Originally published on SWTORHUB.com by Jeff Prime, updated in 2015.

The galaxy is a dangerous place, but also one filled with opportunity and the chance at making a pretty penny cashing in on bounties. However, to be a first-rate Bounty Hunter in Star Wars: The Old Republic, you’ll need a solid crew behind you. This is where the Bounty Hunter’s companions come into play. Which one is best for you? Well, that’ll depend upon the situation and what you need from your companion. To that end, Swtorhub.com has put together a complete guide to the Bounty Hunter’s companions, including their combat acumen, crew skill bonuses, and likes and dislikes.

A companion is a useful and needed component of a successful Bounty Hunter. First and foremost, they will stand with the Bounty Hunter in the thick of combat, willing to lay down their lives for them. Companions, like for any profession, reside on your personal ship until needed and can run missions to gather crafting supplies or craft items for use or trade. Companions also can run quick errands to sell all low quality (grey) items while you’re away from town, saving you the time and effort to find a vendor. Lastly, the companion provides for some much-needed interaction, and perhaps romance, while between bounties.

A Bounty Hunter will gather new companions as he levels. These companions will be found on different worlds and will have different capabilities. While a companion will come equipped for duty, a player should keep their gear up to date and furnish them with equipment that they don’t have, such as implants, helmets, and ear pieces. If you keep a companion up to date, equipment-wise, they will increase the lifespan of your Bounty Hunter in combat or in world PvP.

You can only have one active companion out at a time and the rest will reside on your ship, capable of running missions or crafting items. Companions cannot follow you into a warzone and they will “desummon” if a group has more than three players, as a companion counts as a single group member.

Tip: Don’t be afraid to hit ESC to leave a conversation if you’re making choices that anger your companion. If you’re willing to redo the conversation a few times, you can maximize your companion’s affection potential from that conversation.

Mako

Mako is the first companion to join your crew and is one of the best companions to stay beside you throughout your journeys across the Galaxy. Overall, she does decent DPS in combat, but her main usefulness comes in the form of healing, and is the only companion capable of healing. She also does some crowd control with Electro-Stasis, where she can stun a foe for 8 seconds.

Mako's nature is that of a sweet-hearted girl with lots of tenacity, spunk, and a mischievous nature by flaunting rigid authority. If you're looking to go Dark Side, then Mako will really cramp your style. If you plan on making a Dark Side choice at the conclusion of a mission, I would dismiss her and summon another companion. To be honest, I don't know why someone with her personality would choose to be a Bounty Hunter.

When making decisions, Mako dislikes allegiance to the Empire and cruelty but does approve of money and sarcasm. She tends to prefer light side options. She’s an excellent companion for Bounty Hunters who prefer to tank, but it also extremely useful for Mercenaries as well. If you’re playing a male bounty hunter, she can provide a romantic storyline.
Planet: Hutta
Armor: Medium
Main Weapon: Blaster Pistol
Main Attribute: Cunning
Crew Skills: Cybertech (+5 Efficiency), Slicing (+15 Efficiency)
Companion Gifts:

• Favorite: Underworld Good, Courting (if romance is ongoing)
• Love: Technology
• Like: Weapon, Luxury, Cultural Artifact, Trophy
• Indifferent: Republic Memorabilia, Empire Memorabilia, Military Gear, Courting (if no romance)

Gault

Gault is the second companion that you’ll acquire. Initially, he’s a bounty that you’re after, but after tracking him down, he offers to join your crew. Gault is a con-man through and through and always out for the big score. He offers some amusing dialogue as you travel. He does ranged DPS with his sniper rifle in combat and is useful in bringing enemies down quickly. If you get in a sustained battle, you'll need to throw some heals on him to keep him up and fighting.

Gault can be a difficult companion to increase his affection for you. He has a very grey personality, not straying too far to the Light or too far to the Dark. Most of your dialogue options won't impact him, so you'll probably increase his affection mainly through gifts. Gault prefers decisions where you show love of money, greed, being thorough with your plans, and asking direct questions. He does not like charity, following rules, being honest, or rigidly adhering to a code. There are times when he likes inflicting pain, but he disdains it most of the time.
Planet: Tatooine
Armor: Medium
Main Weapon: Sniper Rifle
Main Attribute: Cunning
Crew Skills: Underworld Trading (+10 Efficiency), Biochem (+2 Critical)
Companion Gifts:

• Favorite: Underworld Good
• Love: Luxury
• Like: Weapon, Technology, Cultural Artifact
• Indifferent: Republic Memorabilia, Empire Memorabilia, Military Gear, Courting, Trophy

Torian Cadera

Torian is the third companion that you’ll gain as a Bounty Hunter. He serves as a romantic option if you’re playing a female Bounty Hunter. In combat, he serves as a melee DPS. He puts out good damage and is useful if you need to provide some heavy damage in a fight. He can decently aggro, but he's not as good as holding aggro as Blizz or Skadge. He can take a good deal of punishment, but it’s always wise to throw some healing his way if you’re able to do so.

Torian's personality is that of a Mandalorian through and through. For him, it's all about proving himself against the toughest opponents available and showing that he's worthy of respect as that his father is infamous for being a traitor and a disgrace to the Mandalorians. Torian has a strong sense of honor and follows a code. If you're looking to go full Dark Side, he's not the best companion to have with you when making your dialogue choices. As for choices, he prefers options of challenges, honor, respect, and Mandalorians. He does not like choices that reflect greed or cowardice.
Planet: Taris
Armor: Heavy
Main Weapon: Techstaff
Main Attribute: Aim
Crew Skills: Investigation (+10 Efficiency), Bioanalysis (+2 Critical)
Companion Gifts:

• Favorite: Weapon, Military Gear, Courting (if romantically involved)
• Love: Trophy
• Like: Technology, Cultural Artifact, Underworld Good
• Indifferent: Republic Memorabilia, Empire Memorabilia, Courting (if no romance), Luxury

Blizz

Blizz is the fourth companion that you’ll find in The Old Republic, and you’ll find him in an unlikely place: Hoth. Blizz is a hoot to have as a companion and he’s remarkably upbeat and inventive. What makes Blizz even more enjoyable is that he serves as a ranged tank in combat. Having such a little guy take aggro and be able to handle it can be quite humorous to watch. Despite his diminutive size, Blizz is an extremely good tank in combat and is my second favorite companion (after Mako) to keep with me as I adventured.

Blizz's personality is incredibly positive. You really can't keep the little guy down. Blizz is looking for a place to call home and be accepted. He cares about his fellow companions and looks up to the player with the Jawa-equivalent of round-eyed admiration. For character decisions, Blizz hates extreme violence and entities that are mean to him. Blizz does approve of decisions that show praise, gadgets, adventure, and friendship.
Planet: Hoth
Armor: Heavy
Main Weapon: Blaster Pistol
Main Attribute: Aim
Crew Skills: Armormech (+15 Efficiency), Armstech (+1 Critical)
Companion Gifts:

• Blizz loves all companion gifts except for romance. Weapon & Military only gives a moderate amount while he lives Technology, Trophies, and Underworld Goods.

Skadge

Skadge is the last companion that you’ll pick up as a Bounty Hunter. Overall, Skadge is a brute, pure and simple. He loves inflicting pain and has an extremely caustic personality. In combat, he serves as a melee tank. He’s good at keeping aggro off the player, but I find that he does tend to get his butt kicked from time to time.

If you want to go Dark side, then Skadge is your companion of choice. He's a brutal thug who is always seeking to show his power over others. It's too bad that he comes so late in the game as that players seeking to gain Dark side points will have missed most of the opportunities available by the time you get him.

To be honest, I think he's a bad fit with the rest of your companions, and if I had a choice, I wouldn't have added him to my crew roster. He's not a team player. He's actually just a bully with lots of muscle. For conversation choices, Skadge prefers violence, bullying, wanton destruction, and hurting others. He hates it when you choose to take orders, show weakness, or be willing to negotiate with others.

Planet: Belsavis
Armor: Heavy
Main Weapon: Techblade
Main Attribute: Aim
Crew Skills: Scavenging (+10 Efficiency), Treasure Hunting (+2 Critical)
Companion Gifts:

• Love: Weapon, Underworld Good
• Like: Military Gear, Luxury, Trophy
• Indifferent: Republic Memorabilia, Empire Memorabilia, Courting, Technology, Cultural Artifact

There you have it, fellow Bounty Hunters; a complete guide to the companions that you will pick up in your travels through The Old Republic. It’s up to you which one to keep with you to mesh with your playstyle, not to mention some romance if you wish it! Good luck and here’s hoping the credits keep rolling in.

Special thanks to the Infernal Marquis for some corrections.