This is a detailed comparison of all currently available D&D 5e animal companions for the beast master ranger. Sources containing valid monsters are the MM and VGtM.
For those not in the know, the restrictions are:
- No greater than 1/4 CR. (So 0 and 1/8 are ok too)
- No larger than medium. (Medium creatures can be used as mounts by small characters.)
- Must be of beast type.
A beastmaster can use their action to control their companion to attack, and can freely control its movement. Whether the beastmaster commands it or not, it gets the character's proficiency bonus added to their attack, damage, and AC.
The beasts are ranked by colors. From worst to best the colors are
Red (worst) (Equivalent to melee attack or less)
Purple (poor choice) (Does not match average PC combat effectiveness)
Black (middling choice) (Roughly matches average PC combat effectiveness)
Blue (good choice) (Exceeds average PC combat effectiveness)
Teal (best) (Exceeds typical weapon damage by a PC)
The "average PC" is one built with the standard array with its highest score (a modifier of +3) in its most combat relevant score, using a d8 damage die, an HD of 8, and medium armor with no DEX penalty. Additionally, the stats are color coded. Anything in red is an inferior stat. Anything in green is a superior stat. Anything in black is roughly equal to your average PC. Anything that can fly or be used as a mount automatically goes up a rank regardless of its combat output.
Each beast is given a Coolness rating out of 5 stars. This coolness is based on what a 10 year old boy from the 1990s would think. It is 100% subjectivity, but then again, so is my opinion of the color rankings.
The damage values are given as their average result. Remember that the AC, attack mod, and average damage are all increased by the ranger's proficiency bonus, which ranges between 2 at 1st level and 6 at 20th.
The beasts are ranked by colors. From worst to best the colors are
Red (worst) (Equivalent to melee attack or less)
Purple (poor choice) (Does not match average PC combat effectiveness)
Black (middling choice) (Roughly matches average PC combat effectiveness)
Blue (good choice) (Exceeds average PC combat effectiveness)
Teal (best) (Exceeds typical weapon damage by a PC)
The "average PC" is one built with the standard array with its highest score (a modifier of +3) in its most combat relevant score, using a d8 damage die, an HD of 8, and medium armor with no DEX penalty. Additionally, the stats are color coded. Anything in red is an inferior stat. Anything in green is a superior stat. Anything in black is roughly equal to your average PC. Anything that can fly or be used as a mount automatically goes up a rank regardless of its combat output.
Each beast is given a Coolness rating out of 5 stars. This coolness is based on what a 10 year old boy from the 1990s would think. It is 100% subjectivity, but then again, so is my opinion of the color rankings.
The damage values are given as their average result. Remember that the AC, attack mod, and average damage are all increased by the ranger's proficiency bonus, which ranges between 2 at 1st level and 6 at 20th.
Cranium Rat- Coolness: ☆☆☆ Exactly the same as a rat, except it can light up like a candle, which is a little more useful, and nobody can read its mind... not that anyone would want to.
- HP: 2
- AC: 12
- SPD: 30
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 1
Baboon - Coolness: ☆☆☆ Has a climb speed and pack tactics. Strictly worse than a Wolf other than the climb speed. However, the creature has one trait none of the other options have: hands. It has huge implicit power if you let it use actions other than attack. It can open doors, pull switches, carry a torch or wear a backpack, tug a rope, throw a vial of acid or grenade, use simple tools, all kinds of intuitive actions! It can also hold weapons. Though it doesn't have any weapon proficiencies, and the DM could possibly rule for your proficiency counting toward such an attack, or rule against it because it isn't listed, or possibly even call it an improvised attack. There is no reason why you could not equip the baboon with a shield or humanoid armor. It lacks proficiency, but baboons can't cast spells, so it doesn't matter.
- HP: 3
- AC: 12
- SPD: 30
- ATK: +1
- DAM: 1.5
- HP: 3
- AC: 10
- SPD: 20
- ATK: +2
- DAM: 1
Bat - Coolness: ☆☆ Makes a better familiar than Animal Companion, the blindsight is the best range of any creature and it does have a fly speed, so there is some theoretical use as a scout.
Cat - Coolness: ☆ Again, a better familiar than a mount. No redeeming qualities, except possibly killing Wizards with housecats to keep the tradition alive.
Crab - Coolness: ☆ Amphibious, good Blindsight, but there is no reason I can think of you would ever choose this over the Giant Crab.
Deer- Coolness: ☆☆ Potential mount. Passable AC, but terrible to hit and damage. Redeemed somewhat by great speed, but not enough to make it competitive with the other options available.
Dimetrodon - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆☆ This thing is literally just a walking set of teeth. Its one attack deals impressive damage, but it has no special features whatsoever. It just walks around and bites stuff really hard.
Dolphin - Coolness: ☆ A very poor choice outside of exclusively aquatic campaigns. While it can breathe air, it can't move on land. Deals good damage compared to the other aquatic choices however.
Eagle - Coolness: ☆☆ Strictly worse than the Blood Hawk.
Flying Snake - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆☆ Same AC as a Giant Poisonous Snake and great damage, due in large part to not allowing a save against its poison damage. Has a flying speed, blindsight, a swim speed, and flyby attack prevent it from causing AoOs. Less effective against enemies immune to poison damage. For those who want a tiny Animal Companion, or a flying Animal Companion they don't intend to ride, by far the best option.
Giant Badger - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ Potential mount. It and its smaller variant are the only companions with Burrow speeds I am aware of. However, multiattack does not work with the Beastmaster's abilities. As a result, not the strongest combat option.
Giant Centipede - Coolness: ☆☆☆ Climb speed, 30' Blindsight, decent damage due to poison. Compares unfavorably to the Giant Poisonous Snake.
Giant Crab - Coolness: ☆☆ Potential Mount. The highest AC value I'm currently aware of for Animal Companions. Blindsight in a good range, a swim speed, amphibious and automatic grapple on a hit. A good option under any circumstances, the Giant Crab becomes fantastic in a heavily coastal or otherwise aquatic themed campaign, where he can drag those without swim speeds into the briny depths and provide transport for PCs that need it underwater, so long as they can hold their breath.
Giant Fire Beetle - Coolness: ☆☆☆ It provides illumination, but beyond that questionable benefit, is no better than a housecat.
Giant Frog - Coolness: ☆☆☆ Potential mount. Amphibious, good jump distance, but perhaps most importantly, it has the ability to swallow a small or tiny target, with no listed means of them escaping short of the death of the creature, which is harder with the improved stats it gains as an Animal Companion. Pairs beautifully with the mechanical benefits provided by being an Animal Companion.
Giant Poisonous Snake - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ Potential Mount. Blindsight, 10' reach on attacks, great AC, the best to hit value I'm currently aware of, with attacks that cause great damage due to poison. Has a swim speed, and venom can be harvested from it for your own use. From a strictly Damage Per Round standpoint, the strongest choice in the game, and a pretty darn good choice for other considerations as well.
Giant Rat - Coolness: ☆☆ Pack tactics. Strictly inferior to a Wolf.
Giant Weasel - Coolness: ☆ Potential Mount. No discernible advantages compared to other choices for a mount.
Giant Wolf Spider - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆☆ Potential Mount- and a darn good one with its spider climb trait. Blindsight, (minor) poison damage, spider climb, web walker, good stealth scores, and paralysis for up to an hour in very specific circumstances all combine to make a unique, powerful, and flavorful animal companion.
Goat - Coolness: ☆ Potential Mount. Sure footed has some minimal use, and combined with its charge attack it has at least some merit, but it is vastly inferior to the Wolf, amongst others. You can purchase this as a trade good, so there's no reason to get it as your companion.
Hawk - Coolness: ☆☆ Slightly better AC and to hit can't make up for inferior damage and the loss of pack tactics. You're better off with a Blood Hawk.
Hyena - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ Potential Mount. Pack tactics. Strictly worse than the wolf.
Jackal - Coolness: ☆☆☆ Not even Pack Tactics can save the value of this creature, which is by far the worst choice available of those that include pack tactics.
Lizard - Coolness: ☆ Better as a familiar than an animal companion. Has a climb speed, is otherwise completely useless.
Mastiff - Coolness: ☆☆ Potential mount. Trip effect on attacks, like the Hyena it's strictly inferior to the wolf. Also, you can purchase these as standard pets, so why waste your companion slot on one? Get something else and purchase a whole pack of dogs to go with it.
Mule - Coolness: ☆ Potential Mount. Sure footed and Beast of Burden both provide beneficial effects, just ones better suited to a pack animal than an animal companion. You can purchase this so there's no reason to get it as your companion.
Octopus - Coolness: ☆☆ Cannot breathe out of water. In a heavily coastal or aquatic themed campaign, it's average, but even then is vastly inferior to the Giant Crab.
Owl - Coolness: ☆☆☆ 120' darkvision and flyby provide redeeming qualities for a creature that is otherwise strictly inferior to the Flying Snake.
Panther - Coolness: ☆☆☆ Potential mount. Great speed, a climb speed, and pounce, but sadly you'll never get to use the bonus action attack barring DM houserules. Its abilities do not provide as much synergy with the rules on Animal Companions as other options. Also, people will complain that you're imitating Driz'zt.
Poisonous Snake - Coolness: ☆☆ Worse in every possible way than the Flying Snake, there is no discernible reason to ever choose this option.
Pony - Coolness: ☆ Potential mount. Worse AC than the Wolf and otherwise equal but without features. You can purchase this so there's little reason to get one as your companion. As a mount for a small character however, this can be a very powerful mount for quite some time, with higher than average survivability thanks to the HP boost. Controlling it through the mount rules gives you more freedom.
Pteranodon - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆☆ Potential Mount. One of two medium flying creatures eligible for taking as an Animal Companion, which makes it a possible flying mount. Has Flyby instead of Pack Tactics, is otherwise strictly superior to the Vulture.
Quipper - Coolness: ☆ Cannot breathe out of water. An average choice only in campaigns set entirely within an aquatic environment, as it lacks even the 30 minutes the octopus can spend out of water.
Rat - Coolness: ☆ Better as a familiar than a Animal Companion, and probably a poor choice even then. There is no discernible reason to ever take this creature. If you want a pet mouse, take the urchin background.
Raven - Coolness: ☆☆ Its mimic ability may or may not be useful, depending on DM adjudication. Otherwise strictly inferior to the Blood Hawk and Flying Snake.
Scorpion - Coolness: ☆☆ Strictly inferior even to the regular poisonous snake.
Sea Horse - Coolness: NO. Cannot breathe out of water, -and- it lacks any means of attacking. The worst possible choice for an Animal Companion, if I could invent a new color for it I would.
Spider - Coolness: ☆ A better familiar than animal companion, it is strictly inferior to the Giant Wolf Spider.
Stirge - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ Decent AC and attack bonus, its real strength lies in the fact that you do not need to use your action to guarantee it will continue to deal damage. Rather, it deals its damage (5 + proficiency bonus) each turn so long as it remains attached, a condition it must willfully end (it *can* detach itself by spending 5' of movement once the target has taken 10 or more damage, but does not appear to be required to do so), or which requires an action on the part of an enemy to end. A unique choice, it is strongest in the levels before your beast gains its second attack (at 11).
Velociraptor - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ They deal the similar damage as a boar, even though they're tiny. They give up the tunnel speed for pack tactics, making them better battlefield allies, but still strictly worse than the boar.
Vulture - Coolness: ☆☆ Potential mount. One of two medium flying creatures eligible for taking as an Animal Companion, which makes it a possible flying mount. Has pack tactics instead of flyby, is otherwise strictly worse than the Pteranodon.
Weasel - Coolness: ☆ The same is true for it as is true for the Rat, there is no discernible reason to ever take this companion.
Wolf - Coolness: ☆☆☆ Potential mount and a better choice than the pony thanks to its grappling attack. Good AC, good to hit bonus, free trip effect on attacking, which may provide advantage for other melee combatants, and it has pack tactics. Large enough to serve as a mount, and its abilities are well suited to that purpose. An excellent choice.
- HP: 1
- AC: 12
- SPD: 5/30
- ATK: +0
- DAM: 1
Blood Hawk - Coolness: ☆☆☆ Has Pack Tactics, and flies. Strictly better combat stats than the Vulture, but it can't be used as a mount, thus the lower ranking.
Boar - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ Potential Mount. Has relentless, which starts off great and gets worse as you get higher in levels. Otherwise it's strictly worse than the Wolf.
- HP: 7
- AC: 12
- SPD: 10/60
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 4
Boar - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ Potential Mount. Has relentless, which starts off great and gets worse as you get higher in levels. Otherwise it's strictly worse than the Wolf.
- HP: 11
- AC: 11
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 7/4
Cat - Coolness: ☆ Again, a better familiar than a mount. No redeeming qualities, except possibly killing Wizards with housecats to keep the tradition alive.
- HP: 2
- AC: 12
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +0
- DAM: 1
- HP: 2
- AC: 11
- SPD: 10/20
- ATK: +0
- DAM: 1
- HP: 4
- AC: 13
- SPD: 50
- ATK: +2
- DAM: 2
- HP: 19
- AC: 12
- SPD: 30
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 8
- HP: 11
- AC: 12
- SPD: 0/60
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 5
Eagle - Coolness: ☆☆ Strictly worse than the Blood Hawk.
- HP: 3
- AC: 12
- SPD: 10/60
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 4
Flying Snake - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆☆ Same AC as a Giant Poisonous Snake and great damage, due in large part to not allowing a save against its poison damage. Has a flying speed, blindsight, a swim speed, and flyby attack prevent it from causing AoOs. Less effective against enemies immune to poison damage. For those who want a tiny Animal Companion, or a flying Animal Companion they don't intend to ride, by far the best option.
- HP: 5
- AC: 13
- SPD: 40/60
- ATK: +6
- DAM: 8
Frog - Coolness: ☆ Can not attack. Do not pick this. If you want a frog or toad, grab a Giant Frog instead.
- HP: 1
- AC: 11
- SPD: 20/20
- ATK: N/A
- DAM: 0
Giant Badger - Coolness: ☆☆☆☆ Potential mount. It and its smaller variant are the only companions with Burrow speeds I am aware of. However, multiattack does not work with the Beastmaster's abilities. As a result, not the strongest combat option.
- HP: 13
- AC: 10
- SPD: 30/10
- ATK: +3/+3
- DAM: 5 (averaged for 50% miss rate per attack)
- HP: 4
- AC: 13
- SPD: 30/30
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 9 (Averaged for 50% miss rate on poison damage)
Giant Crab - Coolness: ☆☆ Potential Mount. The highest AC value I'm currently aware of for Animal Companions. Blindsight in a good range, a swim speed, amphibious and automatic grapple on a hit. A good option under any circumstances, the Giant Crab becomes fantastic in a heavily coastal or otherwise aquatic themed campaign, where he can drag those without swim speeds into the briny depths and provide transport for PCs that need it underwater, so long as they can hold their breath.
- HP: 13
- AC: 15
- SPD: 30/30
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 4
Giant Fire Beetle - Coolness: ☆☆☆ It provides illumination, but beyond that questionable benefit, is no better than a housecat.
- HP: 4
- AC: 13
- SPD: 30
- ATK: +1
- DAM: 2
- HP: 18
- AC: 11
- SPD: 30/30
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 4
- HP: 11
- AC: 14
- SPD: 30/30
- ATK: +6
- DAM: 11 (Averaged for 50% miss rate on poison damage)
- HP: 7
- AC: 12
- SPD: 30
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 4
- HP: 9
- AC: 13
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +5
- DAM: 5
- HP: 11
- AC: 13
- SPD: 40/40
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 7.5 (Averaged for 50% miss rate on poison damage)
- HP: 4
- AC: 10
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 3
- HP: 1
- AC: 13
- SPD: 10/60
- ATK: +5
- DAM: 1
- HP: 5
- AC: 11
- SPD: 50
- ATK: +2
- DAM: 3
- HP: 3
- AC: 12
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +1
- DAM: 1
- HP: 2
- AC: 10
- SPD: 20/20
- ATK: +0
- DAM: 1
- HP: 5
- AC: 12
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 4
- HP: 11
- AC: 10
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +2
- DAM: 4
- HP: 3
- AC: 12
- SPD: 5/30
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 1
- HP: 1
- AC: 11
- SPD: 5/60
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 1
- HP: 13
- AC: 12
- SPD: 50/40
- ATK: +4/+4
- DAM: 5/4
- HP: 2
- AC: 13
- SPD: 30/30
- ATK: +5
- DAM: 3.5 (Averaged for 50% miss rate on poison damage)
- HP: 11
- AC: 10
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 7
- HP: 13
- AC: 13
- SPD: 10/60
- ATK: +3
- DAM: 6
- HP: 1
- AC: 13
- SPD: 0/40
- ATK: +5
- DAM: 1
- HP: 1
- AC: 10
- SPD: 20
- ATK: +0
- DAM: 1
- HP: 1
- AC: 12
- SPD: 10/50
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 1
- HP: 1
- AC: 11
- SPD: 10
- ATK: +2
- DAM: 3 (Averaged for 50% miss rate on poison damage)
- HP: 1
- AC: 11
- SPD: 0/20
- ATK: N/A
- DAM: 0
- HP: 1
- AC: 12
- SPD: 20/20
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 2 (Averaged for 50% miss rate on poison damage)
- HP: 2
- AC: 14
- SPD: 10/40
- ATK: +5
- DAM: 5
- HP: 10
- AC: 13
- SPD: 30
- ATK: +4/+4
- DAM: 5/4
- HP: 5
- AC: 10
- SPD: 10/50
- ATK: +2
- DAM: 2
- HP: 1
- AC: 13
- SPD: 30
- ATK: +5
- DAM: 1
- HP: 11
- AC: 13
- SPD: 40
- ATK: +4
- DAM: 7
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