Companion, Spectre,Aniamte Guardian interface

I’m currently playing PoE 1 and PoE 2, and one thing I really feel is missing is a proper companion interface.

In PoE 1, I’m playing with the Minion Pact support skill, and every time I’m in my hideout and use a skill linked with it, my Spectres get sacrificed and don’t come back—unless it’s something like the Dark Marionette. Sometimes you even end up in a state where you can’t attack at all, which feels extremely frustrating.

If you’re using multiple Spectres, including very rare ones like the Tiger, and you just want to try something like Beast Bloodline, it’s way too easy to miss a small line of text and accidentally lose everything. The same thing happens if you misclick an Offering skill or trigger one automatically using a Spectre corpse—again, everything is gone.

Animate Guardian has a similar issue. After taking a break from PoE for a week, you come back and have no idea what gear your Animate Guardian was wearing. There’s no visibility or tracking, which makes the system feel outdated.

In PoE 2, the Companion system has similar problems. There’s no clear way to see what your companion can do, how much damage it deals, or how tanky it is. It feels incomplete and lacks transparency.

What I would really like to see is a proper companion interface. It’s 2026, and GGG has the talent to build something like this. Ideally, this would replace or modernize the old mechanics entirely.

For Spectres, there could be an interface where you store corpses safely, so they’re not permanently lost due to accidental interactions or unclear mechanics.

For Animate Guardian, there should be a dedicated window showing its equipped gear—similar to how mercenaries worked in past leagues.

For companions in PoE 2, it would be great to have a system where you can collect multiple companions and switch between them depending on the content. That was something I really enjoyed in the Mercenary league—being able to swap between different setups added a lot of fun and flexibility.

If updating the existing gems is too difficult, then at least consider introducing new ones with improved systems and clearer design.

Overall, the current systems feel punishing and outdated, especially when small mistakes can lead to losing valuable or hard-earned companions. A modern interface would make a huge difference in usability and enjoyment.

In PoE2 you can check the stats of the companions by opening up the skill information panel.
I would agree that this isn't ideal since it makes it awkward to check the effect of short term damage buffs.
It would be nice if you could pin the panel open, I find having the skills panel and the information panel open taking up far too much of my screen to be useful. It also changes pages whenever you use a skill that changes the companions stats.
I have been opening up the passive tree to pause the game so I have time to check on buffs before they fade.

You can have different companions on different weapon sets if you want otherwise you I think the only option is to carry around the skill gems.