This page covers Wasteland 3 companions AKA recruits. Recruits aren't technically Rangers, but they want to assist you all the same.
You can have 6 total party members, a minimum of 2 rangers is required (only 1 ranger is required if the difficulty option "Permanent Death" is on) and a maximum of 4 Rangers is allowed. Any party spots not filled by Rangers can be filled by companions. You can fill up to a maximum of 4 party spots with companions through the "Manage Squad" screen; however, if you have the difficulty option "Permanent Death" on, it's possible to have a party of 1 Ranger and 4 companions, this way is possible to add a 5th companion to the party through dialogue; just talk to the 5th companion and ask him to join the party (if your remaining ranger is killed, it's possible to add to the party a 6th companion, again through dialogue, but having no Rangers in the party is game breaking, so don't do it).
Allegiance
Ranger Allegiance may change and is rated on the following scale:
- Rebellious
- Disgruntled
- Uncertain
- Loyal
- Steadfast
Levels of new recruits somewhat scale to the level of the party (e.g. when Scotchmo is hired while most party members have lvls 12-14, his level is automatically increased to 12 with extra stat points available for distribution).
Companions
- Fishlips: A cannibal and raider warlord.
- Pizepi Joren: A mutant researcher from Darwin.
- Ironclad Cordite: Former leader of the Scar Collectors.
- Jodie Bell: Ranger companion and the only competent driver this side of the Rockies.
- Marshal Kwon: Patriarch's Marshals companion.
- Lucia Wesson: Hundred Families companion.
- Scotchmo: Well, he's Scotchmo.
- Victory Buchanan: Found at Aspen. A terrifying psychopath and disgraced son of Saul Buchanan.
A single companion was planned and cut, Jane Doe, from the FADER collective at Cheyenne Mountain. Gone together with the rest of the location.
Detailed breakdown
Ranger recruits
Can be hired at Ranger HQ by speaking with Sergei Greatski after completion of Home Away from Home quest.
- The level of recruited characters depends on the maximum level in the group and the number of free points can vary depending on the level.
- Note that all numbers here are for level 3.
- You can have maximum of 4 Rangers in the group.
Followers
Apart from recruits that you can control, different followers can join you throughout the course of the game. The are akin to animal companions but don't provide any bonuses and are recruited when you finish certain quests (whether explicit or unmarked). CON of all followers is fairly high and more or less the same.
Strategy
- Every time you travel to another map or reload the game, your pets and followers will be at full health, that is the easiest and fastest way to heal them.
- If you have pets or followers, avoid using area of effect attacks that apply damage over time, like molotov cocktails, because they don't avoid the area of these attacks and might die because of it.
- The followers will follow the character that: first interacted with them, or triggered the interaction that made them spawn or was closer to them when they became recruitable.
- To change who a follower is following, go to the Ranger HQ and remove the the party member being followed from the party through the "Manage Squad" screen and exit the "Manage Squad" screen, this will make all the followers that were attached to the removed party member to now be attached to the party member closest to them. Note that for some followers, like Party Pal, you will need to quicksave and reload one time after doing everything. Beware that if you remove who the Poultron is following from the party, it will stop following the party and it will disapear after you leave the map or reload.
| Name | Characteristics | Acquisition |
|---|---|---|
| Clone | A blue humanoid that fights with fists and deals little damage. | Completing Don't You Be My Neighbor side quest and inviting Irv to work for you in Ranger HQ. |
| Uber-Clone | An upgraded clone. | Inside Cheyenne Mountain, in the Research Level, purge the cloning machine's biomass hopper and combine pink goo with a vial of advanced DNA. Subsequent Uber-Clones can be created from purple goo which is dropped upon the upgraded clone's death. |
| The Provost | A mysterious man in a suit that only speaks in Latin. | Follows you after finding him behind a locked door that's also been frozen in the Prison Block in the Warrens of the Bizarre. |
| Party Pal | A disco bot with decent ranged energy attack and healing darts. | Joins you if you finish Reagan Reborn in favor of Machine Commune. |
| Poultron | A robot with decent armor and weak melee damage (possibly due to bug). | Joins you during Scar Collectors' attack on Ranger HQ if you previously collected all 4 Cyborg Chickens across Colorado Springs and led them to Ranger HQ. |
| Pustule | One of the Desert Rangers or one of the companions devolved into a friendly proto-drool. | Inside Cheyenne Mountain, in the Power Storage Facility, resolve the Undercover Angel quest peacifully. For that talk to Abbot Deuterium with a (preferably disposable) ranger or companion with stacks of Holy Radiation and agree to allow the chosen character to be devolved. |
| Courageous | A golden toaster with fairly low ranged fire attack. | Repairing toasters all across Colorado, finding pieces of a golden toaster, putting it together and then getting it to the Toaster Repair Academy. |
| Советский робот (Soviet Robot) | A robot with ranged attack. | Activating it in Yuma County, Scar Collector Mine. |
| Young Man Vinters | A young man in a bear costume. A tanky bruiser who can bash enemies in combat, but tens to cower to increase evasion. | In Steeltown's Scrapyard, must pass Animal Whisperer 2 & 10 to recruit. (Kiss-Ass 4(?) and Hard-Ass 5(?) checks also available) |
| Di | A robot with Disruption pulser and very low amount of action points (attacks once per turn). | Follows the Rangers during main quest line in Steeltown. Sticks to the ranger who spoke with Abigail Markham. |
| Night Terror | A mutant imprisoned in the Security Level of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. Very tanky and has very special interactions. | Can be freed by passing a Nerd Stuff 10 skill check. After being discovered follows the Rangers and cannot be dismissed. |