Why are companions so bad in this game?

[Iam_a_cow]

They just die after a few seconds and do little damage.

Yes, they have good gear

[CrackeR]

Heal them press F
Do more DPS yourself.
Use their perk to draw less aggro.
I don't have any issues, so this is the best answers i can think of that may help.

[Iam_a_cow]

Originally posted by CrackeR:

Heal them press F
Do more DPS yourself.
Use their perk to draw less aggro.
I don't have any issues, so this is the best answers i can think of that may help.

I might be comparing too much to Fallout, but here they just seem useless, I do all the work, they just die.

[AC Denton]

No issues here either.
The companions do help, especially when you use their abilities.
Actually, I had to actively try making the game harder for myself as the game is quite easy; i stopped taking perks, kept companions in their default armor, gave them the funny useless science weapons like the shrink ray, stopped upgrading skills related to combat, took all the negative modifiers. Even then the game is fairly easy and my companions don't die... much.

[Du-Vu]

Maybe their equipment needs updating? Or your leadership skills could just be low. I didn't necessarily have issues with them dying, but I did definitely do most of the work when my Inspiration and Determination were <20.

[Stevie Lee]

Given I just got ship launched, so I'm quite new to the game, playing on "normal" mode. I've killed everything in the first area including some "mega monster" and neither my companion (mechanic girl) nor myself have ever come close to dying. I just tell her to stay close, use terrain to shape the engagement so everyone isn't shooting us at once, then prosecute targets. If I see her getting in over her head and move in to draw targets and help out.

[Iam_a_cow]

Originally posted by Du-Vu:

Maybe their equipment needs updating? Or your leadership skills could just be low. I didn't necessarily have issues with them dying, but I did definitely do most of the work when my Inspiration and Determination were <20.

That skill is low, is it really important?

[Du-Vu]

Fairly so. Inspiration increases companions' damage, Determination increases their HP and eventually lets you revive them. You probably want each to be at least 20 to unlock their special attacks and the ability to heal them whenever you use the inhaler. Those alone will make a big difference to how much help they can be. You don't even necessarily have to go higher on most playthroughs.

Or you can just accept that they'll die a lot, and keep them around more for dialogue, bonus carry weight, and/or skill bonuses (though Inspiration can also increase the skill bonus granted to the PC). Or even go solo. There are perks for that. It's all about playstyle.

[Iam_a_cow]

Originally posted by Du-Vu:

Fairly so. Inspiration increases their damage, Determination increases their HP and eventually lets you revive them. You probably want each to be at least 20 to unlock their special attacks and the ability to heal them whenever you use the inhaler. Those alone will make a big difference to how much help they can be. You don't even necessarily have to go higher on most playthroughs.

Or you can just accept that they'll die a lot, and keep them around more for dialogue, bonus carry weight, and/or skill bonuses (though Inspiration can also increase the skill bonus granted to the PC). Or even go solo. There are perks for that. It's all about playstyle.

I have it at 20, they still suck

[Du-Vu]

So increase it until they're as good as you want them to be. 20 is good enough for most non-leader builds, the fights aren't long even if you are doing most of the 'work'. But if you want companions to do more, increase one skill or the other or both, depending on what you need from them.

[ZZZZZ]

Ellie and nyoka can literally solo the game with their starter weapons

[Mean Mr. Mustard]

If you want to use companions, invest in Leadership and Inspiration.

If you don't want companions, ignore them and invest in all the Lone Wolf perks.

Both are viable ways to play the game and both are fun in their own right.

[RACHMANOVSKI]

Somewhat agree. Although maybe because I literally don't invest anything on leadership skills since I maxing my Dialogue and stealth skills. But I never expect them to help me to fight anyway.

[Fleshly Delight]

I didn't put any more points than 20 in the leadership/inspiration tree and thought they sucked too.
Brought it up to 50 and ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ was it a difference.
It really does matter.

[Maj_Crisis]

I just give them all heavy armor and modded machine guns. Seems to work.

[Aachen]

I don’t bother armoring the crew and they will still tear through about anything so long as we don’t overdo the simultaneous aggro; chaining skills can cheese a lot of trash.

Do you use the configuration options?