Companions in Fallout 4 are allies who accompany the player on quests and can be recruited as members of your crew. There are several different companions available to the player, and they can be obtained via various methods such as completing a series of quests, joining a faction, accompanying certain characters on tasks, and others. Companions allow player interactions and offer a wide range of Companion Perks that provide combat effects unique to each Companion. Companions also have a gauge called Companion Affinity, which when raised enough, players can initiate a romance or earn their unique perk. A Companion romance allows additional interactions with them after reaching a specific level of affinity with them.
For an in-depth guide on the available companions that are romanceable in Fallout 4, please visit our Romance Guide page.
Fallout 4 All Companions Guide
| Name | Location | Companion Perk | How to Recruit | Romance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Wattz Consumer Electronics | n/a | To get Ada as your companion, proceed to Wattz Consumer Electronics and complete Mechanical Menace. | No |
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Combat Zone | Trigger Rush | Recruit Cait after completing Benign Intervention where she will ask for your help in defeating raiders. After doing so, you will speak to Tommy and unlock the option to have Cait as a companion. | Yes |
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Sanctuary | Robot Sympathy | Codsworth can be recruited after reaching a certain point in Concord while doing the quest Out of Time. The trigger happens as you travel towards the Museum of Freedom where you start hearing gunfire. Then, return to Codsworth where you initially found him in Sanctuary, outside your old house. This will unlock the option to recruit Codsworth. | No |
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Vault 81 | Combat Medic | Recruit Curie at the end of Emergent Behavior which requires you to get access inside Vault 81. You will need a total of 3 Fusion Cores that will be used once you get inside and work on the following quests to lead you to Curie: Hole in the Wall, Here Kitty, Kitty, and finally Emergent Behavior, this is the third and final quest needed to recruit Curie. | Yes |
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Old North Church | Cloak and Dagger | To recruit Deacon as a companion, he will first ask you to join the Railroad and complete the quests Road to Freedom and Tradecraft. | No |
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Red Rocket Truck Stop | Attack Dog | Walk up to Dogmeat near the Red Rocket Truck Stop and approach him. He will follow you around after interacting with him. If you lose sight of Dogmeat, try to look for him in dog houses within settlements and he will be likely waiting nearby. | No |
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Goodneighbor | Isodoped | To recruit John Hancock as a companion, players must travel to Goodneighbor and complete the following quests in favor of Bobbi No Nose: |
Yes |
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Vault 114 (Park Street Station) | Close to Metal | You can recruit Nick Valentine after completing Unlikely Valentine. Head inside his office located within Diamond City and your objective is to rescue him, after doing so, you will unlock the option to recruit him. | No |
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Far Harbor | Hunter's Wisdom | Recruit The Old Longfellow at the end of Walk in the Park and requires the Far Harbor DLC to access this content. | No |
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Cambridge Police Station | Know Your Enemy | Recruit Paladin Danse at the Cambridge Police Station by completing the quest Tour of Duty and joining his faction Brotherhood of Steel. | Yes |
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Diamond City | Gift of Gab | There are two ways to unlock Piper as a companion:
|
Yes |
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Fizztop Grille | Lessons in Blood | Recruit Porter Gage at the end of An Ambitious Plan, which requires you to overcome the Gauntlet. This is a feature accessible with the Nuka World DLC. | Yes |
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Museum of Freedom | United We Stand | You can recruit Preston by completing The First Step which requires you to help his faction, the Minutemen. | Yes |
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The Third Rail (Goodneighbor) | Killshot | You can recruit MacCready after reaching The Third Rail in Goodneighbor. He will ask for payment to become your temporary companion which starts at 250 Caps, you can negotiate with him to lower his fees if you succeed at the skill check. | Yes |
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Trinity Tower | Berserk | Recruit Strong by completing The Curtain Call, you will find him at Trinity Tower where he is imprisoned together with Rex Goodman. | No |
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The Institute | Shield Harmonics | Recruit X6-88 at The Institute and complete the quests: Synth Retention, The Battle of Bunker Hill, and Mankind Redefined. These three are Institute-related quests and will require you to join his faction. | No |
Ada
What are Companions in Fallout 4?
Companions in Fallout 4 provide players the option to have allies tag along during the campaign in Fallout 4. Players who are interested in pursuing romances in the game can be rewarded with additional dialogues, interactions, and perks. As their relationship grow with Companions, they will earn the favor of that companion and earn a unique Companion Perk.
Companions have their preferences. For some of the things that you do in-game, each companion will react to it positively, or negatively. This interaction will affect their Affinity Level, which, when maximized, will grant a unique Companion Perk. Additionally, Companions also have their preferred weapon. You can also equip them with items that you will pick up along the way.
- Companions can be given commands and the player can trade equipment with them.
- Companions also grant special Companion Perks which are unlocked after raising their Affinity.
- Raising their affinity also unlocks options for Romance if the option is available.
- Companions have infinite ammo for the weapons they begin with. However if you give them a new weapon, they must be supplied with ammo.
- When released from duty, companions may be assigned to one of your Settlements where they will remain until you need to enlist them once more.
How Many Companions Are There in Fallout 4?
In the base game of Fallout 4, there are originally 13 Companions available to players. Later on, Automatron and Ada were added to the Automatron DLC, where both are fully customizable robot companions. Then, Far Harbor and Nuka World introduced Old Longfellow and Porter Gage respectively to their DLCs. There is a total of 17 companions in Fallout 4, including the add-on characters.
Romance Characters in Fallout 4
- Fallout 4 Romanceable Companions
See all Romanceable Companions (click to reveal)
- Fallout 4 Non-Romanceable Companions
See all Non-Romanceable Companions (click to reveal)
- Ada
- Automatron
- Cait
- Codsworth
- Deacon
- Dogmeat
- Nick Valentine
- Old Longfellow
- Preston Garvey
- Strong
- X6-88
How to Recruit Companions in Fallout 4?
Companions can join you in the campaign of Fallout 4 after you have reached specific conditions. The recruitment process varies depending on the companion, but unlocking a companion usually involves completing a quest specific to them, or in the case of MacCready, you can hire him for a fee to join your crew.
What is Affinity Level in Fallout 4
Affinity Level measures where you currently stand with a companion. This will let players know how their relationship is going with companions and how far away they are from earning their perk. The Affinity Level is not visible right away, but can only be decoded through companion dialogues or through Console Commands. A Companion in Fallout 4 usually begins at 0 Affinity, while the lowest is -1000 Affinity Level, and the highest is 1000 Affinity Level.
Console Commands For Affinity in Fallout 4
Using the Console Commands in Fallout 4, they can get the accurate number for their progress with specific companion by typing in "GetAV CA_Affinity". This will give players the exact number where they're at with the companion.
Their affinity will increase/decrease depending on your actions. You can also track their affinity level through their dialogues:
- "(Name of Companion) liked that" is equal to +15 Affinity Level
- "(Name of Companion) loved that" is equal to +35 Affinity Level
- "(Name of Companion) disliked that" is equal to -15 Affinity Level
- "(Name of Companion) hated that" is equal to -35 Affinity Level
Below, you will find the Ranking of Companion Affinity. Once players received the prompt that a companion "idolizes you", this is the time to speak with that companion to unlock the perk. After unlocking Companion Perks in Fallout 4, the effect is permanent even though the player will choose to travel with a new companion, or if the Affinity Level decreases.
Companion Affinity Level |
Ranking |
In-Game Dialogue |
| -1000 Affinity | Hatred | "(Name of Companion) hates you." |
| -500 Affinity | Disdain | n/a |
| 0 Affinity | Neutral | "(Name of Companion) tolerates you." |
| 250 Affinity | Friend | n/a |
| 500Affinity | Admiration | "(Name of Companion) admires you." |
| 750 Affinity | Confidant | n/a |
| 1000 Affinity | Infatuation | "(Name of Companion) idolizes you." |
Fallout 4 Companion Perks Information
Companion Perks in Fallout 4
What Do Companion Perks Do?
Companion Perks are unique effects that can be gained by increasing the Affinity Level of Companions in Fallout 4. These perks are permanent even though the player chooses to no longer travel with that companion, or if the Affinity Level decreases. The Companion Perks becomes available after reaching 1000 Affinity Level.
What is Companion Affinity in Fallout 4?
Companion Affinity is a measurement of your progress with a companion. This will tell you how soon you can earn their companion perk. The Companion Affinity allows players to gauge how much more interactions they will put in to earn the favor of that companion. A companion typically starts with 0 Affinity Level, then it goes up to 1000. At that point, players will receive a notification that a companion idolizes them, and is also the signal for you to speak with that companion to gain their unique perk.
How Do I Level Up The Affinity of My Companions?
The player may level up their companion's affinity by choosing dialogues and doing actions that they agree with. The player, or the Sole Survivor is in complete control to increase the affinity of their companions.
| Companion | Perk | Effect |
|---|---|---|
| Cait | Trigger Rush | Action points regenerate faster if your health is below 25%. |
| Codsworth | Robot Sympathy | +10 damage resistance against robot energy weapons. |
| Curie | Combat Medic | Once per day, heal 100 points if health falls below 10%. |
| Paladin Danse | Know Your Enemy | Damage +20% against Ferals, Super Mutants and Synths. |
| Deacon | Cloak and Dagger | Gain +20% sneak attack damage and the duration of effects of Stealth Boys is increased by +40%. |
| Dogmeat | Attack Dog | Your faithful canine companion can hold an enemy, giving you a greater chance to hit them in V.A.T.S. |
| John Hancock | Isodoped | At 250 rads or higher, get criticals 20% faster. |
| MacCready | Killshot | Headshots in V.A.T.S. increased by 20%. |
| Nick Valentine | Close to Metal | One extra guess and 50% faster terminal cooldown when hacking. |
| Old Longfellow | Hunter's Wisdom | Reduces damage and energy resistance of animals and sea creatures by 25% |
| Piper | Gift of Gab | +100% XP bonus for speech challenges and discovering new locations. |
| Porter Gage | Lessons in Blood | +10 Damage Resistance, as well as +5 percent extra EXP per kill. |
| Preston Garvey | United We Stand | Damage +20% and +20 damage resistance when facing three or more opponents. |
| Strong | Berserk | When below 25% health, melee weapon damage increases by +20%. |
| X6-88 | Shield Harmonics | +20 damage resistance vs. energy. |
Fallout 4 Affinity Level
Companion Affinity measures your progress with a companion. This will tell you how soon you can earn their unique perk. The Companion Affinity allows players to gauge how much more interactions they will put in to earn the favor of that companion. A companion typically starts with 0 Affinity Level, then it goes up to 1000. At that point, players will receive a notification that a companion idolizes them, and is also the signal for you to speak with that companion to gain their unique perk. It is advisable to read up on their reactions if you are looking to keep a party member happy to obtain their perk or initiate a romance.
- Your companions react to your choices and character alignment in Fallout 4.
- Each reaction will contribute to the Affinity Level of that companion.
- Once you have reached 1000 Affinity Level, you can earn the Companion Perk permanently.
| Name | Generous | Selfish | Nice | Mean | Peaceful | Violent | Chem Use | Chem Addiction | Donating | Alcohol |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cait |  |
 |
-- | |
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Either | Either | Either | |
| Codsworth | |
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-- | -- | -- | |
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| Curie | -- | |
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-- | |
-- | |
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| Paladin Danse | |
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-- | |
-- | |||
| Deacon | -- | -- | |
|
-- | |
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| Dogmeat | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | ||
| John Hancock | |
|
-- | |
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-- | |
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| MacCready | -- | -- | |
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-- | |
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| Nick Valentine | -- | -- | |
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-- | -- | |
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| Piper | |
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-- | |
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-- | -- | |
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| Preston Garvey | |
|
-- | |
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-- | |
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| Strong | |
|
-- | |
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-- | -- | -- | |
| X6-88 | |
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-- | |
-- | |
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so boring
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