Animal Familiars (How to Unlock + When to Use)

Faith of Familiar Spirits

Before you can start bonding with any Animal Familiars, you must first perform the "Faith of Familiar Spirits" at the cauldron. After every run talk to Hecate, who will be standing near her cauldron, and she will give you the ability to cast the required incantation.

Witch's Delight

After preforming the incantation you will gain Witch's Delights, which you can then offer to the Familiars as you encounter them on your journry.

• You'll need to encounter and greet every Familiar once, then offer them a Witch's Delight on or after your 2nd encounter.

Witch's Delight also strengthens Melinoë's bond with Animal Familiars, increases their rank, and improves their effects.

When to Use Frinos

Frinos increase your starting max HP by +40. That's more health that can be healed, and if you have Death Defiances, that high HP adds to the 40% each DD refills. Use Frinos whenever you want better universal survivability and don't need the more specific benefits of the other Familiars.

Compared to Toula, Frinos synergizes "better" with Strength (XXIII) as it's damage reduction and damage buff will instantly be active.

You amphibious ally will also absorb any projectiles that hit him.

For example, in the fight against Hecate, you can position Frinos between yourself and Hecate to absorb her Morph ball. This is especially useful with Vow of Frenzy and/or Vow of Rivals because it becomes extremely difficult to dodge the Morph projectile.

• High Fear Tip: In the Vow of Rivals fight against the Guardian of the Fields, if the spit fireballs hit Frinos they will instantly explode. The AoE and damage is ridiculously huge, so it'll likely cost you a Death Defiance if you're not careful.

Where to Find Frinos

Frinos is the first Familiar you meet at your spawn point in the Crossroads. Confide in him whenever you have a Witch's delight and you'll see him also appear in the training grounds where you select your loadout.

Frinos Resource Gathering Perks

Frinos will help you farm Psyche faster because he makes Lost Shades appear more often. Once upgraded, Frinos will also calm the Lost Shades and allow you to skip the minigame interaction.

Abilities

• While together, gain +10 Health.
• While together, you are +10% more likely to find Lost Shades.

Bond Effects

• Soul Bond: While together, you are +13%/+16%/+19% more likely to find Lost Shades.

When to Use Toula

Toula grants one unique Death Defiance that restores a set amount of health. This DD can also be refilled and replaced by Renewed Faith, Echo's Survive Survive Survive, and Charon's Shop DD refills. In theory, you can get 3+ DD uses out of her single DD in one night if it gets refilled multiple times.

Don't let Toula sleep, because her claw damage is actually very useful in clearing standard encounters.

If you're using Death (XII), you should always bring Toula with you, except in niche exceptions or if you need Magick from Hecuba.

Where to Find Toula

Toula can be found in Rift of Thessaly on the Surface Route. She'll be on the far left of the dock, immediately after the Fountain room and before you get on the boats.

Toula Resource Gathering Perks

Toula will help you farm Bones because she increases odds of fishing points appearing. Afteryou catch the fish, you can exchange them with the Broker for Bones. Once upgraded, Toula will catch the fish and allow you to skip the minigame interaction.

Abilities

• While together, you are +10% more likely to find Fishing Points.

Bond Effects

• Sense Bond: While together, you are +20%/+25%/30% more likely to find Fishing Points.

When to Use Hecuba

Hecuba is mainly taken when you're planning a build that centers around Omega Move usage. Not only does she increase starting max Magick, but she'll also dig up 100 Magick once per encounter.

Starting a run with +60 Magick, plus the refill, makes clearing through the first Regions significantly easier. Magick is a major limiting factor early in a run as Weapons like Aspect of Momus or Aspect of Supay are very weak when you run out of Magick.

Listen for Hecuba's "Bark" and try to hit the stunned enemies with some big Omega moves.

Where to Find Hecuba

You'll meet Hecuba in Echo's chamber in the Fields of Mourning. She'll be waiting near the exit doors.

Hecuba Resource Gathering Perks

Hecuba will help you find more seeds to grow greeneries with. She'll also occasionally dig up +10 healing.

Abilities

• While together, you are +10% more likely to find Digging Spots.

Bond Effects

• Earth Bond: While together, you are +13%/+16%/+19% more likely to find Digging Spots.

When to Use Raki

Raki is the Familiar of pure offense. Bring them with you when you want to clear encounters are quickly as possible and are confident in your ability to stay alive and evade damage.

We don't recommend using Raki very often until you've max ranked his Blood Bond to increase the base 1% crit chance up to 4%. A mere 1% of crit damage is not something you're going to notice in your runs.

Raki's pecks also leaves his targets Marked, which then grants a +15% chance to take Critical damage from 1 hit for 6 seconds.

Speedrunners often choose Raki for this very reason. When every second counts, Raki flies high above the rest.

Where to Find Raki

You'll meet Raki only in the mid-fountain chamber in Erebus. This fountain chamber only appears by chance, so be sure to save some Witch's Delight on you on the occasion when you do.

Raki Resource Gathering Perks

Raki will help you farm Outcroppings which are the metals needed for crafting weapons and incantations.

• While together, you are +10% more likely to find Outcroppings.

Bond Effects

• Stone Bond: While together, you are +13%/+16%/+19% more likely to find Outcroppings.

When to Use Gale

Gale is best for highly skilled players who are consistent with dodging and avoiding damage. Because she can only Block 3 attacks per region, you need to be getting hit by very few attacks in each region to feel a substantial benefit.

Outside of high fear runs using Vow Scar 3 and Vow of Pain 3, or when using White Antler in the final regions, Gale's defensive benefits are generally outclassed by Frinos and Toula. When you can't heal damage, every hit becomes more meaningful, thereby the value of each Blocked raises as well.

If you can make it to final Region's Guardian with Blocks left, that's when Gale becomes a run-defining Familiar and makes the difference between victory and defeat.

However, The +6% (at max rank) Dodge chance and move speed is always a great benefit. Consider The Swift Runner (XI) only grants 10% movement speed and Hot Pot grants a base Dodge chance of 6% at Epic rarity.

Where to Find Gale

You'll meet Gale on the Surface of Mount Olympus. He'll be waiting for you to give him treats inside Charon's Shop. He's on the edge of the map so he'll be easy to miss if you aren't keeping an eye out for him!

Gale Resource Gathering Perks

Gale helps with gathering Flora which Melinoë gathers by hand.

• While together, you have +10% more likely to find to find Flora.
• Gale occasionally leaps in harm's way and deals 250 damage up to 3 times per Region, 30 Sec. apart.

Bond Effects

• Nature Bond: While together, you have +13%/+16%/+19% more likely to find to find Flora.