Starfield throws a staggering number of quests at you from the moment you pick up that first alien artifact. Between the main story, four major faction lines, companion quests, and now two DLC expansions, keeping track of what to do next is genuinely half the challenge. This guide lays out every mission in order so you always know where you stand.
What are the different Starfield mission types?
Not every quest in the Settled Systems works the same way. According to PCGamesN's mission breakdown, Starfield organizes its content into five distinct categories:
Each type rewards you with experience, credits, and loot. Faction and companion quests carry the most narrative weight, while radiant quests are better treated as background activity between the bigger storylines.
Lead quest designer Will Shen confirmed that all faction questlines can be played independently of each other, so you can pursue multiple factions simultaneously without locking yourself out of content.
All Starfield main quest missions
The main story begins after a mining accident puts you face-to-face with an alien artifact. From there, Constellation pulls you into a galaxy-spanning mystery. There are 19 missions in the base game's main questline.
Complete main quest order:
- One Small Step
- The Old Neighborhood
- The Empty Nest
- Back to Vectera
- Into the Unknown
- All That Money Can Buy
- Starborn
- Further Into the Unknown
- Short Sighted
- No Sudden Moves
- High Price to Pray
- Unity
- Missed Beyond Measure
- In Their Footsteps
- Unearthed
- Final Glimpses
- Entangled
- Revelation
- One Giant Leap
Main quest mission tracker
How do the Shattered Space DLC missions work?
Shattered Space adds its own main questline centered on the noble houses of Va'ruun. The order you tackle the three house quests can vary, but PCGamesN recommends arranging them by difficulty and saving The Other Side for last. That quest unlocks after completing just one of the three house missions, but you will get much more out of it with all three done first.
Shattered Space main missions in order:
- What Remains
- The Promised, Broken
- Aligning the Houses
- Conflict in Conviction (House Veth'aal)
- Zealous Overreach (House Ka'dic)
- Exhuming the Past (House Dul'kehf)
- The Other Side
- The Scaled Citadel
Shattered Space side quests:
- The Duel (Dazra City)
- Scientific Method (Dazra City)
- The Courier (Dazra City)
- A House Divided (Dazra City)
- Lost and Found (Halls of Healing)
- Twice Reformed (Refugee Camp)
- The Missing Groats (Ivasir Groat Farm)
- Legacy of the Fang (Tomb of the Fang)
- Path of Redemption (Wayshrine of Redemption)
- Sympathy for the Living (Deep Gorge Refinery)
- Fallen Footsteps (Halls of Healing)
The Shattered Space side quests are tied to specific locations in Dazra City and the surrounding region, so pick them up as you explore rather than trying to seek them out deliberately.
What's in the Terran Armada DLC questline?
The newest content added to Starfield as of April 2026, the Terran Armada DLC, launches a five-mission questline. To start it, travel to Akila City, find the central building, and listen to the full SSNN broadcast. That broadcast hands you the first quest automatically.
PCGamesN notes you should hit at least level 40 before starting this content if you want it to feel manageable rather than punishing.
Terran Armada DLC missions in order:
- Attack of the Terran Armada
- Lost Luxury
- Into the VOID
- Going Haywire
- Battle of the Unifier
All Starfield faction quest missions
Four major factions each have their own linear questlines. You can join all four and run their missions in parallel. According to Will Shen, the outcome of faction quests shifts based on your choices, and companions can actually speak on your behalf during missions to change results.
Crimson Fleet
- Deep Cover
- Rook Meets King
- Burden of Proof
- Echoes of the Past
- Breaking the Bank
- The Best There is
- Absolute Power
- Eye of the Storm
- Legacy's End
Freestar Collective
- Job Gone Wrong
- Deputized
- Where Hope is Built
- Shadows in Neon
- Surgical Strike
- On the Run
- First to Fight, First to Die
- The Hammer Falls
Ryujin Industries
Ryujin has the longest faction questline in the game at 13 missions:
- Back to the Grind
- One Step Ahead
- A New Narrative
- Access is Key
- Sowing Discord
- Accidents Happen
- Maintaining the Edge
- Top Secrets
- Background Checks
- Guilty Parties
- The Key Ingredient
- Sabotage
- Executive Level
United Colonies
- Supra Et Ultra
- Grunt Work
- Delivering Devils
- Eyewitness
- Friends Like These
- The Devils you Know
- War Relics
- Hostile Intelligence
- A Legacy Forged
Faction quest outcomes depend on your choices and active companions. Before committing to a major decision late in a faction line, consider who you have with you, since companions can shift dialogue options and alter mission results.
Crimson Fleet faction missions
Starfield companion quest missions
There are exactly four romanceable companions in Starfield, each with a dedicated quest. These are separate from crew members you can hire, and completing them deepens your relationship with each character.
The persuasion system plays a role in companion quests. Brushing up on how persuasion points work before tackling these missions will save you from failed checks at critical moments.
How to approach the full mission list without burning out
With 19 base game main missions, two DLC questlines, four faction lines, four companion quests, and a sprawling collection of side quests, Starfield can feel overwhelming. The practical approach is to treat the main quest as your spine and weave faction missions in between story beats rather than trying to complete one thing entirely before touching another.
Bethesda's side quests have a long reputation for punching above their weight narratively. Some of the most memorable moments in their RPGs come from random NPCs on remote planets, so make a habit of exploring cities thoroughly before moving on.
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