The Outer Worlds 2 Companion Recruitment Guide: All Characters & Abilities

Building your crew is one of the most rewarding aspects of The Outer Worlds 2, and trust me, you’ll want to recruit every companion you can find. These aren’t just followers who tag along—they’re fully-fleshed characters with compelling backstories, powerful combat abilities, and unique perks that can completely change how you approach missions.

Unlike the original Outer Worlds where companions were relatively easy to find, The Outer Worlds 2 makes you work for it. Only two companions join automatically, while the other four require you to explore specific locations and complete recruitment quests. Here’s everything you need to know about finding all six companions and what makes each one special.

Starting Companions: Your Default Crew

Niles – The Engineer Who Turns Anywhere Into a Workshop

Faction: Earth Directorate
Recruitment: Automatic (Paradise Island start)

Niles is your go-to gadget guy, and honestly, his crafting perk alone makes him invaluable. Here’s what he brings to the table:

• Special Ability: “Spread Out, I’ll Hold Em” – Niles taunts nearby enemies and follows up with three devastating shots. Perfect for crowd control when you’re overwhelmed.
• Unique Perk: Access the full crafting menu anywhere in the world. No more running back to workbenches when you need to modify gear mid-mission.

Pro tip: Keep Niles in your party during exploration-heavy missions. Being able to craft Inhaler Charges or upgrade weapons on the fly is a game-changer, especially when you’re far from civilization.

V.A.L.E.R.I.E. (VAL) – Your Personal Combat Medic

Faction: Earth Directorate
Recruitment: Automatic (Paradise Island start)

VAL is essentially a walking medical station with attitude. She’s one of those companions you don’t appreciate until you try playing without her.

• Special Ability: “Emergency Protocols” – Fires healing syringes that provide strong heal-over-time and massive damage reduction. It’s basically a panic button when fights go sideways.
• Passive Healing: Automatically heals party members when their health drops low
• Hacking Bonus: Prevents Bypass Shunt consumption when hacking with her in your party

Why she’s essential: VAL single-handedly reduces the stress of combat encounters. Her passive healing means you can focus on offense while she handles survivability. Plus, saving Bypass Shunts during hacking sequences adds up quickly—check our Mag Picks and Bypass Shunts guide for more resource management tips.

Recruitable Companions: Hunt Down These Four

Inez – The Grafted Gunslinger

Faction: Auntie’s Choice
Location: Ministry of Accuracy (western Paradise Island)

Inez requires a bit of detective work, but she’s absolutely worth the effort. Her recruitment ties into the darker side of corporate experimentation.

How to Recruit:

1. Travel northwest from Fairfield to the Ministry of Accuracy (stop before reaching Skycutter power plant)
2. Fight through Raptidon-infested corridors
3. Find Inez in one of the interior rooms
4. Access the Mental Refreshment terminal deeper in the facility
5. Return to Fairfield where she’ll defect from Milverstreet and join you

Combat Abilities:

• “The Magic Bullet” – Launches devastating plasma volleys at targets
• Customizable Grafted Appendage: Can be modified for offensive or defensive purposes (see our Inez Graft Choice guide for recommendations)
• Drug Efficiency: Boosts Inhaler Charge percentage from consumables

My take: Inez’s graft customization makes her incredibly versatile. Want a tank? Configure for defense. Need more DPS? Go offensive. She adapts to your build strategy better than most companions.

Aza – The Explosive Cultist-Turned-Ally

Faction: Rift Cult
Location: Decommissioned Autonomous Extractorium (Golden Ridge)

Aza’s recruitment comes after you’ve made your choice with the Vox Relay, adding weight to your earlier decisions.

Recruitment Steps:

1. Complete the Vox Relay quest line
2. Head to Golden Ridge’s western area (south of N-Ray range)
3. Enter the large warehouse facility
4. Save your game first! This is a tough fight.
5. Eliminate all Rift Cult members inside
6. Rescue Aza from the top level (west side)
7. Agree to help her hunt down renegade cult leaders

Combat Abilities:

• “Spread the Message” – Fires explosive charges in a cone pattern, dealing heavy physical damage and staggering enemies
• Double Charge Storage: Can hold two companion ability charges simultaneously
• Outlaw Protection: Raises bounty thresholds before you’re flagged as an outlaw

Strategy note: Aza’s stagger effect is incredible against heavily armored enemies. Pair her with companions who capitalize on crowd control, and you’ll tear through groups. Her outlaw protection also gives you more freedom if you lean into morally gray choices—useful when navigating faction reputation.

Marisol – The Scientific Powerhouse

Faction: The Order of the Ascendant
Location: Zyranium Factory (Golden Ridge)

Marisol’s recruitment is tied to one of the game’s most memorable quest sequences involving a massive explosion you’ll witness firsthand.

How It Happens:

1. Progress the main story until the Abbott tasks you with investigating the Zyranium factory incident
2. Travel north of the refugee camp and Monastery to the factory
3. Convince Order authorities to let you speak with “Alva” (the accused initiate)
4. Talk to her through the glass window—choose trusting, friendly dialogue options
5. Complete her requests throughout the factory
6. Uncover the truth about what really happened
7. Help her achieve justice against the real perpetrator

What She Brings:

• “Torpifying Blast” – Stuns targets and covers them in magnetic energy. While active, the target is immobilized and all attacks become critical hits
• Gadget Energy Restoration: Restores energy whenever anyone in your party gets a kill
• Enhanced N-Ray Scanner: Displays additional enemy information while targeting

Why she’s amazing: That guaranteed critical hit window is borderline broken in the right situations. Boss fights become trivially easy when you can lock them down and let your whole party unload criticals. Marisol also synergizes beautifully with science-focused builds—see our Science Adventures Quarterly locations for related skill boosts.

Tristan – The Controversial Protectorate Member

Faction: The Protectorate
Location: Free Market Station (2nd Choice bar)

Tristan’s recruitment is the most complex and involves the shadowy Sub Rosa faction. Fair warning: bringing him aboard will create tension with your other companions.

Recruitment Quest Chain:

1. Work with Emeline Galloway at the Fairfield greenhouse
2. Complete her request to delete Sub Rosa records from a terminal
3. Receive coordinates for Free Market Station
4. Find Tristan arguing with a bartender in the 2nd Choice bar (straight ahead from the landing pad)
5. Convince the bartender to let you both speak to the Broker
6. Complete the bartender’s investigation request on Golden Ridge
7. Meet Tristan outside the marked camp location
8. Investigate the attack scene using your skills
9. Discuss findings with Tristan
10. Return to the bartender and speak with the Broker downstairs
11. Invite Tristan to join after the conversation concludes

Combat Profile:

• “Judgement” – Charges at targets with a devastating blow, dealing massive damage to the target and nearby enemies while knocking them back and taunting surrounding hostiles
• Hidden Object Detection: Randomly reveals concealed items that would normally require Observation skill points

The catch: As a Protectorate member, Tristan is disliked by most companions aboard The Incognito. This creates interesting roleplay dynamics but can complicate party composition. Think carefully about whether his abilities outweigh the social friction—especially if you’re trying to maximize faction relationships.

Building Your Ideal Party Composition

Now that you know where everyone is, let’s talk strategy. You can only bring two companions on missions, so choosing the right combination matters:

Balanced Exploration Setup:

• Niles + Tristan: Crafting access plus hidden object detection means you’ll never miss loot or resources

Maximum Survivability:

• VAL + Marisol: Constant healing combined with crowd control and critical hit windows keeps you alive in tough fights

Aggressive DPS Loadout:

• Inez + Aza: Explosive damage and plasma volleys melt enemies before they reach you

Resource Conservation:

• VAL + Niles: Save consumables with VAL’s healing and bypass shunt prevention, while crafting emergency supplies with Niles

Companion Management Tips

Level them strategically: Companions gain experience and level up alongside you. Their abilities scale with their level, so don’t neglect anyone you might want to use later.

Match companions to missions: Bringing faction-aligned companions can open unique dialogue options. Taking someone from The Order of the Ascendant to an Order mission might reveal extra context or alternative solutions.

Gear matters: Don’t forget to equip your companions with better weapons and armor. Access their inventory through the character menu and optimize their loadouts just like you would your own.

Ability timing wins fights: Companion abilities have cooldowns. Coordinate their use—stunning an enemy with Marisol before unleashing Aza’s explosive cone creates devastating combos.

Frequently Asked Questions

External Resources

For more information about The Outer Worlds franchise and to stay updated on The Outer Worlds 2, check out the official sources.

Final Thoughts

The companion system in The Outer Worlds 2 adds incredible depth to both combat and storytelling. Each character brings unique mechanical benefits and narrative weight to your journey through the Halcyon colony. While you’ll naturally encounter Niles and VAL, actively seeking out Inez, Aza, Marisol, and Tristan rewards exploration and engagement with the game’s faction systems.

Take your time recruiting everyone—their personal quests and abilities are too good to miss. And remember, party composition matters more than raw power. A well-coordinated duo of companions often outperforms simply bringing the highest-damage dealers.

Who’s your favorite companion so far? The crafting convenience of Niles, the healing security of VAL, or maybe the explosive chaos Aza brings to every fight? There’s no wrong answer—just different paths through Obsidian’s latest RPG adventure.

Related Guides:

• What to Do First in Outer Worlds 2
• Complete Perks List & Requirements
• Beginner’s Guide: Tips & Tricks
• Best Backgrounds to Choose
• How to Increase Max Health