How To Get Hancock As Companion

The wastelands of Fallout 4 are a dangerous and lonely place to wander in. If you're not one to opt for the Lone Wanderer perk and get terrified at night by lurking ghouls and other critters, having a companion tag along might be a good option.

As your relationship evolves, you unlock special Affinity Perks in Fallout 4 that give you awesome bonuses during your journey. Some of them are even available as romance options, and some are just kind of fun to have along when you feel a bit lonely. Let's have a look at the best companions, ranked from okay to the absolute best.

Updated on August 14th, 2021 by Anastasia Maillot: Fallout 4's companions have one of the game's primary strengths. Not only are they well-crafted characters with immersive backgrounds and emotional stories, they also each provide something useful to the Sole Survivor in the form of an affinity perk.

The final Automatron DLC companions have also been added to the list, despite being significantly different in nature from the rest of the companions, as one of them requires the Sole Survivor to build it on a workstation.

17 Automatron

If none of the human companions in Fallout 4 seem worth the effort, the Automatron DLC gives players the chance to create the very own ideal robotic companion. This process requires players to have perks in Robotics Expert, Gun Nut, Science! and Armorer to make various modifications to each part of the Automatron in question.

To start building one, the Sole Survivor simply needs to head to a settlement with enough materials gathered and start building their Automatron on a robotics workstation. With the right perks, it's not too difficult to create an absolute slaughtering machine with a Nuka launcher. The Automatron has no affinity perk, but it does give the Sole Survivor junk whenever spoken to and held as a companion.

16 Ada

Assaultron are feared slayers of the wasteland, packed into a humanoid robotic form. In the Automatron DLC, the Sole Survivor has the opportunity to meet a unique assaultron named Ada and hire her as a companion after completing the quest Mechanical Menace.

She can be found at Wattz Consumer Electronics to start the quest. Like the regular Automatron that needs to be built, Ada has no Affinity Perk. She'll regularly offer the Sole Survivor junk, and eventually, she can even be upgraded to either lockpick or hack terminals.

15 Hancock

While Hancock is without question one of the most interesting characters in terms of his design and story, he's pretty lackluster compared to some of the other characters in the game. The Sole Survivor might hit it off with him since he was technically around when the bombs fell, but he's not the best to have in battle.

Hancock can be found in Goodneighbor, which he actually leads. After running a few errands for him, he offers to join the player on their adventures. Hancock uses a shotgun as his go-to weapon which makes him essentially useless in most combat situations. Moreover, his Affinity Perk is very niche: the Isodoped perk boosts the critical meter's filling speed by 20% when the player has suffered 250 radiation damage.

14 Old Longfellow

The Far Harbor DLC introduces the player to cranky and seasoned mariner Old Longfellow. He knows the island like the back of his hand and acts as the player's guide when they first venture out into the fog to find Acadia and DiMA.

Old Longfellow favors a lever-action rifle which is a decent weapon to have. His Affinity Perk is useful for those who are entering Far Harbor for the first time at a fairly low level and have trouble against many of its sea monsters. The Hunter's Wisdom perk lowers the damage and energy resistance of beasts by 25%.

13 Deacon

Deacon is the go-to follower for anyone who likes a funny guy or just prefers the Railroad out of the three factions in the game. As a spy, he doesn't come across as very trustworthy, which is why some players might not hit it off with him immediately. He's a bit of a habitual liar.

Deacon prefers to use a sniper rifle or pipe gun to take down his enemies, which means he's more of a long range fighter. His Affinity Perk is great for specific character builds. The Cloak & Dagger perk boosts sneak damage by 20% and the duration of stealth boys by 40%.

12 Codsworth

Don't be fooled by Codsworth's appearance or his kind personality. He's actually pretty useful early on in the game when the player has barely anything and they're essentially fresh out of the vault. He's the very first companion the player can recruit in Sanctuary Hills.

Codsworth uses a buzz-saw and a flamer to kill his enemies, which can be surprisingly devastating. He can pull a ton of enemies towards him, allowing the player to take them down from a distance. His Robot Sympathy perk is extremely versatile and works for any character build, as it boosts energy resistance by 10.

11 Porter Gage

One of the most powerful companions in the game obviously comes from the last DLC that Bethesda released for Fallout 4. In Nuka-World, the player will rub elbows with a bunch of raiders, one of which is Porter Gage, the previous Overboss' right hand.

He's a great follower due to having questionable ethics and works well with morally ambiguous character builds. Moreover, he's an absolute beast in combat, favoring the handmade rifle which is iconic to Nuka-World's raiders and deals a ton of damage. His Lessons in Blood perk is a must-have for any Sole Survivor, with 5% more XP granted with each kill and a 10 point boost to damage resistance.

10 Piper

Piper is a reporter for her own paper called Publick Occurrences working from Diamond City. You first meet her when arriving to the city gates, where she's struggling to get in. Once you give her an interview, she'll be available as a companion.

Piper's weapon of choice is a pistol, and once you reach a high enough relationship level with her she'll grant the Gift of Gab perk, which gives you double experience for successful charisma checks or when arriving at a new location. She's decent in combat, and has a rebellious personality that dislikes any forms of authority.

9 X6-88

If you decide to side yourself with the Institute, X6-88 becomes available to you as a companion later on in the game. He's a synthetic with very little human emotion. He'll dislike any acts of kindness and will like it if you act selfishly.

In combat, X6-88 will use an energy weapon, a Laser Rifle, and he'll do quite a significant amount of damage, making him one of the better fighters on this list. Once you've reached maximum relationship level with him he grants you with the Shield Harmonics perk which gives you an additional 20 energy resistance.

8 MacCready

For anyone looking for a companion with similarly questionable ethics and principles, MacCready is ideal. As a mercenary and once a Gunner, you'll find at the Goodneighbor where you can hire him for a couple of caps. However, keep in mind that he won't level up his relationship with you until you've completed his personal quests.

He's an extremely skilled shooter and will use a sniper rifle to take down his enemies. After you've gained his affection, he'll grant you with the Killshot perk which gives you about 20% higher accuracy with headshots while in V.A.T.S.

7 Preston Garvey

If you value kindness above all, Preston is your man. You'll meet him in Concord, where he'll ask you to help him and his band of what remains of the Minutemen. As their leader, he'll ask you to help clear Concord and continue to ask you for help with new settlements.

His favorite weapon is a Laser Musket, which is quite effective despite its long reload time. He'll appreciate any kindness you show to others, as well as a willingness to help the innocent. He'll grant you the United We Stand perk, which gives you +20% damage and damage resistance against more than 3 opponents, which is among the best affinity perks out there.

6 Cait

Cait might not have her life completely together, with drug addiction plaguing her. However, she's an incredibly powerful and skilled companion, able to hold her own in a fight with a shotgun. She used to be a raider, so expected her to applaud you for any violent acts.

One of her greatest perks is that she can pick almost any lock you need opened, which greatly facilitates your life in the wasteland. After you've gained her trust, she'll grant you with the Trigger Rush perk, which helps you get your Action Points back faster when your health is under 25%.

5 Dogmeat

The first companion you meet in the game is Dogmeat, a friendly dog that might not be able to do that much in combat but is more useful than you'd imagine. Dogmeat doesn't actually count as a companion, so you can unlock the Lone Wanderer perk freely while he's around.

He can find hidden items, and can incapacitate enemies in fights. He's not too concerned with your ethics, which makes him a pretty handy companion in that regard. Sadly he's not too useful in combat, other than as a distraction.

4 Nick Valentine

In Diamond City, the main quest will lead you on a hunt to find and rescue Nick Valentine, a detective that turns out to be an old synth prototype with his own free will. He'll like a companion that will be nice to others and seek to find out the truth by asking questions.

In combat, he'll prefer his revolver, but his greatest asset is his capacity to hack into terminals that you struggle with. After you've leveled up your relationship with him he grants you with the Close to Metal perk that gives you a 50% lower wait between hacking a terminal and one extra try during the actual hack.

3 Strong

Don't let Strong's appearance fool you. He might look like any other Super Mutant waiting to bash your skull in, but he's completely loyal to you once you recruit him at Trinity Tower. Due to his nature, he'll like both generous as well as violent acts, and will defend himself with assault rifles in combat.

He's incredibly strong with a sledgehammer, and can sometimes even pick up a gun from a body to take down the next enemy. His Affinity Perk gives you a 20% boost to weapon damage if your health is below 25%.

2 Paladin Danse

A man from the Brotherhood of Steel and a capable fighter always seen in his power armor, Paladin Danse tops this list among the best fighters you can have as your companion. He's able to tank incredible amounts of damage while dishing some back. Acts of kindness, but also violence, will be tolerated by him as he's a man of the military.

He uses a Laser Rifle to protect himself and can be recruited once you've joined the Brotherhood of Steel. His Affinity Perk gives you a 20% damage buff when fighting ghouls, super mutants and synthetics.

1 Curie

When you first meet Curie, she doesn't look anything like a human being. In her original Mr. Handy form she isn't much use in combat, but once you transfer her inside a synthetic body, she becomes the strongest companion in the game with the sturdiest health pools and damage outputs.

She appreciates acts of kindness and generosity, and in her Mr. Handy form will use a flamethrower on her enemies. Her Affinity Perk Combat Medic grants you 100 HP once every 24 hours if you drop under 10% of your HP.

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