Factions play a major role in Starfield, and you are introduced to a few of them within the opening hours of the game.
As you might expect from a Bethesda title, there are several different Factions vying for control over various parts of space. Some of them are at war with each other, while a few Factions simply go about their business and would love for you to join them.
What Faction you eventually join in the Starfield story is entirely up to you, but before you can really make a decision, you will need to know all of the options available. There are more Factions than the ones you encounter early on, so take a look at the guide below to see what the future holds for you in Starfield.
Every Faction in Starfield
The Factions in Starfield are broken up into different sections. There are major and minor Factions you will be able to encounter along your journey. Below, you can see the different Factions in Starfield and what sections they fall into.
Main Factions
These are the Factions you know about from the get-go and play a major role in the story. You can technically start the process of joining these by selecting a specific Trait in the character creator, but you won’t be able to physically join them until you encounter them and complete some missions in your playthrough.
- Constellation – The central Faction you need to join in order to progress the main story of Starfield. There is no getting around joining Constellation.
- United Colonies – The primary Faction on the planet Jemison and the city of New Atlantis. They are the remnants of Earth and have major influence over many other star systems.
- Freestar Collective – This Faction was formed to get out from underneath the oppressive foot of the United Colonies. They are seen as libertarian, and members of the Faction cherish independence. Freestar Collective is based in Akila City.
- Ryujin Industries – Based on the planet Neon, Ryujin Industries is completely separate from the politics of the UC and Freestar Collective. They are more business-oriented and are after one thing: credits.
Religious Factions
Next up, there are the religious Factions in Starfield. As you might have seen in the Traits menu, you can choose a religion to worship. Those religions are considered Factions, and each one is vastly different from the other.
- Sanctum Universum – A monotheistic religion, Sanctum Universum follows a single God who they believe guided them across the vast expanse of space. The religion is headquartered in the Embassy District of New Atlantis on Jemison.
- House of the Enlightened – The House of the Enlightened is the complete opposite of Sanctum Universum. They believe in no one true god but still desire to help humanity through charitable deeds. You can find the church of the House of the Enlightened in the Well section of New Atlantis.
- The Va’ruun – You might have seen a trait in Starfield that worshipped the Great Serpent, and that would be The Va’ruun’s religion. Unlike the previous two religions, The Va’ruun believe in a more aggressive approach toward the colonization of space. They accomplish this by traveling from system to system in spaceships and never settling down in a single area.
Related: What is the max level cap in Starfield?
Combat Factions
These next Factions consist of mercenaries who have the sole goal of making more credits in Starfield. You can consider most of them as space pirates, and that’s actually what some of them are labeled as in the game.
- Crimson Fleet – The biggest and most well-known mercenary Faction, the Crimson Fleet is encountered very early on in Starfield. You will eventually have the chance to join the Crimson Fleet if you haven’t killed too many of its members.
- Spacers – This is a lesser-known mercenary Faction but you can find them in large numbers on planets such as Mars. Once again, they’re simply after credits and will kill you to ensure you don’t steal any of their loot.
- The First and Ecliptic – Both of these Factions are smaller compared to the other two, but they do exist on some planets.
Side Factions
Finally, we have a few Factions that don’t fall into any major category but do still exist. These Factions have no real questline associated with them but do play a role in some other side quests.
- The Trade Authority
- Stroud-Eckland
- Galbank
- Trackers
That does it for all of the known Factions within Starfield. You will have the opportunity to join most of them, so I hope I made it a little easier to decide which one suits your playstyle the best.
