Starfield has a lot of different factions and groups that you'll meet during your space exploration. We'll show you all factions that you can meet in Starfield and how you join those factions, that want you as a part of their group!
Starfield allows you to join multiple factions during your journey and you should join as many as you would like to fully experience everything the game has to offer! Some factions might be more interesting to you than others, depending on what type of character you choose to play in Starfield.
While some factions may be pretty new, others have already established a pretty rich history for themselves. Each faction has its unique features and some are even willing to let you join them.
We'll show you how you which factions you can join and how to join them!
For those of you that can't wait to find out more about the game, we've listed all factions in Starfield, even those you can't join, because after all, they're still an important part of Starfield!
All Starfield Factions And How You Can Join Them
Starfield's many factions and groups can offer you different allies or enemies, depending on who you decide to join. By joining a faction, you'll not only gain a new group of friends that have similar interests as you do, but you'll also gain the chance to take on new quests that give you a lot of money and XP to help you level up fast.
While you may not be able to join every available faction, knowing what types of people you might be up against in space can prove pretty helpful too!
At the moment, we know that there are 11 factions and groups in Starfield, but you're only able to join the 5 major factions.
Those factions are:
- Constellation
- UC Vanguard
- Freestar Rangers
- Crimson Fleet
- Ryujin Industries
If you're interested in finding out more about these factions, then stick around!
Don't worry if you're indecisive about which faction you want to join in Starfield, you can join multiple factions at once! It doesn't seem like there aren't any penalties for joining all factions, but it can get tricky, the farther along you get in your faction's missions, since some of these factions are enemies.
If you want to avoid disappointing your fellow faction members, you might not want to join every possible faction at the same time, but if you do choose to, be aware that not every decision that you make with one faction will make your other factions happy.
Starfield: How You Can Join Factions
Constellation
Constellation is the easiest faction to join, since you start off your Starfield journey with them! All you have to do to join is go to The Lodge, that's the name of Constellation's headquarters, in New Atlantis' MAST District. If you talk to Sarah Morgan, she'll induct you as a new member of the faction!
Ever since Constellation was founded in 2275 by Sebastian Banks, the faction has been dedicated to uncovering all the wonders and mysteries of the galaxy. Besides looking for more things to explore, Constellation is always on the lookout for rare artifacts.
Unlike other faction's missions, missions for Constellation are seen as main story missions and are necessary to complete in order to finish the game's story.
Also, a nice little fun fact: out of all the potential companions you can have in Starfield, four of them are a part of Constellation. If you're interested in romancing characters in Starfield, these four can also be romanced!
UC Vanguard
The UC Vanguard is the volunteer military force of the United Colonies and the first faction you'll encounter in Starfield besides Constellation. The United Colonies are one of the largest factions and are one of two interstellar governments in the Settled Systems.
Their history dates back all the way to 2159, so they've had quite some time to establish their mighty power and influence all over the galaxy. The United Colonies even founded their capital, New Atlantis, which is also where Constellation has their headquarters.
The other interstellar government is known as the Freestar Collective, who are also the United Colonies rivals. Their different political views led to them fighting against each other in the Colony War.
While there may be peace at the moment, Bethesda has already warned that the peace may not last. So, in order to be prepared for every possibility, the United Colonies started the UC Vanguard which volunteers can join to not only protect the UC, but also to earn the citizenship of the UC.
If you're interested in joining this powerful group, don't worry, becoming a Vanguard is a piece of cake. First, enter the MAST Headquarters in New Atlantis and talk to Commander John Tuala about your interest in joining the marines.
After giving you a brief history of the United Colonies, he'll send you to the testing hall, where you'll have to take a space combat aptitude test.
All you have to do is defeat three waves of enemy ships in a space combat simulator. Once you've passed this test, you're in! The Commander will have you swear an oath and will send you on your first mission.
Even though you can join the UC Vanguard at the beginning of the game, don't worry if you missed this chance! You can choose to join the UC Vanguard at any time in the game.
Freestar Rangers
Now, the United Colonies aren't the only faction preparing for a possible war, so is the Freestar Collective.
Unlike the United Colonies, the Freestar Collective is known as the space cowboys in Starfield, since they live a more reclusive life and really emphasize the personal freedom and individuality of all of their denizens.
Don't underestimate their power, though, there's a reason why the Freestar Collective is the only other interstellar government in the Settled Systems. They'll do anything to protect their denizens.
While they may be less rigidly organized than the UC, they do have their own "military" known as the Freestar Rangers.
Joining them is about as difficult as it is to join the Vanguard. All you have to do is head to Akila City on Akila in the Cheyenne Star System. Once you get there, you'll have to safely diffuse a hostage situation at the Galbank Building.
After you safely solve this problematic situation, head to the Freestar Collective's headquarters, The Rock.
Look for Emma Wilcox, who will ask you to complete a simple bounty if you want to join the Freestar Rangers. Once you complete this quest, talk to Emma again, and she'll hand you your uniform. Now you're on official member of the Freestar Rangers!
Crimson Fleet
While the Freestar Rangers may be the space cowboys of their galaxy, the Crimson Fleet is known as the space pirates of Starfield.
The developers have said that the Crimson Fleet is the ideal faction for anyone looking to do an "evil playthrough" of Starfield. They raid and loot and are basically just pirates. What more is there to say?
If you want to join in on their looting fun, you'll have to join another faction beforehand, the UC Vanguard. Following the UC Vanguard's quest line will eventually lead you to the Crimson Fleet.
You'll want to take the "Deep Cover" mission, that'll lead you to the UC SysDef. They're going to send you to the Crimson Fleet as an undercover spy. How exillerating! After you've gone on a few missions for the Crimson Fleet, they'll allow you to become a member of their faction.
You can either choose to balance your actions to stay on good terms with both factions, go full undercover spy and report everything that you see or switch sides and join the Crimson Fleet's pirating endeavours forever.
Ryujin Industries
Known as "one of the best starts" according to the devs, Ryujin Industries are your one-way ticket to corporate life in Starfield.
If you can't wait to put on a suit and tie, you'll have to wait to be hired by Ryujin Industries, but no worries, it looks like they take in just about anybody.
In order to apply there, you'll have to travel to New Atlantis's corporate district to the GalBank. You'll see a red kiosk in front of that building, and if you interact with it, you'll be able to apply for Ryujin Industries. Once you've applied, head to Neon on Volii Alpha, that's where Ryujin Industries has their headquarters. Go into their headquarters and speak to the receptionist. They'll send you upstairs to your new boss Imelde.
While you're out on a coffee run for your boss, you'll encounter a former employee who'll try to ambush you. No matter how you deal with them, report back to Imelde afterwards. She'll then promote you to the Operative role. Congrats, you're now part of Ryujin Industries!
You may only be able to join these factions during your playthrough, but you'll definitely want to know what else awaits you in Starfield! Plus, you're actually able to join some of these other groups, but only if you select them during your character creation.
Those are all the factions you can join in Starfield. But there are tons of other groups and organisations, which you will encounter throughout the game.
XenoFresh Corporation
With their headquarters located in the Settled System's third-largest city, Neon, you can expect to find the Xenofresh Corporation right there. Known as the "pleasure city", Neon is famous for its parties and buzz.
Neon also has quite the drug problem, which happens to be the Xenofresh Corporation's fault. Once they saw the monetary opportunities that came with selling the psychoactive chemical known as Aurora, they used this as a chance to finance their own party lifestyle.
Ecliptic Mercenaries
There's not much known or to be said about the Ecliptic Mercenaries yet. As their name implies, the group works as mercenaries for hire, that will do just about any job as long as the price is right.
If you're looking for action-packed adventures filled with tons of risks and rewards, then the Ecliptic Mercenaries might just be the group for you.
Spacers
Out of all factions and groups, we know the absolute least about the Spacers at the moment. What we do know is that they are incredibly violent, so maybe try to steer clear of their path.
House Va’ruun
As mentioned in the beginning, the group known as the House of Va'ruun is one that, as far as we currently know, can only be joined by picking them during character customization at the beginning of the game.
The House of Va'ruun is known as incredibly religious Zealots that worship the Great Serpent.
Enlightened
Similarly to the House of Va'ruun, you can only join the group known as Enlightened during character customization.
Unlike the House of Va'ruun, the Enlightened are a group of atheists and humanitarians that believe that humans should help one another. You can find them in their capital, the House of Enlightened, in New Atlantis.
Sanctum Universe
The Sanctum Universe is a relatively young religious group, that has found many members within their existence of 20 years.
The members, also known as the Universals, believe that God is waiting somewhere in the universe for his believers to find Him, which is why they go out and explore much of the universe in hopes of one day finding Him.
Since they believe that God is somewhere out there waiting to be found, they believe that Grav Drive is a sort of divine guidance given to them by God.
So you see, there's plenty of options for you to pick from and many... interesting groups you'll meet during your space exploration in Starfield!