Starfield factions
How to join the five main Starfield factions, where to find them, and what unique rewards they all have in store.
There are plenty of Starfield factions vying for control and influence throughout the Settled Systems, and each offer unique questlines, enemies to face, and even a spot among their ranks.
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Factions come in all flavors, from the space pirates of the Crimson Fleet to the NASA-punk explorers of Constellation. Some, like the Freestar Collective, seek freedom and liberty, while groups like the Ryujin Industries are prepared to do anything to boost their profits.
There are five major Starfield factions you can join, each of which provide unique Starfield missions and rewards.
The five joinable Starfield factions are:
You’ll join the Constellation faction by default during the Starfield tutorial, but joining the other four factions is incredibly easy.
How to join all Starfield factions:
Unlike previous Bethesda games, you can join every faction without penalty, meaning you can be a loyal United Colonies soldier while also playing as a pirate, and as a rising star in the corporate world of Ryujin Industries.
How to join the United Colonies
Once you’ve joined the Constellation faction and completed the One Small Step mission, you can head over to the MAST building in New Atlantis and speak with John Tuala. Simply agree to sign up with the United Colonies, and you will get a Starfield mission called Supra Et Ultra.
For a full breakdown on how to join the United Colonies, check out the full United Colonies faction page.
How to join the Freestar Collective
Fly over to Akila in the Cheyenne system, and land in Akila City. You’ll quickly find that the Galbank – Akila City branch is under attack by bank robbers. Speak with Marshall Daniel Blake about resolving the situation, and you’ll be well on your way to joining the Freestar Collective.
For a full breakdown, check out the Freestar Collective page.
How to join the Crimson Fleet
You can join the Crimson Fleet in one of two ways: complete the Grunt Work mission for the United Colonies faction and get an invitation to become an undercover agent, or commit a crime in United Colonies space. The quickest way to join is to literally walk up to any NPC in New Atlantis and pickpocket them or punch them (whichever you prefer). This will attract the attention of a guard, and they will place you under arrest so long as you don’t resist them. Upon being arrested, you’ll find yourself aboard the UC Vigilance, where you’ll also be invited to infiltrate the Crimson Fleet in the Deep Cover mission.
For full details, check out the how to join section of the full Crimson Fleet page.
How to join Ryujin Industries
All you need to do to join Ryujin Industries is travel to the city of Neon, take the elevator into the Neon Core, turn left, and walk to the end of the Neon map. There, you will find a terminal for job applications. This will start a series of missions, including a brief job interview you’re guaranteed to pass.
If you want to know the full details, check out the full how to join Ryujin Industries guide.
Which Starfield faction should I join?
Deciding on which faction you should dedicate your time to isn’t obvious from the outset as each faction questline provides unique bonuses. However, some have better rewards than others, and some even enable you to buy player homes in Starfield cities like New Atlantis.
If you want the best Starfield ship, join the Freestar Collective and secure some unique weapons, and the Star Eagle ship.
Joining the Crimson Fleet grants you access to The Key and the Kryx system, and makes all Crimson Fleet pirates you encounter non-hostile, making it very easy to explore a range of Starfield locations.
However, we recommend that you start with the United Colonies faction. Not only does the United Colonies give you Credits for joining, but their questline jumps into the threat of the most interesting Starfield creature in the game: the Terrormorph.
How Starfield factions work
Many of the game’s major factions have a physical presence in major cities, which you can discover with our Starfield maps such as the New Atlantis map and our Akila City map. This presence mostly means that your ship will be scanned for Starfield contraband items, which can land you in prison if you don’t have a shielded cargo hold ship component.
While you can join five of the Starfield factions, many other important factions like House Va’ruun cannot be joined. There is a chance that this could change with future Starfield DLC or mods.
As well as the traditional factions that play a major role in the main quest of Starfield, there are several minor factions that you can gain access to from the very start of the game based on selected specific traits during the Starfield character creation, including a number of Starfield religions. Whatever faction you’re interested in, simply click through to learn more. Most of the minor factions serve as either antagonists, or provide a flurry of Starfield missions and NPC interactions.
All Starfield factions
Here are all the minor Starfield factions:
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