Kenshi Unique Recruits Guide: Complete Tier List with Locations

Of all the things that will try to kill you in Kenshi and trust me, the list is long. Your own loneliness might be one of them. A journey through this wasteland is brutal, but it’s worse when you do it alone. Generic recruits from the bar are fine for carrying your stuff and soaking up damage, but they have no soul. They’re just stat blocks in a backpack. The real magic comes from finding the Kenshi unique recruits, the scattered weirdos who can turn your grim survival story into something memorable.

These aren’t just hired hands; they’re characters with baggage, opinions, and sometimes, incredibly specific stats that can change your whole game. Finding them is a journey in itself. Here’s the complete list of locations where to find every one of these potential allies.

P.S. You can make the generic guys from the bars a little bit more alive by generating unique names for them.

Unique recruits we are ranking today

Kenshi Unique Recruits Tier List

Not all unique recruits are created equal. Some can define a playthrough, while others are best suited for specific, niche roles. This tier list ranks them based on their overall power, utility, and the unique value they bring to your squad.

S-Tier: The Legends of the Wasteland

These are the recruits who can fundamentally change your game. They offer immense power, unparalleled utility, or an iconic experience that defines a Kenshi run.

1. Beep: There is no other choice for the top spot. Statistically, he is a liability when you find him. In reality, he is the heart of your squad. His journey from a “CYBER-BEEP” wannabe to a potential master swordsman, complete with hilarious and heartwarming dialogue, is the most rewarding character arc in the game. His true value isn’t in his stats, but in the story he creates. He is, without a doubt, the most essential Kenshi unique recruit.
2. Agnu: A free Soldierbot is an insane reward for what is essentially a rescue mission. Agnu is a walking apocalypse, starting with 50 Strength and the combat effectiveness to match. He is the ultimate bodyguard for Beep and a one-robot wrecking crew that can carry your squad through mid-game combat challenges. The effort to free him from the Tower of Abuse is high, but the payoff is one of the best combat units in the game.
3. Griffin: He is the most expensive recruit on this list for a reason. As a former Holy Nation Sentinel, Griffin boasts incredible starting combat stats, but his utility doesn’t stop there. He also has a high medical skill, making him a frontline fighter who can immediately patch up his squadmates. He is a one-man army and a field medic rolled into one, representing the absolute peak of what a premium recruit can offer.
4. Burn: For a new player, Burn is a perfect early recruit. He’s a free Skeleton, which means he doesn’t need to eat, and he’s found in a relatively safe, isolated tower. He has solid combat skills from the start and provides some of the most interesting lore-based dialogue in the game, offering context to the world’s ancient history.
5. Bo: If your playstyle involves any amount of stealth, thievery, or assassination, Bo is unmatched. As an elite Anti-Slaver, her skills in these areas are sky-high right from recruitment. She can kidnap high-value targets, knock out entire patrols, and loot cities blind without ever being seen. Being free (if you have good relations with the Anti-Slavers) makes her absurdly valuable.

A-Tier: Elite Specialists

These recruits are masters of their respective trades. They might not have the all-around power of the S-Tier, but they are the absolute best at what they do.

6. Headshot: The name says it all. If you plan to build a base, you need turret guards. Headshot is the best in the business, with phenomenal stats in Turrets and Crossbows. Placing him on a wall is a guaranteed deterrent against all but the most overwhelming raids.
7. Chad: The undisputed master of punching things to death. Chad is a premium martial artist with the Strength, Toughness, and Unarmed skill to back it up. If you want to create a squad of martial artists, he is the perfect (and most powerful) foundation to build upon.
8. Doctor Chung: Survival in Kenshi often comes down to how quickly you can heal. Doctor Chung is a free, dedicated medic with a high starting skill. Finding him in the swamp towns can immediately solve your party’s recovery problems and save you a fortune on medical supplies in the long run.
9. Green Finger: For the player who wants to build a self-sufficient empire, Green Finger is essential. His specialization in farming, engineering, and laboring means your base will be built faster, your walls will be repaired quicker, and your crops will grow more efficiently than with any other character.
10. Ruka: Often one of the first unique recruits players find in Squin, and she’s a fantastic starting point. As a free Shek warrior, she provides the early-game muscle needed to survive initial encounters and start training a proper fighting force.

B-Tier: Solid & Dependable

These are the reliable workhorses of Kenshi. They are strong additions to any squad, providing good value without being overly specialized or game-breaking.

11. Rane the Giant: A powerful Shek warrior with stats that justify her name. She’s a top-tier frontline combatant who can anchor your melee squad.
12. Pia: An excellent support character. Her high athletics makes her a great scout and her medic skill ensures she can keep the fighters patched up. A very reliable and useful team member.
13. Hamut: A free and capable fighter with a compelling anti-slavery backstory that adds great flavor. He’s a solid choice for bulking out your combat roster.
14. Cat: A free medic and scientist is a great reward for taking down the Dust King. She fills two crucial research and support roles effectively.
15. Green (Hive Worker): A slightly less potent but much cheaper alternative to Headshot. He is a fantastic crossbow user and turret guard for a fraction of the cost.
16. Jewel: High-level cooking might seem like a luxury, but for a large faction, it’s a massive quality-of-life improvement, ensuring your squad is always well-fed and receiving stat bonuses from high-quality food.
17. Infinite Wingwang: He has the potential to be an S-Tier warrior, but his randomly negotiated price makes him unreliable. If you get him for cheap, he’s a steal. If he asks for 100,000 Cats, there are better options.
18. Kang: A classic, proud Shek fighter. He’s a dependable warrior who provides good combat ability for a fair price.

C-Tier: Niche & Flavor Picks

You recruit these characters for a specific purpose, for their personality, or for roleplaying reasons. They aren’t going to be the stars of your squad, but they make the world feel more alive.

19. Sadneil: A free skeleton is always nice, but his primary contribution is his wonderfully depressing dialogue. He’s a great atmospheric addition to a base.
20. Ells: For 300 Cats, she is a fantastic early-game thief who can help you secure some starting funds through five-finger discounts.
21. Miu: A decent farmer whose arachnophobia is a genuinely funny and sometimes useful environmental warning system.
22. Bard: He brings no practical skills to the table, but having a musician in your squad to play tunes adds a unique atmospheric touch to your travels.
23. Hobbs: A free body is a free body. He’s not much of a fighter, but his stories add flavor to your camp, and he can serve as a laborer or pack mule in the early game.
24. Stubs Momuso: You recruit him for his incredibly awkward and memorable personality, not for his combat prowess.
25. Silvershade: An exiled Hive Prince with a gambling problem is a great backstory, but his actual performance is only average for his cost.
26. Reva: A strong fighter, but her female-only recruitment requirement makes her entirely dependent on your starting character or squad composition.
27. Izumi: A good medic and scientist, but she’s outclassed by free options like Doctor Chung and Cat.

F-Tier: For the Memes

This recruit is in a category all his own. You recruit him not for power or utility, but simply because you can.

28. Cornelius: You can recruit a goat. He is the ultimate trophy recruit. He has slightly better stats than a normal goat and can carry some items, but his real purpose is to be a testament to the beautiful absurdity of Kenshi. Recruiting him is a rite of passage.

Why I loooove These Kenshi Recruits 

In a lot of RPGs, companions feel like tools. In Kenshi, they feel like fellow survivors. The system of Kenshi unique recruits is brilliant because it forces you out into the world. You don’t just go to a “Companion Store” and buy the best ones. You have to find them. Rescuing Agnu from the Tower of Abuse is a serious undertaking, but when you walk out with a combat monster who cost you nothing but blood and sweat, it feels earned.

This is what makes the recruitment in Kenshi so special. It ties character acquisition directly to exploration and risk. Want the best martial artist? You need to make it to Flats Lagoon. Want a free, elite assassin? Better get on the Anti-Slavers’ good side.

For new players struggling with Kenshi’s notorious difficulty curve, I recommend checking out my comprehensive guides on essential game mechanics. Post on Kenshi Tips for Beginners covers fundamental survival strategies and early-game recruitment priorities. For players experiencing performance issues with large squads, my Performance Mods for Kenshi guide addresses optimization techniques to maintain smooth gameplay. Additionally, Essential Mods for Every Playthrough compilation includes quality-of-life improvements that enhance the unique recruit experience without compromising the game’s core challenge and atmosphere.

And it’s not all about min-maxing. I’ll be honest, Beep is statistically garbage when you find him. But the experience of training him, hearing his weird dialogue, and watching him slowly become a warrior is one of the most rewarding things in the game (even more than and his constant beeping).

Do recruits Respawn in Kenshi?

• Unique Recruits: No, they do not respawn in a normal playthrough. If one dies, they are gone permanently. The only way to bring them back is to import your save and tick the “Import Dead NPCs” option, which resets the world and respawns any unique characters who have died.
• Generic Recruits: No, the generic recruits found in bars do not respawn either. Once a town’s pool of generic recruits has been hired, it will be empty. You must travel to other towns to find more or import your game to reset the population of bars.

How do you get more recruits in Kenshi?

There are several ways to expand your squad:

• Recruiting from Cages: Some unique characters (like Agnu and Cat) are found imprisoned and can be recruited once freed.
• Hiring from Bars: This is the most common method. Go into a bar in any city or Waystation, and you will often find characters willing to join you for a fee (usually between 1,000 and 9,000 Cats).
• Finding Unique Recruits: Travel to the specific locations where unique characters are found. Many of them are free to recruit but may require completing a dialogue challenge or venturing into a dangerous area.
• Freeing Slaves: If you free slaves from their cages or buy them from a slaver, there is a chance they will be grateful and ask to join your faction. This is a good way to get free, albeit unskilled, recruits.

Can you recruit lost drones?

In the unmodded version of Kenshi, it is extremely rare and difficult, with many players reporting that the dialogue to recruit them is incomplete or bugged. While there are anecdotal accounts of “Lost Drones” joining a player who has a Hive character and an established outpost they wander into, it is not a reliable method. For a consistent way to recruit them, you would need to use a mod like “Recruitable Lost Drone” from the Steam Workshop.