Top 10 Best Fallout 4 Companions
A loved feature in Fallout 4 is the ability meet companions who will travel with you, fight with you and possibly engage in courtship. Each companion is useful in their own right but some have more abilities than others. In the end it’s all down to who you prefer, it’s your character on a game you own, so choose the one you like the most. If you really want to choose the strongest companion or you’re just interested to see which are the best, here’s the top 10 best Fallout 4 companions!
10. Nick Valentine
Among the first companions you meet while traversing the main storyline, Nick Valentine is a synth detective living in Diamond City. Nick has a total of 62 SPECIAL stats with the most going to Intelligence and Agility. His special ability allows him to hack any terminals you tell him to, although this has a chance to fail. If you reach max relationship with Nick, you gain the Close to Metal perk which gives you another attempt while hacking and reduces the lockout time for failures.
9. John Hancock
This ghoul is the mayor of a city called Goodneighbour, most likely you’ve encountered him but haven’t spoken to him properly. He has 64 SPECIAL points which are quite evenly spread, but most are in Intelligence, Agility and Perception. He has a rather unique trait in that his perk you gain, Isodoped, gives you 20% bonus critical meter but you need at least 250 rads of radiation. He’ll also occasionally give you chems for free.
8. Cait
Found in the Combat Zone, Cait is a formidable companion with a distinctive Irish accent. With just 53 SPECIAL points, you might find her a bit lackluster but he strengths are in other abilities. She can be used to pick locks if you direct her, which can be really helpful if you have trouble with locks or simply can’t be bothered. Her perk Trigger Rush grants higher AP regeneration at low HP which can be really useful in sticky situations. Overall she’s a fun and likeable character with a lot of witty statements.
7. Preston Garvey
Just the second companion you meet, Preston is a minuteman helping to make the world a better place. He’s fairly strong with 57 SPECIAL points, spread out over all SPECIALs except a few in Strength. His real strength is in his perk though, United We Stand. This grants major increases in both damage output and resistances when facing 3 or more enemies at the same time.
6. Dogmeat
The first companion you meet and arguably the fan’s biggest favourite, Dogmeat is a special companion indeed. In terms of raw stats, Dogmeat is one if the worst companion on the list as he has just 52 SPECIAL stats and low HP. He is a Neutral companion, affection cannot be gained or lost as he’s totally dedicated to the player. To unlock his perk Attack Dog you need to purchase it in the skill tree, then you can increased accuracy in VATS against enemies Dogmeat has immobilized. He can also find items for you randomly, which is a nice little bonus. And last but not least, the Lone Wanderer perk (which grants extra carrying capacity, resistances and damage) is still active when travelling with Dogmeat!
5. MacCready
Another companion found in Goodneighbour, MacCready can be hired for up to 250 caps. He’s a harsh fellow, liking the player for lying, threatening or bargaining more money. He can steal well too, if a player commands him to steal something he’ll often do it without getting caught. He does have very low stats with 42 SPECIAL points, but his perk gives you 20% headshot accuracy in VATS which is really good. He will also occasionally find ammo to give to you, even Fusion Cores but rarely.
4. Piper Wright
Found in Diamond City, Piper has an enjoyable questline and a number of great one-liners. She often interacts with the player and the world. She’s perfect for low level players as her perk grants double experience for finding new locations and successfully achieving Charisma chat options. With 58 SPECIAL points, she’s a tough cookie too.
3. Curie
Essentially your own personal combat medic, you can’t give Curie any items or weapons to make her stronger, so she does what little damage she can. She will however give you Stimpaks from time to time which, as I’m sure you know, are important. If you reach maximum relationship with Curie, you will be granted the Sole Survivor perk which gives you 100 HP if you ever fall below 10% HP, although only once per day. Her stats are by far the lowest out of all the companions except her health. All other companions have a flat amount (less than 200) that increases with the player’s level. Curie, for some reason, has a flat 440 HP, making her the most durable until a player reaches a really high level.
2. Paladin Danse
This companion wears heavy power armor which grants huge resistances, he has a modest SPECIAL total of 54 but the damage resistances alone make him one of the best in the game. If you obtain his Know Your Enemy perk, you’ll gain 20% more damage against Ghouls, Super Mutants and Synths permanently. He’s a battle hardened soldier that will no doubt make your travels in the Commonwealth a lot easier.
1. Strong
That’s right, you can have a super mutant as a companion. He has the highest base HP of any scaling companions and 70 SPECIAL stats, with most going to Strength and Agility. Upon completion of his affection, the player will gain increased damage with melee weapons while having low health. Unfortunately he cannot wear normal armor, only super mutant armor but his carry weight is also significantly higher than any other companion, making him a great mule. You want to give him a melee weapon like a Super Sledge though, then stand back and watch him crush your enemies.
I would judge the “best” companion on what perk they give you, and how interesting their backstory is. For me, I liked McCready best overall based on those two criteria – but it really is pretty subjective.
McCready all the way (because he likes stealing and most of the good stuff i find is owned) and he has an awsome side quest, and his perk makes me aim for the head more often now.
Although strong isn’t bad WHY IS MCCREADY NUMBER 5, HES MUCH BETTER THAN THAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I personally think that the list should be more of a persona judge rather than the stats. Obviously, this is my own opinion and I don’t mean to offend anyone.
To be honest yeah, stats are important but players choose the companion they like the most, that fits their playstyle the most. This list is mostly to inform users who want companions with the best stats.
Quest lines and personality traits aside, if you’re looking for plain old combat utility + carrying capacity, wouldn’t an upgraded automatron bot be a solid choice? I have these listed companions, Strong included, but I find my tricked out bot to be the most useful, and can have mods adjusted to suit specific missions when needed.
Yeah man, I don’t include DLC stuff on these kind of lists though. It’s a hard choice since probably more people have DLCs than the amount of people who don’t, but at least everyone can make use of this list if I don’t include them 🙂
I’ll probably start adding DLC honorable mentions at the end of each list actually
95% accuracy in the headshot while using a pistol or submachine gun from a far distance…so yeah, that bug made mccready’s perk make him the best companion!
No cogsworth?
lol
I just bought this game 3 days ago and haven’t been able to put it down. I flat refuse to buy games when they come out for many reasons so I tend to completely avoid reading up on details of the game for about 2 years or so.
This evening Codsworth approached me and asked me if I would like him to be my side kick so I thought ‘Yeah why not’ – not having a clue it would mean my dear buddy Dogmeat would be sent to another settlement. Man! That cut me up. I absolutely love dogs, and yeah…I know it’s only a game but the way they captured that sense of loss in the dog actually really upset me!
Then on a mission with Codsworth the moron came from behind me and set me on fire. I died.
I’m not quite sure why that happened because I was under the impression that your companions cannot harm you. I’m thinking it must be a bug because as much as I love the game, it really needs some serious work
get the inspiration perk to rank 1 and you can equip a mirv to someone like nick and it wont do any damage to you
Codsworth, with a cryojet in one hand, and a flame jet in the other. Stay clear of him in combat areas until cleared. I constantly see him taking on entire groups of ghouls and super mutants stupid enough to be next to each other. It’s awesome. Can agree that strong is useful, but not really my number one pick. I can’t deal with his retardation either. He has nothing on Codsworth in that department. Piper is fun, and she’s pretty bad ass, but don’t give her anything explosive, like a missile launcher or fat man, or you’ll likely end up dead.
in my opinion the best non dlc and dlc companions are Macready and old Longfellow as they are both excellent shots and like when your sarcastic
in my opinion piper and strong shouldn’t be on the list both of them cant sneak, the perks are ok but not good, strong is the hardest companion to raise affinity with.
I’m a little late to the Fallout party but I currently have Strong as my companion and he’s adorable! The fact that it’s “harder” to raise his affinity makes his comments more endearing, like, DAMN I EARNED THAT SHIT. He dislikes a lot of things I do, but when I always used Stimpak on him, we’ve been BFFs since. <3
"Why human help strong? Strong not human."
For the character I’m building Deacon’s perk is ideal. Spy meets assassin, a perfect match.
I absolutely love Dogmeat but I prefer to keep him “safe” in the Sanctuary. Can’t stand to see him get hurt.