In Far Cry 5, you can unlock buddies (or “specialists”) that you can summon at any time to help you through some of the rougher missions. Each buddy has a special ability, making them more than just random soldiers. Each one is a character, and they’re all suited to different playstyles. You can summon Nick to help you fight airplanes, bring in Hurk to blast vehicles with his RPG, or stay silent with Boomer the dog, Peaches the mountain lion, or Jess Black the hunter.
All the buddies are worth unlocking as soon as possible. It’s actually pretty easy. After liberating Dutch’s Island from the cultists, Dutch will give you a list of locations you can visit in all three regions — the large icons with faces on them? Those are your buddy missions. All you have to do is visit those locations and talk to the nearest person to begin a mission. By the end, you’ll unlock a specialist to help you out.
More Far Cry 5 guides on Gameranx:
- Far Cry 5: 10 Things You Should Do First | Beginner’s Guide
- Far Cry 5: How To Beat The Game In 10 Minutes | Easter Egg Ending Guide
- Far Cry 5: All Animal Companions Guide | Where To Get The Dog, Bear & Lion
- Far Cry 5: What You Can Buy With Microtransactions | Silver Bars Guide
- Far Cry 5: How To Earn Resistance Points Fast | Campaign Progression Guide
- Far Cry 5: Here’s How To Get Money Faster | Quick Cash Farming Guide
- Far Cry 5: How To Unlock Every Achievement / Trophy | 100% Completion Guide
Which Specialist To Use In Every Situation | Guns-For-Hire Guide
Buddies, or “Guns-For-Hire” / “Specialists” are special allies you can summon. They have unique voice clips, models, and abilities — all of them are suited for a different playstyle, but they bring similar benefits no matter who you choose.
- Most buddies can revive you. Animals can revive you, but pilots (Nick Rye / Adelaide Drubman) will not revive you if you’ve been downed.
- Buddies will remain stealthy until you’re caught. Even animals, pilots, or characters with killer weapons.
- When a buddy is downed, you can revive them. If the are downed completely, you’ll have to wait for the timer to complete before you can summon them again.
- Every buddy has a perk that speeds up the revive timer.
- Unlock the “Leadership” perk in the buddy perk menu to summon two buddies at once. Even two specialists can be summoned at the same time.
That’s just about everything you need to know about buddies in general — except for the random Guns-For-Hire you can unlock. You have three Guns-For-Hire slots. Talk to NPCs carrying weapons with “!” over their heads. You can add these characters to your roster.
Guns-For-Hire are randomly generated, and when they get enough kills, they’ll unlock two special abilities. Abilities can include recycling ammo, repairing your vehicle, and more. If you get a fighter with abilities you don’t like, get rid of them and find someone new. These fighters are useful too — while they aren’t as powerful, they can always revive you and shoot out of moving cars, or drive cars for you.
The Full List of Buddies & Abilities
- Boomer: Scout dog that scavenges ammo and spots enemies.
- Pointer: Will tag all enemies nearby.
- Retriever: Will sometimes fetch a weapon after an attack.
- Cheeseburger: A heavy, powerful bear that can steamroll enemies.
- Bear Arms: Will exercise his right to attack.
- Cross to Bear: Will draw focus during combat.
- Peaches: The stealthy mountain lion can silently kill, just like you.
- Pounce: Will silently takedown an enemy.
- Stalk: Will stay hidden when moving through tall grass.
- Nick Rye: A pilot that drops bombs and fights enemy airplanes.
- Bomb’s Away: You want a bomb? He’ll drop it.
- Light ’em Up: You want a strafing run? Look out.
- Hurk Drubman Jr.: A dangerously stupid redneck with a heat-seeking RPG.
- Heat Seeker: RPGs will track air and land vehicles.
- Junk It: RPGs on vehicle are more destructive.
- Sharky Boshaw: A crazy man armed with a flamethrower.
- Fire It Up: Attacks will have an extra spark to it.
- Shatterproof: Resistant to most explosions and impacts.
- Grace Armstrong: A former marine sniper that can still shoot.
- Boom Boom: Her sniper shots will scare enemies.
- Friendly Sight: Her laser sight is easier to distinguish.
- Jess Black: A stealthy huntress that takes out enemies with a bow.
- Concealment: Enemies will have a harder time detecting her.
- Feral Friendly: Wild animals see her as one of their own.
- Adelaide Drubman: She’ll provide close air support with her fully loaded chopper.
- Call A Chopper: Will provide air support and deliver a helicopter.
- Less Reload: Gun + Big Magazine = More Shooting.
