How to get all Companions in The Outer Worlds 2

The locations of all six Companions, and how to recruit and upgrade them

Image credit:Obsidian

Wondering how to get all six Companions in The Outer Worlds 2? As with every single one of Obsidian’s RPGs, it’s all about the friends who accompany you on your journey, and The Outer Worlds 2 is no different. With a motley cast featuring everything from a friendly robot to a lady who worships rifts in the time-space continuum, The Outer Worlds 2’s cast is wondrously varied. However, you might end up missing some of these lovable miscreants on your first playthrough, depending on the actions you take in-game.

To help ensure that you’re always rolling with a complete squad, this guide explains how to get all six Companions in The Outer Worlds 2. We’ve also explained the appropriate quests that you want to be paying attention to for each Companion.

How to get all Companions in The Outer Worlds 2

There are six Companions in total in The Outer Worlds 2. Below, we’ve described their respective Factions, how to find each of them, as well as possible ways to miss them on your playthrough. (And before you ask, no - The Outer Worlds 2 sadly does not feature Companion romances, aside from a few lines of flirtation here and there.)

Upgrading the equipment of a Companion requires that you get an Upgrade Kit as a reward for completing their side quests. For your convenience, we’ve also listed the exact quests that you need to finish in order to get these kits.

• Niles
• Valerie
• Marisol
• Aza
• Inez
• Tristan

How to get Niles

Niles is great at crafting things, and if you talk to him on the field he acts as a walking Workbench. |Image credit:Obsidian

Faction: Earth Directorate

Location: You can’t miss Niles, as he shows up in the prologue (in a younger and less badass form) and then appears in the main game on your ship, The Incognito, to greet your Commander when they wake up from hibernation.

How to recruit: Niles is an automatic Companion from the start of the game, and sticks around unless you decide to voluntarily dismiss him or kill too many fellow Earth Directorate folks.

Companion quests : Pressing Cares, Do More Harm

Description : Niles is a useful ally in the early game as he can fire three shots at a target, drawing aggro away from you, and he also has regenerating armour shields. However his greatest use is the Field Tinkering option that appears in the dialogue tree whenever you speak with him. If you select this, you can immediately access the Workbench menu at any time.

How to get Valerie

Technically, her name’s an acronym, but let’s just call her Valerie or Val. She’s a great little support drone. |Image credit:Obsidian

Faction: Earth Directorate

Location: Valerie is another Companion who appears in the prologue and pops up on The Incognito to accompany your Commander from the start of their quest.

How to recruit: You can’t miss Valerie; she’s a trusty all-purpose healing and damage reduction robot who’ll faithfully serve at your side forever.

Companion quests : A Healthy Improvement

Description : Val serves as a great backup, since she can fire healing syringes that will heal you in a pinch. If you’re worrying about your Toxicity meter, might as well bring Val with you for some in-the-field heals. To make her more effective, see our guide on how to complete her upgrade quest, A Healthy Improvement .

How to get Marisol

An experienced assassin, Marisol’s the Companion to go to if you want to take out a foe from afar. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Obsidian

Faction: Order of the Ascendant

Location: Marisol - who also goes by the name Alva at first - can be found in the Zyranium Manufactory VII on Golden Ridge as part of the Beginning at the Endpoint quest.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Obsidian

How to recruit: Complete Pressing Cares, which sees you investigate an attack in the manufactory which was supposedly instigated by Marisol. If you side with Proctor Svoboda instead of Marisol, you’ll lose your chance to recruit Marisol to your team. Kill too many Order of the Ascendant NPCs, and Marisol will also part ways with you.

Companion quests : Midpoint to the Endpoint, Endpoint’s End

Description: I use Marisol less than the other Companions, but she’s not bad if you’re a major Gadget user. Most of her Perks revolve around Gadgets, from Recharge Paralysis (which restores Gadget energy whenever you attack an enemy she targets) to N-Ray Scanner Analyzer, which lets you analyse enemy weak points for knockdowns and bleed. Those who don’t rely on Gadgets should look at the other Companions first, though.

How to get Aza

Basically the rogue of the group, Aza stabs, stabs, and stabs some more. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Obsidian

Faction: The Glorious Dawn

Location: Aza can be found locked away in the Decommissioned Autonomous Extractorium, an optional area in Golden Ridge crawling with trigger-happy cultists.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Obsidian

How to recruit: Kill the cultists and free Aza, who will only be too glad to tell you all about The Glorious Dawn and enlist your aid in offing more cultists. You’ll be on her good side unless you tell her to get lost or wantonly slaughter other members of The Glorious Dawn while she’s in your party.

Companion quests : The Dawn of a Glorious Betrayal, Stabbing at Shadows

Description : Aza’s a fun one, with a wrist-mounted explosive Gadget that can blow enemies up and stagger them, and she’s also the stealthiest. Relentless, her starting Perk, causes every one of her third melee strikes to deal bonus damage and inflict stagger, which is mighty fine. If you’ve arranged your Skills to make yourself into a melee user who relies on sneak attacks, Aza’s worthwhile to keep by your side.

How to get Inez

A capable combat medic, Inez is a little like Val - except she’s a human with a neat grafted arm. |Image credit:Obsidian

Faction: Auntie’s Choice

Location: Go west of Farfield on Paradise Island, to an abandoned building called the Ministry of Accuracy. You can find Inez inside.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Obsidian

How to recruit: After finding Inez in the Ministry of Accuracy, you’ll need to meet her back in Fairfield to recruit her; she’s in the same building as Minister Milverstreet. Speak to her after she quits Auntie’s Choice to get her into your party. She’s totally missable if you never visit the Ministry of Accuracy, and like other Companions, you can dismiss her whenever you like.

Companion quests : A Most Extraordinary Specimen, Half-Truths in Advertising or Full Measures

Description : Inez offers excellent support abilities if Val isn’t enough for you. Field Medicine is a useful early Perk that lets her chuck medicine packs near your vicinity to reduce your Toxicity level, and once you level Inez up a bit, she can equip different grafts - for instance, her Raptidon graft increases accuracy and damage, while her Crabble graft makes a plasma pool that deals AoE damage.

How to get Tristan

Tristan’s your sexy tank Companion. Let him wade into danger and smash stuff with his big hammer. |Image credit:Obsidian

Faction: Protectorate

Location: Once you can travel to Free Market Station, head to the 2nd Choice Saloon and you’ll find him arguing with the bartender.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Obsidian

How to recruit: Talking to Tristan will activate the quest Arbitrary Measures, and you’ll need to meet Tristan in the refugee camp over on Golden Ridge. Complete the quest to bring him on your side. You can totally miss Tristan if you never visit Free Market Station or 2nd Choice Saloon, and if you’re an anti-Protectorate believer, you can of course tell him to piss off at any time you like.

Companion quests : Listening For a Clue, Casting Off the Veil

Description : Tristan’s your tank, and does the job if you like smashing into enemies for AoE damage and taking the heat off of you via Shield of the Law, his taunt, or Beg for Mercy and Demoralizing Entry, both Perks that terrify enemies. Since The Outer Worlds 2 stresses ranged combat a bit more than melee, Tristan will be a much-appreciated addition for most parties, unless you decide to go for close-quarters combat with the right collection of Perks .

That’s a wrap on how to recruit all Companions in The Outer Worlds 2. For more tips on kicking ass and taking names with this crew, be sure to check out our beginner’s guide and best Traits guide . For additional intel on navigating the stars and saving Arcadia, refer to our guides on all Pets in The Outer Worlds 2 and all 5 Mural locations in Golden Ridge .

The Outer Worlds 2

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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All 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints and where to get them

These areas have the highest chance of giving you Blueprints

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Looking for more Arc Raiders Blueprints? It’s a special day when you find a Blueprint, as they’re among the most valuable items in Arc Raiders. If you find a Blueprint that you haven’t already found, then you must make sure you hold onto it at all costs, because Blueprints are the key to one of the most important and powerful systems of meta-progression in the game.

This guide aims to be the very best guide on Blueprints you can find, starting with a primer on what exactly they are and how they work in Arc Raiders, before delving into exactly where to get Blueprints and the very best farming spots for you to take in your search.

We’ll also go over how to get Blueprints from other unlikely activities, such as destroying Surveyors and completing specific quests. And you’ll also find the full list of all 75 Blueprints in Arc Raiders on this page (including the newest Blueprints added with the Cold Snap update , such as the Deadline Blueprint and Firework Box Blueprint), giving you all the information you need to expand your own crafting repertoire.

In this guide:

• What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?
• Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes
• Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders Blueprints obtained from quests Blueprints obtained from Trials Best Blueprint farming locations

What are Blueprints in Arc Raiders?

Blueprints in Arc Raiders are special items which, if you manage to extract with them, you can expend to permanently unlock a new crafting recipe in your Workshop. If you manage to extract from a raid with an Anvil Blueprint, for example, you can unlock the ability to craft your very own Anvil Pistol, as many times as you like (as long as you have the crafting materials).

To use a Blueprint, simply open your Inventory while in the lobby, then right-click on the Blueprint and click “Learn And Consume” . This will permanently unlock the recipe for that item in your Workshop. As of the Stella Montis update, there are allegedly 75 different Blueprints to unlock - although only 68 are confirmed to be in the game so far. You can see all the Blueprints you’ve found and unlocked by going to the Workshop menu, and hitting “R” to bring up the Blueprint screen.

It’s possible to find duplicates of past Blueprints you’ve already unlocked. If you find these, then you can either sell them, or - if you like to play with friends - you can take it into a match and gift it to your friend so they can unlock that recipe for themselves. Another option is to keep hold of them until the time comes to donate them to the Expedition.

Full Blueprint list: All crafting recipes

Below is the full list of all the Blueprints that are currently available to find in Arc Raiders, and the crafting recipe required for each item:

Note: The missing Blueprints in this list likely have not actually been added to the game at the time of writing, because none of the playerbase has managed to find any of them. As they are added to the game, I will update this page with the most relevant information so you know exactly how to get all 75 Arc Raiders Blueprints.

Where to find Blueprints in Arc Raiders

Below is a list of all containers, modifiers, and events which maximise your chances of finding Blueprints:

• Certain quests reward you with specific Blueprints .
• Completing Trials has a high chance of offering Blueprints as rewards.
• Surveyors have a decent chance of dropping Blueprints on death.
• High loot value areas tend to have a greater chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Night Raids and Storms may increase rare Blueprint spawn chances in containers.
• Containers with higher numbers of items may have a higher tendency to spawn Blueprints. As a result, Blue Gate (which has many “large” containers containing multiple items) may give you a higher chance of spawning Blueprints.
• Raider containers (Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, Medical Bags, Grenade Tubes) have increased Blueprint drop rates. As a result, the Uncovered Caches event gives you a high chance of finding Blueprints.
• Security Lockers have a higher than average chance of containing Blueprints.
• Certain Blueprints only seem to spawn under specific circumstances: Tempest Blueprint only spawns during Night Raid events. Vulcano Blueprint only spawns during Hidden Bunker events. Jupiter and Equaliser Blueprints only spawn during Harvester events.

Raider Caches, Weapon Boxes, and other raider-oriented container types have a good chance of offering Blueprints. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints have a very low chance of spawning in any container in Arc Raiders, around 1-2% on average. However, there is a higher chance of finding Blueprints in particular container types. Specifically, you can find more Blueprints in Raider containers and security lockers.

Beyond this, if you’re looking for Blueprints you should focus on regions of the map which are marked as having particularly high-value loot. Areas such as the Control Tower in Dam Battlegrounds, the Arrival and Departure Buildings in Spaceport, and Pilgrim’s Peak in Blue Gate all have a better-than-average chance of spawning Blueprints somewhere amongst all their containers. Night Raids and Electromagnetic Storm events also increase the drop chances of certain Blueprints .

In addition to these containers, you can often loot Blueprints from destroyed Surveyors - the largest of the rolling ball ARC. Surveyors are more commonly found on the later maps - Spaceport and Blue Gate - and if one spawns in your match, you’ll likely see it by the blue laser beam that it casts into the sky while “surveying”.

Surveyors are quite well-armoured and will very speedily run away from you once it notices you, but if you can take one down then make sure you loot all its parts for a chance of obtaining certain unusual Blueprints.

Blueprints obtained from quests

One way in which you can get Blueprints is by completing certain quests for the vendors in Speranza. Some quests will reward you with a specific item Blueprint upon completion, so as long as you work through all the quests in Arc Raiders, you are guaranteed those Blueprints.

Here is the full list of all Blueprints you can get from quest rewards:

• Trigger Nade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Sparks Fly”.
• Lure Grenade Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Greasing Her Palms”.
• Burletta Blueprint: Rewarded after completing “Industrial Espionage”.
• Hullcracker Blueprint (and Launcher Ammo Blueprint): Rewarded after completing “The Major’s Footlocker”.

Alas, that’s only 4 Blueprints out of a total of 75 to unlock, so for the vast majority you will need to find them yourself during a raid. If you’re intent on farming Blueprints, then it’s best to equip yourself with cheap gear in case you lose it, but don’t use a free loadout because then you won’t get a safe pocket to stash any new Blueprint you find. No pain in Arc Raiders is sharper than failing to extract with a new Blueprint you’ve been after for a dozen hours already.

One of the best ways to get Blueprints is by hitting three stars on all five Trials every week. |Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blueprints obtained from Trials

One of the very best ways to get Blueprints is as rewards for completing Trials in Arc Raiders. Trials are unlocked from Level 15 onwards, and allow you to earn rewards by focusing on certain tasks over the course of several raids. For example, one Trial might task you with dealing damage to Hornets, while another might challenge you to loot Supply Drops.

Trials refresh on a weekly basis, with a new week bringing five new Trials. Each Trial can offer up to three rewards after passing certain score milestones, and it’s possible to receive very high level loot from these reward crates - including Blueprints. So if you want to unlock as many Blueprints as possible, you should make a point of completing as many Trials as possible each week.

Best Blueprint farming locations

The very best way to get Blueprints is to frequent specific areas of the maps which combine high-tier loot pools with the right types of containers to search. Here are my recommendations for where to find Blueprints on every map, so you can always keep the search going for new crafting recipes to unlock.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Dam Battlegrounds

The best places to farm Blueprints on Dam Battlegrounds are the Control Tower, Power Generation Complex, Ruby Residence, and Pale Apartments . The first two regions, despite only being marked on the map as mid-tier loot, contain a phenomenal number of containers to loot. The Control Tower can also contain a couple of high-tier Security Lockers - though of course, you’ll need to have unlocked the Security Breach skill at the end of the Survival tree.

There’s also a lot of reporting amongst the playerbase that the Residential areas in the top-left of the map - Pale Apartments and Ruby Residence - give you a comparatively strong chance of finding Blueprints. Considering their size, there’s a high density of containers to loot in both locations, and they also have the benefit of being fairly out of the way. So you’re more likely to have all the containers to yourself.

Buried City

The best Blueprint farming locations on Buried City are the Santa Maria Houses, Grandioso Apartments, Town Hall, and the various buildings of the New District . Grandioso Apartments has a lower number of containers than the rest, but a high chance of spawning weapon cases - which have good Blueprint drop rates. The others are high-tier loot areas, with plenty of lootable containers - including Security Lockers.

Spaceport

The best places to find Blueprints on Spaceport are the Arrival and Departure Buildings, as well as Control Tower A6 and the Launch Towers . All these areas are labelled as high-value loot regions, and many of them are also very handily connected to one another by the Spaceport wall, which you can use to quickly run from one area to the next. At the tops of most of these buildings you’ll find at least one Security Locker, so this is an excellent farming route for players looking to find Blueprints.

The downside to looting Blueprints on Spaceport is that all these areas are hotly contested, particularly in Duos and Squads. You’ll need to be very focused and fast in order to complete the full farming route.

Image credit:Rock Paper Shotgun/Embark Studios

Blue Gate

Blue Gate tends to have a good chance of dropping Blueprints, potentially because it generally has a high number of containers which can hold lots of items; so there’s a higher chance of a Blueprint spawning in each container. In my experience, the best Blueprint farming spots on Blue Gate are Pilgrim’s Peak, Raider’s Refuge, the Ancient Fort, and the Underground Complex beneath the Warehouse .

All of these areas contain a wealth of containers to loot. Raider’s Refuge has less to loot, but the majority of the containers in and around the Refuge are raider containers, which have a high chance of containing Blueprints - particularly during major events.

Stella Montis

On the whole, Stella Montis seems to have a very low drop rate for Blueprints (though a high chance of dropping other high-tier loot). If you do want to try farming Blueprints on this map, the best places to find Blueprints in Stella Montis are Medical Research, Assembly Workshop, and the Business Center . These areas have the highest density of containers to loot on the map.

In addition to this, the Western Tunnel has a few different Security Lockers to loot, so while there’s very little to loot elsewhere in this area of the map, it’s worth hitting those Security Lockers if you spawn there at the start of a match.

That wraps up this primer on how to get all the Blueprints in Arc Raiders as quickly as possible. With the Expedition system constantly resetting a large number of players’ Blueprints, it’s more important than ever to have the most up-to-date information on where to find all these Blueprints.

While you’re here, be sure to check out our Arc Raiders best guns tier list , as well as our primers on the best skills to unlock and all the different Field Depot locations on every map.

ARC Raiders

PS5 , Xbox Series X/S , PC

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