Broll Bearmantle is useless in combat?

[Aleksej89]

Recently i boosted all the class order hall champions for my druid (alt) to some 900+ilvl and epic/legendary quality.
I have also been trying out are the body guards useful since so far i haven't really needed them, but Argus is a bit harsh in some parts.

Which brings me to the rather famous Broll Bearmantle, a supposedly powerful Guardian (bear) druid...

Frankly Broll is completely useless in combat, dealing very little damage in his bear form which is kinda to be expected.
He does apply some debuff to the enemy that makes it take a bit more damage, but honestly that is not what i need/expect from a tanky bear druid.

It makes zero sense to me that Broll lacks any taunt/growl type of spell, and that his aggro generation is non-existent.
Even when i let him 1v1 a mob he loses a big chunk of health and takes him forever to slowly nibble the targets health, while still generating pathetic amounts of threat.

As soon as i start any kind of damage rotation on a mob it completely loses aggro from Broll, and he never manages to regain aggro (or taunt).
I really do not understand why would blizzard make a tank companion that is so god damn useless, lacking even the basic tools needed to do his job (taunt, aggro).

I have seen other companions (like one from Death Knights) be able to generate a ton of aggro and survive a ton of attacks (my full dps could not even remotely breach his companion's aggro).

So wtf is wrong with Broll... is he bugged or just awful?
Right now i am using the other companion (nelf talon druid) and she seems much more useful.

[huth]

Just awful. Broll isn't terribly useful in general.

Doesn't help that for some reason none of the Druid Champions scale with int. Remulos has a rather powerful CD for Guardian and Feral, but the damage is far less impressive for Resto and Moonkin.

[Jester Joe]

Honestly that seems really odd, has it been that way since launch?

Like you pointed out, other companions, like Boros for paladins will hold aggro pretty well, and he'll taunt. He does almost no damage, but the times I do yank aggro off, he'll taunt a few moments later. He also gives a debuff on the enemy to do less damage and a buff for you to do more I believe.

So I can't see why this one would be any different.

[huth]

Yes, he's been largely useless since the beginning. Same goes for the scaling issue.

[Captain Fizz]

Thislee (or however it is spelled)
10% Vers in bear form, 10% faster flight speed, 10% mast in kitty (iirc), 10% haste as 'kin.

Best follower.

[axxey]

Best follower is Naralex who can never get you stuck in combat.

[Venziir]

Meatball is the best bodyguard. Not sure why anyone would pick anything else.

Quite a few reasons really. 1) He's terribly ugly as his cardboard model clashes with anything that isn't a Vanilla zone. 2) Immersion. 3) Roleplay reasons, such as the idea of having a famous NPC at your side. 4) Because people should do what they want in a game.

[axxey]

see reply above ^

Bodyguards that actually fight are cancer for getting you stuck in combat regularly, even worse if you're an undergeared alt. Group finder solves all.

[Kaeth]

Like you pointed out, other companions, like Boros for paladins will hold aggro pretty well, and he'll taunt.

Maximillian of Northshire is another good one. He'll generally have about one million more health than you do, has high threat, high armor, and spams a taunt. Also puts the classic Kings buff (+10% stats) on himself and you with a 10-minute duration. He'll tank the Argus named elites for quite a while, even for a group. He's like a hunter tank pet for paladins.

Thislee (or however it is spelled)
10% Vers in bear form, 10% faster flight speed, 10% mast in kitty (iirc), 10% haste as 'kin.

Unfortunately Thisalee seems to have been broken shortly after 7.3. She no longer provides any of her buffs and does mediocre damage. Went from top-tier bodyguard to near useless overnight. Still no confirmation from Blizzard if this was a stealth nerf or a bug. Not holding my breath for a fix from our current dev team.

[Arrashi]

I just use mylune so she can pull everything i don't want in 50yard range. And turkeys following me is nice bonus.

[axxey]

and pull body agro; and wont let you drop combat from mobs you want to run away from until double normal range if at all.

[huth]

Meatball is the best bodyguard. Not sure why anyone would pick anything else.

Because you can't send him on missions if you do. Using him as a bodyguard is a waste of his potential.

[Biomega]

Quite a few reasons really. 1) He's terribly ugly as his cardboard model clashes with anything that isn't a Vanilla zone. 2) Immersion. 3) Roleplay reasons, such as the idea of having a famous NPC at your side. 4) Because people should do what they want in a game.

5) he's actually one of the if not the best mission runner

[Venziir]

5) he's actually one of the if not the best mission runner

Ah yes, that too.

- - - Updated - - -

So one reason. Stupidity. Got it.

- - - Updated - - -



They only attack if you do dmg to the mob...

"Oh no, someone is playing the game in a different way than me, punish them!"

[Ealyssa]

Mylune best bodyguard.

Shes sucks at mission
She doesn't follow you and dont give you an ugly bodyguard ability button
Cute animals follow you arround

[Myztikrice]

What potential? I get 200% completion on every mission I send my followers on without him or his bonus.

Sure, buddy.

- - - Updated - - -

Mylune best bodyguard.

Shes sucks at mission
She doesn't follow you and dont give you an ugly bodyguard ability button
Cute animals follow you arround

She's usually better at Dash missions than Thisalee

[Duckypoo]

At least they stopped him from yelling "I am natures rage" literally every 2 seconds. Your best bet is to pick a follower that you have to summon, load them up with the recieve gold from WC, and never summon them. You still get the gold and never have to deal with being stuck in combat.

[Thelxi]

Meatball is the best bodyguard. Not sure why anyone would pick anything else.

Because other people can pick up his orbs, because you can't dismiss him if you want to shadowmeld to drop agro, because he is useful for missions.

[Daan]

Meatball is good for soloing elite enemies (damage buff orbs and execute), but he's even better for missions. Naralex is good for open PvP, Remulos for big pulls. Both bodyguards can't stuck in combat. If you need some nice buffs (e.g. faster flying), take that annyoing Night elf girl.

[Keiyra]

If you need some nice buffs (e.g. faster flying), take that annyoing Night elf girl.

Except she's been broken since 7.3, and no longer provides any of her passive buffs for forms (travel form speed included) - either a stealth nerf or an unfixed bug - but either way she's pretty pointless now as a BG as well.