Minecraft Dungeons guide: How to summon all pets and companions
Calling for aid in battle.
Minecraft Dungeons gives you a nearly limitless number of ways to customize your playstyle and change the way your hero fights in the game. One of the biggest categories to choose from are companions, a type of mob that you can summon to aid you in battle. There are several kinds of companions, as well as cosmetic-only pets, to choose from.
Here's everything you need to know about summoning all the companions in Minecraft Dungeons:
How do I summon all the companions in Minecraft Dungeons?
The first thing to know about summoning companions in Minecraft Dungeons is that it requires the use of artifacts. In order to add these helpful friends to your team, you'll need to first find the corresponding artifact and equip it in your inventory. Learning how to use artifacts isn't hard at all, but some of the artifacts you need for certain companions may not show up until later in the game, so keep that in mind.
Fun fact, whenever you summon a companion, you can use their artifact again to whistle and teleport that companion back to you. This is useful if you're trying to retreat, need immediate help, or just need to get your companions out of a sticky situation. Keep in mind that the whistle mechanic does have its own cooldown, so don't go crazy with using it.
As of right now, there are three different companions to summon, each with their own artifact. If you find all three artifacts and use them, you'll even earn the A Friend in Need Achievement.
Wolf
The wolf is the easiest companion to summon, as you'll find its artifact very early on in the game. Whenever you equip and use this artifact, it summons a furry friend that will attack enemies in proximity. The wolf is fast, and deals high damage, but doesn't have a lot of health at all, so you'll want to keep an eye on it if you can, and use abilities and enchantments that heal your companions.
Llama
The second companion you'll likely find in Minecraft Dungeons, the llama is summoned using the Wonderful Wheat artifact. This spitty boi is the only ranged companion in the game, making it very useful for engaging with foes from afar. The llama is surprisingly sturdy, deals decent damage, and normally doesn't stray too far from the player. However, they're not very fast, and they're not the brightest either. If you don't pay attention, you may catch your llama firing repeatedly at a wall, instead of at the baddies.
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Iron golem
Finally, you have the iron golem. It's easy to assume that the iron golems would be the strongest companions in the game, and in a way you're absolutely right. Summoned using a Golem Kit artifact, these strong and silent types are big, sturdy, and can deal impressive amounts of damage with their fists. Iron golems are great for protecting the player, and while they're not as fast as wolves, they can still move surprsingly well. Unless you absolutely require speed, iron golems are usually better suited for a loadout then wolves are, if only because wolves are a tad too squishy.
Honorable mention—bat
The bat doesn't quite deserve the title of "companion," but it's still more useful in a fight than a cosmetic pet. This little guy isn't summoned by an artifact, either, but rather by donning the Spelunker Armor, one of the many armor types in the game. The bat will fly around and deal tiny amounts of damage to enemies, but honestly isn't that useful. When you consider the buffs and abilities you're giving up by equipping other armors in the game, even with a full companion build, they become even less appealing. Still, they exist and they will help you fight!
How do I equip pets in Minecraft Dungeons?
Besides companions, there's one other way to add to your growing list of followers, and that's with cosmetic pets. These critters aren't going to help you in battle, and in fact won't do anything to assist you if you're in the midst of dying, but they look cute and will loyally follow you into any danger. Cosmetic pets aren't found in the game, and instead are "given" to the player with DLC. There are currently two, a baby chicken and a parrot. The baby chicken is a reward for purchasing the Hero Edition or Hero Pass, while the parrot is a reward for purchasing the Jungle Awakens DLC (which is included with the Hero Edition / Pass).
To equip your cosmetic pets, just open your inventory and scroll to the far right, to the last tab. This is the cosmetic tab, and will include Cape and Pet categories, with more possibly being added later. You can highlight whichever pet you want and equip them, and then they'll start following you around. You can only have one pet at a time right now, but maybe Mojang Studios will make it so you can have a whole flock of pets wandering around with you.
Minecraft explores the dungeons.
Minecraft Dungeons is the next saga in Minecraft's story, and Mojang Studios have knocked another one out of the park. Awesome co-op combat paired with powerful loot, all at a crazy affordable price? There's not much more you could ask for in an epic dungeon crawling ARPG.
Minecraft Dungeons
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Zachary Boddy (They / Them) is a Staff Writer for Windows Central, primarily focused on covering the latest news in tech and gaming, the best Xbox and PC games, and the most interesting Windows and Xbox hardware. They have been gaming and writing for most of their life starting with the original Xbox, and started out as a freelancer for Windows Central and its sister sites in 2019. Now a full-fledged Staff Writer, Zachary has expanded from only writing about all things Minecraft to covering practically everything on which Windows Central is an expert, especially when it comes to Microsoft. You can find Zachary on Twitter @BoddyZachary.