Companions is the smaller, faster version of AFK Arena. Its roster is a 139-hero subset of Classic's 253, its Campaign is 61 chapters instead of 85, its long-term systems unlock much earlier, and its AFK rewards pay about five times the gold at the same stage. It also has a set of systems Classic doesn't: Forked Fate, Duo Co-op team-ups, captured beasts, Destiny Summon, a duo Arena and Transcendent tiers past 5-star Ascended.
Roster
Every Companions hero is also a Classic hero, with the same name and title. The other 114 Classic heroes aren't in Companions, including all 26 Draconis heroes.
| Faction | Companions | Classic |
|---|---|---|
| Lightbearers | 25 | 37 |
| Maulers | 24 | 36 |
| Wilders | 22 | 34 |
| Graveborn | 23 | 36 |
| Celestials | 13 | 25 |
| Hypogeans | 14 | 25 |
| Dimensional | 18 | 34 |
| Draconis | 0 | 26 |
| Total | 139 | 253 |
By starting tier, Companions has 112 Elite heroes against Classic's 191, and 6 heroes that start at Legendary against Classic's 38. Companions releases heroes in its own order, so a hero that's old news in Classic can arrive in Companions as a new Destiny Summon featured hero.
Campaign, towers and level caps
| Companions | Classic | |
|---|---|---|
| Campaign chapters | 61 | 85 |
| Campaign stages | 3,232 | 4,672 |
| Forked Fate stages | 1,302 | None |
| King's Tower floors | 1,800 | 3,300 |
| Floors per faction tower | 1,200 | 1,950 |
| Floors per Celestial or Hypogean tower | 800 | 1,300 |
| Resonating Crystal slots, maximum | 199 | 299 |
| Level where the Crystal cap breaks | 360 | 240 |
| Fast Rewards per day at VIP 0 | 2 | 1 |
From Mythic up, tiers carry higher level caps in Companions, and Ascended stars keep raising the cap instead of all sitting at the same number (the lowest tiers go the other way: Common, Rare and Rare+ cap at 60, 60 and 80 in Companions against 100 in Classic):
| Tier | Companions max level | Classic max level |
|---|---|---|
| Mythic | 200 | 180 |
| Mythic+ | 240 | 200 |
| Ascended | 260 | 240 |
| Ascended 1 star | 300 | 240 |
| Ascended 2 stars | 320 | 240 |
| Ascended 3 stars | 340 | 240 |
| Ascended 4 and 5 stars | 360 | 240 |
| Transcendent 1 to 5 | 360 | Not in Classic |
Classic stops at 5-star Ascended. In Companions, Elite heroes can go five more steps through the Temple of Transcendent, which levels up as you own more Transcendent heroes and caps each hero at the temple's current star level.
AFK income at the same stage
Both versions share the first 61 chapters' layout, so their Campaign AFK rates can be compared stage for stage. These are base rates before VIP:
| Stage | Gold per minute (Companions / Classic) | Hero EXP per minute (Companions / Classic) | Hero's Essence per day (Companions / Classic) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5-40 | 1,080 / 213 | 336 / 168 | 198 / 175 |
| 9-40 | 1,380 / 276 | 714 / 447 | 324 / 279 |
| 15-40 | 1,515 / 303 | 1,392 / 960 | 436 / 472 |
| 24-60 | 1,740 / 348 | 4,605 / 3,384 | 765 / 982 |
| 39-60 | 2,295 / 459 | 10,950 / 8,109 | 1,168 / 1,168 |
| 61-60 | 2,850 / 570 | 41,571 / 30,792 | 1,168 / 1,168 |
Companions pays about five times the gold, and between a third more and double the Hero EXP. Campaign Hero's Essence is the one rate where Classic is ahead in the midgame, and Companions makes up for it elsewhere: Forked Fate has its own AFK rewards, added on top of the Campaign's, worth up to 5,400 Hero's Essence a day at its last stage.
When things unlock
| System | Companions | Classic |
|---|---|---|
| Resonating Crystal | 2-4 | 4-36 |
| Beasts | 2-8 | 10-40 |
| King's Tower | 2-24 | 2-12 |
| Guild | 3-16 | 2-20 |
| Arena of Heroes | 3-36 | 2-28 |
| Vault of Time / Abyssal Expedition | 8-40 | 15-40 |
| Temporal Rift | 9-40 | 19-40 |
| Auto Battle | 9-40 | 20-60 |
| Faction towers | 10-24 | 14-40 |
| Stargazer | 550 summons | 15-40, or VIP 6 |
| Celestial & Hypogean towers | 61-60 | 29-60 |
| Arcane Labyrinth | Not available | 2-4 |
The pattern is consistent: the long-term systems that drive power (Crystal, beasts, the guild war, Temporal Rift, faction towers, Auto Battle) come much earlier in Companions, while a few early modes (King's Tower, the guild and the Arena) come a little later. The Celestial and Hypogean towers are the big exception, held back to the very last Campaign stage.
Summoning
| Companions | Classic | |
|---|---|---|
| Elite rate, Common and Faction pools | 4.00% | 4.61% |
| Rare rate | 44% | 43.6% (43.7% in Faction pools) |
| Common rate | 52% | 51.69% |
| Elite rate, Companion pool | 2.41% | 2.41% |
| Destiny Summon (picked featured hero, new heroes for 28 days) | Yes | No |
Companions gives slightly worse Elite odds in its basic pools, and leans on Destiny Summon instead: half of its Elite results go to the Featured Hero you choose, and new faction heroes are only available there for their first 28 days. Get All Heroes, which hands out Elite heroes for Campaign clears, doesn't exist in Classic.
Systems only one version has
| Only in Companions | What it is |
|---|---|
| Forked Fate | A 1,302-stage second Campaign with a death limit and its own AFK income |
| Duo Co-op | Borrow another player's heroes to push the Campaign |
| Get All Heroes | Non-duplicate Elite heroes for clearing Campaign stages |
| Destiny Summon | A pool with a Featured Hero and limited chance-up summons |
| Beast capture | Beasts come from habitats with Capture Permits, then ascend, combine and roll talents |
| Duo Arena of Heroes | Ranked with a partner, tactics that boost named heroes, weekly results |
| Dream Realms | A rotating six-boss damage race with a team-up mode |
| Temple of Transcendent | Five tiers past 5-star Ascended |
| Hero Returns | Targeted Summons based on your Classic account's heroes |
Beasts deserve a note because both versions have them. Classic has 30 beasts; Companions has 16, 11 ordinary beasts you capture and 5 Fabled beasts from Beast Wish. Several names (Tufty Ears, Ice Crown, Nightfall Pegasus) appear in both, but the Companions system of habitats, capture odds, combining and Fabled talent upgrades is its own.
On the other side, Companions has no Arcane Labyrinth and no Draconis heroes.
Which one to play
The trade-off is speed against breadth. Companions opens the Crystal, beasts, Temporal Rift and the guild war earlier, pays far more gold per minute, and hands out Elite heroes for Campaign progress. Classic has 114 more heroes including Draconis, 30 beasts, longer towers and slightly better basic summon odds. If you already play Classic, Hero Returns gives Companions Targeted Summons based on the heroes you've built there.