How to recruit Vasco as a companion in Starfield

One of the first characters that you can meet in Starfield is a robot named Vasco. A crew member on Barrett’s crew onboard the Frontier, you are partnered with Vasco when Barrett decides to stay behind while you go deliver your newfound Artifact to Constellation.

From here, it would seem like Vasco is already your first crew member and companion in Starfield. This isn’t technically the case, though, as Vasco will only follow you around until you reach The Lodge, which is where Constellation is based. Upon reaching The Lodge and going through all of the story objectives there, Sarah Morgan will replace Vasco as your traveling companion, though she’s not technically a part of your crew yet either. When Sarah chooses to go with you, this leaves Vasco to roam about The Lodge.

If you want to get Vasco back onto your ship as a full-fledged crew member, here’s how you can go about doing so.

Starfield Vasco companion guide

To make Vasco a permanent member of your crew in Starfield, you will need to speak to the robot again after Sarah joins you as a traveling companion. Vasco will remain in The Lodge until you speak to it, so technically you can simply leave Vasco there if you don’t want the robot on your crew.

If you do, though, simply go up to Vasco in The Lodge and express your desire to have it as a part of your crew. Vasco will agree, and from here, you can assign the robot to the Frontier as a crew member. If your ship already has two other crew members, however, then Vasco will be “Unassigned.” This is still okay, though, as Vasco will come aboard your ship; it just won’t have any duties on the Frontier or anywhere else until you assign it something to do.

If you want to have Vasco join you as a companion while you’re off the Frontier, then you need to dismiss Sarah as your traveling companion. This will make Sarah stay on board the Frontier and you can then ask Vasco to join you on the road.

Related: How to visit your Dream Home in Starfield

In my experience, Vasco is better suited for life as a crew member onboard your ship or at an outpost. I found that Vasco didn’t help as much in a fight as someone like Sarah, but if you want a robot fighting alongside you, then Vasco isn’t a horrible option.