The Outer Worlds: Every Companion, Ranked

The companions in The Outer Worlds provide much of the game’s humor, strategy, and fun. Companions not only give extra powers and fighting opportunities, but they show off the style, amazing characters, and in-depth stories The Outer Worlds has to offer.

Your companions are not all equal though. Some of them might save your life while others may feel lacking. So of the 6 companions in The Outer Worlds, check out how they rank from worst to best.

6 SAM

SAM, aka Sanitation and Maintenance, is the only non-human companion in the game. A deactivated robot that is stowed on your ship, SAM’s main benefits come from fighting bosses and larger enemies. You can complete his quest by rebooting him from parts found in Roseway Gardens.

As a robot without empathy for humans, SAM is ideal for your ‘psycho killer’ playthrough and will lessen faction penalties from killing/being a dick. He looks awesome but mostly has social bonuses.

Abilities

Decontaminate - SAM slams down near the target causing damage
Bonus - Plus 10 Intimidate
Cleaner - Minus 20% negative reputation kills
Clean Sweep - Harmful status effects duration minus 25%
Bad Samaritan - Plus 20 damage to automechanicals

5 Nyoka Ramnarim-Wentworth III

The best hunter on planet Monarch, Nyoka works for a sneakier playthrough. She has very similar skills and stats to Ellie and you recruit her on Monarch after clearing out her old hunting hub.

Despite being the best hunter on her planet, Nyoka doesn’t provide the greatest combat help.

She works great for non-combat-focused RPG builds. Her best contribution is a dual bonus to dealing with creatures. So during certain big creature fights, Nyoka might be smart to bring along.

Abilities

Barrage - LMG deals damage and sets enemies on fire
Bonus - Plus 10 Lie
Hunter - Minus 20% sound of footsteps
Exterminator - Plus 20 damage to creatures
The Crew - Plus 10% crit chance against creatures

4 Ellie Fenhill

Good old ‘go with the flow’ Ellie is a companion you’ll first meet aboard the Groundbreaker. She’s a medic with some debt who will gladly join your crew after some help with those financial woes. Some players think Ellie is a sociopath but really she’s just apathetic. She doesn’t really care too much about who gets hurt.

So she makes a great crewmate for an evil playthrough of The Outer Worlds. Ellie’s bonuses are some of the best in the game. Ellie can heal you to a quarter-health when you die. Having her means surviving fights, and she can disarm human enemies.

Abilities

Quick Draw - Fires precision shots at her target
Bonus - Plus 10 Medical
First Responder - Plus 20% medical inhaler heal
CPR - Resuscitate you with 25% health when killed
Beyond The Grave - Minus 50% of the cost of bribes

3 Vicar Maximillian Desoto

A jaded priest that was once in prison, the Vicar is the most world-weary of the crew. The man has clearly been through some things. Trying to gain enlightenment, Max might have the best single companion ability.

The holy man uses his shotgun to blast and stun enemies. The foes caught by the stun are knocked down which makes them susceptible to more damage. Overall, the science priest helps your hacking, science weapon damage, and dialogue effects.

Abilities

Trickshot - Spiritually enlightening shotgun blast, chance to stun
Bonus - Plus 10 Hack
Sermon - Plus 20% dialogue effect duration
Mad Max - Plus 20% science weapon damage
Tuned In - Plus 50% drug effect duration

2 Felix Millstone

Felix joins your crew after being a stowaway his whole life. The dumbest and most-lovable crew member, Felix fixates on "tossball” a lot and offers much of the funniest banter between crew mates. He gets placed high on this list simply because of his dropkick ability.

It does good damage and seeing him dropkick is so funny when against a huge robot or giant creature. It is pure joy to watch. The rebellious Felix also gives bonuses for persuasion and corporate military.

Abilities

Dropkick - Dropkicks any target chosen
Bonus - Plus 10 Persuade
Bootlickers! - Plus 20 damage to cowering enemies
Rebellion - Plus 20 damage to Corporate Military
Self Governed - Plus 50% post armor damage to Corporate Military

1 Parvati Holcomb

Parvati is everyone’s favorite for a few reasons. Parvati is a sweet, naive engineer who originally works for Reed in Edgewater. She’s endearing, funny at times, and has a knack for fighting robots. An easy number-one pick, Parvati's ability is a guaranteed knockdown against every enemy type.

This provides an easy way to strategize battles and crews. Also considered by many to be an iconic LGBTQIA+ character in modern gaming, Parvati helps with persuading in conversations and picking locks, though she’d probably prefer if you didn’t tell people about that last part.

Abilities

Overload - Creates a blast by slamming her hammer down which shocks and knocks enemies down
Bonus - Plus 10 Engineering
Mod Finder - Plus 10% chance to extract Mods
Synchronicity - Plus 25% Tactical Time Dilation (slow motion)
Enhanced Evening - Plus 25% food and drink effects

NEXT: How Long Does It Take To Beat The Outer Worlds?