Starfield Factions Guide: Overview and Tips

To paraphrase the most famous quote in the Fallout series: Politics, politics always stay the same. Even 50 light years away from Earth, people represent different interests. In our Starfield Factions Guide, we’ll show you which factions exist, what their characteristics are, and how you can join them.

1) What are factions and what role do they play?

If you break it down to the gameplay level, Starfield factions are quest-givers for you. And not only that: through them, you’ll get better equipment, such as new suit parts and weapons, but also credits and, of course, game progress. The interesting thing is that you’ll be able to join all five main factions simultaneously in a single run.

Even though their interests couldn’t be more different in some cases, the main characters will always accept you if you meet the requirements. It’s different with the minor factions. The Spacers, for example, remain forever hostile to you and cannot be made allies.

For the accessible factions to be well-disposed towards you and provide you with quests, a possible bounty plays a role in addition to joining. Make sure you’re on okay terms with law enforcement. Bounties are available for theft, murder, lock-picking, contraband, and attacks on civilians.

2) What are the Starfield factions?

The five main factions in the universe are:

• Constellation (dedicated to space exploration)
• United Colonies Vanguard (also known as the UC Vanguard)
• Freestar Collective (was in a colony war with the UC)
• Ryujin Industries (a Japanese-looking megacorporation)
• Crimson Fleet (basically space pirates)

There are also the following smaller Starfield factions:

• Ecliptic Mercenaries (professional soldiers who stay out of politics and only fight for money)
• Argos Extractors (a mining company you join at the beginning of the game)
• Trade Authority (a trade conglomerate where you can get rid of your contraband, for example)
• Spacers (are the typical opponents in the game)

Additionally, there are three religions to choose from. Unlike the Starfield factions, these are mutually exclusive. You can only belong to one at a time. You choose your religion during character creation in the Traits section. In detail, there are:

• Sanctum Universum (Universalists, founded in the last 20 years, who believe in the existence of a God who leads people to Himself)
• The Enlightened (Don’t believe in God, but are atheists. According to them, each person is responsible for themselves.)
• House of Va’ruun (Not only a religion but also a government, i.e. a theocracy)

3) Constellation

You join the Constellation as part of the main quest. Unlike the others in our Starfield Factions Guide, it’s not optional if you want to play through Starfield. They are explorers who want to uncover and decipher all the secrets of space. You become a member once you complete the first story mission.

You’ll be offered membership by Barrett relatively soon after he arrives with the Frontier at the mining outpost where you work at the beginning of the game. You’ll then travel to the planet Jemison in the Alpha Centauri system and talk to Sarah Morgan, the leader, in the Constellation Lodge. After passing her test, you’ll become an official member.

The group was founded in 2275, 50 years before you encountered the artifact. Its headquarters are in New Atlantis. Of the 20 companions that can join your crew, there are four main companions. They are all members of the Constellation. Each of them has their own quest line and romances are possible with them.

4) United Colonies

Like Constellation, you can join the United Colonies in the city of New Atlantis. To do this, you’ll need to become a member of the UC Vanguard, which will provide you with a large number of lucrative side missions. As part of The Old Home mission, go to the MAST building and talk to Commander John Tuala. He’ll offer you the chance to become a UC’er yourself.

The United Colonies were founded in 2159 and built the capital of the planet Jemison the following year. They and the Freestar Collective were bitter enemies and fought a bloody war. Strictly speaking, they are still not on the best of terms, but at least there is currently peace or rather a truce.

By the way, even if you don’t want to join UC Vanguard on your first visit, you can always go back to John Tuala and tell him you’ve changed your mind. They will be happy to accept you at any time.

5) Freestar Collective

Now let’s move on to the enemies of the UC, the Freestar Collective. You’ll find their headquarters in the Cheyenne system. Go to the planet Akila and visit Akila City. As you roam the city, you’ll automatically get involved in the “Job Gone Wrong” quest. It’s the prelude to the faction missions from the Collective. It doesn’t matter whether you choose a violent or diplomatic way to solve it.

After you get rid of the hostage drama, the mission “Duty Calls” begins. At the end of it, you’ll be appointed a Ranger Duty – including a suitable outfit and a new weapon – and you’ll be able to call yourself a member of the Freestar Collective from now on.

The capital of the faction was already built in 2167. However, the collective was not founded until 2189. Similar to the Constellation, its primary goal is the exploration of space. Their efforts are marred by the blatant tensions between them and the United Colonies. In contrast to them, one of the maxims of the Freestars – as the name suggests – is freedom and thus the self-determination of the individual.

6) Crimson Fleet

To become part of the Crimson Fleet in Starfield, you must first join the UC Vanguard and complete its first two quests. After Supra et Ultra and routine work, you’ll be asked to become a double agent. And here the name of the mission says it all: you are to infiltrate the pirate fleet undercover and pose as a fellow pirate.

After completing the quest, “Rook Meets King” begins and you’ll meet the leader Delgado in the Kryx system at the Key Station. He will appoint you as a pirate. But there is another way to join the fleet. Commit a crime on the territory of the United Colonies and a bounty will be put on your head. After that, you’ll be caught by the law enforcement. This, in turn, sets in motion an event at the end of which you’ll be offered membership in the Crimson Fleet.

The faction’s philosophy is simple: anything worth stealing will be looted. It was founded by Jasper Kryx. Legend has it that he hid an extremely valuable treasure somewhere in the vastness of space.

7) Ryujin Industries

If you want to join the megacorporation Ryujin Industries in Starfield, you first have to fly your ship to the Volii system. Land on Volii Alpha and go to Neon City. You can’t miss the headquarters, which is marked by a red dragon. Go to the terminal and fill out the attitude questionnaire.

Your answers are irrelevant. No matter what you click, you’ll get the quest “Back to the Grind”. As part of this, there will be an interview, and again, Bethesda makes it easy for you. You can say whatever you want, as long as you complete the tasks, they will appoint you as a member.

The company is run by CEO Masako Imada. However, you’ll get your quests and tasks from Imogene Salzo. Mainly, they involve industrial espionage to keep Ryujin’s competition down and gain advantages in the market.

8) Xenofresh Corporation

The last Starfield faction we want to introduce to you is Ryujin’s biggest competitor. The Xenofresh Corporation isn’t a main faction, but it’s still possible to join them. If you roam around Neon City, you’ll find guards behind a security gate after a bridge. They are arguing with a suspected smuggler named Neshar.

Watch the scene long enough for the quest “Loose Ends” to activate automatically. Go to the Neon Security building and talk to Neshar. He doesn’t hide the fact that he was rightfully imprisoned and asks you to deliver a message to a certain Yannick Legrande. To do this, you’ll have to go to the Ebbside area and look for a liquor store.

After talking to Legrande, he’ll give you the order to kill an employee named Felix. Once this is done, Yannick will tell you to send an application to the Xenofresh Corporation.

9) Join and change factions in Starfield

To get the most out of your Starfield experience, we recommend that you join all five main factions as well as the Xenofresh Corporation. This way, you’ll experience all facets of the game and get the most quests. Also, each faction will give you special items and your wallet will thank you for it.

There is no need to change or leave a faction. Unlike other games, one faction will not be offended if you work for another. In the case of the Xenofresh Corporation, you’ll even be given a false identity to participate.

There are numerous choices in each faction’s quest line. Depending on what you choose, you’ll be actively shaping the development of the community. This ensures a high replay value. In the end, you will ask yourself: How would the UC, the Crimson Fleet, or the Freestar Collective have evolved if I had acted differently?

Make Starfield even better with PLITCH!

With our Starfield Factions Guide, you now know which factions exist in the game and what you need to do to become a full member of all of them. PLITCH’s Starfield cheats will also help you get the most out of each one. For example, you can increase the number of your credits or the factor for your experience points by pressing a button.

With our trainer, you’ll be able to customize your single-player adventure to your exact liking. Godmode makes you invulnerable, and infinite boost packs make exploration a breeze.

To learn more about PLITCH and our Starfield mods, check out this blog and our Let’s Play on YouTube!

Happy Gaming!