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Choosing which faction to join in Starfield will greatly impact your playstyle and unlock certain upgrades. There are five major factions you can join in Bethesda‘s most long-awaited game, as well as a number of smaller groups you can encounter and complete quests for.
How Many Starfield Factions Are There?
Starfield is set across a vast galaxy with many planets and civilizations to explore. You can join five core factions as follows:
- United Colonies
- Freestar Collective
- Ryujin Industries
- Constellation
- Crimson Fleet
United Colonies Faction in Starfield
The United Colonies, or UC, are one of the most powerful factions in Starfield. They’re a centralized republic with an immense military based out of the city of New Atlantis, the biggest of Starfield cities, on Jemison. Some soldiers wear blasters and tactical belts that resemble the fashion in the original Star Wars movies.
United Colonies is also the largest faction that governs a large portion of the Settled Systems and is a power-hungry faction with a strong space western theme that Bethesda’s design director Emil Pagliarulo describes as “the kind of stuff you’d see in a sci-fi movie”.
They’re on openly hostile terms with the Freestar Collective and were involved in a bloody Colony War 20 years before Starfield‘s main storyline began.
The UC oversees the biggest mining facility called Cydonia on Mars. In the time period of the story Starfield, the colonies are worried about pirates known as the Crimson Fleet.
Freestar Collective Faction in Starfield
The Freestar Collective is the second-largest faction in Starfield. They are a libertarian confederation that is more focused on personal freedoms than political clout or military might.
During the Colony War, a group fought against the United Colonies because they believed in individualism. Now, they are known as “peacekeepers” who focus on protecting their own people and ensuring their wellbeing.
The Freestar Collective also operates as a police force, patrolling the planets and settlements that they oversee. They are known as the “sheriffs of the galaxy,” and they embrace that beautiful Space Cowboy aesthetic.
The Collective’s home base is in Akila City, where they maintain a wall protecting the settlement from hostile fauna. The defenders of this wall are known as the Freestar Rangers.
The United Colonies and the Freestar Collective were at war 20 years prior to the events in the main story, though a tentative peace has been reached. This may lead to some conflict between the two factions as you play Starfield, as showing favor to one faction may strain relations with the other.
Constellation Faction in Starfield
Constellation is one of the main factions you’ll become a member of during Starfield‘s campaign. This ragtag group of explorers is committed to exploring the galaxy and discovering what’s out there. They’re the driving force behind much of the game’s quests and romance options, so you’ll spend much time with this faction throughout your playthrough.
Constelation’s base is located in New Atlantis on Jemison, inside a building called The Lodge. You’ll automatically join this faction at the end of the first main story mission, and you can visit their headquarters whenever you want to get back to work.
You’ll be meeting a lot of members of the Constellation faction as you progress through the campaign, including Sarah Morgan, Barrett, Matteo, Noel, and Sam Coe. You can also pick up some of the faction’s mercenaries and smugglers as companions, such as Vlad, Walter, and Vasco.
Crimson Fleet Faction in Starfield
The Crimson Fleet is the space pirate faction in Starfield, and they’re one of the game’s bad guys. They’re a problem for the United Colonies and Freestar Collective governments in the Settled Systems, and they also have a presence outside of these systems.
The Crimson Fleet is a group of dangerous people who don’t like that the United Colonies are in charge of the galaxy. They have a headquarters on a space station called The Key in the Kyrx System. You can either decide to become a member of their group or pretend to be a space cop and work undercover to stop them.
Ryujin Industries Faction in Starfield
As we mentioned, Starfield‘s universe doesn’t have a unified authority, and instead, power is split up between several major factions. From space pirates in the Crimson Fleet to the western Republic of the United Colonies and the megacorporation of Ryujin Industries, these groups compete for military, financial, and religious influence in the Settled Systems.
Ryujin Industries is a big company that operates in space. They started out in a small fishing town called Neon, which has grown into a big city. Neon is known for its nightlife and also has a criminal underworld.
Ryujin Industries is very fancy and has large offices with black and red outfits for their employees. It’s very different from the colorful streets of Neon.
Other Starfield Factions And Groups
Here are some other groups you can encounter out in the settled systems:
- House of Va’ruun: A cult of space zealots
- Enlightened: A religious organization
- The Red Mile: A group of “runners” hailing from Porrima III in the Porrima system
- Sanctum Universum: Another religion, the church of the Universal
- Great Serpent worshippers: Also a religious space sect
- Ecliptic Mercenaries: A group of mercenaries
- Spacers: Dangerous marauders
