Starfield Companions Guide: Best Crew Members and How to Recruit Them

The best companions in Starfield are not who you think

Starfield ships you off into a galaxy with over 20 recruitable companions and crew members, but the game does almost nothing to explain how the system actually works. Companion skills and crew skills are different things. Affinity and romance are separate mechanics. And some of the most useful crew members are sitting in bars you might never visit. This guide breaks down everything documented in the game's character data so you can stop guessing and start building a crew that actually helps.

Companion roster at the Lodge

What is the difference between companions and crew?

Starfield splits followers into two categories: companions and crew. Companions follow you on the ground, fight alongside you, and have personal storylines with affinity systems. Crew members are assigned to your spaceship or outpost to provide passive skill bonuses.

Here is the part most players miss: a companion riding on your ship does not automatically count as a crew member. You have to manually assign them through the crew window (H on PC, or the menu button on Xbox, then navigate to the crew tab with Y). Until you do that, they are just passengers.

Companion skills and crew skills also use different color coding on the crew assignment screen. Sarah Morgan's Laser skill, for example, is a companion skill that only activates when she is fighting at your side. Andreja's Energy Weapon System skill is a crew skill that boosts your ship's laser cannons when she is assigned to the helm.

How does companion affinity and romance work?

The four main Constellation companions (Barrett, Sarah Morgan, Sam Coe, and Andreja) all have full affinity systems and can become romantic partners, then spouses, regardless of the player character's gender. Vasco the robot can only reach standard companion status.

Raising affinity works by doing things each companion approves of during your travels. Once affinity hits certain thresholds, a conversation prompt appears. After several of these conversations and completing their personal companion quest, you can pursue a romantic relationship. Choosing seduction dialogue options during regular conversations accelerates this. Marriage comes after reaching the highest affinity tier.

The practical reward for marriage is meaningful: resting in a bed while your spouse is present grants the Emotional Security buff, which increases experience gain beyond what a standard rest provides.

Who are the best companions for combat?

The Constellation companions have the deepest storylines but are not always the strongest fighters. Their AI, like most companions in the game, struggles in complex combat. The most effective way to improve any companion's combat performance is to give them good weapons and armor directly through the trade menu, then make sure they actually equip the items. Handing them a weapon without equipping it does nothing. Ammunition also needs to be in their inventory, though they only consume one round regardless of how much you give them.

Equip companions manually

Which crew members have the best ship skills?

For pure spaceship performance, a few hireables stand out from the Constellation companions:

Omari Hassan's Shield System Rank 2 actually beats Vasco's shield contribution, making him one of the strongest hireables for defensive builds. Gideon Aker's dual Rank 2 weapon skills are exceptional if your ship runs ballistic cannons and missiles simultaneously. The catch is that weapon system skills only matter for weapons your ship actually has mounted. Barrett's particle beam skill does nothing on a ship without particle beam guns.

Which crew members are best for outposts?

If you are building outposts, two companions you can recruit for free are among the best in the game:

• Supervisor Lin (Argos Extraction Base, Vectera): Outpost Management Rank 3, Detonation Rank 1
• Heller (recruited during the same quest): Outpost Engineering Rank 3, Geology Rank 1

Both are available after the prologue quest where you rescue Barrett. There is a known bug where Lin and Heller can disappear from your companion list if you recruit them but do not immediately board them onto your ship. To avoid this, recruit them and assign them to the ship before leaving Vectera.

Assigning crew to outposts

How many crew members can you have on a ship?

The number of crew your ship can hold depends on three factors working together, and the lowest value wins:

1. Your Starship Command skill rank
2. The number of crew seats physically installed on your ship
3. The number of controllable systems on your ship

If you want a larger crew, you need to invest in the Starship Command skill and build a ship with enough hab modules to include crew quarters. Upgrading one factor without the others hits a ceiling fast. Check the basic game mechanics documentation for a detailed breakdown of how these calculations interact.

What about the Shattered Space DLC companions?

The Shattered Space DLC adds two new recruitable companions tied to the House Va'ruun faction quests in Dazra:

• Tane Salavea: Cargo Loading Rank 1, Infiltration Rank 2, Pistol Certification Rank 1. Available if he survives the Veth'aal family quest.
• Sahima Ka'dic: Electromagnetic Weapon System Rank 2, Neutron Nuclear Fusion Rank 1, Sniper Certification Rank 1. Available if she survives the Ka'dic family quest.

Sahima's EM Weapon System Rank 2 makes her a strong pick for players who favor electromagnetic ship builds. Both companions remain available as crew even if you end the Shattered Space questline without choosing a new Speaker.

New companions in Shattered Space

A note on crew bugs and missing NPCs

Starfield has documented bugs involving crew members disappearing, particularly those assigned to outposts. Constellation companions like Barrett, Sarah, Sam, and Andreja rarely go missing, but hired specialists and some story companions are vulnerable. If a crew member vanishes, the only known fix in the base game is using the recycleactor console command on PC, which resets that NPC entirely, including their hire history. They will also disappear from the game permanently after this reset.

For the latest patch status on crew-related bugs, the Starfield patch notes track fixes across updates.

For more guides on building out your character and making the most of Starfield's systems, browse more guides on GAMES.GG.