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Choosing the right companion in Fallout 4 can make or break your wasteland experience. Each of the 13 base game companions offers a unique perk, personality, and combat style that suits different playstyles. Some excel at keeping you alive in firefights, others help you sneak through dangerous areas undetected, and a few provide perks so powerful they’ll change how you approach the entire game.
This guide ranks every base game companion from best to worst, factoring in their permanent perk (unlocked at maximum affinity), combat effectiveness, special abilities, and overall utility. We’ve also included how to recruit each companion and what they like and dislike, so you can max out their affinity quickly.
How Companion Affinity Works
Before diving into rankings, it’s important to understand how you unlock companion perks. Each companion has an affinity score that starts at 0 and maxes out at 1,000. Your actions around companions affect this score: helping settlers, picking locks, using chems, and dialogue choices all matter. When you see “[Companion] liked that” you gain +15 affinity, while “[Companion] loved that” gives +35. Negative actions work the same way in reverse.
Once you hit maximum affinity, you permanently unlock that companion’s perk—even if you never travel with them again. This means it’s worth cycling through companions to collect all their perks, even if you have a favorite you always return to.
S-Tier Companions
These companions offer game-changing perks that remain useful throughout your entire playthrough.
1. Robert MacCready
Perk: Killshot – Gain 20% increased accuracy for headshots in V.A.T.S.
MacCready’s Killshot perk is widely considered the best companion perk in Fallout 4. Headshots deal the most damage against nearly every enemy type, and a flat 20% accuracy boost makes V.A.T.S. builds significantly more powerful. This perk stacks with other accuracy bonuses and remains useful from early game through the toughest endgame encounters.
How to Recruit: Find MacCready in the VIP room of The Third Rail bar in Goodneighbor. He’s a mercenary for hire—pay 250 caps (or 200 with an easy speech check) to recruit him.
Likes: Stealing, picking locks, being greedy, violence, sarcasm
Dislikes: Giving items away for free, chem addiction, murder of innocents, the Institute
Romance: Yes
2. Deacon
Perk: Cloak & Dagger – Deal 20% more sneak attack damage and Stealth Boy duration increased by 40%.
For stealth builds, Deacon’s perk is essential. The 20% sneak attack bonus applies to both ranged and melee attacks, pushing your multiplier from 2.0x to 2.4x for ranged and 3.0x to 3.6x for melee. Combined with the extended Stealth Boy duration, this makes him the perfect companion for players who prefer to avoid direct combat. Deacon also has the highest sneak skill of any companion, rarely alerting enemies to your presence.
How to Recruit: Join the Railroad faction by following the Freedom Trail to Old North Church. Complete the “Tradecraft” quest with Deacon to unlock him as a companion.
Likes: Helping synths, picking locks, hacking terminals, peaceful solutions, using disguises
Dislikes: Violence against non-hostiles, working with the Institute, being cruel
Romance: No
3. Piper
Perk: Gift of Gab – Gain double XP for discovering new locations and passing speech checks.
Piper is the best companion to recruit early because her perk accelerates your leveling significantly. The double XP for location discovery adds up fast when you’re exploring the Commonwealth for the first time, and successful persuasion attempts become much more rewarding. Get her perk early, then switch to other companions while keeping the permanent XP bonus.
How to Recruit: You’ll meet Piper outside Diamond City’s gate during your first visit. Complete the “Story of the Century” quest (just do her interview) to recruit her.
Likes: Helping others, being generous, picking locks (owned), honest dialogue choices
Dislikes: Being greedy, lying in conversations, violence against non-hostiles, chem use
Romance: Yes
A-Tier Companions
Strong perks that benefit specific playstyles or provide excellent combat utility.
4. Curie
Perk: Combat Medic – Once per day, heal 100 HP when your health drops below 10%.
Curie’s perk acts as a free emergency heal that can save you from death once daily. While situational, it’s a genuine lifesaver on Survival difficulty where healing is limited. What makes Curie truly exceptional is her combat durability—she has 670 HP compared to the standard 185 HP of human companions, making her nearly four times as tanky. She’ll stay in fights long after other companions would go down.
How to Recruit: Complete the “Hole in the Wall” quest in Vault 81, which requires first helping Austin recover from mole rat disease. Curie is a Miss Nanny robot who can later become a synth through a side quest.
Likes: Being kind, helping others, peaceful solutions, healing people
Dislikes: Violence, being mean, chem use, theft
Romance: Yes (after synth conversion)
5. Paladin Danse
Perk: Know Your Enemy – Deal 20% more damage to Ghouls, Super Mutants, and Synths.
Three of the most common enemy types in Fallout 4 are Ghouls, Super Mutants, and Synths. A permanent 20% damage boost against all three is incredibly practical throughout the entire game. Danse is also one of the tankiest human companions since he’s always wearing Power Armor, making him excellent for players who want a frontline fighter.
How to Recruit: Find Danse at Cambridge Police Station defending against Ghouls. Complete the “Fire Support” and “Call to Arms” quests, then finish “Tour of Duty” to unlock him as a permanent companion.
Likes: Brotherhood of Steel support, helping settlements, modifying weapons and armor, power armor use
Dislikes: Helping synths, stealing, chem use, murder
Romance: Yes
6. Nick Valentine
Perk: Close to Metal – Gain one extra guess when hacking terminals, and terminal lockout time reduced by 50%.
Nick’s perk makes hacking significantly less frustrating. The extra guess means you can attempt more words before risking lockout, and when you do get locked out, you’re back in within 5 seconds instead of 10. But Nick’s real value is his special ability: he can hack any terminal for you, regardless of difficulty. No hacking perks required—just ask Nick to do it.
How to Recruit: Complete “Getting a Clue” during the main questline. You’ll rescue Nick from Vault 114 during your search for clues about Shaun.
Likes: Being nice to others, helping synths, donating items, peaceful resolutions
Dislikes: Murder, being selfish, mean dialogue options
Romance: No
B-Tier Companions
Solid companions with useful but more situational perks.
7. Cait
Perk: Trigger Rush – Regenerate Action Points faster when your health is below 25%.
Trigger Rush sounds powerful on paper but only activates when you’re nearly dead—a dangerous position to be in intentionally. The perk also has a known bug where it only triggers below 25% AP rather than health, and even then regenerates AP only 8% faster. Despite the underwhelming perk, Cait has a valuable special ability: she can pick any lock regardless of difficulty, saving you perk points in Locksmith.
How to Recruit: Travel to the Combat Zone (a raider-occupied theater east of Diamond City) and clear out the raiders. Speak with Tommy Lonegan to recruit Cait.
Likes: Chem use (before her personal quest), violence, picking locks, being selfish
Dislikes: Peaceful solutions, being nice to others, helping settlements, chem use (after her quest)
Romance: Yes
8. Hancock
Perk: Isodoped – Fill your critical meter 20% faster when you have 250+ rads.
Hancock’s perk supports radiation-based builds that intentionally maintain high rad levels for perks like Ghoulish or Rad Powered legendary effects. The 250 rads requirement (about 25% of your health bar) is manageable, and faster critical hits in V.A.T.S. can be devastating with the right weapons. He’s a niche pick but extremely effective for the right build.
How to Recruit: In Goodneighbor, speak to Bobbi No-Nose in the alley behind the gun shop to start “The Big Dig” quest. Side with Hancock at the quest’s end to unlock him as a companion.
Likes: Chem use, being generous, helping the downtrodden, violence against evil characters
Dislikes: Being cruel to innocents, supporting the Institute, extortion
Romance: Yes
9. X6-88
Perk: Shield Harmonics – Gain +20 Energy Resistance.
A flat +20 Energy Resistance helps against laser weapons, plasma rifles, and Institute enemies throughout the game. It’s not flashy, but it’s always active and requires no specific playstyle. X6-88 is also an effective combat companion with good AI and solid weapon skills. The major downside is that recruiting him requires siding with the Institute, locking you out of other faction endings.
How to Recruit: Progress the Institute main quest through “Synth Retention,” then complete “Battle of Bunker Hill” and “Mankind Redefined.” You must remain allied with the Institute to keep X6-88 as a companion.
Likes: Supporting the Institute, being cruel to synth enemies, using advanced technology
Dislikes: Helping the Railroad, being nice to “defective” synths, siding against the Institute
Romance: No
C-Tier Companions
Companions with niche or underwhelming perks, but still worth recruiting for perk collection.
10. Preston Garvey
Perk: United We Stand – Deal 20% more damage and gain +20 Damage Resistance when facing 3+ enemies.
Preston’s perk is genuinely useful in larger fights—and Fallout 4 has plenty of encounters with groups of Raiders, Ghouls, or Super Mutants. The problem is that the perk only activates when outnumbered, which is often when you’re already struggling. It’s a reactive perk rather than a proactive one, making it less reliable than flat bonuses.
How to Recruit: Rescue Preston and the Minutemen from the Museum of Freedom in Concord, then complete “The First Step” quest and become the Minutemen General.
Likes: Helping settlements, being generous, peaceful solutions, modifying weapons
Dislikes: Stealing, murder, chem use, being selfish
Romance: Yes
11. Strong
Perk: Berserk – Deal 20% more melee damage when your health is below 25%.
Berserk is only useful for melee builds, and only when you’re nearly dead. That’s a narrow niche with high risk. Strong himself is a capable fighter with 245 HP (higher than most human companions), but building affinity with him is frustrating—he dislikes most helpful actions and can’t enter certain areas or use Power Armor. He’s the only companion who doesn’t mind murder, which can be convenient for certain playstyles.
How to Recruit: Complete the “Curtain Call” quest by rescuing Rex Goodman and Strong from the top of Trinity Tower.
Likes: Violence, eating corpses, acts of strength, being direct
Dislikes: Lockpicking, hacking, Power Armor, helping humans, most peaceful actions
Romance: No
12. Codsworth
Perk: Robot Sympathy – Gain +10 Damage Resistance against robot energy weapons.
Robot Sympathy is one of the weakest companion perks. It only works against energy attacks from robots—not their melee attacks, not Synth weapons, and not the many other enemy types in the game. Codsworth himself is available immediately and doesn’t require ammo (he attacks with a buzzsaw and flamer), making him convenient early on, but his perk is forgettable.
How to Recruit: Codsworth is waiting for you outside your old house in Sanctuary Hills at the start of the game. Simply talk to him and ask him to follow you.
Likes: Being kind, helping others, modifying gear, avoiding violence when possible
Dislikes: Violence against innocents, chem use, being mean, stealing
Romance: No
13. Dogmeat
Perk: Attack Dog – Dogmeat can hold enemies, increasing your hit chance against them.
Dogmeat is unique among companions: he doesn’t use the affinity system. The “Attack Dog” perk is actually a player perk on your perk chart that requires investment up to rank 4 (available at level 31). This means Dogmeat doesn’t grant a free permanent perk like other companions. He’s still beloved for roleplay reasons and useful for finding hidden items, but from a pure gameplay optimization standpoint, he’s the weakest choice. He also has the lowest health of any companion at just 150 HP.
How to Recruit: Find Dogmeat at Red Rocket Truck Stop, just south of Sanctuary Hills. He’ll join you immediately with no quest required.
Likes/Dislikes: Dogmeat has no affinity system and will never judge your actions.
Romance: No (obviously)
Best Companion Strategy
The optimal approach is to cycle through companions to collect their permanent perks while progressing through the game. Here’s a recommended order:
Early Game: Start with Piper to get Gift of Gab’s double XP bonus as soon as possible. Every location discovered and speech check passed will level you faster for the rest of the game.
Mid Game: Switch to MacCready or Deacon depending on your build. V.A.T.S. users want Killshot; stealth players want Cloak & Dagger. Both perks are transformative for their respective playstyles.
Throughout: Use Nick Valentine when you’re exploring areas with lots of terminals, and Cait when you need locks picked. Their special abilities save perk points you’d otherwise spend on Hacker and Locksmith.
Faction Perks: If you’re doing a Brotherhood playthrough, prioritize Danse for Know Your Enemy. Institute players should get X6-88’s Shield Harmonics. These faction-locked companions may become unavailable depending on your endgame choices.
Remember that all companion perks are permanent once unlocked—you keep them even after dismissing that companion forever. So even if you hate traveling with Strong, it’s worth suffering through his company long enough to grab Berserk if you’re a melee build.
