Published , by Josh Hawkins
Published , by Josh Hawkins
Companions are a vital part of your party in Wasteland 3 and having the right companion with you are important turning points can often provide new avenues of progression and conversation. There are quite a few companions that players can recruit in Wasteland 3 and this guide will break down each and every one of them, including where to find them and how to recruit them.
There are several different recruits that players can add to their party – including custom made characters. But the real cream of the crop comes in the form of inXile-created companions that act as living, breathing characters within the game world. I touch on how important these characters are in our Wasteland 3 review if you're curious to know more.
There are eight different companions you can recruit, each of which will offer a unique class and set up to help bring some additional flavor to your party. We’ve broken down each companion below, as well as all their starting info. We’ve also included additional details on how to recruit them all further down in this article.
| All Wasteland 3 Companions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Companion Name | Class | Starting Weapon | Starting Skills | Affiliation | Location |
| Jodie Bell | Driver | Sniper Rifle |
|
None | Opening Sequence / Ranger HQ |
| Marshal Kwon | Lawkeeper | Assault Rifle |
|
Marshals | Ranger HQ |
| Lucia Wesson | Gunslinger | Revolver |
|
The Hundred Families | Sheriff's Office / Downtown Colorado Springs |
| Scotchmo | Hobo | Shotgun |
|
Refugees | Ranger HQ |
| Ironclad Cordite | Warlord | No Items |
|
Plains Gangs | Old Survivalist Bunker in Broadmoor Heights |
| Fishlips | Scrapper | Bladed Weapon |
|
Hard-Heads Gang | Union Station |
| Victory Buchanan | Psychopath | Pistol |
|
None | Aspen / Little Hell |
| Pizepi Joren | Researcher | SMG |
|
Rangers | Aspen / Little Hell |
Now that the basics are out of the way, let's talk a bit more about how you'll need to recruit these different characters.
Jodie is technically the first character that players will actually get the chance to recruit, however you can royally screw this one up if you aren’t careful. During the opening sequence, you’ll come across Jodie being held at gunpoint by a Dorsey. You’ll need to either kill the Dorsey before triggering the conversation, or somehow talk your way out of the Dorsey killing Jodie. Once you rescue her, you’re going to need to use First Aid 1 on her or give her some medication to ensure she survives. She’ll automatically join your squad later at Ranger HQ, so you can continue without worry after taking care of her wounds.
Kwon is the second character you can recruit (the first you can add to your party immediately upon talking with them). You can recruit Kwon naturally through the game’s story once you have taken control of the new Ranger HQ outside of Colorado Springs. It’s important to note that his main skills here are Kiss Ass and Sneaky Shit, which you can ignore on your custom-made characters. Another important thing to take into consideration is that Kwon is a “good” companion, which means he’ll leave the party if you become too hostile to the good people of Colorado Springs like the civilians or even Marshals.
Players will run into Lucia Wesson during their first trip up to the Sheriff’s Office in Downtown Colorado Springs. Her family has been kidnapped and Sheriff Daisy asks you to take her with you when you investigate the Garden of the Gods to find the Dorseys that supposedly ran that way during the attack. Like Marshal Kwon, Lucia is a “good” character who will leave your party if you do inherently evil things throughout the story.
Next up is Scotchmo, the Wasteland series resident drunkard. Scotchmo will appear in the mess hall of Ranger HQ after you have dealt with the refugees in The Bizarre. It’s also possible to find him lounging around Union Station, however, nobody is quite sure of what triggers this change in location. He’s pretty easy to recruit, but if you’ve already been leveling up Lucia and Kwon, you’re probably not going to have much use for him unless you grab him super early on.
This companion is a bit more optional than the others as you can completely ignore this questline if you’d like. After exploring the world for a certain amount of time, someone named Dead Red will come on the radio, advising you of a secret bunker hidden underneath Broadmoor Heights. If you make your way there to the statue and interact with it, you’ll uncover the entrance. Fight your way through and free the prisoner at the end to add him to your party. Ironclad Cordite is one of the first companions that can drastically change the ending you acquire when you complete Wasteland 3’s main story.
While the name might sound weird, this companion can actually be quite helpful. Though his efficiency and helpfulness come into question if you’ve already added Ironclad Cordite to your party. But, if you’re trying to stay true to your quest to help the Patriarch, then Fishlips is the best melee-based option as far as companions go. You can meet Fishlips outside of Union Station, where he and his gang are looting the place. You’ll need to defeat him in combat by whittling down his health to almost nothing, at which point he’ll end up turning over leadership of the gang to you and calling you the boss.
The resident psychopath of the Buchanan family, Victory Buchanan is one of the three children that you’ve been brought in to find and bring home. You’ll meet him for the first time while visiting Aspen / Little Hell and he’s pretty much completely insane. During your conversations with him, he’ll actually ask to join the party, at which point you can say yes and add him to your party. Having Vic in your party will earn you quite a few head turns and unique reactions from other characters in the Wasteland 3 world.
Wasteland 2 players will recognize this returning character just as well as Scotchmo. Pizepi is now a Desert Ranger and you can meet up with her in Aspen / Little Hell shortly after running into Victory Buchanan. Talk to her and you can get her to join the party
That’s all the companions in Wasteland 3. Each one offers some unique perks and conversation opportunities, and they each have their own allegiances – which can open up new avenues of progress as you move through the world. For more help navigating the wastes, make sure you head over to our Wasteland 3 topic.