Arcade Gannon

Arcade Gannon is a member of the Followers of the Apocalypse and possible companion

Background
Arcade was an only child, the son of an Enclave officer, born at a military base in Navarro. His father passed away when he was young, but the circumstances and leading to his death were never shared with him. When the New California Republic sacked Navarro, he and his mother fled with troopers from his father's old unit. The group moved south, attempting to integrate, but were still sought by the NCR and Brotherhood of Steel, requiring repetitive relocation to the fringes.

Gannon credits the Followers of the Apocalypse for his knowledge base, including having received his medical training from the group while he lived within the NCR. His drive to help people and enjoyment of learning led him to move to the New Vegas area, where communities were especially in need of assistance. From his tent in Freeside's Old Mormon Fort, Arcade is currently researching alternative treatments for common illnesses and injuries, utilizing local flora such as barrel cacti.

Intentionally deflecting questions about himself at first, he will only describe in detail finding his niche in conducting research, sharing his goals of developing new ways of producing medical supplies as pre-War medical supplies are finite in number. Shortly thereafter, he will admit that the Followers may have overextended themselves by reaching out to the individuals there, but is determined to assist where no one else would. In addition, he will comment that research into his projects are slow going, but that he is enthusiastic about the possibility of his work helping people regardless.

He has remained close with the Enclave remnants who he sees as family. His closest bond is with Daisy Whitman, who he describes as being "the only woman in his life" after the death of his mother. He shares with the Courier that he has had many men in his life, but that "lovers make poor confidantes," instead choosing to remain close to Daisy, who never had children of her own and was always willing to listen. Arcade remembers Orion Moreno's unwavering support of the Enclave, and Cannibal Johnson's disdain for it. He will also share that Judah Kreger did his best to make Arcade feel welcome in the group, doing so out of a sense of loyalty to his late father.

Arcade laments not being able to completely move past growing up without a father figure, wondering what he had planned for him, and if those plans aligned with reality. He makes peace with what the remnant members recount about his father's good character, sharing that although he won't attempt to fill his father's shoes, he aims to do his best to follow in his father's footsteps in terms of making a difference in the lives of others. He feels a strong desire to repay the remnants for their support throughout his life, ultimately accepting that their path and his own were different, and that he is satisfied with having chosen the direction he did.

Arcade is strongly averse to groups he views as fascist or imperialist, such as the New California Republic and Caesar's Legion. Arcade feels strongly about Caesar's Legion and their potential desirous effects on the area, noting Caesar's inability to learn from the past, instead recreating it.

Companion
There are several ways for the Courier to recruit Arcade while speaking with him.

Recruiting
He will agree to accompany the player character if any of the following requirements are met:
 * The Courier has a high reputation with the Followers.
 * The Courier has successfully completed High Times and given Julie Farkas the needed medical supplies.
 * Note that for this approach, the Courier needs to first ask, "Do you need any help?" after which Arcade will thank the Courier for their work for the Followers and a "join me" option will appear.
 * The Courier can pass a Speech check of 75.
 * The Courier has the Confirmed Bachelor perk.
 * If the Courier has an Intelligence of 3 or lower while speaking with him, Arcade will take pity on them. Temporary Intelligence-reduction effects can be useful in this situation if the Courier cannot pass any of the other checks.
 * As with Craig Boone, Arcade will refuse to join the Courier if they acquire a positive reputation with the Legion. To bypass this, the Courier can wear NCR faction armor and talk to Arcade again. It will temporarily bypass the faction check and allow Arcade to become a companion. Arcade is not affected by a negative reputation with the Followers of the Apocalypse when the Courier tries to recruit him.

Dislikes
Arcade will get fed up with the Courier if they do or say things that he dislikes, resulting in a "dislike point." Once he has accumulated 3 "dislike" points, he will warn the Courier that they are "acting crazy." Most of these possible "dislike" points may be obtained during The White Wash quest. At 6 points, he will leave permanently. He also tracks "like" points, but those are only used to determine when the For Auld Lang Syne quest begins. The "dislike" points are triggered by the following statements or actions:
 * Relating to The White Wash quest:
 * 1 point for saying "Right. The Followers don't endorse his actions, and all that." when Arcade comments on Anderson, when visiting Westside after already having completed The White Wash without Arcade.
 * 1 point for saying "They profit from crime, now I profit, too." when Arcade chastises the Courier if they finished the quest by extorting money from the Westside Co-op.
 * 2 points for saying "Anderson killed White. He deserved to pay for what he did." when Arcade challenges the Courier if they finished the quest by killing Anderson.
 * 1 point for saying "What's done is done." when Arcade challenges the Courier if they finished the quest by killing Anderson.
 * 1 point for saying "You're assuming a motive without evidence. Please be rational." (which requires Intelligence 7), followed by "It was either this or spend the rest of his life in an NCR chain gang." when Arcade challenges the Courier, if they finished the quest by killing Anderson.
 * During the first visit to The Fort with Arcade along:
 * 2 points for saying "With how messed up New Vegas is, do you really think Caesar has nothing to offer?" followed by "Yes, that's exactly what I'm suggesting." when Arcade asks why they are there.
 * 1 point for saying "He seemed smart to me." after meeting Caesar for the first time when Arcade is a companion.
 * After speaking to Thomas Hildern (any conversation that ends with "Yes...Goodbye" or "Wrong turn?...") with Arcade (one time) he will talk about Hildern's motives.
 * 1 point for saying "But in the end, doesn't it all just come down to numbers anyway?"
 * 1 point for murdering non-hostile innocents. (Dislike is not raised until Arcade comments negatively.)

Immediate leave
Arcade will leave immediately and permanently if any of the following happens:
 * The Courier responds to one of his challenges with some variation of "If you don't like it, leave."
 * They enter the Legate's camp in preparation to help Caesar attack Hoover Dam.
 * Convincing the Remnants to support Caesar's Legion during the For Auld Lang Syne quest.
 * Activating ARCHIMEDES. He will also turn hostile if the player character responds that it's "Time for the NCR to roast." (Diverting power to ARCHIMEDES II is not a problem.)
 * Reporting back to Caesar after assassinating Kimball. He will leave regardless of the Courier's preparation to move on to the final mission. He will stay as long as the quest is unfinished.

Inventory

 * * Only worn if fighting at Hoover Dam.
 * ** Because Arcade's Plasma Defender uses magical companion ammo instead of energy cells, it does not have the -2 DT effect that comes from using standard energy ammunition. Otherwise, the weapon has the same statistics as the standard version.

Appearances
Arcade Gannon appears

Behind the scenes
Arcade was featured in the Meet the Companions Playstation Blog, written by Jason Bergman. The transcript appears below.