In Wasteland 2, having a single awesome character to lead the front charge and take control of interactions with the world isn’t enough. The harshness of the post-apocalyptic land and the general code of the Desert Rangers demands working in units, and for that you need to build a strong party that can be used as an effective team in Wasteland 2.
Setting up and assembling a good party is the key to success in Wasteland 2 and is one of the game’s more challenging parts.
Our guide will help you get started with your party and give you the required suggestions and tips on recruiting NPC companions to further strengthen your squad.
For more help on Wasteland 2, read our Combat Tips, Attributes, Skills and Stats, Weapons and Armor Guide.
Party Build #1 – Premade Folks
- Fade
- Big Bert
- Bear
- Cold-Eye
If you want to get into the game as quickly as possible without spending time creating your characters, then you can choose the readymade ones available to you when starting a new game. It’s an all-rounded, battle and interaction-focused party build for anyone looking for a quick start in Wasteland 2.
Fade will be your scout and probably the leader with well-rounded attributes and skills; Big Bert will be your melee/brawler using blunt weapons and intimidating NPCs; Bear will be your main assaulter, and her medic/outdoorsman should help you survive, and finally Cold-Eye will be your sniper.
Party Build #2 – Battle Strategists
The Leader
- 6 Coordination*
- 1 Luck
- 8 Awareness
- 4 Strength
- 2 Speed
- 4 Intelligence
- 3 Charisma*
- Starting Skills: Assault Rifles, Kiss Ass, Smart Ass
The Beater
- 6 Coordination
- 1 Luck
- 6 Awareness*
- 8 Strength*
- 4 Speed
- 4 Intelligence
- 1 Charisma
- Starting Skills: Blunt Weapons, Hard Ass, Demolitions
The Brains
- 7 Coordination
- 1 Luck
- 6 Awareness*
- 3 Strength
- 2 Speed*
- 8 Intelligence*
- 1 Charisma
- Starting Skills: Smart Ass, Computer Science, Perception
The Marksman
- 5 Coordination*
- 1 Luck
- 10 Awareness
- 1 Strength
- 6 Speed*
- 4 Intelligence
- 1 Charisma
- Starting Skills: Sniper, Lockpicking, Safecracking
This is a battle-focused starting party build for Wasteland 2. While it will give you a lot of early edge in battles, this setup is only recommended if you aren’t planning to work for NPC recruits.
Many recruits are highly charisma-based, and as you may have noticed, the party members here lack it. The most important companion that I would be looking towards for this build is Rose, who is an excellent Support and is heavily involved in the story.
The party members of this build are battle-oriented – except for The Brains, who would be the non-combatant member that utilizes the environment to give you a technical advantage.
This kind of party will have great initiative and decent speed. Your melee character, The Beater, will lead the attacks, backed by The Marksman and assisted by The Leader.
Party Build #3 – Practicality
The Chosen One
- 5 Coordination
- 1 Luck
- 4 Awareness
- 2 Strength
- 6 Speed
- 5 Intelligence*
- 5 Charisma*
- Starting Skills: Kiss Ass, Smart Ass, Leadership
The Scout
- 5 Coordination*
- 3 Luck
- 6 Awareness*
- 3 Strength
- 4 Speed*
- 5 Intelligence
- 3 Charisma
- Starting Skills: Alarm Disarming, Lockpicking, Outdoorsman
The Tinkerer
- 6 Coordination*
- 1 Luck
- 4 Awareness
- 2 Strength*
- 3 Speed*
- 9 Intelligence
- 3 Charisma
- Starting Skills: Computer Science, Mechanical Repair, Weaponsmithing
The Handy
- 5 Coordination*
- 1 Luck
- 4 Awareness*
- 3 Strength
- 5 Speed
- 5 Intelligence*
- 5 Charisma
- Starting Skills: Assault Rifle, Hard Ass, Safecracking
While battles play an important role in Wasteland 2, there is more to the game than shooting and killing. How you go about in the world and your interaction with NPCs is a very important part of survival and progression, which is where this ‘practical’ build comes.
You might notice how only The Handy has a weapons skill – this is again because the emphasis is more on the practical aspect of the game. Of course, this does not mean you’re dead meat when it comes to shooting a weapon.
In fact, you can equip any weapon you desire with these characters and add in a few skill points to the respective weapon skills. This build is heavily NPC recruit-dependent, so make sure you assemble the desired players as quickly as possible.
A good suggestion would be Rose, Takayuki, Ralphy, and Angela Deth for the time she accompanies you.
With 16 party Charisma, you shouldn’t have much trouble attracting most recruits and getting around the practical aspects, and later on, you can put in points for weapon skills of your choice.
Note that since this is an NPC recruit-reliant party, you will need a lot of Leadership to keep your recruits in check.
