All 6 Companions in The Outer Worlds 2 — Locations, Abilities, and the Exact Lines to Recruit Them
The Outer Worlds 2 gives you six recruitable companions to build a balanced team. You can bring up to two at a time, and each companion adds a unique ability, two party traits, and a short questline that unlocks upgrades. Below, you’ll find where to meet each companion and the concrete steps or dialogue choices that unlock them.
All companions in The Outer Worlds 2
There are six companions total, and you can have two active companions in your party at once. After recruiting a new companion, you can swap party members when leaving the Incognito, or send someone back to the ship if your party is full. Companion questlines begin after recruitment and often require the companion to be in your active party to progress.
Niles
Where/When: Met right at the start of the game and automatically added to your party.
Role and ability: Niles is a frontline fighter whose ability is “Spread Out, I’ll Hold’em!” — a taunt that makes him fire three shots at a target.
Traits while in party: Reflex Amplified (bonus evasion) and Field Tinkering (access to workbench functions via conversation instead of visiting a bench).
V.A.L.E.R.I.E.
Where/When: Given at the start of the game alongside Niles.
Role and ability: VAL is a support/healer bot. Her main ability is “Emergency Protocols”, which heals over time and temporarily reduces incoming damage.
Traits while in party: Life Injection Module (automated healing when a party member is low, with cooldown) and Integrated Bypass Repair (preserves bypass shunts during hacking).
Inez
Where: Fairfield on Paradise Island.
Role and ability: Inez is a damage dealer/support hybrid. Her ability is “The Magic Bullet” (launches a volley of hot plasma).
Traits while in party: Combat Drugs (buffed fire rate and accuracy at combat start) and Unlicensed Chemist (increases Inhaler Charges obtained).
How to recruit: Inez appears during the main quest “The Saboteur of Paradise” when you visit Minister Milverstreet. You must meet Inez outside the Ministry and make the right conversation choices to convince her to join. The source-provided dialogue options that led to recruitment were:
“Minister, let Inez fix her graft. Then you won’t doubt her efficacy ever again”
“Good for you, Inez.”
(Then, when Inez presents a proposition at the entrance:) “You got a deal.”
Aza
Where: Golden Ridge — Decommissioned Autonomous Extractorium, northwest of the landing pad.
Role and ability: Aza is a melee-focused assassin. Her ability is “Spread the Message”, a frontal cone attack that damages and staggers enemies.
Traits while in party: A Chaotic Purpose (ability charges faster and Aza has two charges) and Hidden in Palin-Sight (higher bounty threshold for factions to consider you an Outlaw if their reputation with you is neutral or better).
How to recruit: Clear the building and open the locked room upstairs. Then pick these dialogue options to convince Aza to join:
“I’m Commander. What’s a ‘Glorious Dawn’?”
“And that ‘truth’ would be…?”
“And your now deceased fellow ‘enlightened individuals’ betrayed you? Any idea why?”
“I always enjoy some good revenge killing. Anything else you need help with?”
“Sure, what could possibly go wrong?”
Marisol
Where: Zyranium Manufactory VII in Golden Ridge, encountered during the main quest “On the Trail of the Traitor.”
Role and ability: Marisol Delgado is a gadget specialist. Her ability is “Torpifying Blast”, which stuns a target and makes subsequent attacks on it critical hits.
Traits while in party: Gadget Optimization (kills restore a small portion of party energy) and Threat Analyzer (Tactical Time Dilation/N-Ray shows enemy data).
How to recruit: Marisol is locked in a room when first found. You must help her investigate the facility and prove she didn’t cause the explosion. The recruitment steps use a sequence of dialogue choices during the investigation. The source-provided selections that led to recruitment include:
“Your Abbot sent me to find out who caused the explosion.”
“Svoboda seems sure you were responsible.”
“Tell me your side, then.”
“So you’re saying Proctor Svoboda is falsely incriminating you?”
“Say I’m inclined to believe you, what then?”
“I do that and you’ll come out?”
After checking lab terminals and further investigation, continue with these lines during conversations:
“You two seem unexpectedly cordial.”
“Guess we’ll take all the help we can get.”
“Records showed you fired the payload at Outpost Opportunity. Paper smelled weird, though.”
“That still doesn’t tell us who’s responsible. You think it might be Svoboda?”
“Can we prove the launch was altered?”
“Hm. Still can’t tell if you’re lying or not, Alva, but guess I’ll play along.”
Later in the quest, when you reach conclusions and confrontations, the source-listed lines that continued the recruitment path were:
“Someone rerouted the launch coordinates and pushed processing settings past tolerances.”
“You seem like you’ve drawn a conclusion.”
“Yeah, she does. It’s obvious she was framing you.”
“Pleased to meet you, uh, former Endpoint Delgado? I don’t know what to call you now.”
“What’s a Department of Preemptive Causal Redirection?”
“She’s right. Enough pontificating. Time to make a decision.”
“I say we force the Proctor to reveal who she’s working with. With or without your help.”
“Always happy to save lives. There anything else?”
“Uh-huh. If she doesn’t talk, shoot her.”
“That’s that. Any thoughts about what to do next?”
Finally, after investigating a hidden terminal and finishing the mission, these choices were used to secure Marisol’s trust:
“Yes, I’m pursuing the head of the conspiracy. Augustine de Vries.”
“You alright? Can’t tell if you’re shaken or euphoric right now.”
“Help someone like you with mysterious ‘unfinished business’? How could I say no?”
Tristan
Where: Free Market Station — initially encountered in the Free Market Bazaar / 2nd Choice bar area.
Role and ability: Tristan is a heavy-hitting Protectorate enforcer. His ability “Judgement” deals damage, taunts, and knocks enemies away. He comes in heavy armor and carries a large hammer.
Traits while in party: Supreme Arbiter Hammer (his hammer can function as a grenade launcher) and Observant Adjudicator (25% chance to reveal hidden objects when you can’t reveal them yourself).
How to recruit: You must unlock and complete the side quest “Arbitrary Measures.” To start, go to the Free Market Bazaar and listen to Tristan in the 2nd Choice bar. The dialogue choices used to unlock the quest were:
“What seems to be the problem here?”
“Why not let him have an audience with the Broker? Least he wouldn’t bother you any more.”
“Meeting the Broker sounds like it could be useful… somehow. Maybe we can work together.”
“Name. Ever worked with a partner before?”
After speaking with the Broker and progressing that quest into Golden Ridge, return to Tristan and use these lines to finalize recruitment:
“Fine, but you have to follow my rules.”
“I will be dealing with people of multiple factions. No killing them without my go-ahead.”
“Seems reasonable.”
That’s the full list of companions and the recruitment facts you need to start collecting them. If you want to progress companion quests, remember the companion usually needs to be in your active party to continue their story and unlock upgrades. Happy recruiting — and bring a friend you can actually trust.
