Porter Gage is the raider companion that comes withFallout 4’s Nuka-World DLC. He’s one of the first NPCs the player meets upon arriving at Nuka-World, and the Sole Survivor later learns that the raider has big plans for Nuka-World and its inhabitants.
To unlock Gage as a companion inFallout 4, the player has to kill the Overboss Colter in the Gauntlet. After, they must complete the quest “An Ambitious Plan.” Upon finishing these tasks and returning to Gage, he will offer to accompany the player throughout their questing.
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Gage’s Life Before the Events of Fallout 4
Gage was brought up in an unnamed settlement that wasroutinely tormented by raider gangs. His whole life, he watched his parents give in to the raiders’ demands and decided that he didn’t want that for himself. He knew that if he stayed, he’d end up just as weak as his parents. So, at the age of 12, he ran away.
Following his departure from home, Gage took odd jobs like caravan work and scavenging tasks to earn caps. Though, at one point, he found thatthese settlements were suffering from the same problemhis parents had — raiders. The raider gangs simply arrived, took what they wanted from the settlers, then left, and no one could do anything about it. Realizing this, Gage abandoned his current way of life and joined a raider gang at the age of 16.
Becoming a Raider
That said,Gage admits to the Sole Survivorthat he was “a little starry-eyed” when he first got in with some raiders. According to him, his first gang had the numbers and attack power but wasn’t optimizing it. So, he made suggestions as to how the group could improve things, not thinking that this may be detrimental to his position. Still, the young Gage got what he wanted.
Hearing of Gage’s ideas, the group’s boss, Connor “The Harvester” (a name Gage finds funny), started asking him for counsel. Gage was taken aback by this at first because he thought Connor was going to tell him off for undermining his authority. When the surprise wore off, however, Gage was overjoyed by the fact that the raider boss trusted him so much. The two worked together for about a year before things turned sour.
By the time a year had passed, Connor and Gage hatched a plan to make peace with a rival gang. They thought of everything; from the negotiations, to the backup. Gage, of course, was to act as a negotiator. Though he easily convinced the rival raiders to accept their terms, things went south when he started hearing gunfire and explosions nearby.
When no one came to get him out of the firefight, he realized that Connor had set him up, wanted to get rid of him because Gage was now a threat to his position. Luckily,Gage managed to escape from it all, though he knew he couldn’t go back to Connor’s group. So instead, he moved on, promising never to be so stupid or trusting again.
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Managing Nuka-World with the Sole Survivor in Fallout 4
Sometime later, Gage started running with Colter, another raider. And with the help of three different raider gangs, they captured Nuka-World, driving out its original settlers. Thoughthe other sections of the parkwere still inaccessible to them, the raiders managed to build a suitable base in Nuka-World’s central hub. They had plans to take over the entire park and spread their influence across the Commonwealth, but these were quickly cut short when Colter became complacent.
Thus, raider operations ground to a halt. Because of this, their presence wasbarely felt in the larger Commonwealth. The raider gangs were starting to get annoyed. They started fighting over what little territory they had and looking for excuses to turn on each other. In short, the place was a ticking time bomb. Gage wanted to fix it, but he couldn’t do much as the raiders partly blamed him for putting Colter in power.
Meanwhile, Overboss Colter set up the Gauntlet tochallenge anyone who entered Nuka-World. Before the Sole Survivor arrived, he reportedly beat every challenger, with his record time being one minute and 37 seconds. When the player finally steps up to the plate, they’re able to shoot past Colter’s supposedly impenetrable defenses, with help from Gage.
Right before the Sole Survivor faces off against Colter, Gage speaks to them through the intercom, explaining how Colter’s defense works. He then directs them toa unique gun called the Thirst Zapper, a regular water gun that can short-circuit Colter’s electrified power armor for a short time. This gives the player a fighting chance, and when they finally defeat the old Overboss, they also take his title.
After this, Gage explains to the new Overboss thatNuka-World needs a leader to run the operations. He also makes it clear that he has no intention of filling that role because it isn’t quite his style. Much like his former relationship with Connor, Gage is most comfortable acting as an advisor to the Overboss. He knows how raiders think, what they want, and how the player can use that to their advantage.
By now, the player can choose between completing the Nuka-World questline as a raider, or killing them all offin the “Open Season” quest. The latter entails killing the leaders of all three bandit gangs. However, this will also make Gage hostile to the player. Alternatively, going with the evil route will unlock Gage as a companion. As such, to raise affinity with Gage, the player has to choose to be evil.
Gage is one of the few companions in the game that rest on the evil side of the spectrum. Despite allying with the raiders, though, it’s clear that he’s much more cunning than most of the inhabitants of Nuka-World. He’s great at using subterfuge to get what he wants, but also isn’t afraid to bring his gun out should the need arise. Overall, he’s a nice change of pace when considering the many “good” (or at leastkindagood)companions inFallout 4’s world.
Fallout 4is available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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