Cleric Animal Domain Natural bond feat not working correctly

[loucolouco]

Hi, I have a char lvl 10 - 2 fighter 3 phantom 5 cleric with animal Domain(animal companion)

i got the feat natural bond on lvl 2 cleric. it worked on the lvl up... my animal turned to lvl 5... but i'm lvling as cleric and my animal isn't gaining levels...

Im now lvl 5 cleric and my animal companion is still lvl 5. It should be lvl 8 since i have natural bond and my char total level is 10.

[Nachti]

You need 1 more level.

Natural Bond grants +3 and your level is 5. A new companion is gained at 9.

[Valefort]

Animal companions progress every 3 levels yep.

[loucolouco]

You need 1 more level.

Natural Bond grants +3 and your level is 5. A new companion is gained at 9.

Hummm i thought that the animal companion would lvl up with me every time i lvl up...

Thank you for the answer.

[Flasmix]

Sadly no. The companion begins to fall behind a lot the further you get from lower levels. Once you hit level 30 and take epic animal companion it becomes very useful.

My concern with taking animal companion as a Cleric is that you have limited spells to buff it with. Monstrous Companion was put in for that reason. Each has a weapon that can be Greater Magic Weaponed. You'll find the bear will become more of a temporary distraction/meat shield the stronger you get.

[loucolouco]

Sadly no. The companion begins to fall behind a lot the further you get from lower levels. Once you hit level 30 and take epic animal companion it becomes very useful.

My concern with taking animal companion as a Cleric is that you have limited spells to buff it with. Monstrous Companion was put in for that reason. Each has a weapon that can be Greater Magic Weaponed. You'll find the bear will become more of a temporary distraction/meat shield the stronger you get.

I thought magic weapon worked on animal but it seems to only give the bonus damage(at least the magic weapon spell does) but magic vestment don't work at all...

I didn't take monstrous animal companion because i'm not evil nor started in underdark so i was worried of being attacked or breaking any rule since im kinda new here.
Epic animal companion was one i surely thought about but having 25 wis may be a problem and i would have to get zen archery too... but i guess it's still possible.
***EDIT***
I saw that epic animal companion dont have 25 wis req here... that's good
*** END EDIT***

//I'll go back to the build planner and see how can i do with those 2 feats and focus on wis.

About starting a new char... I know i get 100% of my xp back since i'm lvl 10. But what about the items? is there a place where i can put them and then retrieve with my new char or I'll have to ask a kind soul to help me with it? Or is it forbidden and i have to lose those items?

Thank you for your help and all the other who took their time to answer me.

[Flasmix]

Because you multiclassed, taking epic animal companion won't make it that good. If you were pure class, you essentially get a pet whose level is based on you being 33. (+3 higher)

Having less then that is questionable.

[loucolouco]

About this archer build...

I noticed that i get -3 AB penalty when my companion is engaged in melee with my target. But i didn't find the feat precise shot. Is it implemented? If not is there a way to negate the penalty without moving all the way to the other side of the enemy?

Because you multiclassed, taking epic animal companion won't make it that good. If you were pure class, you essentially get a pet whose level is based on you being 33. (+3 higher)

Having less then that is questionable.

In fact my companion is intended to be a meat shield. But at least durable enough to let me do the job without dying. I'm not trying to have a druid's animal companion that can be a killing machine. Also i'm not that focused on power building... I try to mix fun/RP with a good build.
Let's see if what i planned will work...