What are the factions in Starfield? Many Starfield factions live in the Settled Systems, all with wildly different ideologies, areas of expertise, and fashion sense. While the far reaches of the blackest sea present a whole host of dangers, it’s still your fellow humans who pose the greatest threat to your survival, and we’re here to help you tell between friend and foe.
When you begin your voyage in Bethesda’s space game, you do so on behalf of Constellation, one of a number of Starfield factions. As a new Constellation recruit, it’s your mission in one of the best PC games to seek out and expose the secrets of the known galaxy. Now that the Starfield release date has passed, you may come face-to-face with one of the other factions during your travels, and first impressions are vitally important if you want certain Starfield companions to join your cause.
All Starfield factions
The five Starfield factions are:
- Constellation – Explorers
- United Colonies – Republic
- Freestar Collective – Libertarians
- Crimson Fleet – Pirates
- Ryujin Industries – Megacorp
Down below you’ll find more information on who they are and how to join them, including the role they each played during the Colony War earlier in the Starfield timeline. While some factions live in one of the many Starfield cities, others roam around the Settled Systems.
Can you join all Starfield factions?
Yes, you can can join every Starfield faction simply by completing their faction mission.
You can easily identify a faction quest by its icon in your Starfield missions log, which matches the emblem of the faction in question. Aligning yourself with a specific faction does not lock you out of another faction, though it’s worth bearing in mind that factions that are diametrically opposed to one another will eventually force you to make hard decisions to help them prevail over their rivals.
How to join Starfield factions
Joining a Starfield faction might be as straightforward as filling out a job application, or as complex as becoming an undercover informant for an interstellar government. Thankfully, we’ve got the lowdown on all the major factions and how to join them.
Constellation
How to join Constellation: You join Constellation early on as part of the main questline, once you attend the Lodge on New Atlantis and speak to Sarah Morgan about the mysterious Artifact in your possession.
Constellation is a small, eclectic faction of space explorers based out of the city of New Atlantis on Jemison, one of the many Starfield planets. Constellation aims to uncover any remaining mysteries in the Settled Systems after learning about people seeing visions and hearing voices when picking up specific artifacts. Most people no longer know these artifacts exist and they are presumed mythical.
The Starfield Constellation faction is led by Sarah Morgan, an ex-soldier and adventurer, but this small group has a lot of other expertise. Matteo is a knowledgeable scholar and theologian. Noel is a gifted scientist, while Walter funds the whole operation with the help of his company, Stroud-Eklund. Other members include ex-pirate Vlad, former space cowboy Sam Coe, and fellow explorer Barrett.
United Colonies
How to join the United Colonies: Speak to Commander John Tuala in the MAST building in New Atlantis to sign up for the UC Vanguard. Alternatively, you can find your way into UC SysDef by getting arrested after committing a crime and getting arrested by UC Security.
An alliance of different colonies formed the space republic known as United Colonies, one of the main factions responsible for the Colony War. Their capital city is New Atlantis, which you can read about in our Starfield New Atlantis city guide. It’s a melting pot of people of all races, ethnicities, and creeds and is considered the first major human settlement in space.
The people of the Starfield United Colonies faction value law, discipline, and the humans that came before them. During the campaign, you can be invited to serve alongside the United Colonies with the prospect of getting UC Citizenship. Their territories expand to Cydonia, a mining colony on the surface of Mars, and Pontem, Ehterea’s moon and part of the Wolf system. In the Colony War, they fought against the Freestar Collective and are regarded as the galaxy’s most powerful, most established military and political faction. However, these days, they mostly repel pirates.
Freestar Collective
How to join the Freestar Collective: Once you’ve assisted City Marshal Daniel Blake in Akila City to put a stop to the bank heist in ‘Job Gone Wrong’, he’ll recommend you speak to Emma Wilcox, located on the second floor of The Rock bar. You must complete at least one mission from the Freestar Mission Board nearby to earn your badge.
The Freestar Collective is the faction that fought against United Colonies in the Colony War and is a loose confederation of three-star systems living in the walled Akila City, which you can learn about in our Starfield Akila City guide. The people of this faction believe that everyone should have freedom and be allowed to live as individuals.
At some point, you may be asked to join the Starfield Freestar Collective rangers and help uphold the law in this Wild West-inspired town. As for their history, the Freestar Collective was previously at war with the United Colonies and now seeks to protect themselves from harm.
Crimson Fleet
How to join the Crimson Fleet: Commit a crime and get arrested by UC Security to find yourself in the custody of Kibwe Ikande, the stern commander of UC SysDef. Ikande will attempt to coerce you into working for SysDef, and you’re free to accept or refuse his offer as you please. If you refuse, you’ll be thrown in Starfield jail. Upon your release, you’ll be approached by Sebastian Lynne with an invitation to join the Crimson Fleet shortly after you’ve served time. Alternatively, you can agree to become a SysDef spy and then refuse to betray the Crimson Fleet once you’ve joined their ranks.
The Starfield Crimson Fleet faction is essentially a group of space pirates who plunder Starfield spaceships for parts. Thankfully, you can still play as a ‘good’ character while aligning yourself with this morally questionable faction, since you can use your access to report their deeds like an undercover cop. According to their leader, though, the only way out is in death.
Ryujin Industries
How to join Ryujin Industries: Approach one of the red kiosks in any of the major Starfield cities to fill out an application form to join Ryujin Industries. Once complete, head over to Neon City and speak to Imogene Salzo in the Ryujin Industries building to attend an in-person interview. Your application is successful regardless of the answers you pick in either case, so once Imogene gives you the good news, be prepared to take a trip to TerraBrew as an official Ryujin Industries employee. Glamorous.
Residing on Neon, a planet in the Volii System inside Freestar Space you can learn about in our Starfield Neon City guide, Ryujin Industries is a mega-corporation that controls neon-lit metropolises. Its humble origins as a fishing platform are now far beyond Ryujin, and as Pagliarulo states, “It’s now known throughout the settled systems as a pleasure city where almost anything goes.”
Minor Starfield factions
There are more factions in Starfield, but these are smaller groups that you’re unable to join.
- Ecliptic Mercenaries – Bounty hunters who travel across space carrying out dangerous missions for their clients.
- Enlightened – An atheist group that prioritizes humanitarian and community outreach above the worship of a higher power.
- Sanctum Universum – A religious group based on the Church of the Universal and one of the three Starfield religions that can be chosen from the Starfield traits.
- Spacers – Scavengers and criminals that operate independently rather than as one organized faction.
- Va’ruun Zealots – A fanatical cult that worships a strange deity known only as the Great Serpent.
- Xenofresh Corporation – The powerful corporation that discovered the psychotropic qualities of the local fish species of Neon, transforming it into the industrial pleasure city it is today.
And that’s everything you need to know about Starfield factions and how to join them. Don’t leave us just yet – we have details on all the major mechanics, including Starfield outposts, Starfield research projects, and even Starfield ship building. Alternatively, sit back and relax with PCGamesN’s very own Starfield review if you’re interested in what Starfield factions we joined on our travels.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.