In classic RPG fashion, Obsidian created a handful of fleshed-out companions for The Outer Worlds. They all have their own motivations that we explore in each of their lengthy side quests. Of the six, though, everyone’s bound to pick out their favorites. Only two at a time can join you, after all. You could go without any companions at all, but where’s the fun in that?
Whether it’s their personalities or skills, we’ll all have different reasons for picking our favorites. So here’s a quick rundown of all the companions, their locations, and their best assets.
Parvati Mends Machines and Hearts
Parvati is an absolute sweetheart. From her naive optimism to her rustic accent (courtesy of Ashly Burch), she grounds your spacefaring journey. She takes up the role of your ship’s engineer. You find her early in The Outer Worlds, and she’s hard to miss since she’s part of the main quest. You’ll find her in Edgewater with Reed Tobson, who you have to talk to anyway.
When you take Parvati with you, she boosts your Lockpick, Persuade, and Engineering skills. She pairs well with Felix if you want to double down on Lockpick and Persuade bonuses. If you want to get into secret stashes and talk your way into anything, they make a formidable team.
In combat, her active ability Overload can save you in a pinch. When you activate it, she runs up to whatever you pointed at and brings her hammer down, arcing electricity everywhere like Thor. It can stun nearby enemies, but more importantly, it absolutely knocks out your target. Even if you’re taking on a big boss, this attack will make them vulnerable and unable to attack for a few seconds. To make things even better, one of her unique perks lets her boost your TTD meter whenever she uses Overload. Regardless of your build, Parvati’s crowd control and utility can be invaluable.
Felix: The Rebel of The Outer Worlds
The header says it all. Felix is the only character in The Outer Worlds that drops everything to dropkick anything whenever you ask him to. Call it part of his freedom-fighting nature. If you’re looking for a rebel without a cause, he’s your poster child.
You’ll find him on the Groundbreaker, the next destination beyond Edgewater. You don’t have to try hard to find him. The moment you land, he’ll have a disagreement with the law that’s hard to miss. Later on, when you come back to your ship, he’ll be camping outside, hoping you’ll take him with you.
If he joins your journey, he’ll boost your Lockpick, Persuade, and Sneak skills when he’s in your party. Pair him with Nyoka if you want to never be seen again, as they both improve your Sneak. If you somehow get caught, Felix comes in handy because he’ll help talk you out of trouble or dropkick the first sign of danger.
Vicar Max Preaches the Good Word
Vicar Max can be a bit intense for some. His belief in a greater plan drives a lot of his character development, and he clearly has a bit of a superiority complex (or maybe I was just too dumb for his tastes). He can be found in Edgewater, in the OSI Church, and he’ll ask you to find a book for him. Afterward, he can join you.
When in your party, he provides a bonus to your Intimidate, Science, and Hack skills. Once you get a science weapon in Max’s hands, he becomes a monster. His own Science skill tends to be pretty high, and he even gets a unique perk that boosts his damage with science weapons even further. With the Shrink Ray in hand, he plays a great supporting role in the party.
Even if you don’t give him science weapons, he makes plasma and shock weapons really shine. They synergize well with his active ability, Trickshot, which tags an enemy with the Weaken debuff. This makes them more vulnerable to all status effects, so if you’re running a plasma-heavy party, he’ll bring out your full potential.
SAM Cleans House
SAM might be the oddest party member in The Outer Worlds. He doesn’t really have much other than going from cleaning robot to deadly cleaning robot. He sits in the Unreliable, completely deactivated. You need to find the Acid Steeper in Roseway and install it into his frame before you power him up.
Compared to the other five companions, he doesn’t have as much personality. Instead, he’s more like a walking punchline, insisting that he’s simply cleaning the colony (with acid instead of soap). In terms of skill boosts, he adds to your Intimidate, Science, and Hack, just like Vicar Max. If you plan to lean on science weapons a lot, a party including SAM and Max would make you a force to be reckoned with.
Funnily enough, if you know you’ll be fighting a lot of automechanicals, SAM plays the perfect companion. His literally irreplaceable acid weapons work wonders on their cold, iron bodies, and one of his perks makes him do even more damage to automechanicals. His active skill, Decontaminate, essentially turns him into an acid-based bomb, too.
Ellie the Pirate Doctor
Ellie can stitch up any wound you have, but she won’t exactly lend you a shoulder to cry on. She’s tough, cold, and unforgiving, just like the void of space. You’ll find her on the Groundbreaker, the same place Felix calls home. She hangs out at the medical bay, and she gives you a quest when you first talk to her. Finish up the quest and she’ll owe you one, joining your crew to pay off her debt.
In your party, she buffs your Lie, Medical, and Engineering skills. She synergizes well with Parvati’s Engineering boost while making you a better liar. The extra Medical points especially help in combat, as they make your inhaler heal you more effectively. One of her perks makes the inhaler even better, and another one gives you a second chance when you take fatal damage. All in all, Ellie will keep you alive whenever an encounter goes south.
Ellie’s active combat skill, Quick Draw, works similar to Parvati’s Overload but from afar. Ellie whips out her gun and hits an enemy, causing them to bleed and drop their weapon (if they can drop it). This makes enemies defenseless, and you can’t complain about the extra bleed damage.
Nyoka Rips Things to Shreds (You Say)
All your companions have a little bit of crazy to them, but Nyoka has a way of making everyone else look a bit more put together. Her constant alcoholism and terrifying aggression make her stand out in a crowd, almost as much as her bright hair does. You can find her at The Yacht Club, a bar in Stellar Bay (on Monarch). She’ll likely be the last companion you recruit, but you can’t miss her. She’s part of the main quest.
In your party, she boosts your Lie, Medical, and Sneak skills. Paired with Ellie, your heals become huge, and the double buff to Lie isn’t a bad thing. Alternatively, her big-game hunting experience makes her Sneak boost work well with Felix. One of her perks muffles your footsteps even more, too, so you’ll almost always have the element of surprise.
When the guns come out, Nyoka comes to life. Her action skill, Barrage, makes her unleash a warcry as terrifying as the hail of plasma bullets she unleashes. She’ll burn whatever target she hits and destroy their armor. When hunting some heavily armored creatures, she makes the perfect ally, especially with her perk that does more damage to creatures.
Regardless of how you build your character, there will always be a companion to help you get through The Outer Worlds. In terms of stats and numbers, they vary enough to complement whatever character you design. When it comes to personalities, they all distinctly stand out and can appeal to all sorts of players. There’s no wrong choice when it comes to building your party.
Who’s your favorite companion in The Outer Worlds? Let us know in the comments below.