Obsidian Entertainment’s latest release The Outer Worlds is a sci-fi RPG set lightyears away in the Halcyon Cluster where human colonies are owned and operated entirely by corporations. As the recently thawed inhabitant of a lost colony ship called The Hope, the protagonist becomes the unplanned variable in the Corporations’ schemes and sets out to liberate his fellow, still-frozen colonists.

Upon beginning The Outer Worlds, the protagonist becomes captain of a space ship called the Unreliable. In addition to the Artificial Intelligence named ADA (Autonomous Digital Astrogator) that operates everything from the ship’s flight controls to the ship’s toasters, there is room for six additional crew members (aka companions). This guide details where they are and how to become their captain.

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Parvati

The first crew member of the Unreliable that its captain is capable of acquiring is Parvati, a young and gifted engineer in the Spacer’s Choice colony of Edgewater. She can be acquired during the Stranger in a Strange Land quest when the protagonist must first speak with Reed Tompson in the Saltuna Cannery.

Upon entering his office, the protagonist will witness Reed ridiculing Parvati over a machine she was unable to repair. After Reed proposes that the protagonist reroute the power to Edgewater and force the deserters to return, Parvati will volunteer to accompany the protagonist and therein become the first crew member of the Unreliable and help balance out the Captain's skillset and perks.

Parvati’s unlockable companion perks:

  • Bonus Support Engineering: +10 Engineering
  • Mod Finder: +10% Chance to extract Mods in the Field
  • Synchronicity: +25% Tactical Time Dilation Meter

Vicar Max

After leaving Reed’s office with Parvati, she will suggest to the Captain of the Unreliable that they speak to Vicar Max in Edgewater’s Church before making a decision about rerouting the power. Ultimately, he will ask the protagonist to retrieve a contraband book for him which he hopes will unlock the key to understanding “the equation” of the universe.

Upon finding and returning the book to Vicar Max, he will discover that it is written in French. With no one in Edgewater who can translate the text, Vicar Max will ask to join the Captain’s crew in the hopes that they may find a translator somewhere in the galaxy. He will settle his affairs and become available as a companion after restoring power to the Unreliable.

Vicar Max’s unlockable companion perks:

  • Bonus Support Hack: +10 Hack
  • Sermon: +20% Dialog Combat Effect Duration
  • Mad Max: +20% Science Weapon Damage

Ellie

Ellie, a half-pirate half-doctor, can be found arguing with a clerk in the Medical Bay of the Groundbreaker. After a quick conversation reveals that Ellie’s been denied access to speaking with a woman in the Quarantine section named Jessie, the protagonist can offer to sneak in and discover her Jessie’s condition. Doing so will launch the “Worst Contact” quest.

Jessie will confess that she owes 3,000 bits to Udom Bedford and is pretending to be ill to elude his assassins. The protagonist can either pay the 3,000 bits or persuade Udom to employ Jessie as an indentured servant. In either case, one more conversation with Ellie will secure her as the third crew member of the Unreliable.

Ellie’s Unlockable Companion Perks:

  • Bonus Support Medical: +10 Medical
  • First Responder: +20% Heal amount granted by Medical Inhaler.
  • CPR: Recover 25% Health when fatally wounded.

Felix

When the Unreliable first docks at Groundbreaker, the Captain of the Unreliable will come across a young box-mover named Felix who is in trouble with the Patrol. The protagonist can defend Felix to the Patrol and Felix will then inquire about the Unreliable.

The next time the protagonist returns to the Unreliable, Felix will be waiting beside the airlock fully prepared to beg for the fourth crew member position. The Captain can interview him on the spot and determine whether his qualifications—his "harm anyone who annoys him" temperament or his knowing the value of pie, not pi—makes him a worthy companion.

Felix Unlockable Companion Perks

Nyoka

Nyoka, a hard-drinking guns-blazing mercenary, can be found in Monarch at the local dive bar The Yacht Club during the main story quest Radio Free Monarch. Upon asking for her help, it will become obvious that she is too drunk at this point to offer any kind of assistance.

The protagonist will have to find Nyoka’s pills to help sober her up. After returning them to her and completing the side quest Passion Pills, she will offer to become the Captain’s fifth companion.

Nyoka’s Companion Perks

  • Bonus Support Lie: +10 Lie
  • Hunter: -20% Radius of Footstep Sounds
  • Exterminator: +20 Damage to Creatures

SAM

SAM can be found on the second floor of the unreliable in an old storage room beside the other crew cabins. Unfortunately, SAM is inoperable despite the extensive work done by Alex Hawthorne, the previous Captain of the Unreliable. After pouring over Hawthorne’s logs, the protagonist discovers that the final piece of equipment needed to power up SAM is at the Roseway Area of Terra 2.

Upon landing there, the part can be found by following the quest marker for The Cleaning Machine to a storage unit not far from the landing platform. After dispatching with the enemies inside, the Captain of the Unreliable can take a key card from one of their bodies and open the door to the quest item. Returning said item to SAM will unlock him as the final companion and crew member of the Unreliable.

SAM Companion Perks:

  • Bonus Support Intimidate: +10 Intimidate
  • Bad Samaritan: +20 Damage to Automechanicals

Note: SAM cannot equip normal weapons, but instead uses his standard acid spray.

The Outer Worlds is available now for PC, Xbox One, and PS4 with a Switch version also in development.

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