{"schemaVersion":1,"record":{"key":"mechanic/rpg-grind--companion-leveling","type":"mechanic","id":"rpg-grind--companion-leveling","lang":"en","title":"Companion leveling","summary":"A companion has separate power, ability or role progression tied to shared activities.","updatedAt":"2026-10-22","status":"active","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/knowledge/mechanic/rpg-grind--companion-leveling/","jsonUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/api/v1/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--companion-leveling.json","markdownUrl":"https://gamemechanics.pro/content/knowledge/en/mechanic/rpg-grind--companion-leveling.md","aliases":[],"tags":["RPG grinding","Companions, pets and mounts"],"sourceIds":["source-0b3f08065b5619f3","source-2121d7f3b46caf47"],"sources":[{"id":"source-0b3f08065b5619f3","title":"The Elder Scrolls Online: Companions","url":"https://help.elderscrollsonline.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/53198/~/companions---the-elder-scrolls-online","verifiedAt":null},{"id":"source-2121d7f3b46caf47","title":"Final Fantasy XIV","url":"https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/uiguide/faq/faq-chocobo/chocobo_rank.html","verifiedAt":null}],"sections":[{"id":"principle","title":"How it works","body":"A companion has separate power, ability or role progression tied to shared activities."},{"id":"variants","title":"Variants","body":"### Variants\n\n<a id=\"companion-leveling-options\"></a>\n\n- Bring a companion into combat for experience. <a id=\"companion-leveling-option-1\"></a>\n- Train a specific role or ability. <a id=\"companion-leveling-option-2\"></a>\n- Upgrade companion-specific equipment. <a id=\"companion-leveling-option-3\"></a>"},{"id":"example","title":"Design example","body":"A party healer earns expedition experience and unlocks group healing."},{"id":"context","title":"Context and limits","body":"A systematic RPG grind reference: 110 mechanics and 330 variants in 18 sections. Four layers answer different questions: what the player repeats, what develops, how rewards arrive and what constrains the loop. It covers single-player RPGs, ARPGs, MMORPGs and adjacent management and accumulation systems. Every mechanic has an explanation, variants and a hypothetical example; coverage, combinations and verified game observations follow the catalog."}],"relations":[],"placements":[{"catalogId":"rpg-grind","id":"companion-leveling","title":"RPG grinding","url":"https://gamemechanics.pro/en/mechanics/rpg-grind/#companion-leveling","categoryIds":["companion-progression"]}],"supersededBy":[],"attributes":{"preview":{"updatedAt":"2026-10-22","title":"Companion leveling","description":"A companion has separate power, ability or role progression tied to shared activities.","image":{"src":"images/mechanics/rpg-ffxiv-chocobo-rank-14.webp","width":896,"height":304,"game":"Final Fantasy XIV","sourceUrl":"https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/uiguide/faq/faq-chocobo/chocobo_rank.html","originalUrl":"https://lds-img.finalfantasyxiv.com/uiguide/na/6d/fb435a792e63f8635b1d8516a9ad3a5096ff0e.jpg","credit":"Square Enix; official guide screenshot","rights":"Game imagery © its respective rights holders. Official game guide or publisher-distributed screenshot; all rights reserved. Excluded from MIT and CC BY 4.0.","caption":"The companion gains experience and reaches a new rank","alt":"The companion gains experience and reaches a new rank","markers":[{"x":43,"y":34,"label":"The log reports chocobo experience and advancement to rank 8"}]},"tips":["Show companion progression separately from the hero’s level."],"examples":[{"title":"Final Fantasy XIV","url":"https://na.finalfantasyxiv.com/uiguide/faq/faq-chocobo/chocobo_rank.html"}]}},"endsAt":null,"provenance":"Original editorial RPG grind taxonomy authored for gamemechanics.pro on 2026-10-20 and expanded to cover activities, progression goals, reward rules and constraints. All original thirty family/branch/variant identities are preserved. Official developer and publisher sources support only the specifically described released-game observations; design variants and scenarios are hypothetical.","license":"CC-BY-4.0","codeLicense":"MIT","attribution":"gamemechanics.pro contributors","catalogKey":"catalog/rpg-grind"}}