Fallout 4 has a wide variety of available partners (companions). From all the way from the Commonwealth, these companions can help you in combat, and voice acting and they offer you some of the most interesting quest routes in the game. All of these companions have different attributes, abilities, and characteristics. And a wide roster of companions can get quite confusing sometimes, so that’s why we are here to help you decide between all of these partners. One by one at a time!
Also, If you’re not sure about the factions of Fallout 4, consider checking out our detailed guide on the factions too.
Fallout 4 has a system where you can have companions by your side to help you with certain activities.
WARNING: This guide is full of spoilers, as some of the companions are connected to the main story and some of them are the leading characters which leads to the plot’s twists and turns in the main story of Fallout 4.
Cait
- Location: Combat Zone
- Weapon skills: Baseball bat, Dual-barrel shotgun.
- Become best friends by: Go ahead, and put a bucket on the shopowner’s head, clear out their shelves, as she likes violence and selfishness. Drink, get naked, pick-pocket – Do all the mischievous things in life – All the good things in life.
- Unique perk: Trigger Rush- Unlock by completing the ‘Benign Intervention’ Quest, Actions points will regenerate faster if health is below 25%, with max affinity.
- Romanceable? Yes
Cait is a mischievous drug abusing mean spirit with a crappy attitude. After arriving in the Combat Zone in downtown Boston, clear out the loud clientele and reach out Cait, start a conversation. Cait is a kind of a cruel person, so she’ll hate if you show kindness and generosity to anyone around you she might get upset, but she’s very handy when it comes to fights and battles.
Codsworth
- Location: Sanctuary Hills, Your front door
- Weapon skills: Flamethrower, Circular saw
- Become best friends by: Codsworth will always like if you modify armor and weapons. Also being nice, truthful and generous will make you the best friend of Codsworth in no time
- Unique perk: Robot Sympathy – Unlocked by reaching max affinity as well. – Gives +10 Damage resistance against robotic-energy weapons.
- Romanceable? No
Codsworth is your innocent faithful post-war butler, you’ll find him waiting on your front step when you emerge from Vault 111. Similar to all Mr.Handy model robots, this domestic servant has been built with heavy steel and nasty weaponry.
He might be your butler but he will always scold you like your guardian if you fight, steal, kill do drugs or stay out after your curfew. If you’ll take interest in mechanical tinkering, you’ll be his good child. Although this proves that robots can be selfish, too.
Curie
At first sight, Vault 81 might seem like a unique, rarest creature in the wasteland. But, after spending time there, finding the forgotten kittens and donating blood samples to science, a quest begins that send the player to the hidden, another side of Vault 81. Deep down in the lower levels of 81’s real experimental labs, Curie will be waiting for your and she’s been waiting there for almost a century. As a healer robot assistant, she’s very happy to get out of Vault 81 and function as a combat medic for the player.
- Location: Vault 81
- Weapon skills: Laser pistol, Flamethrower.
- Become best friends by: Avoid being selfish and getting addicted to drugs. Giving her a new synth body will surely boost her opinion about you. Curie is cool with a nice, peaceful and sometimes mean behavior, though.
- Unique perk: Combat Medic – Unlocked by completing the ‘Emergent Behaviour’ quest and reaching max affinity – If your health falls below 10%, she’ll heal you with 100HP, once per day though.
- Romanceable? Yes
Paladin Danse
After you reach the Police Station in Cambridge, you’ll see Danse and his team walking through a sea ghoul. Go ahead and help them fight off the ferals and make a few good comments about the Brotherhood of Steel, and you’ll see Dance giving you work as a Brotherhood Initiate. In order to get Danse as a companion, check in with Military Frequency AF95 after becoming an Initiate and complete a few Brotherhood quests. Visiting Danse frequently will kick off a new quest that ends with a player getting a knighthood, a new suit of power armor and Danse as a great wingman.
- Location: Police Station of Cambridge
- Weapon skills: Laser rifle
- Become best friends by: Keep your keen interest in the Brotherhood of Steel, in order to become best friends with Paladin Danse, he also likes it whenever you modify weapons and armor and when you use power armor.
- Unique perk: Know Your Enemy— Unlocked by achieving max affinity – Attacks will do 20% more damage against Synth, Super Mutants, and Feral Ghouls.
- Romanceable? Yes
Deacon
- Location: Railroad HeadQuarters
- Weapon skills: Hunting rifle
- Become best friends by: Deacon is going to like you anyway, even if you’re mean or nice. You can become good friends with Deacon by helping synths and avoiding violent decisions. Hacking, picking locks and speech successes also impresses Deacon.
- Unique Perk: Cloak and Dagger – Earned by gaining max affinity -Gain +40% stealth duration and +20% sneak attack damage.
- Romanceable? No
Start from Boston Common and follow the Freedom Trail, a nostalgic walking tour of downtown Boston. The trail will lead you to the location of Railroad Headquarters. Inside, you are going to find the Deacon and the rest of the Railroad. If you’ll offer your help, it’ll kick off a long quest with Deacon. After finishing the quest and joining Railroad, Deacon will be available as a travel buddy for you.
Dogmeat
- Location: Red Rocket truck stop
- Weapon skills: Being a very obedient fellow
- Become best friends by: Do whatever you like, dogmeat is going to love you anyway.
- Unique perk: Attack Dog – Unlocked through Charisma Skill Tree- Dogmeat can bite and hold on to enemies to give you a little help in your fights.
- Romanceable? No
Dogmeat and a trio of mole rats are one of the very first creatures you are going to encounter in the wasteland, at the Bridge from Sanctuary. Kill the mole rats and ask dogmeat to come along as your classic canine companionship. It doesn’t matter if you kill, steal or rob, Dogmeat is going to like you anyway. He is your best friend. Although he isn’t much on communication, he is a great combat tank. To make him good at what he does you have to provide him with good doggie armor and a pocket full of treats.
John Hancock
- Location: Goodneighbor
- Weapon skills: Dual-barrel shotgun
- Become best friends by: You can become good friends with John by telling those jerks in covenant to knock it off, being peaceful and kind will also do the job, although violence is cool too. Mean and selfishness isn’t his thing but he likes chem.
- Unique Perk: Isodoped—If you have 250 rads or higher, your criticals recharge 20% faster. Achieve max affinity to unlock.
- Romanceable? Yes
After you find a suit of clothes that belong to John Hancock (the founding father), John Hancock (The ghoul) will decide to turn his neverending, radioactive life around. He’ll wear those clothes, raise a militia, overthrow a local warlord, and establish himself as mayor of Good Neighbor. Speaking to the Bobbi No – Nose will start a quest that will end with Hancock feeling restless and eager for life on the road. Go ahead and take him up on it, his soul-less eyes and extra massive shotgun will join you in your travels.
Robert MacCready
- Location: Goodneighbor
- Weapon skills: Sniper-rifle
- Become best friends by: Be a thief and persuade violence. Be sarcastic or whatever. Avoid chems though.
- Unique perk: Killshot— Unlocked by completing the ‘Long Road Ahead’ quest and achieving max affinity- Headshot accuracy in V.A.T.S. is increased by 20%.
- Romanceable? Yes
In a parallel universe, a loner from Vault 101 met a 12-year-old Mayor MacCready, The leader of Little Lamplight. Life goes on and MacCready grew up, leaving Little Lamplight and making his way through the seedy, typically the underground bar The Third Rail. MacCready is a bitter, sarcastic marksman, so if you want him you will have to hire him.
Even though it costs to hire MacCready, but he is one of the most interesting companions on this roster. He’s sharp and skilled. MacCready is going to ask you to help him in a personal quest that will leave a mark on your mind.
Nick Valentine, Private Eye
- Location: Vault 114
- Weapon skills: Revolver Pistol
- Become best friends by: Heal Dogmeat and hack computers. Talk about dames and be nice, but don’t be too nice. And you’ll make him like you.
- Unique Perk: Unlocked by completing the ‘Long Time Coming’ quest and maxing out affinity -Close to Metal—gain one extra guess and a 50% faster terminal cooldown when hacking.
- Romanceable? No
When you will first arrive in Diamond City, roaming through the back alleys, you can get to the Valentine Detective Agency. Inside, his worried secretary will let you know that he’s been missing for some days. He’s actually abandoned in Vault 114, deep below the Park Street Station near Boston Common. Go ahead and make your work through the gang that has Nice pinned down and set him free. After that the hard drinking, noir talking robot detective will be ready to join you.
Piper Wright
- Location: Diamond City
- Weapon skills: 10mm pistol
- Become best friends by: You can befriend Piper Wright by giving her an interview while being generous. Piper will love it when you pick unowned locks and give items.
- Unique perk: Unlocked with max affinity – Gift of Gab—gain double XP for persuasion and discovering new locations.
- Romanceable? Yes
Like every other journalist, Piper Wright is in desperate need of a good story. Giving her an interview where you talk about your life in the world of Fallout will raise Piper’s interest. She will selflessly decide that if you’re going out into the commonwealth to do cool stuff or not, she’ll always come along to write about it. Piper is a great and snarky as well, but be careful if things get romantic she can get a bit jealous.
Preston Garvey
In Fallout 4, Minutemen and Concord are the first major quest for most players. There, you will find the Loner that pick up a sweet laser musket, in a power armor suit. As your Executive Officer in the Minutemen, Pres is very happy to join you back at Sanctuary, after that he’s an endless chivvy source of random odd jobs and quests.
But as a companion, he’s almost a different person. He is sociable, generous and he is recognized everywhere as a good guy. Having a hard-working wingman in a triangular hat is going to be amazing for colonial role-players, but Preston’s voice acting is among the worst in the game. Hire him for his musket, if you don’t like his voice.
- Location: Concord
- Weapon skills: Laser musket
- Become best friends by: If you’ll take the charge of The Minutemen and start to build lots of settlements, you can get Garvey’s attention. Avoid chems though. Garvey likes it when you try to modify weapons and give items.
- Unique perk: Unlocked with max affinity – United We Stand—gain +20% damage and +20 Damage Resistance when fighting three or more enemies.
- Romanceable? Yes
Strong
- Location: Trinity Tower
- Weapon skills: Assault rifle, Sledgehammer
- Become best friends by: Be generous and peaceful, keep up with the Brotherhood of Steel. Strong likes you the most when you eat corpses and attack neutral mobs.
- Unique perk: Unlocked with max affinity – Berserk—if your health is below 25%, you deal 20% extra melee weapon damage.
- Romanceable? No
All of the super angry mutants can be found at the Trinity Tower and that’s where you’re going to find Strong. Strong has been imprisoned along with his teacher from the theatre, Rex Goodman. After you free Rex and Strong, Strong will offer you to join in a quest to understand, emulate and destroy humanity slowly. Strong has to offer some of the best voice acting in the game and a sturdy sledge-hammer swinging arm.
X6-88
- Location: The Institute
- Weapon skills: Institute rifle
- Become best friends by: Go ahead, and put on a cosplay of a shiny Power Armor, be peaceful but selfish to get him like you as a best friend. He likes hacking, modifying weapons and armor.
- Unique perk: Unlocked with max affinity – Shield Harmonics—receive +20 energy resistance.
- Romanceable? No
If you want to pursue X6-88, join the Institute questline and beneath the ruins of it you are going to find him. X6-88 is a combat Synth, and he’s sent off with the player to put down a band of raiders. After working together for the first time, X6-88 will get impressed and he’ll offer you to join you as your traveling companion. Although X6-88 have a super cool leather jacket and sunglasses, so it should count as something.
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