Fallout: The Traveler/Companions

Returning from the previous games, now combined with elements from the popular Fallout New Vegas mod JIP Companions Command and Control, The Outer Worlds and the Character and Party system from Genshin Impact albeit cut down. Companions played a much bigger role in Fallout: The Traveler. They can be found all over the wasteland and depending on the reputation on the faction you are, your profession given at the start, all has Paimon Pip entry, equipable with a specific Weapon, skills that are skilled at, and belong to Wanderlusters (independents), Traveler Origins and Faction aligned. On normal gameplay, they're all essential, so they cannot die unless if playing on Sawyer Mode (If not yet acquired the Virtuoso (150) tier of the Inspiration skill), Wasteland Survival Mode or Immersion Mode.

How to Obtain
Companions are primarily obtained by exploring around the Wasteland and depending when you have good reputation with that faction, your profession given at the start and your karma standing. There are three types of Companions: Wanderluster, Traveler Origins and Faction Affilated. Wanderluster companions can be recruited regardless of reputation or Karma that can be found, Traveler Origin companions are playable characters that can be selected as a player character as an alternative to making a custom character, which can be recruited in certain points of the game and Faction affilated companions are can be only recruited if the Traveler has positive reputation with that faction unless the Traveler has the Charisma bobblehead.

The limit of companions are depending on the Traveler's Charisma plus one if taken the Strength of Bonds perk. For example, a charisma of 1 or three only allows one Companion to travel with you, while a Charisma of 10 allows 5 more (plus 6 if taken the Strength of Bonds perk) companions to travel with you

The Companion Ledger
The Companion Ledger at Paimon Pip shows you everything you need to know about your companions. You can see their skills, stats, status effects, perks, and gear. In conjunction with gear, you can select and swap the weapons and apparel for your companion. On top of that, players can also change the companion's behavior in combat such as their distance, preferred weapon, and aggressiveness.

Focus Fire
Select your companion and press the up button on the controller's D-pad once to order your companions to attack on V.A.T.S.

Companion Ability
Each Companion also has an ability tied to their Vision they can use on command. Upon activating an ability time will slow, similar to V.A.T.S, as the Traveler commands them where and/or who to fire their ability, upon command a cinematic will play showing the Companion using their ability.

Companion ability ranges from support to direct damage, but all of their ability will inflict an elemental effect, depending on their Vision, which the Traveler can combo to create an elemental reaction.

Once a bond/romance is formed the Companion will unlock their Burst, powerful abilities that can turn the tide of battle but have a longer cooldown.

Companion Wheel
Returning from New Vegas, the Companion wheel provides easier control over the non-player character companions in the game by setting the AI and other management options.

Affinity
Companions can develop personal connections to the Traveler and most of it may ask for help with quests of their own. Each companion has a distinct personality and values. Actions or dialogue that please one companion may displease another.

Raising the affinity value grants additional dialogue into their history or the possibility of romance. Reaching maximum affinity with a companion will unlock a special perk. The affinity value is a hidden statistic, meaning it is not possible to check the progress without console commands.

Earning or losing Affinity is depending on the Traveler's charisma i.e a Higher charisma gains more Affinity and less when losing.

Bonds/Romance
Once their affinity is maxed, and their personal quest completed, the Traveler can form a Bond with said Companion. Once a bond is forged the Traveler gains a Companion Perk, said Companions stat is boosted, and their Vision Burst ability is unlocked.

All Companions can become Bonded. And most, but not all, Companions can also be romanced, which is similar to a Bond mechanically (the only difference is a romanced character and the Traveler have intimate talks and/or flirting).

NOTE: While romancing all romanceable companions is possible, only some Companions are fine with polygamy/may only be fine with polygamy with a specific Companion. Beware of consequences, especially for those who are monogamous, when they find out you're a two-timer.

Leveling
As the companion travels with the player, they will earn XP every day simply by being in the player's party, or by engaging in combat while in the player's employ. When the companion levels up, they gain skill points that the player can spend on any of the companion's skills. Every ten levels, the companion earns a single SPECIAL point instead, which the player can also allocate. Superfluous XP that puts the companion over the level-up threshold is rolled over and put towards the next level.

Skill Perks
Leveling up the companion's stats will open up new dialogue options and unlock new perks as they improve.


 * Strength: With a Strength of 7 or higher, the companion can be asked to “kick down” (unlock) any non-quest-related locked door. They can be asked to do this once every six in-game hours.
 * Perception: With a Perception of 7 or higher, the companion can locate enemies at greater range and can help to target cloaked enemies in VATS. This perk is the same as ED-E's Enhanced Sensors perk.
 * Endurance: With an Endurance of 7 or higher, the companion will give the player a thirty-second +25 DR and +25 DT buff whenever they are knocked down in combat.
 * Charisma: With a Charisma of 7 or higher, the companion will lower the DT of enemies of the opposite sex by -25%
 * Intelligence: With an Intelligence of 7 or higher, a new dialogue option unlocks where, once a day, the companion can be asked to convert Pre-War Books into skill magazines. The type of magazine that can be chosen also depends on the companion's skill level in the relevant area (i.e. a Survival-boosting magazine can only be crafted if the companion has a high enough Survival skill i.e Xiangling). The companion's Intelligence is also used to determine how many Experience Points they earn, and how many XP are required to reach the next level.
 * Agility: With an Agility of 7 or higher, the companion will attack, reload and equip weapons 25% faster.
 * Luck: With a Luck of 7 or higher, the companion has a random daily chance (up to 25% with max Luck) to find a random amount of caps which they will give to the player and also lesser the chance of a companion suffering a Critical Failure.
 * Unarmed: With an Unarmed skill of 65 or higher, the companion will have a 25% chance of knocking an enemy down while fighting hand-to-hand.
 * Melee Weapons (1 and 2-handed): With a Melee Weapons (either one or two-handed) skill of 65 or higher, the companion will have a 25% chance of completely gibbing an enemy when using melee weapons.
 * Archery: With a Archery skill of 65 or higher, the companion will have a faster time to draw a bow.
 * Pistols, Long Guns and/or Automatics: With a Pistols/Long Guns/Automatics skill of 50 or higher, a new dialogue option unlocks where the companion can be asked to help reload spent cases, making them function essentially as a mobile reloading bench. With a Pistols/Long Guns/Automatics skill of 65 or higher, the companion can highlight enemies when the player is actively aiming.
 * Big Guns: With an Big Guns skill of 65 or higher, the companion's Big Guns weight in their inventory will be halved.
 * Throwing: With an Throwing skill of 65 or higher, the companion's throwing distance with Throwables is more further.
 * Explosives: With an Explosives skill of 65 or higher, the companion will no longer set off mines or other floor-based traps.
 * Visions: With an Visions skill of 65 or higher, the companion's Vision cool down will be faster.
 * Energy Weapons: With an Energy Weapons skill of 65 or higher, the companion will be able to recharge any drained energy weapon ammo in their inventory. The process takes two in-game hours.
 * Lockpick: With a Lockpick skill of 65 or higher, the companion can be asked to lower the skill check of a non-quest-related container by -15.
 * Medicine: With a Medicine skill of 50 or higher, a new dialogue option unlocks where the companion can be asked to heal you. Between Medicine 50 and 65, the companion can heal a maximum of 50% of the player's HP, restore 50% of each limb condition and remove 250 rads. Between Medicine 65 and 85, the companion can heal a maximum of 75% of the player's HP, restore 75% of each limb condition and remove 500 rads. With Medicine 85 or higher, the companion can fully heal the player's HP, restore 100% of each limb condition and remove all rads. This can be done once every four in-game hours.
 * Tech Skills: With any Tech skill of 50 or higher, a new dialogue option unlocks where the companion can be asked to repair equipment. The player will still need the appropriate amount of caps to pay for their services, but can reclaim them from the companion's inventory later. With any Tech skill of 65 or higher, a second new dialogue option unlocks where the companion can be asked to help craft an item, making them function essentially as a mobile workbench.
 * Hacking: With a Hacking skill of 65 or higher, the companion can be asked to lower the skill check of a non-quest-related Terminal by -15.
 * Pickpocket: With a Pickpocket skill of 65 or higher, the companion can be asked to pickpocket a NPC.
 * Speech Skills: With any Speech skill of 65 or higher, the companion can put in a good word for the player in conversations (+10% disposition) depending on the type of Speech skill (i.e Vicar Max relies on Determination).
 * Sneak: With a Sneak skill of 65 or higher, the companion gains a Stealth Boy cloaking field whenever they sneak, and gives the player one as well.
 * Survival: With a Survival skill of 50 or higher, a new dialogue option unlocks where, between the hours of 8PM and 2AM, the player can suggest making camp for the night, to access the sleep menu without the need for a bed. With a Survival skill of 65 or higher, a second new dialogue option unlocks where the companion can be asked to help cook something, making them function essentially as a mobile campfire.
 * Barter: With a Barter skill of 65 or higher, the companion can negotiate better prices from vendors (10% discount), and can also spot sources of valuable loot.

The companion's stats can be viewed at any time by viewing their Companion Ledger in the Paimon-Pip.

Home Location
The companion's home location can be set to anywhere the player wants, simply by leading the companion there and selecting the corresponding option in dialogue.

Birthdays
Companions who have reached their Birthday, a traveling courier gives the player a mail with their cooked food and one or more additional gifts. Characters will always mention these miscellaneous gifts in their letter, but rarely the cooked food that is also attached.

It is required to have the Companion's affinity admires the Traveler and dismiss in their party, within a few days.

Birthday Mail will be automatically transferred into the Paimon Pip after the player has collected the rewards. Mail within the Paimon-Pip will not be quick-deleted, and will not be removed.

Birthday mails and gifts cannot be received if the companion was killed or enslaved.

Trivia

 * All of the Genshin Impact, Honkai: Starrail, The Outer Worlds, Cyberpunk 2077, Wasteland, and DLC character icons now uses the more Fallout lore friendly Vault-Boy art style, illustrated by Brian Menze.
 * Some companions, such as Aya Lyons, are created for this game and such it only appears in The Traveler.
 * The infamous "OnFire" dialogue was restored from New Vegas, though this feature is only in the Sawyer and Wasteland Survival modes.
 * Though the systems is based off Genshin Impact, almost of the elements from Genshin were stripped down or removed to be more in line with Fallout 4, The Outer Worlds and Fallout: New Vegas mod JIP Companions Command and Control and more fitting with the lore of Fallout.
 * Similar to Genshin Impact, all Companions are equipped with a Vision. Wildcards are unique in that, like Aether/Lumine in Genshin, has access to all seven elements.
 * When the companions fallen in combat, they will speak like in when they fallen in Genshin Impact. While in Sawyer Mode (if not reached inspiration skill to Virtuoso), Wasteland Survival or not yet even recruited to the Traveler, they die with a scream or yell in agony depending what they got killed by (i.e killed by a critical laser strike cause to scream brutally.)
 * Some of the characters from Genshin Impact and one from The Outer Worlds has a drastically different appearance and race to fit the lore of Fallout for variety.
 * Qiqi, Dori, Diona, Sayu, Klee, Nahida, Yaoyao, Faruzan, Sigewinne and June: Adult Human
 * Dehya, Layla, Tighnari, Gorou, Kirara, Lynette: Human
 * Kaveh (If his companion quest is not completed): Mister Gutsy
 * Kokomi (If her companion quest is not completed): Robobrain
 * Yun Jin: Assaultron (If her companion quest is not completed)
 * SAM: Protectron
 * Nilou, Albedo, Raiden, Wanderer, Yun Jin (if her companion quest is completed), Kaveh (If his companion quest is completed), Kokomi (If her companion quest is completed), Chevreuse, Charlotte, Furina, Wriothseley, Neuviliette, Navia, Clorinde, all Fontainians (If their faction story quest is not completed): 3rd Gen Synth
 * Most Liyue characters (if the Legion main quest "Desecration of Liyue" is completed), Qiqi (by default): Ghoul (Feral or non-Feral)
 * In addition, some of the characters from Genshin Impact and Honkai: Starrail had their professions and factions changed to fit the lore of Fallout and for variety
 * Yelan: Commissar
 * Razor: Caesar's Legion
 * Himeko: Institute
 * Charlotte: Institute Undercover Spy