[GameSpot] - Starfield - All Romance Options And Companions

343iBot · August 31, 2023

You'll meet many companions and crew members in Starfield. These characters have their own backstories and motivations, as well as skills that help you in your ships and outposts. Our guide discusses Starfield companions, their particular recruitment methods, and if it's possible to romance them.

All crew members, companions, and romance options in Starfield

We've organized our Starfield companions and romance guide into several sections. We tackle the concept of full-fledged companions first, such as those with unique backstories, romance quirks, and quests. This is followed by crew members, both those that are unique, and generic ones that can be recruited.

Note that you can only bring one active follower on your journey, as the previous character has to be dismissed. However, there's a slightly "gamey" way to have an extra active follower. Moreover, since you're likely to recruit a bunch of people, you might as well take note of how to increase ship crew size.

Full-fledged companions

As of the time of this writing, we know of four full-fledged Starfield companions. These characters have an affinity system that eventually unlocks romance options and quests.

Sarah

Recruitment mission: The Old Neighborhood
Skills: Astrodynamics 4, Lasers 3, Leadership 2, and Botany 1
Tip: Sarah is the headstrong leader of Constellation's operations in the system. She prefers a clear-cut diplomatic approach to most situations.
Related guide: Sarah romance and companion quest

The first companion that we romanced was Emily Blunt, sorry, Sarah Morgan.

Barrett

Recruitment mission: Back to Vectera
Skills: Starship Engineering 4, Particle Beam Weapon Systems 3, Robotics 2, Gastronomy 1
Tip: You meet Barrett very early in the campaign, though he won't become a Starfield companion until you finish the Back to Vectera mission.
Related guide: Barrett romance and companion quest

You'll need to rescue Barrett before he joins your squad.

Sam Coe

Recruitment mission: The Empty Nest
Skills: Piloting 4, Rifle Certification 3, Payloads 2, and Geology 1
Tip: Sam is the scion of the Coe family, founders of Akila City, though he has a strained relationship with his father. He joins up during The Empty Nest, along with his daughter.

Sam always has his daughter tagging along.

Andreja

Recruitment mission: Into the Unknown
Skills: Stealth 4, Particle Beams 3, Energy Weapon Systems 2, and Theft 1
Tip: Andreja is likely the last full-fledged Starfield companion that becomes part of your group during the campaign. You'll stumble upon her as you look for an artifact inside a cavern.
Related guide: Andreja romance and companion quest

Andrea keeps her secrets close to heart.

How companion romance works in Starfield

So, how exactly does Starfield companion romance work? For those who've played past Bethesda titles, such as Fallout 4, you'll be quite familiar with the mechanics. For newcomers and those looking to brush up on info, here's a quick summary:

Companions have an affinity system. If you do something they like, you'll earn a boost. If you do something they dislike, that value is slightly lowered.
It also bears mentioning that companions are good-natured and well-meaning (i.e. they won't like it if you murder innocents). If you keep doing actions that they dislike, they'll eventually hate you. Still, you can convince them via the Persuasion minigame that it was all a mistake.
At certain theresholds (i.e. 100 affinity), companions will ask to speak with you. They'll tell you about their past, and you can ask various questions. In some cases, you'll notice the "flirt" dialogue option. Choose to flirt whenever you see the prompt and keep increasing their affinity to unlock more unique conversations.
Eventually, a companion will ask you to tackle a quest, where they'll become a mandatory follower. Once you're finished with the objective, and assuming the affinity is quite high enough, the romance option should appear.
Past that point, you'll also see the commitment option, where you and your companion profess your love for each other.
Going to bed and sleeping, assuming a lover is with you, will give you a temporary XP buff.
It's possible to break things off with a romanced companion. You can go back to the friendzone, and then talk to them again if you want to retread the romance.
As of the time of this writing, we're unable to confirm if you can have multiple "committed relationships." We can't really spoil what happened in our campaign here. However, we do know that companions can state that they "don't like to share."
There are no romance scenes in Starfield. This isn't Baldur's Gate 3, for you Karlach and Astarion fans out there.

For those who played Baldur's Gate 3 recently, this is certainly not that type of game.

Unique crew members

Vasco

Recruitment mission: One Small Step
Skills: Aneutronic Fusion 1, Shield Systems 2, and EM Weapon Systems 1
Tip: Vasco joins you early in the game. Once you arrive at The Lodge in New Atlantis and join Constellation, you can have him as an active follower.

Adoring Fan

Recruitment trait: Hero Worshiped
Skills: Scavenging 1, Concealment 1, and Weightlifting 2
Tip: The Adoring Fan shows up if you selected the Hero Worshiped trait during character creation. He can pop up anytime while you're exploring New Atlantis.

Lin

Recruitment mission: Back to Vectera
Skills: Demolitions 1 and Outpost Management 3
Tip: Upon returning to Vectera, you can convince Lin to join your group. However, we did encounter a bug much later in the game where Lin and another crew member disappeared. We had assigned them both to an outpost and, upon switching to another home ship, they simply vanished.

Heller

Recruitment mission: Back to Vectera
Skills: Geology 1 and Outpost Engineering 3
Tip: You'll meet up with Heller once more during Back to Vectera, and you can have him become part of your group. Unfortunately, Heller is the other "bugged" companion, as we lost him and Lin during the campaign.

Rosie

Recruitment location: Akila City bar
Skills: Medicine 1 and Wellness 3
Tip: Rosie is a doctor, and you can have her aboard if you pay her fee. This can be reduced via a Persuasion check.

Omari

Recruitment location: Akila City bar
Skills: Shield Systems 3 and Starship Engineering 1
Tip: Just like Rosie, Omari is chilling in the same bar in Akila City. He, too, can be persuaded to lower his recruitment fee.

Mickey

Recruitment location: Neon bar
Skills: Gastronomy 1, Wellness 2, and Incapacitation 1
Tip: Mickey is, apparently, a well-renowned chef, which we found a bit odd since he only has a rank 1 Gastronomy skill. It's up to you if you want to recruit him, though you need to give him a payment upfront.

Rafael

Recruitment mission: Entangled
Skills: Outpost Engineering 1, Starship Engineering 2, and Outpost Management 1
Tip: You'll meet Rafael much later in the campaign, specifically once you're doing the Entangled mission. If you decide to save him at the end of that quest, you'll be able to recruit him as a crewmate.

From left to right: Rosie and Omari can be recruited from the Akila bar; Lin and Heller bugged out for us during the campaign and in New Game Plus; This Fusion Systems Specialist NPC was chilling in Neon's lounge.

Generic crew members

Starfield companions and crew members also include some rather generic ones. You can find them lounging around in bars located in cities, such as New Atlantis, Akila City, Neon, and Cydonia.

These NPCs simply have a job title, such as Fusion Systems Specialist or Outpost Security Chief. This also denotes their particular skill. They have recruitment fees that you need to pay before they join, but you can succeed in the Persuasion minigame to lower the amount.

That's everything you need to know about crew members and companions in Starfield. Since you're already checking out the people that you'll meet in your journey, you might as well take note of the rival factions in the game.

Starfield is a massive game with numerous planets to explore. For other tips and tactics, you can visit our guides hub.

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