Revision 14

Familiars are collectible companions in DragonSword: Awakening. Hound13 has described them as "trusty allies and adorable collectible companions" that aid the Hero on their journey across the Continent of Orbis, and they also serve as the game's mount system. The Hound13 FAQ uses the word Familiar and Mount interchangeably.

What Familiars Do

• Follow you on foot. A Familiar trails its Hero in a miniature form while the party is wandering the world.

• Ride them. The same Familiar grows to full size when the player chooses to mount up, converting from a tag-along companion into traversal transport.

• Reach gated areas. Some regions of Orbis are only reachable by mount.

• Aid in combat. Hound13 describes Familiars as "aiding you on your journey." Specific combat numbers are not yet published.

Types of Familiar

The Familiar pool covers a wide range of creature types:

• Plants

• Beasts

• Birds

• Insects

• Dragons (rideable, covered as a standalone feature under Dragon Riding)

Dragon Riding

Dragon Riding is the top-tier aerial traversal feature built around dragon-type Familiars. Hound13 has publicly said the freedom-of-movement design of Dragon Riding is inspired by The Legend of Zelda series as a design touchstone. See Dragon Riding for the dedicated breakdown.

How You Get Them

• Starter mount. Each playable Hero begins with a mount at the start of the game.

• Collected through play. Additional Familiars are acquired as the player progresses through the story and the world.

• Cosmetic store side. Under the Western release's Buy-to-Play Model, extra Familiars are one of the two categories sold as optional post-launch cosmetics, alongside character costumes.

How Many Familiars

Hound13 has said there are roughly 30 familiars in the game. About two-thirds are obtainable directly through play, while the remaining third are sold as DLC. The split is cosmetic rather than power-based: collecting more familiars of the same species unlocks and strengthens shared abilities, such as jumping while climbing or reduced stamina cost, whether the familiar was earned in-game or purchased. Eleven paid Familiars were on the store within ten days of release, ten at $3.99 and one at $7.99. Two are named elsewhere on this page: the Brave Baby Dragon, included with the Deluxe Edition, and the Abyssal Direwolf, which was free for everyone from launch until August 31, 2026 and has sold at its $7.99 price since September 1.

Named Familiars

Traversal handling changed between the demo and the launch build: Familiar stamina was raised, running, swimming, and diving all cost less, and a ground Familiar no longer throws its rider off when stamina runs out. Patch 1.0.7 added a setting to dismount with the attack button and made Familiars keep their dash state through jumps and falls.

Most Familiars are collected through gameplay, but Hound13 has said additional Familiars will also be sold as optional paid downloadable content under the game's buy-to-play model, alongside character costumes. They are cosmetic and traversal extras, not power purchases.

The purchasable roster splits into recognisable species lines, which matters because the shared abilities unlock by collecting more of the same type.

Full prices and release dates are in Downloadable Content. Claiming a purchased Familiar is a manual step: Main Menu, then Codex, then Familiar.

Familiars After Launch

Familiar handling has been adjusted steadily since release. Patch 1.0.4 fixed fall damage being applied when remounting or boost-jumping after dismounting the Abyssal Direwolf. Patch 1.0.7 added a setting to dismount using the attack button and made Familiars keep their dash state through jumps and falls.

Patch 1.0.9 reworked the Griffon line's shared effects. Its third equip effect had a tooltip error corrected: the twenty percent gliding movement speed bonus applies to every Familiar, not to the Griffon alone. Its fourth effect was changed outright, from cutting the Charged Jump cooldown by ten percent to raising every Familiar's maximum stamina by ten percent.

Patch 1.0.10 on August 20, 2026 tied stamina to progression for the first time. Familiar stamina now increases by 30 for every 10 levels the Mercenary Corps gains, so traversal range grows as a side effect of ordinary play rather than only through Familiar-specific upgrades.

Patch 1.0.11 on September 3 added a toggle under Settings, Controls, Combat Camera for the blur effect applied when dashing on a Familiar, including aerial dashes, and fixed the acquisition condition for a Familiar called the Diligent Sparrow, which requires collecting Bird Eggs but had been counting only one of every two collected. The same patch's Lock-On rework means a lock now survives the player riding further away from Sudden Mission, World Boss, Hunt and Raid targets. Patch 1.0.12 fixed a Hero becoming invincible when a switch coincided with being knocked off a Familiar.

Hound13 said during the August 10, 2026 broadcast that it is targeting the following two to three patches for meaningful improvements to Familiar mechanics, and that new Familiars and expanded Familiar utility are planned with no fixed timeline. Familiars tied to specific Heroes are being considered. Familiar-specific equipment is not planned, and there will be no crossover Familiars from other properties.