Arguably one of the best quests in Starfield, Operation Starseed is all about trying to make the best of a bad situation. Like many of the decisions you’ll need to make while exploring the galaxy, someone is going to get hurt by your choice. There’s nothing you can do to please all involved parties but fortunately, we’ve put together a quick guide on which faction to side with in Starfield depending on what kind of outcome you want to see for the Crucible and the Societies of clones living in the facility.
How to Start Operation Starseed in Starfield
To kick off the Operation Starseed quest in Starfield, you’ll want to head on over to the Charybdis system, which is on the far right of the galaxy. Once you’ve arrived in the system, you’ll be greeted by an audio message telling you that there’s trouble at the Crucible and that your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Fly on over to Charybdis III and you’ll see a marker indicating where you can land. After touching down, have a quick chat with the robot Tobias and then Ada Lovelace (Yes, the famous writer and mathematician. Get used to historical names, there’s gonna be a bunch in this quest). She’ll give you a brief rundown of the situation before you’re tasked with talking with three very important people: Franklin, Genghis Khan and Amanirenas. It becomes clear that something very odd is happening in Charybdis III, and you’ll eventually learn that the planet is the home of a small civilization of clones, all of whom have separated into three factions, or Societies.
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Amanirenas can be found inside the Crucible itself and chatting with her will reveal her to be the leader of The Believers. She insists that since their established colony consists of clones of some of the greatest minds in history, they should be immediately introduced to the rest of the galaxy and assume their rightful place as leaders. Over to the outskirts of the Crucible, you’ll be able to find Genghis Khan, the leader of the Renegades. He desperately wants to find himself outside the walls of their colony and explains that any clone that leaves the facility is immediately gunned down by powerful automatic turrets. Finally, Franklin D. Roosevelt explains that he’s the head of the Pragmatists and is hoping that the clones will one day discover how to leave their planet by themselves and find their own way in the galaxy without the intervention of external factors, like you.
After chatting to the three leaders, you’ll be asked to investigate a place called The Facility in an effort to uncover the intended purpose of The Crucible. Before you head off Wyatt Earp pulls you aside since he supposedly has some inside information on one of the group leaders. You can choose to ignore him, but I’d go along for the ride. What you find out from him is a pretty cool, if inconsequential twist.
Where Is The Beagle in Starfield?
Raiding The Facility is an easy enough job if you know what you’re doing. Just follow the corridors, blasting any Maggotmaws that may get in your way. You’re specifically looking for seven diary entries that provide some clues as to why The Crucible was created in the first place. Once you’ve collected all of them, head back and decide who you like most. You can give the information to Genghis, FDR, or Amanirenas. Not that whoever you pick isn’t you selecting a side yet, that’ll come a bit later. In any case, once you’ve handed over the documents you’ll be given a new task by Ada.
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Ada sends you off on a mission to track down a special telescope that can used to find an old ship called The Beagle, a cheeky nod to Charles Darwin. You’ll be told to head for the Bel system and once you’re there, you can find what you’re looking for on Bel V. The beacon you discover confirms The Beagle is orbiting Zelazny 1 so fly on over and board that sucker. There’s a bunch of robots onboard that aren’t too pleased that you’re invading their space to destroy them all and look for the computer labeled “Beagle Datacore.” You can read about what happened to the ship but what you’re really looking for is the option that lets you download the Security Override Code. Once that’s done, loot up and head back to Charybdis III. Things are about to take an ugly turn…
Should You Side with Amanirenas, Roosevelt or Genghis Khan for Operation Starseed Quest in Starfield?
Once you’re back on Charybdis III, you’ll be contacted by whoever you gave the information to and told that The Crucible is heating up. The various faction heads are in the middle of a heated fight and you need to intervene. Hustle on back and pick a side. So, who should you choose?
- Going along with the Renegades, you can forge an uneasy alliance between Genghis Khan and FDR by convincing the former to leave The Crucible alone since he’s dead set on burning it down. Unfortunately, Amanirenas is unsatisfied with this resolution, and you’ll have to kill her and her Society.
- On the opposite end of the spectrum, agreeing with Amanirenas will allow you to let Genghis Khan and his followers leave the Crucible and make their own path. You can even maintain your relationship with FDR if you push back on Genghis’ claims.
- Finally, you could join forces with FDR and convince Amanirenas that she should also ally with you. Genghis now hates everyone so you’ll need to kill him and everyone who believed in him.
Since that’s now taken care of, you can return to Ada and ask her to analyze the Override Code. You’ll then need to take it back to The Facility and head to the Datacore (more shooting!) to make one last decision for the clones of The Crucible.
- Reboot and Restore Mission Parameters: Nothing changes, you don’t officially side with one of the leaders and you net yourself 3,000 credits in the process.
- Initiate Full Project Cleanse: Does what it says on the box. All the clones are killed you get 2,000 credits. Evil never pays.
- Reboot and Choose a New Super-Admin: You’ll need to pick a side once again and whoever you choose will be the leader of The Crucible. Time to put your money where your mouth is. Speaking of which, you get 6,000 credits for going this route.
In the event that you didn’t wipe out all the clones, you can return to The Crucible and wrap up the quest line. As a nice bonus, famous pilot Amelia Earhart says that she’d love to join your crew and explore the stars. You’d be a fool to turn her offer down!
That’s how you complete Operation Starseed in Starfield, and what happens depending on if you side with Amanirenas, Roosevelt, or Genghis Khan.
If you’re looking for more on the game, check out how to kill Terrormorphs in Starfield.
