Starfield’s main quest sees you joining up with an organisation known as Constellation, collecting artefacts and solving the mysteries of the universe. But what if you don’t want any of that? Can you ignore the main Constellation quest in Starfield? Here’s the answer.
How and When You Can Ignore the Main Constellation Quest in Starfield
As in a lot of Bethesda RPGs, you have to follow the main quest up to a point in Starfield. Or at least you do on your first playthrough. You can, for example, walk away from The Lodge and not recruit Sarah Morgan. But if you do that, you’ll only be able to roam New Atlantis, because “your” ship, the Frontier, is locked down. I’ve tried hanging around the starport, just to see if another ship would turn up, one that I could steal. But it’s never happened for me.
So if you want to actually explore the stars, you have to follow the Constellation storyline and begin the “The Old Neighborhood” quest, which will unlock your ship and give you the freedom to roam. Once you’ve started “The Old Neighborhood,” you can go anywhere, though you’ll have to complete it to part ways with Sarah Morgan.
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From then on, you can abandon the main quest in Starfield and do whatever else you like. There are some companions you can only meet and recruit as part of the Constellation quest line, but you can join other factions, pursue side-quests and so on.
But on your second playthrough, things change. If you play in New Game+ mode, available once you’ve finished the main quest, you can go to the Lodge and decide whether to pursue the main quest or not. If you decline, you can then collect/locate the artefacts by speaking to Vladimir on the Eye. Why? That’s getting spoiler territory, but NG+ makes it a breeze to ignore the main quest. On your first playthrough, you have to complete at least a couple of missions to get full access to your ship.
And that’s what you need to know about ignoring the main Constellation quest in Starfield.