Are all familiars balanced in the same way shifter forms are?

So Utility skills, Offense and Defense?

I ask because when you look at the diku wiki on familiars, some of them, like shadowcat seem to have very little going for them.

Anyone have experiences of familiars they could share? Thanks.

Familiars aren't actually categorized in the same way shifter forms are, but yes they are certainly balanced in various ways. Like Homard said, some of them excel in combat while others have special abilities in the form of skills or detects that help the conjurer.

Some folks prefer a heartier "tank" familiar while others are happy with a relatively fragile one that does nothing more than provide passive bonuses or scouting ability. And like shifters, you don't get to pick which one you get, exactly.

Does this mean that I should expect shadowcat to be a better fighter/tank than a quasit based on comparison:

Quasit Shadowcat
sneak sneak
hide/invis hide
detect invis detect invis
detect hidden detect hidden
climb climb
unlock with key pass door
get/carry
regen bonus
swim

Or am I missing something? Thanks again for any insight shared.

Z

I'd say pretty much.

Basically you have fighting familiars and familiars with detect hidden. The ones with acute vision are kinda in the middle.

Depending on what you're going for, you will probably prefer one type over the other, for example, your trib conjies wants a tanky familiar because you get vigilance.

Some are very, very fragile, but they get flight and detect hidden, which makes them sick scouts.