This is a list of all 13 companions that you can recruit in Fallout 4. Check out our guide for a list of companions, best companions, companion perks, how to find companions, as well as how companion affinity works!

All Companions List

All Recruitable Companions

Companion	Location	Perk	Romance?
Cait	Location: Combat Zone How to Recruit: Kill all the Raiders in the Combat Zone and speak to Tommy.	Trigger Rush	✔︎
Codsworth	Location: Sanctuary Hills How to Recruit: Return to Codsworth at Sanctuary Hills after meeting Preston Garvey in the When Freedom Calls quest.	Robot Sympathy	✖︎
Curie	Location: Vault 81 How to Recruit: Complete the Hole in the Wall quest.	Combat Medic	✔︎
Deacon	Location: Old North Church How to Recruit: Complete the Tradecraft quest.	Cloak and Dagger	✖︎
Dogmeat	Location: Red Rocket Truck Stop How to Recruit: Talk to Dogmeat at the Red Rocket Truck Stop and select the "Let's Go" dialogue option.	None	✖︎
Hancock	Location: Goodneighbor How to Recruit: Complete the The Big Dig quest.	Isodoped	✔︎
MacCready	Location: The Third Rail in Goodneighbor How to Recruit: Pay MacCready 250 Caps (or 200 Caps through successful persuasion check)	Killshot	✔︎
Nick Valentine	Location: Vault 114 How to Recruit: Accept Nick Valentine's offer to track down Kellogg during the Getting a Clue quest.	Close to Metal	✖︎
Paladin Danse	Location: Cambridge Police Station How to Recruit: Complete the Shadow of Steel quest.	Know Your Enemy	✔︎
Piper	Location: Diamond City How to Recruit: Complete the Story of the Century quest.	Gift of Gab	✔︎
Preston Garvey	Location: Museum of Freedom How to Recruit: Complete the The First Step quest.	United We Stand	✔︎
Strong	Location: Trinity Tower How to Recruit: Complete the Curtain Call quest.	Berserk	✖︎
X6-88	Location: The Institute How to Recruit: Complete the Mankind - Redefined quest.	Shield Harmonics	✖︎

Best Companions Tier List

Best Companions for Combat Tier List (No DLCs)

Companions Tier List
S Tier	Paladin Danse Dogmeat
A Tier	Robert MacCready Preston Garvey Hancock Strong Curie (Synth Form)
B Tier	Deacon Cait Curie (Ms. Nanny Form) Nick Valentine Piper Wright
C Tier	Codsworth X6-88

S-Tier Companions

Paladin Danse

Pros ・The only companion that naturally wears T-60 Power Armor ・Danse's Power Armor is indestructable, which means it doesn't require repairing ・Is a large target, which means enemies will often prioritize attacking him Cons ・Cannot sneak, which means he's not a good companion for sneak builds or stealth missions ・ Will become unavailable during Blind Betrayal, and it's possible to lose him as a companion if you don't spare him during the mission

Dogmeat

Pros ・Available at the start of the game ・The only companion that you can issue proper commands ・The Lone Wanderer perk effect works even when traveling with him as a companion Cons ・Is only useful when fighting humanoid enemies that he can maul or grab their limbs ・Has no armor options. Even the armor he can equip actually doesn't provide any damage or energy reduction

A-Tier Companions

MacCready	Pros ・Is a Sniper, which makes him one of the best companions for sneak or Sniper builds ・Gives a random selection of ammo when speaking to him as an active companion ・His Hat and Outfit can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave Cons ・Is a Sniper, which means he struggles in enclosed locations where melee enemies (such as Ghouls) can swarm him ・Requires a payment of caps to recruit as a companion
Preston Garvey	Pros ・Recruitable early in game ・His Laser Musket can one-shot weaker enemies and is still strong in the midgame ・ His hat and outfit can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave ・NPCs may sometimes talk to him and give him items or caps, which you can take from his inventory Cons ・ Although his laser musket functions as a sniper, it's not silenced and is in fact very load, making him a poor choice for sneak builds ・Will often ask you to do a settlement radiant quest even as an active companion, which can get very annoying
Hancock	Pros ・ Wields a combat knife and a sawed-off double-barrel shotgun, making him a great choice for melee fights ・ Provides you a random chem when travelling as an active companion ・His outfit and hat can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave Cons ・Not a great choice for combating enemy snipers due to his own gun's low range
Strong	Pros ・ Physically the strongest companion ・Has the second highest HP among the companions ・Has high carry capacity Cons ・ Limited to super mutant armor ・ Limited to equipping weapons that Super Mutant enemies can equip ・ Cannot sneak, making him a poor choice for stealthy characters ・ Has a range of dislikes that make him difficult to befriend
Curie (Synth Form)	Pros ・Has a fixed 670 Health which is the highest companion health and can be further boosted with health-increasing armor pieces ・Clothing can be upgraded with Ballistic weave ・Provides the stronger Curie's Healthpak when an active companion Cons ・ Has less overall health than her Ms. Nanny Form ・ You need to equip her better armor and weapons (and ammo) to be combat relevant

B-Tier Companions

Deacon	Pros ・Is a Sniper, which makes him one of the best companions for sneak or Sniper builds Cons ・ Is generally an inferior combat companion to Macready ・Becomes aggressive when siding with the Institute or Brotherhood of Steel ・Because he regularly changes disguises, you'll need to upgrade different sets of clothes with Ballistic Weave ・Struggles in enclosed areas unless equipped with another weapon
Cait	Pros ・Wields a baseball bat and a double-barrel shotgun, making her a versatile fighter that can adapt very quickly ・Her outfit can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave ・ Is the only companion that will use Chems, including combat chems such as Jet ・ Can lockpick any locked container, up to Master level locks as long as she's supplied with bobby pins Cons ・Her affinity will drop if you use chems after doing Benign Intervention, including benign chems such as RadAway ・May struggle against larger enemies, such as Super Mutant Behemoths and Deathclaws
Curie (Ms. Nanny Form)	Pros ・ Has a built-in buzzsaw and laser gun for weapons ・Has a fixed 440 Health ・ Provides Stimpaks when travelling as an active companion Cons ・ Cannot sneak due to being a robot ・ Despite her higher HP, she lacks innate Damage or Energy Resistance, which means she's still a weaker choice compared to her Synth Form
Nick Valentine	Pros ・ Hat and Outfit can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave ・The only companion that can hack terminals ・Has slightly more health compared to other humanoid characters except for Curie and Strong Cons ・ Is only equipped with a pipe revolver pistol, which is the weakest revolver in the game ・You can give him a stronger revolver, but you'll also need to supply him ammo
Piper	Pros ・ Hat and outfit can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave ・ Provides candy items when travelling as an active companion Cons ・Wields a generally weak 10mm pistol ・You can give her better guns but will also require ammo

C-Tier Companions

Codsworth

Pros ・Available at the start of the game ・His flamer weapon can instantly kill most low level enemies at the start of the game ・ Will provide you 1 Purified Water when talking to him when travelling as an active companion. This is life-saving during Survival mode since using Stimpaks and Radaways will make you thirsty Cons ・Cannot sneak, which means he's not a good companion for sneak builds or stealth missions ・ Damage falls off during the mid to late game and often ends up becoming a guard for a settlement

X6-88

Pros ・Courser Uniform can be upgraded with Ballistic Weave ・Has a more aggresive A.I. compared to other companions Cons ・ Obtained very late in the game ・His Institute Laser Rifle is very weak compared to standard laser rifles You can give him better guns but will also require ammo ・Becomes aggressive when siding against the Institute

All Companion Perks

Companion Perks and Effects

Best Companion Perks

Companion Affinity Explained

NPC Relationship Mechanic that Unlocks Unique Perks

Companion Affinity in Fallout 4 works by performing actions in-game that a companion likes or dislikes. If a companion reacts positively to a player's action or decision, their affinity with a player will increase. Once maximum affinity has been achieved, the player will unlock that companion's unique perk which grants them with passive stat buffs.

Some companions may ask you to do a personal favor (a companion quest) first in order to gain access to their perks. These personal quests are also unlocked once a player reaches a high affinity with them.

All Companion Likes and Dislikes

Companion	Likes	Dislikes
Cait	・Selfish ・Violence	・Generous ・Rude ・Peaceful
Codsworth	・Generous ・Kindness	・Selfish
Curie	・Kindness ・Rude ・Peaceful	・Selfish
Deacon	・Kindness	・Rude ・Violence
Dogmeat	・None	・None
Hancock	・Generous ・Peaceful ・Violence	・Selfish ・Rude
MacCready	・Violence	・Kindness ・Rude ・Peaceful
Nick Valentine	・Kindness ・Rude	・Peaceful ・Violence
Paladin Danse	・Kindness ・Violence	・Rude ・Peaceful
Piper	・Generous ・Rude	・Selfish ・Peaceful ・Violence
Preston Garvey	・Generous ・Rude ・Peaceful	・Selfish ・Violence
Strong	・Generous ・Peaceful ・Violence	・Selfish ・Rude
X6-88	・Selfish ・Peaceful	・Generous ・Kindness

Fallout 4 Related Guides

Fallout 4 Wiki

Fallout 4 Walkthrough Wiki

Game8 Fallout 4 Guides
Perk Chart	Map
Main Quests	Side Quests
IDs and Item Codes	Companions
Weapons	Armor and Clothing
Power Armor	Factions
Tips and Tricks	Materials
Achievements	-

Fallout 4 Recommended Guides