How to find every Outer Worlds companion

Who are The Outer World's companions? No Obsidian game would be complete without some traveling buddies joining you in your journey. From KOTOR to New Vegas, these are fascinating characters that, in some cases, outshine the protagonist. 

The Outer Worlds is no different: this refreshed take on the New Vegas formula boasts a diverse cast of comrades you can find and add to your party, each with their own abilities and delightful disposition. In this guide, I'm going to run through every companion in The Outer Worlds, and how to find and unlock them.

All The Outer Worlds' companions

Name: Vicar Max

Location: Edgewater

There's a chance that Vicar Max is the first companion you encounter on your journey. You can find Max in the Emerald Vale Church inside Edgewater before you even entertain Reed Tompson’s propositions in the Saltuna Cannery tower. People around town will mention a practising vicar if you chat to them, and inform you about his 'new' way of thinking. 

Once you’ve spoken to Max he asks you to find a book in Emerald Vale, an ancient text he's desperate to find. It’s easily signposted, but bring some good weaponry as there are a number of beasts that lurk in the vicinity. Once you deliver the text Max heads to your ship, The Unreliable, and will be available for use once you wrap up your business in the first hub. 

Max boosts your hacking skills and his ability, Trickshot, fires a shotgun blast at any given opponent, accompanied by a clever quip. The blast applies Knockdown and Weaken to the enemy, so you can wail on them while they’re immobile.

Name: Parvati

Location: Reed Tompson’s office, Edgewater

If you’re the kind of person who likes to run and gun through the main story, you most likely will encounter Parvati first, a charming Engineer under the influence of Edgewater’s oppressive regime. Parvati will join your party without any legwork necessary, all you have to do is ascend to Reed Tompson’s office in the Edgewater Saltuna facility, where she’ll be conversing with the bowler-hatted miscreant. She’ll offer her services to you as you embark on a mission to find a power regulator, but will stay in your party indefinitely regardless of the result of the mission. 

Parvati enhances your Engineering skill once added to your party, and her skill tree offers a number of interesting upgrades including a perk that ups the chance of looting mods in the field. Her character ability is called Overload and is one of the best in the game, as she leaps into the air and slams down her hammer, applying Stun and Knockout to the enemies in the blast radius. It’s fantastic for immobilizing dangerous mechanicals and will save your life on multiple occasions if used correctly.

Name: Ellie

Location: The Groundbreaker

You’ll find Ellie a short way into the game on The Groundbreaker, the floating shopping centre in the sky. Ellie is found arguing with the clerk at the Medical Bay, and when approached, she asks you to find Jessie Doyle, an acquaintance of hers under quarantine. Head to where black market dealer Gladys’ is and go to the left of her shop to add her to your party. 

Then you’ll see a series of dumpsters. Move behind them until you see a crawl space, and follow it through to the right to find a passageway to the medical wing. Pick up the keycard on the shelf, incapacitate the guard, then walk to the left to find Jessie, where you can retrieve her from captivity. Return to the Medical Bay where you first saw Ellie and she will join your crew. 

Ellie upgrades your Medical stat if added to your party, and her perks focus on health recovery and improving the efficiency of the Inhaler system. Her ability, Quickdraw, fires a series of shots at a chosen enemy from her trusty pistol. The shots deal Bleed damage which harms the attributes of human enemies. Quickdraw can also disarm foes, knocking their weapon away and disabling it for 15 seconds.

Name: Felix

Location: Outside The Unreliable, The Groundbreaker

Felix is an intriguing character; he's a mischievous, anti-establishment gentleman who comes to your attention on The Groundbreaker. While you can talk to the Mardet about his incident report, you’ll most likely see him when you’re leaving to go elsewhere in The Outer Worlds: Felix appears at the door to your ship and begs you to let him join your crew. Being the persuasive sort, all you have to do is say yes to get him on board.

Felix upgrades your Persuade skill if added to the party, and his perks focus on dealing extra damage to corporate and cowering enemies, making him a brilliant companion if you’re running an anti-Board speech build. His ability is a very satisfying dropkick, which slams into a singular target with both feet. Dropkick can apply Stagger and Concuss effects to the chosen foe, pushing them away from the combat arena and reducing their offensive and defensive capabilities. It can also slow enemy attack rate and mark them so they take increased physical damage.

Name: SAM

Location: Upper Deck, The Unreliable

SAM is a cleaning robot found on The Unreliable that you can find by simply wandering around the ship. Once you run into them the game will impart that SAM is missing an Acid Steeper, as the current part is faulty. To let SAM join your party, you have to replace it. Head downstairs and talk to ADA about SAM, who will inform you that more details are available on Hawthorne’s computer upstairs. Use it to find out that there is a replacement Acid Steeper on Roseway. Which, much like most quests in The Outer Worlds, is easily signposted and simple to find. Once you’ve got it, head back to the ship and replace the part to add SAM to your party, so he can get to work cleaning up the colony with his dangerous attacks.

SAM designates every enemy as contaminated filth and deals heavy corrosive damage to his aggressors. By being in your party SAM will protect you from status effects and intimidate those that you’re in conversation with. Later perks in the tree increase damage given to mechanical enemies and lower or increase the threat generated by his presence, making it so you can turn him into a tank if necessary. His ability, Decontaminate, has SAM leap into the air and stomp on a group of enemies, leaving caustic fluid in his wake to “remove tough stains.” It is incredibly useful when facing the more potent robotic enemies and groups of malleable humans too. It deals Acid damage and applies the Knockdown status effect, making it easy for you to put boss enemies out of commission and wail on them whilst they’re flailing.

Name: Nyoka

Location: The Yacht Club, Monarch

Found in a local dive near the Stellar Bay Landing Pad, Nyoka is a raging alcoholic who loves to hunt and can be found in The Yacht Club pub straight ahead of you when you arrive in Monarch. To unlock Nyoka you must simply sober her up, either through some careful speech checks or via a Caffenoid pill that you can collect from the MSI Dispensary, which is just up the road from the bar. Once you acquire the pill she’ll join your party and help you navigate through Monarch’s dangerous wilderness. 

Nyoka is a chronic liar and will improve your skills in that field whilst in your party. She’s also very sneaky, and further perks reduce the sound of footsteps and increase damage to creatures in the wild. Her ability is called Barrage and deals focused damage via her modified light machine gun, setting the surrounding enemies on fire. Barrage will rip through the armour rating of the affected enemies and deals serious burn damage.