Hey guys after clocking 40+ hours into this game and finishing my first playthrough I am getting ready to start up my 2nd one and work to get all the best gear legitimately possible.
I also want to try to outfit all of my companions with the best stuff.

Only problem is. Finding out which weapons and gear work and don't work with certain companions is an extremely confusing process of trial and error.
Some companions are obvious like Boone. Fit him in some cool NCR ranger combat armor and a Anti-M gun with hand-loaded rounds and the guy becomes a long distance killing machine while looking totally bad *** at the same time.
Other companions are... not so obvious
Veronica is an example of this. While is it obvious that outfitting her with the best possible power armor is a good choice I am getting extremely conflicting reports on her combat effectiveness with different weapons. I heard a lot of people suggesting giving her a ballistic fist. At the some time others are saying Pushy is a lot better. I myself have given Veronica Pushy in my first play through and she did stellar with it. However I have yet to give her a ballistic fist and see how effective it is.
And some companions confuse me entirely.
Lily is a conundrum I have yet to understand. I know that because she is a super mutant that she can't equip any armor but can she equip any other weapons at all? Besides the bumper sword and the Blade of the East (which btw is practically worthless because you get to use it for like 2 min before the game ends) I honestly don't know what qualifies to replace her sword.


Btw this is in reference to all companions. What are your specific choice in gear for your companions Unique or Not unique doesn't matter.

I use Boone and Veronica. Whichever one I am using has Remnant Armor, and I leave Boone's rifle alone unless I'm going against something cranky. Veronica I give a ballistic fist(which is crazy good).

Boone is highly efficient with melee weapon:Ripper/Knock Knock is great.

Thats VERY interesting. I never thought of that.
Can Boone also use the Oh Baby? Because it will be funny to see him running around in full Powerarmor with that giant sledge hammer. Not only that it will make him a lot more balanced than Veronica and means I can use him for both long and short range situations.

Oh Baby doesn't benefit much from his beret...but why not

Going along with this discussion, does anyone know how to prioritize weapon usage by AI companions?

Example: I want Boone to use his sniper rifle all the time, he tends to bring out his melee weapon unless the enemy is really far away. I want him to keep shooting close range at enemies since a HS with a sniper is pretty effective. He dies alot when engaging enemies with melee even with good armor and a unique melee weapon.

So yeah is there any line of code or anything that anyone knows of to edit companions to maybe only use guns instead of melee?

Boone is kinda bugged when you give him a melee weapon, he doesn't use his rifle unless you tell him again. Or it is just because his int is low.....

Yeah that's exactly what happens.

Veronica seems to do pretty well in a full suit of T51B and the YCS/186 Gauss Rifle. Keeps whining about wanting a bigger gun for some reason.

Give cass the dinner bell and you can practically leave you guns at home

Not against high DT enemy.
Mysterious Magnum, Lucky, Trail Carbine, La Longue Carabine and some good Melee weapon is a different story.

Make sure you repair stuff you are giving to them. They won't use junk even if you give them ammo.

I like:

- Veronica with Love and Hate, Pushy or Paladin Toaster and Q-35 (cheapest ammo option for her, 1 MFC per shot, 5-6 MFC per enemy). She isn't very accurate with energy weapons.
- Tejada with Lucky with custom .357 JFP and later Sequoia also custom ammo. You wouldn't believe range at which this guy can take Deathclaw's head off.
- Cass of course with Dinner Bell. She clears Cozadore nests with ease.
- Boone with Gobi - but to be honest his default gun would suffice.
- Lily with her default gun, Assault Carbine, she sprays like crazy and needs no ammo replenishments.
- Gannon with his default gun. At Vault 3 he got crowded with Fiends and he was dropping one by one with his plasma spam.

As far as melee weapons go, except for Veronica I typically don't give them anything so they keep backtracking and firing their ranged weapon rather then engage in h2h. If you give them a too strong melee weapon, they will be more eager to switch to it which typically ends badly when they are crowded. Gannon's Plasma Defender for example in close combat is better than any knife you could give him.

In general I stick with Cass or Veronica, I pick Gannon before I am about to finish the main quest though. I spent a lot of time with Tejada and Boone so I'm kind of bored of them currently, and that's probably the main reason why they aren't with me.

Ranking by strength and usefulness I'd put them in this order:

- Tejada (he prevents your stuff from breaking and demolishes everything with heaviest pistols in the game, very tough and accurate guy).
- Cass (removal of all negative effects from alcohol which is both common and cheap makes for a strong companion if you are looking to boost your DT or her damage output with Whisky, add to that Dinner Bell and you have a real reaper here, just get drunk after entering a cave so your CHA goes up).
- Boone (good perk, great damage output, kind of irritating with his Legion complex and his eagerness to fire at max range starting fights you'd rather initiate later when you're in position).
- Gannon (you don't expect much from this guy... and you are surprised how well he does with his little plasma defender. Useless perk though)
- Veronica (wears power armor, most enemies don't want to get into melee with her and she is capable with q-35 - but she isn't as durable as she could, useless perk)
- Lily (she's lame, talks BS worse than brain-damaged children who record playthrough videos on youtube with characters at AGI 10, her perk is useless because stealth boy supply is extremely limited but her gun is very solid so that kind of saves her).

Raul with Mysterious magnum. I love that plays the music even on a companion.

But once he gets his vaquiero perk he burns through .44 ammo like CRAZY.

This. Holy crap, dude, I can't even keep up with her when she's using a fully modded hunting shotgun with Magnum shells. I got her late in the game so she just rocks: 100 guns, 100 sneak (which I love) & 100 melee. Add her damage perk from her side quest and a nest of Deathclaws might as well be giant rats. She shoots that damn gun so fast it is ridiculous. She's one shotting things well outside of what I even thought the shotguns range was. Anything close to her? BAM, BAM, BAM heads exploding all over the place. I can't kill things faster than her and I'm rolling with some heavy hardware, most of the gun perks and 100 guns. I love her. Plus her banter is great.

Raul: Mysterious Magnum, Combat Armor/Helmet + Biker Goggles, or Metal Armor, Reinforced + Metal Helmet.

How do you get drunk with Cass?

I bought Whiskey and put it in her inventory and in mine and I drank one and nothing happens. I don't get it.

Also with Cass, did I screw up by going down the path of evidence and the Calm Heart perk?

I think if you drink whiskey she get DT as well, need to check with console later.

I don't think you can screw up anything by going peace path; and you can always get vengeance after the quest and still get her other perk.

So I dont have to do the special moonshine she makes? I could never find all the ingredients (tho I didnt try too hard).

As for the perks, are you saying she can have BOTH Calm Heart and the Heart of Vengeance?

Yep.

What? No you can't. You can only get one or the other. If you kill everybody you get Heart of Vengeance which adds 15% to her DAM. If you talk her out of it you get Calm Heart which gives her 50 more HP. There's no way to get both. Either way you get her ability to make Moonshine. Maybe that's what you're thinking.

Been there, done that, it is even on the Vault

How about you check again.

Thats what I had figured.

Which is more valuable for her, the 50 HP or the 15% dam? I'm using her in an all-melee trio (I'm melee, Veronica is melee, and so is Rex).

Best weapon outdoors for boon is the gobi sniper, best weapon indoors or close quarters is "this machine". Best weapon for Veronica is probably balistic fist. Nice that she doesnt lose durability on hit since it has like no hit points when you use them.