Though the UC Vanguard quest didn’t have many “starship captain” moments, I thought it was far superior (story wise) to the freestar rangers quest. The rewards might be better from the rangers quest, but the storyline was extremely mundane without many stakes. The climax of it all was just kind of…”blah”

I really liked the missions for Victus( if you went that way) after finishing the Vanguard, some nice rewards in there. Overall I think I agreed with your ranking, Ryujin stealth missions were super frustrating especially with limited powers at that time. Really hope that DLC adds some more faction missions for existing and also some new factions to boot. Biggest gripe I have with Crimson fleet (those missions were epic) is that once you side with them at the end it means that when exploring random planets you have less enemies to kill and killing enemies is a welcome break from surveying and scanning flora and fauna.

I strongly agree with what u said about the Ebbside Strikers. I was really excited to check them out and when i finished it, i was like "wait did i somehow miss a big chunk??" Lol ends very suddenly and its just like uhhh i guess thats it... lol could have been much more. And i expected much more. Such cool lookin outfits too.

The Freestar Rangers ending really lost me. There was a huge missed opportunity for there to be a mech fight considering we were fighting soldiers in a literal mech factory. Then you get your evidence and apparently go straight to confront the bad guy alone, without checking in with your superiors to go arrest him. It's like a beat cop going to arrest a drug lord without letting anybody else know. Just felt like it was missing a lot.

Totally agree with UC Vanguard. I didn’t join until I upgraded my ship because I thought I’d be doing a lot of flying. Then the storyline abruptly ends and I just felt like I didn’t do anything specifically pilot related.

In terms of rewards I'd tank consolidation higher. You get 4 good crew mates. Vasco gives you a free point to use to power your ship, and guards it when you land. Sam gives you a free point in engines, and some tip speed. Sarah makes your grav jumps used 50% less fuel she aksi has some good follower perks. Barret gives you 30% more damage with particle beams, you lock on faster, and your ship systems get repaired faster. Andreja... Has purple lipstick. I keep constalation on my ship for the perks.

As usual well done.

Great breakdown and list! You and I think alike in the sense, we both thought Ryujin was absolutely overhyped, Freestar Rangers is extremely underrated with phenomenal pacing and locales, and that UC Vanguard felt weird not being a spaceship-centric faction quest. Imo, the terrormorph storyline did feel a bit off at first, but I just went with it. Overall the story comes together nicely, but just like you, I did not expect it to be a wholly boots-on-the-ground experience. Freestar gets a lot of backlash for being "underwhelming", but I actually felt it to be the most grounded faction quest...like it feels like the most plausible situation to happen in this lore. Plus, the vibe fits for me because I'm roleplaying as an Asian space cowboy smuggler named Johnny Yuta who is...Captain of the Point Break LMAO So good movie references too

1:56 this applies to like 90% of the games quests and quest lines... As well as most areas you can visit.

Coool video, I couldn't go with the fleet. I'm a fan of the Mantis quest, and I went Full "Supra Et Ultra" in the game. Starfield is the name, hunting Pirates is the Game. When i go on my final NG+ I'll do it all again 😂

The motto of UC Vanguard is "Supra Et Ultra", basically "Above and beyond the call". Normal UC Vanguard missions would be more in line of those radiant missions where you just defeat enemy spaceships in orbit, but you as a player went above and beyond the call by unveiling the dangers of Terrormorph attacks and, depending on the player's choise, expose a conspiracy within the UC. And reminder that even though it's officially part of the Crimson Fleet questline, you can also obtain the SysDef mission by joining the Vanguard and complete the Tau Ceti mission. It will be assigned to you by Tuala, so technically for a good portion of the playerbase the Crimson Fleet missions are part of the UC Vanguard missions. UC Vanguard will always be #1 for me. Freestar Ranger on the other hand is the letdown one for me. I played the UC Vanguard questline first and you immediately became a Vanguard after you went out from the simulation and took an oath so when I finally did the Freestar Ranger quest I was like "Cool, now I've finally become a ranger and got my own spaceship, NOW the real quest starts!" but then there's nothing but radiant missions and I was like "Wait what? That was it?!?!". Plot is kinda stupid too, so your primary antagonist is an ex-military who hates the corrupt governing figures, but then proceeds to work for one of said corrupt figures (Ron Hope) in the name of petty revenge?? I'd personally place both Freestar Rangers and Ryuujin at #4.

“Like some of the GREAT characters in crimson fleet- Naeva, Mathis… “ 😡 Naeva better hope I don’t find her. Got 50 cal in the chamber with her name on it. Hoping she’ll make the same mistake as Mathis and try to ambush me.

On your other video you said the best weapon system for your ship. are in UC Vanguard. If I want the best weapon do I have to join with them to get the weapon system? Thanks!

Wait, theres more to the UC quest? My quest ended after talking about going to a council meeting of some kind in a bars backroom on mars?

I actually enjoyed most of the Ryujin questline except the last mission was bugged for me. One of the NPCs (Nina Hart) doesn't appear where/when she is supposed to so in order to complete the quest, I had to do the stealth option which I just don't find as enjoyable/cool as being able to use the implant. Hopefully, it gets patched eventually or I don't encounter the bug on future playthroughs.

I’m undercover for sysdef right now. It’s not too late to side with the fleet later on right?

I get why people don’t like this game but I love it

I would have put UC over Rangers buy a bit, but other than that you nailed it. And I'm surprised, when you said you liked Barret and Andreja I was figuring I'd disagree with you about the factions too. I can't tolerate Barret's constant third grade wisecracks and if I have to hear about the Great Serpent from the snake worshipper one more time I'm going to paint the walls with my lunch. That doesn't mean Sarah isn't annoying, but what she does that annoys me, like chiding me about picking up loot in the middle of a firefight, they all do.

Not sure if i did the faction quests when i was too high of a level, or the "boss fights" of those quests are just really underwhelming. Most of the big fights are over in seconds, even on Very Hard difficulty. For those who want to use the UC Penthouse, take note that New Atlantis will reset twice, during 2 different quests. When the city resets, your entire house will get wiped. Every furniture, decoration, anything you do to the house will get wiped back into the empty house you get at the start.

Great top two w/ good points for both. I love being addressed as Ranger by rando NPCs, but the badge carries no weight even when you try to flex on the FSC ambassador for access to the archives; though I have turned the ship into a no frills combat focused Class-B beast...I sided w/ SysDef and I gotta admit, I got emotionally charged running through The Key killing those whose trust I had gained over the course of the storyline. First time in a long while a game has done that to me. I felt genuinely bad. 10/10 for Crimson Fleet.

I joined all them and enjoy the Crimson fleet . The UC will not be after you if you turn it in to the Crimson fleet but the Crimson Fleet will always be after you for not turning it in .

The reason i haven't done the crimson fleet is because doesn't make them not hostile for you at points of interest? Ive done ng once so far and haven't done their quest because i want more baddies to kill.

I got a bug in ryujin quests so i could never finish the whole storyline. Personally i like UC Vanguard most but tbh all quests seem to be very short and can finish quite quickly.

failed to mention UC SysDef which is different than UC Vangard. UC SysDef being the other choice to Crimson. UC Vangard is dealing with the terromorphs.

6: Constellation - full of boring repetitive quests and poor rewards. I constantly forget I even have powers to use. The companions are good for their passive skills, only find Andreja compelling as a character, though. 5: UC SysDef - Worse rewards than Crimson Fleet, only bonus is the extra dialogue you get with those you incriminate. 4: Ryujin - Good rewards, probably the story that feels most like it should with corporate espionage and the like. 3: Freestar Rangers - Great Rewards with a great story, Ron Hopes motivations did feel petty, though. 2: Crimson Fleet - Great Rewards, but the missions feel like they should be part of Ryujin... I do not feel like a Pirate, feel more like a SysDef Operative. (Ultimately with Fleet/SysDef quest I'd complete the final quest, but never hand it in to get the best out of it since neither side attacks you and you still have access to Jazz and a a bund of traders) 1: UC Vanguard - Despite the lack of Vanguardness (Piloting as stated) is easily my fave story with moral quandries... the rewards are good and I find Hadrian to be an excellent character... biggest issue is the speed at which stuff happens, rather than research taking ages it is instant.

Ryujin is last for me because mine is bugged and came to a hault after Top Secrets mission where you learn about the mole. Nothing new starts and no one will talk to me. Constellation is pretty weak, Freestar Rangers I loved, UC was great and getting that penthouse was killer, I have yet to start Crimsom Fleet.

1. UC Vanguard 2. Constellation 3. Freestar Rangers 6. Crimson Fleet 10. Ryujin

There are so many plotholes in the quests it makes me wonder these were written by a bunch of naive writing students in their first lesson. For example ... HUUUGE PLOTHOLE: SPOILER WARNING!!! ..... dead-believed Vae Victis being held in a cozy underground prison by the UC government (nice plot twist btw). He spills all the beans finally by telling you HE DID IT! If you go along with him it stays a secret and you get to get missions from him. The weak point there is that the UC gov could and would very easily being able to spy on him and get to know the truth.

I felt bad siding with UC Sysdef on my current play through for the Crimson Fleet run, when I finally go through the first NG+, I am planning on going full pirate. But yes, the gear is great and love the Revenant, it absolutely shreds. Just wish I got to taste a fraction of those credits in the end.

The UC vanguard appearing to be focused on piloting is a mistake, I think. But not ACTUALLY focusing on piloting for their missions is good. Space combat is very simplistic in this game, and wouldn't serve well as a focal point, IMO. So if it was presented a little differently, that would serve the factions' appearance better

Constellation is good, has some good quests, but all the other factions are next level

Not to pick vocabulary but the word used ingame for the ryujin questline should be apparel, not gear. Gear can also refer to armor which ryujin doesn’t give.

I absolutely love the Crimson Fleet questline, it's probably my fave questline overall, but I do have one small gripe with it and that's the lack of option for playing a mole on behalf of the Freestar Collective. I mean, surely the Crimson Fleet is as much a problem for the Freestars as it is for UC SysDef, right? You'd think an organisation like the Freestar Rangers would be all in when it comes to taking down pirates. -- especially when you remember that most of their bosses are literal corporate overlords who'd probably see piracy as a threat to their bottom line.

agree

I hope in a DLC that the Va'ruun and the bounty hunters become a thing. I would love to be a zealot or bounty hunter flying around capturing people or converting and growing my "religion"

Ryujin was my favourite faction Crimson Fleight Freestar collective UC Vanguard I don't consider the ebbside mission as at proper faction

I wish the Strikers had a better story. Neon deserves to be the center of criminal activity, I E gang war is kinda necessary.

The Strikers sound like a dishonorable mention.

Having played over 400 hours i recommend freestar rangers first. You get a strong pistol after the first mission and great ship. Do at least the first mission for the UC as it unlocks vanguard ship parts and just the sheild generator is amazing early game. The crimson fleet is fun but my biggest problem with it is while you are in the fleet you are safe from all crimson fleet ships. So it takes a lot of bounty quests off the table unless you want to pay a bounty for killing crimson fleet members. The other factions are ok but i do those here and there if I am in the area of their next quest. Now NG+ is totally different story.....

Yo ho yo ho a space pirate’s life for me.

The UC Vanguard was clearly number 1

i found the crimson fleet characters annoying but i understand why you got them first

I actually think they're all "good". I agree that Constellation feels the weakest, but it does have "Entangled" which is surely the best mission in the entire game, and you get the Kepler in that line which is probably the best reward ship. Crimson Fleet is the best-written by far but keep having to check in with the quest givers drives me mad. The story for Vanguard is compelling but the actual missions are kind of annoying. The Rangers have the least interesting story but averagely good missions. Ryujin feels lightweight but it's also moderately fun.

Im not a fan of the way the factions work in starfield. They feel more like sidequests then factions. There seems to be little consequence or reaction to joining or opposing factions. I joined and completed the Freestar Rangers first and can happily chat to the UC who apparently were recently locked in a bloody civil war. Ive spent the entire playthrough with Andrea and nobody really seems to have anything to say about it. The game feels spread thin. Though i want to add Starfield is still a good game, just has large areas of improvement.

I hate how the Crimson Fleet are propped up to be evil, murdering, pirates by the rest of the galaxy, but you never see them kill any civilians or do anything evil besides steal. They could ignore the UC and FSC if they wanted to.Delgado is also one of the flattest characters Bethesda has ever written. The most interesting part about him is his accent.

Oh yeah. Crimson Fleet by a mile.

Before I get started. Gonna say one piece is best faction

Another positive of the crimson fleet, you can sell all your contraband there

My main issue with the Rangers is they treat you like a nuance who they purposely send on suicide missions. I almost threw my controller when Emma said I wasn't doing anything when I've been the only person doing anything. That last assault on the "bad guy's" (spoilers) base was built to bring all the Rangers you've worked with to that point and have an epic battle between the Rangers and the baddies. Instead, a single deputy takes down an entire army and when you return they're like "Oh you got it solved hmm? Cool here's a badge go hit the bounty board." pair that with the 2nd worst faction storyline in terms of writing only barely being less irritating than the USsysdef or Crimson Fleet which is just you getting yelled at by both sides only sticking with either of em with it for the money at the end.

Here's my list; 5: Ryujin: I was just bored the whole way through. 4. Crimson Fleet: Too many reasons. Add in UC SysDef here. Needs a wholesale slaughter option to wipe out the leadership of either side. Gets a leg-up over Ryujin because the critters in and around the Lock have adhesive as a harvestable ingredient. 3. Worst faction in the game, but there is an "opt out" option at the end of the tutorial. Being as I don't want to be Space Dragonborn, perfect. 2. Really a toss-up between this and Vanguard. The bad guy was telegraphed too loudly. The enemy faction uniforms are way cooler than the Ranger uniforms. Star Eagle is nice, though. 1. UC Vanguard: Really captures an "Alien" vibe. The only quest line that had me on the edge of my seat, first time through. Considering that I am a jaded old fart, that ain't easy. And there you have it.

Constellation is the BEST! No... Just kidding.

I wouldn't consider Constellation to be a faction.

ball of fire field

Constellation has some of the most boring characters. All of them are boy-scouts it’s annoying.