revives, you only get one shot. The safest workflow is to push to the boss room, immediately tame the boss using the Tame Beast skill, then inspect the modifiers afterwards. If you die before taming, you lose a use of your tablets.
Easier alternative for testing: If you only want three mods instead of four, skip the six-modifier waystone and use a rare 4-mod waystone instead. This grants two revives. Community testing revealed that if you walk into the boss room with all your minions and supports disabled (so you cannot accidentally kill the boss), check the modifiers, and the rolls are bad, you can intentionally die. You respawn at the checkpoint outside the boss room and the boss modifiers reset on the next entry. This lets you re-roll the boss modifiers multiple times per tablet usage.
How To Get Rare Mods on Unique Tame
Once you have the tablet setup running, you also need to manage your Tame Beast support gem links carefully so you don't waste sockets on bad rolls.
Keep a second cheaper Tame Beast on standby. Have one lower-level 5-link version sitting in your inventory or stash. When you go hunting for a new modifier roll, you swap to this cheap version so your fully invested 6-link is not at risk.
Use the disenchant vendor recipe to recover invested gems. If you tame a new boss with bad mods, take your existing high-quality 6-link Tame Beast to the vendor and use the disenchant option. This strips the bound monster but keeps the gem's quality, level, and socket setup intact. You get a blank Tame Beast back, ready to recapture a new target with all your investment preserved.
The exact workflow:
Disenchant your invested 6-link Tame Beast at the vendor (keeps quality/level/sockets, removes the monster).
Take 4-5 of your support links and pop them onto your spare lower-level Tame Beast.
Run the map with the tablet setup.
At the boss, use the spare Tame Beast to capture the modded boss.
Check the rolls. If they include Extra Crits, Enraged, Haste, or Soul Eater, transfer your invested 6-link gems back onto this monster.
If the rolls are bad, repeat the process.
Priority modifier list for the monkey specifically:
Extra Crits / Powerful Crits - 300% increased crit chance, immediately reaches 100% crit cap on the 25% base crit monkey.
Enraged / Periodically Enrages - Tied for second with Haste, provides damage bursts.
Haste - 20% attack and cast speed plus 10% movement to nearby allies.
Soul Eater - Stacking damage and speed on kill, if available.
Extra Damage as Element - Chaos preferred, then fire/lightning/cold.
Shroud Walker - Mostly a meme but lets the monkey teleport onto enemies for clearing.
Cost expectations: Cruel Hegemony tablets with five uses are selling for around one Divine each. "Unique bonuses have an additional rare modifier" tablets are going for two to three Divines each. Pay attention to uses remaining when buying. Stock up on a batch before starting your hunting session because you will burn through them quickly.
Tame Beast Best Auras
Monster aura modifiers are among the most powerful reasons to bring multiple non-boss companions, as their effects apply to you, your other minions, and each other. Stacking several companions with different auras creates compounding benefits.
Haste Aura
Grants 20% increased attack and cast speed plus 10% movement speed to all nearby allies, including your character. This makes your entire build feel smoother—faster movement skill usage, quicker debuff application, better dodge roll responsiveness. The go-to choice for any companion slot.
Energy Shield Aura
Grants 20% of life as energy shield to all nearby allies. For builds running hybrid life/ES or simply wanting a damage buffer, this adds survivability to everyone in range. Particularly strong when stacked with other defensive layers.
Damage Auras
Various monster aura mods grant flat damage, increased damage, or elemental penetration to nearby allies. Multiple companions with different damage auras multiply each other's effectiveness.
Resistances/Defensive Auras
Some rare mods provide resistance auras or damage reduction. While less flashy than offense, these free up gear affixes that would otherwise need to cap resistances—effectively giving you more room for damage stats on equipment.
Companion-Carried Auras (from Monster Mods)
Haste Aura - The gold standard. Attack speed, cast speed, and movement speed for you and all minions.
Energy Shield Aura - Grants ES based on life. Very strong for survivability on you and other companions.
Rallying Cry - Increases damage of nearby allies. Stacks well with multiple companions.
Player-Run Auras That Support Companions
Blasphemy + Temporal Chains - Combined with the Raven's Flock grueling madness or maim, this creates extreme slow stacking on enemies
Vulnerability / Flammability - Depending on your companion's primary damage type, cursing enemies amplifies their output
Determination / Grace - Does not directly buff companions, but keeps you alive so your companions stay summoned
Azmeri Spirit Rotation
The Natural Order node causes tamed beast bosses to be possessed by a random Azmeri spirit every 20 seconds. Each spirit provides a different buff:
Some grant increased damage
Some grant life or defensive bonuses
Some grant AoE effects
The random rotation means you cannot rely on a specific Azmeri spirit being active at any given time, which community members flagged as a potential frustration. Plan around base performance, not peak spirit buffs.
Tame Beast Best Support Gems
Support gems socketed into your Tame Beast or companion skill gem slots determine how your companion deals damage and what additional effects it provides.
For Infernal Legion Builds
Infernal Legion - The most popular and powerful choice. Deals a percentage of the companion's maximum life as fire DOT to nearby enemies while burning the companion itself. High-HP beasts like Morvak (75% fire res reduces self-damage dramatically) or Elephant Tortoises become walking zones of death. Scales with minion damage, fire damage over time multiplier, and the companion's raw life pool.
Minion Life Support - More life means more Infernal Legion damage and more survivability.
Loyalty Support - Redirects a percentage of damage taken from you to your companion. At 30% with the unique helm and tree investment, this effectively makes your companion a damage sponge.
Burning Damage Support - Scales the Infernal Legion burn if it's classified as burning damage in the support interaction.
For Hit-Based / Attack Builds
Minion Damage Support - Straightforward damage increase to all companion attacks.
Melee Physical Damage Support - If your companion is melee (Silverfist, Crowbell, etc.), this provides a large damage multiplier.
Added Fire / Added Cold - Adds flat elemental damage that scales with the companion's attack speed.
Increased AoE Support - Expands the hit radius of slam and cleave abilities, improving clear speed.
For Ranged / Caster Companions
Spell Damage Support - If the companion uses spell-like abilities (Chetza's tornado, Bahlak's ranged attacks).
Projectile Damage Support - For companions with projectile-based auto attacks (Kabala, some worm variants).
Greater Multiple Projectiles - If the companion fires projectiles, GMP multiplies clearing potential.
Universal Supports
Feeding Frenzy (if available) - Increases companion aggression, causing them to seek out and attack enemies proactively rather than waiting.
Minion Speed - Addresses the single biggest QoL issue with companion builds: slow companions falling behind during mapping.
Pick your beast. Build around its strengths. And if all else fails, at least you'll have a giant monkey smashing things next to you while you figure out the rest.
