In true top-tier Bethesda fashion, Starfield has options to form easy and sometimes uneasy allegiances that guarantee no adventure will be boring. On top of its three religions, Starfield also invites players to join at least one out of five different secular factions. One of the factions breathes life into the game’s main quest, while the others each come with their set perks and possible downsides. Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you navigate your loyalties.
What factions are there in Starfield?
Joinable Factions:
- Constellation
- United Colonies
- Ryujin Industries
- Freestar Collective
- Crimson Fleet
Joinable Religious Factions:
- Sanctum Universum
- The Enlightened
- House Va’ruun
Non-joinable Factions:
- Spacers
- Trade Authority
- Ecliptic Mercenaries
- Trackers
Can I join more than one faction per playthrough?
Yes. You can simultaneously be in every faction in the game. Still, some of their questlines run diametrically opposite to one another. I’d recommend you don’t overcomplicate things on your first playthrough. Perhaps consider saving your desire to be both a space cop and a space pirate for New Game +.
What do these factions stand for?
Constellation
The Constellation was once a big group that fell into hard times and is currently little more than a myth in the minds of people. They’re all about just exploring space. This is the default faction, so it’s no wonder that they feel a bit milquetoast, but maybe players will have some fun bringing it back to its former glory.
The Constellation is led by Sarah Morgan and its missions are tied to the game’s main questline.
Rewards: This is the default faction that all players will be a part of and its only reward is allowing players to finish the main quest.
United Colonies
The United Colonies is the biggest and most powerful faction in the game. They’re a highly militarized Space Republic whose operations span across the entire system. They use New Atlantis as their main base.
They’re longtime enemies of the Freespace Collective and new enemies of the Crimson fleet, two of the other joinable factions.
Rewards:
- 250,000 credits
- Access to the UC’s headquarters
- United Colonies armor
Ryujin Industries
Remember the “Corpo” faction from Cyberpunk 2077? It’s basically that — in space.
Ryujin Industries is Bethesda’s nod to Sci-Fi epics such as Blade Runner that foresaw an Asian-megacorp-dominated landscape. This mega-corp doesn’t dominate the galaxy yet, but it’s working on it. Ryujin Industries uses Neon as its base of operations.
Rewards:
- 57,050 credits
- Manipulate tool
Freestar Collective
Remember when George Lucas set out to have Star Wars resemble a Western, but didn’t straight up make everyone look like a cowboy? You could tell Han Solo was a classic outlaw even though he didn’t wear a funny hat.
The Freestar Collective is here for all fans of Westerns who want to keep it uncomplicated. They’re space cowboys who like to live simple lives in simple settlements. They’re all about freedom and wearing hats. They have fought against the United Colonies in the past and the two factions still don’t see eye to eye regarding space life.
Rewards:
- 70,800 credits
- Ranger pistol and armor (includes hat)
Crimson Fleet
If the name and their “skull and bones” sigil aren’t enough to give it away, we’re happy to inform you that we’ve conducted some research that led us to the conclusion that these are some no-good space pirates.
Just kidding — they’re awesome space pirates. The Crimson Fleet is all about pillaging. They naturally don’t take it kindly to the United Colonies’ influence over the galaxy, but they sure like the UC’s loot.
Players can either join them and work against the UC, or join the UC and then infiltrate the Crimson Fleet to destroy it from the inside.
Rewards:
- 250,000 credits
- Two awesome weapons, the Keelhauler and the Revenant
- Access to The Key, the Fleet’s headquarters
- Not getting attacked by pirates while in the Fleet’s territory
What’s the best Faction to play as in Starfield?
When it comes to the rewards, I’d say that the Crimson Fleet is definitely the best faction to pick.
Still, it’s important to note that each faction will give you very different quests. The UC offers the more varied set of quests out of all the factions, whereas the Freestar Collective has more straightforward quests that’ll leave you feeling like a classic action hero. Ryujin Industries will have players doing all sorts of dark corporate dealings, and the Crimson Fleet will allow you to live like a pirate in space. That being said, yeah, I’d still go with the Crimson Fleet any day.
You can now pick your faction and/or factions in Starfield on PC and Xbox Series X|S.
