When traveling through Hope County, you encounter many people and animals who wish to join you in the fight against the Peggies. These characters are categorized as specialists and fighters. Having one of these companions with you can often mean the difference between life and death.
Specialists appear on the map with a radio message when your cursor hovers over their location. They are typically tied to story missions or to liberating a certain location. Specialists come with two abilities that are extremely powerful and unique to that individual and to the specific situation. Recruit them based on your preferred playtype and your current needs. There are three specialists in each region of the map, for a total of nine.
Fighters are found all over Hope County by liberating outposts, being freed from captors, or just patrolling through the wilderness. Fighters also have two random abilities that unlock by killing enemies; these can be quite strong if you invest the time with them. You can recruit up to three fighters at any one time and summon whichever one is most useful or if one of your other guns for hire is resting. At the beginning of the game, you are only able to recruit fighters to help you with your fight against the Peggies.
In combat, specialists and fighters following you engage any enemies you are already fighting. However, you can direct them to attack specific targets or move to specific areas to override their normal behavior. If one of your followers is defeated in combat, they are not permanently dead. They simply need time to heal and cannot be summoned again until their cooldown timer is up. Putting points into the Leader perk tree can reduce this cooldown, and allow you to summon another follower in your squad. In addition, your follower can revive you if the enemy strikes you down, making them essential companions.
Characteristic: The Sharpshooting Hero
Location: Holland Valley - Lamb of God Church
Abilities: Boom Boom / her sniper shots will scare enemies.
Abilities: Friend Sight / her laser sight is easier to distinguish.
Grace Armstrong is an excellent sniper with a powerful rifle that can one-shot most cultists. Use her for taking out especially hard-to-reach enemies, like snipers or cultists with RPGs. Note that her attacks come slowly, so she is vulnerable to melee cultists and predators.
Grace is found at the Lamb of God Church in Holland Valley. Approaching the church and clearing out the cultists surrounding it begins the mission, Grace Under Fire. Once you climb atop the church, you are required to help Grace protect three mausoleums from cultist attacks. After you defeat the cultists and ensure at least one mausoleum remains intact, Grace joins your team as a gun for hire.
Characteristic: The King of the Skies
Location: Holland Valley - Rye & Sons Aviation
Abilities: Bomb’s Away / you want a bomb? He’ll drop it.
Abilities: Light ‘Em Up / you want a strafing run? Look out.
Nick Rye supports you from the sky in his plane Carmina and is only useful in open areas. His strafing attacks and bombs are devastating, especially to vehicles, but have a significant delay after each attack as he circles back around. Nick is weakest against Chosen fighter planes and mounted weaponry. Do not summon him when your fight takes you into heavily wooded or indoor locations.
Nick Rye’s missions begin when you go to Rye & Sons Aviation and defeat the cultists attacking his home. He asks you to head to Seed Ranch and retrieve his plans. After you clear John Seed’s Ranch in Holland Valley and get into the yellow plane located inside the hanger, Nick asks you to use it to destroy some of the cultists’ property before landing the plane at Rye & Sons. Once you secure his house and his hanger from the cultists, Nick joins your team as a gun for hire.
Characteristic: Just dangerously stupid
Location: Whitetail Mountains - Fort Drubman
Abilities: Heat Seeker / RPGs will track air and land vehicles.
Abilities: Junk It / RPGs on vehicles are more destructive.
Hurk Drubman Jr. carries an RPG and is perfect for helping you take down armored convoys and aircraft. Any vehicles he destroys explode with greater force, inflicting carnage in a wider area around the vehicle. However, he can be a liability if you are trying to capture vehicles, rescue civilians, or fight in tight quarters.
Visit Fort Drubman n Whitetail Mountains and speak to Hurk Drubman Sr. This starts The Prodigal Son mission, which requires you to help Hurk retrieve his father’s truck. Ride with him to Haskell Lookout Tower and clear out the cultists entrenched there. Climb the tower to spot your next objective below to the southwest. Follow Hurk down the zip lines and head to the cabin on the pond’s southwest side. Defeat the cultists guarding the truck and drive back to Fort Drubman with Hurk in the rescued vehicle, defeating any cultists impeding your path. Finally, finish the mission by speaking to Hurk Drubman Sr., who begs you to take Hurk with you, making him a gun for hire.
Characteristic: The Chopper Queen
Location: Henbane River - Drubman Marina
Abilities: Call a Chopper / when called on, will deliver a helicopter.
Abilities: Less Reload / gun + big magazine = more shooting.
Adelaide Drubman brings support to your squad when she is summoned by arriving in a helicopter. This ability alone makes her invaluable. However, even on the ground she can maintain a longer sustained fire against enemies before needing to reload. Adelaid is neither particularly strong nor weak against any foe, making her a dependable companion in almost all circumstances.
Adelaide Drubman’s mission begins are you liberate the Drubman Marina in the Henbane River region. When you speak to Adelaide, she asks you to hunt down her prized helicopter Tulip, which was stolen from her. Additionally, she’d like you to eliminate her traitorous pilot friends while searching for Tulip. Once you have recovered the helicopter from the cultists and returned it to the marina, you must defeat the cultists assaulting it. After using Tulips superior firepower to make short work of the enemies, land it at the marina’s helipad and speak with Adelaide. She joins your team as a gun for hire.
Characteristic: The Master Huntress
Location: Whitetail Mountains - Baron Lumber Mill
Abilities: Concealment / enemies will have a harder time detecting her.
Abilities: Feral Friendly / wild animals see her as one of their own.
Jess Black is a master of her environment and is nearly impossible to detect when in stealth. This makes her perfect for helping you silently disarm cult outposts alarms. In addition, she can kill any hard-to-reach cultists with her bow without alerting nearby enemies. Jess can be easily overwhelmed when facing large waves of fast-moving enemies, such as Angels or armored units and vehicles.
Jess Black’s mission begins after you liberate the Baron Lumber Mill in Whitetail Mountains. When you speak to Jess at the lumber mill, she asks you to help her track down a cultist named “the Cook.” Follow Jess to the Cook’s camp, eliminating any cultists in your path. Once you arrive in the camp, free the captives and eliminate their cultist tormentors. Follow Jess to the nearby quarry, where you must rescue more hostages. Finally, you have the Cook’s location - a place called the Pit. Follow Jess to the Pit and defeat the Cook and his cultist guards; then speak with Jess to have her join your team as a gun for hire.
Characteristic: The Pyrotechnics Phenom
Location: Henbane River - Moonflower Trailer Park
Abilities: Fire It Up / attacks will have an extra spark to it.
Abilities: Shatterproof / resistant to most explosions and impacts.
Sharky is a powerhouse when fighting enemies that like to get in close. His preferred weapons are the flamethower and incendiary ammo for his shotgun. Sharky does come with one major drawback: All that use of fire tends to catch the terrain on fire, which could burn you alive.
Sharky’s mission begins once you speak to him at Moonflower Trailer Park in the Henbane River region. He wants your help in defeating the Angels that always come when he plays his music. After killing the first wave of Angels, Sharky asks you to shut the music off by switching off the four speakers around the trailer park. Once you finish that and secure the area, Sharky joins your team as a gun for hire.
Characteristic: The Good Boy
Location: Holland Valley - Rae Rae’s Pumpkin Farm
Abilities: Pointer / will tag all enemies nearby.
Abilities: Retriever / will sometimes fetch a weapon after an attack.
Boomer is great for scouting cultist outposts. He reveals nearby enemies to you without alerting suspicion, and in a pinch, he can retrieve weapons for you from fallen enemies, and even has a small chance to steal weapons from enemies who are still alive. Boomer can defeat regular cultists but is not a great fighter. He is ineffective against most predators and higher-ranking cultists. However, there is a small chance a predator will flee when Boomer engages them.
Boomer is found at Rae Rae’s Pumpkin Farm in Holland Valley. Approaching this farm begins the mission, Man’s Best Friend. Once you free Boomer from his cage and defeat his captors, he joins you as a fang for hire.
Characteristic: The Fearsome Grizzly
Location: Whitetail Mountains - Linero Building Supplies
Abilities: Bear Arms / will exercise his right to attack.
Abilities: Cross to Bear / will draw focus during combat.
Cheeseburger is a murder machine. His melee attacks are devastating to all but the most heavily armored cultists. Additionally, his imposing presence draws enemies to him. Cheeseburger is most helpful when fighting Angels and other melee focused cultists. His only known weakness is, ironically, cheeseburgers.
Cheeseburger’s mission begins after you clear the F.A.N.G. Center outpost in Whitetail Mountains and you speak to Wade. The first thing you must do to win Cheeseburger’s favor is catch his favorite fish; feed it to him once you find him. The stream just north of Landsdowne Airstrip has what you need. Then head to Linero Building Supplies and feed Cheeseburger the fish you caught. Shortly afterward, defend Cheeseburger against a horde of cultists attempting to capture him. Once you have defeated the cultists, Cheeseburger joins your team as a fang for hire.
Characteristic: The Feline Power house
Location: Henbane River - Peaches Taxidermy
Abilities: Pounce / will silently take down an enemy.
Abilities: Stalk. / will stay hidden when moving through tall grass.
Peaches can silently dispatch most cultists, makng her a perfect companion when choosing to stealthily liberate an outpost or ambush a Peggie patrol. In the wild, sh remains hidden from all foes when in tall grass until she chooses to strike a target, or she attacks a target of your choice. However, once Peaches is spotted, gunfire can quickly take her down, making her especially vulnerable to heavy-weapon-wielding cultists.
Peaches’ mission begins once you speak to Miss Mable at Peaches Taxidermy in the Henbane River region. She asks you to track down Peaches, who has run off to hunt down the cultists. Get some of Peaches’ special treats on a table near her cage. Next, travel to the nearby camp to search for her. Eliminate the cultists and equip Peaches’ treats. Throw treats on the ground and lead Peaches back to Miss Mable. Once you near Peaches Taxidermy, you and Peaches must defeat the cultists assaulting the area. Lure Peaches near the enemy for added support. After you defeat all the cultists, lure Peaches back into her pen and then talk to Miss Mable. She releases Peaches to your care and she becomes a fang for hire.
All resistance fighters are different. Experiment with each until you find one that matches your play style. The following table lists all abilities that a recruited fighter can potentially have. The first ability is unlocked once a fighter kills [5] enemies, and the second is unlocked at [12] kills. These abilities never change, so if a fighter doesn’t possess the skills you need, feel free to hire and use another. Once your three available recruitment slots are full, it is possible to dismiss a recruited fighter to make room for a new recruit; feel free to experiment on your travels.
Veterinarian / will revive fangs for hire.
Back Up / will revive themselves when downed.
Quick Recovery / will take less time to recover health.
Field Surgeon / will fully revive your health when downed.
Mechanic / will repair the vehicle you drive.
Hoarder / will allow you to carry more ammo.
Fortitude / will draw attention and take more damage.
Herbalist / will grab plant life when not in combat.
Vulture / will find extra stuff when looting a body.
Intimidator / will lay down fire that scares the enemy.
Power Hitter / melee attacks might send enemies flying.
Hot Buckshot / shotgun blasts might start a fire.
Spotter / will tag enemies at the start of combat.
Thick Skin / will be more resilient to damage.
No Tracks / will make you untrackable in tall grass.
Sharpshooter / will snipe less often but be deadlier.
Recycles / will hand over recovered ammo after some kills.