I was wondering if you unlock HK-51 BEFORE you have a ship, where does the extra companion go?

Also, since only troopers and knights get a droid companion via story line, what to do for parts?

The earliest cybertech parts are level 8, and you can't equip a full set until 17 or 18. The obvious exception, being Knights, who get their droid companion on Tython.

Would love to hear from someone who's unlocked him on a starting planet character. Especially if you unlocked him prior to getting your default companion.

I unlocked Hk at lvl 12 or 14 when I was on dromund. I bought a blue sniper rifle and left his lvl 50 gear on. He did pretty good damage and took hits well. I'll have to wait till lvl 50 to put his orange sniper rifle back on. His armor seems to work even though its lvl 50 and im lvl 16 now on balmora.

As for the ship it wont matter if you get HK early you just cant talk to him untill you get your ship, and now you will have an extra crew early for crafting missions.

I unlocked Hk at lvl 12 or 14 when I was on dromund. I bought a blue sniper rifle and left his lvl 50 gear on. He did pretty good damage and took hits well. I'll have to wait till lvl 50 to put his orange sniper rifle back on. His armor seems to work even though its lvl 50 and im lvl 16 now on balmora.

As for the ship it wont matter if you get HK early you just cant talk to him untill you get your ship, and now you will have an extra crew early for crafting missions.

From everything I've read, he gets no stats from that gear. It's more likely he's benefiting from the presence boosts you've gotten from previous toons. With 4 50's plus the human presence boost, I was fairly unstoppable even with Khem Val in rubbish gear.

It will be nice to have enough companions to send out on missions for a change. Seems like I never have enough companions to keep the maximum # deployed until late in the game.

Generally speaking, it's not worth unlocking HK-51 on a pre-50 toon, which is a sad oversight on BioWare's part. You have the gearing problems that you mentioned (he comes in level 50 gear, but it's greyed out and has no effect on him until you reach level 50).

Perhaps more importantly, he gains no affection from any conversations in the game, aside from those you have with him on your ship after you've used gifts to increase his affection. He's a completely silent presence as you level, and you're actually missing out on companion affection and character moments if you travel with him in lieu of one of the original companions.

Generally speaking, it's not worth unlocking HK-51 on a pre-50 toon, which is a sad oversight on BioWare's part. You have the gearing problems that you mentioned (he comes in level 50 gear, but it's greyed out and has no effect on him until you reach level 50).

Perhaps more importantly, he gains no affection from any conversations in the game, aside from those you have with him on your ship after you've used gifts to increase his affection. He's a completely silent presence as you level, and you're actually missing out on companion affection and character moments if you travel with him in lieu of one of the original companions.

The conversations are not always a bad thing if you are making dark side choice and you only other companion is more light side, like Mako.

having the companions intervene in the conversation or making funny or snide remarks while I'm talking to NPCs are really something I like in the leveling of this game, it makes it feel more "lively" and less of a grind.

I was asking myself all of the questions above and I thank you for the answers and insight.