Pets and animal companions are a common part of the fantasy source material that Dungeons & Dragons' Fifth Edition is based on. Whether it's a Ranger's loyal hunting dog or a Wizard's trusty raven familiar, players expect to be able to call upon the inhabitants of the natural world to aid them in their adventures. While this can be partially accomplished through the "Summon" spells available in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, the creatures summoned by the spell and only temporary.

Players looking to form a deep bond with a constant companion have a much more limited set of options. Some pets can be acquired through spells like Find Familiar and Find Steed, while others are granted by subclass options like the Artificer's Steel Defender or the Ranger's Animal Companion. Let's break down the best ways to optimize these furry friends and let them shine in combat.

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Find Familiar Is D&D's Smallest (but Most Flexible) Option

An arctic weasel familiar watches over a wizard's frozen remains in Dungeons & Dragons: Icewind Dale - Rime of the Frostmaiden

The familiar is the smallest of Fifth Edition's pets, but is also the most useful out of battle. It can give the Help action, share its senses with its summoner and even deliver surprise attacks to start off an encounter. This last feature is the most relevant in combat, and it's accomplished by delivering touch-range spells as if the caster were standing in its space.

There are various of touch-range spells that spellcasters can make use of in this manner, but the best is probably Remove Curse. While only available to Bards, Clerics and Wizards, the spell is hugely flexible in the range of debuffs it applies to enemies. There's a handful of listed debuff options, but it also lets players make up their own effects, so long as they're of roughly equivalent power level and approved by the Dungeon Master.

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Animal Companion Is a Ranger's Best Friend

The Animal Companion is a huge part of the Ranger's class ability, which is why it has an entire subclass devoted to it. Players taking Beast Master Conclave gain a permanent bestial ally to follow them around. The Animal Companion can be any Medium beast of CR 1/4 or lower, although it's always possible to work with the DM to find reasonable stats for weirder allies.

Unfortunately, commanding the beast to attack requires the Ranger to spend their action. Later updates in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything presented a solution to this problem in the form of the Primal Companion, an optional replacement for the normal Animal Companion. The Primal Companion gets its own custom statblock (no matter its form) and only requires a bonus action to be commanded to attack. This is a huge improvement, and only gets better at higher levels when the Beast Master Conclave gets features to enhance its fearsome companion.

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Find Steed Gives Paladins a Trusty Mount

Pegasus from Magic: The Gathering

Find Steed is similar to Find Familiar, but only available to Paladins. It summons a warhorse, pony, camel, elk or mastiff for the player to ride, although other animals of similar power level can be substituted in with the DM's blessing. The warhorse is by far the strongest of these, with 19 hit points, +6 to hit and a trampling charge attack.

Still, 19 hit points only stretches so far as the player advances in levels, and Paladins looking to protect their mount should take the Mounted Combatant feat. It lets a rider choose to take any direct hits aimed at their mount, while also giving it Evasion to help out against damaging area-of-effect spells. The feat also gives the mounted character advantage on melee attacks, something especially helpful for Paladins.

Advantage significantly increases the odds of a critical hit, which doubles both weapon damage and the bonus damage provided by a Paladin's Divine Smite. This only gets better as the Paladin gets stronger and unlocks higher level spell slots. Reaching level 13 and acquiring fourth level spells also lets Paladins cast Greater Find Steed, an improved version of the spell that lets them summon a griffin, peryton, pegasus, dire wolf, rhinoceros or saber-toothed tiger.

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