So you’ve wandered into the Living Lands, sword in one hand, questionable life choices in the other, and now you’re staring at the party selection screen like it’s a menu at a fancy restaurant. Sure, Kai can brood and set things on fire, Marius can side‑eye you into a bush, and Giatta can heal your papercuts with a wink. But me? I need the one companion who treats gravity as a suggestion and combat as a fireworks display. I’m talking about Yatzli, the walking vortex of sparkles and sass. If you haven’t recruited her yet, trust me—you’re missing out on the best magical panic button in all of Avowed.
Yatzli isn’t just a mage; she’s the mage equivalent of someone who pressed every elevator button and then put sunglasses on. From the moment she joined my crew, I knew I was in for a ride. This woman studies the Godless, sure, but she’s also studied exactly where to lob an explosion so that a whole band of skeletons goes flying like confetti. Her role in the story is fascinating—she’s the scholar who digs into the mysteries of The Living Lands—but honestly? I keep her around because watching her sling spells makes me feel like I’m starring in my own chaotic fantasy sitcom.
Now, the developers, like lead area designer James Agay, weren’t shy about what they built here. In an interview for Game Rant Advance, he basically said Yatzli “gone all the way down the wizard tree.” And boy, does it show. This isn’t one of those companions who dabbles in a little fireball while secretly being a tank. No, no. Yatzli is all‑in on making reality her personal test kitchen. I half expect her to pull a rabbit out of a dimensional rift, only for the rabbit to also shoot missiles. Her combat skills are a buffet of magical mayhem: giant AOEs that clear trash mobs like a broom, volleys of arcane missiles that chase enemies around corners, and enough crowd control to turn a charging troll into a frozen statue. She can stun, slow, freeze, dispel illusions—basically every ailment short of calling your mom to tell her you’re not eating enough vegetables.
But here’s the thing, and I say this with love: Yatzli is made of wet tissue paper and audacity. That’s not an exaggeration. She’s a glass cannon, and the glass is held together by pure attitude. If an enemy so much as sneezes in her direction, her health bar does a dramatic swoon like a Victorian noble. I learned this the hard way during a fight in a cave where I blinked and suddenly Yatzli was on the ground, still insisting she had the situation under control. Her response? A flirtatious remark about how much damage she could do if someone would just pick her up. That personality—bombastic, flirty, and dripping with over‑the‑top confidence—makes every battle feel like theater. Agay even admitted, “she can’t take too many hits, but she has a lot of attitude so I always pick her.” I couldn’t agree more. There’s something deeply entertaining about a wizard who, while crumpled, still manages to lob a fireball and blow a kiss.
So how do you keep this magical disaster alive? Synergy, my friends. Avowed lets you drag two companions along, and picking Yatzli’s babysitter becomes an art form. The obvious choice is Giatta, the support specialist. Giatta can heal, buff, and basically play magical medic while Yatzli does her best impersonation of a fireworks factory in a hurricane. If you’re playing a sturdy DPS or tank who can eat hits like breakfast cereal, then you’ve created the perfect scenario: you draw aggro, Giatta patches up any stray damage, and Yatzli turns the battlefield into a light show. On the other hand, if your protagonist is more of a sneaky rogue type who’d rather not get hit at all, pair Yatzli with Kai. That guy can pull attention with the best of them, and his own fire magic adds a nice “burn the world” theme to your group. Although… let’s be real, watching Marius and Yatzli together is its own brand of comedy. He’s all gruff nature whispers and she’s dropping pickup lines to a floating skull. The banter alone is worth the occasional party wipe.
One of my favorite moments came when I had Yatzli and Marius in a swamp. She dispelled an illusion hiding a pack of lizardmen, then immediately stunned them with a slow hex, turned to Marius, and said something about his “rugged survivalist scent” being surprisingly attractive. Marius, deadpan, replied that he’d rather smell a dead troll. Yatzli just laughed and launched a missile volley. This is the rhythm of combat with her—a constant push and pull between impending doom and flirtatious remarks.
Now, let’s talk raw numbers without sounding like a boring strategist. Yatzli’s skill tree is essentially the wizard equivalent of an all‑you‑can‑eat buffet where the dessert is also on fire. You’ll want to invest in her AoE abilities early because nothing says “I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re trapped in here with me” like dropping a massive explosion on a cluster of spore‑infested bears. Her dispel illusion skill is a lifesaver in dungeons that love to trick you—I can’t count the number of times I would have walked face‑first into a mimic chest without her. Her missile volleys are perfect for picking off archers while you’re busy whacking a shield‑bearer. And her elemental abilities (stun, slow, freeze) turn boss fights into a game of “how slowly can the big guy move before he realizes he’s already dead.”
But remember, a glass cannon is only as good as the person casting Protect on her. I’ve had to restart a fight or two (…dozen) because I got cocky and let Yatzli stand in the middle of a room chanting a spell while three archers took aim. She’d go down with a dramatic “Ooooh!” like a diva fainting on a divan, and suddenly I’m left frantically kiting enemies while screaming “Why didn’t I bring Giatta today?” That’s the beauty of Avowed’s system though—you can swap companions at camp, so if a quest calls for maximum magical chaos, I load Yatzli up, give her a pep talk, and whisper a prayer to the gods of Save Scumming.
Even with her frequent need for a resurrection nap, Yatzli is the companion I always come back to. There’s a reason she’s one of only two fully magic‑focused companions in the game. She embodies the wild, unpredictable magic of Eora in a way that feels both powerful and delightfully unhinged. She’ll study the Godless one moment and the next she’s blown a hole through a wall because “there might have been treasure.” Her role in the story—investigating the former inhabitants of The Living Lands—gives her dialogue weight, but her combat banter is where she truly shines.
So if you’re on the fence about who to bring on your next adventure through the Emerald Stair or the Shatterscarp, do yourself a favor: find Yatzli, listen to her introduction (which probably involves a wink and a friendly jab), and slot her into your party. Just be ready to carry a few extra health potions and enjoy the show. She may be a glass cannon, but in a world full of ordinary swords and shields, sometimes you need someone to just…
…blow it all up in style.