I could do a Starfield factions ranked list the normal way – based on how fun the missions are, for instance, or how good the loot is that you get at the end of the space game‘s quests. But there’s so much less room for variation that way. Ryujin and the Crimson Fleet are always going to win, just because that’s how they’re designed in the space game. The Vanguard is fine, and all the other little factions you can’t join just get lost in the shuffle. So I decided on an unorthodox approach and thought about how easy it is to start a fight and beat up the different factions and ranked them from easiest to hardest, because why not.
Constellation
Unless you spawn into a world where Constellation hates the very idea of you – which is possible, depending on what kind of NG+ you get – it’s pretty easy to pick a fight with them. They all have plot armor, even the members who can’t join the ranks of your Starfield companions. That means they take no damage, and since the game doesn’t consider any attack on them an actual act of violence, it makes for a pretty dull, easy fight.
Spacers
The Spacers are such a second-rate faction. They talk big and show up everywhere, but before I even hit level four, I took out one of their scouting parties and stole one of their rizz-less ships. Lame.
Ecliptic Mercenaries
The Ecliptic faction is only a little better than the Spacers. They tend to travel in larger groups, which is smart of them, and they sometimes even gang up on you in formation with strong weapons. At the end of the day, they’re just another figurative space punching bag, though.
Freestar Rangers
Speaking of punching bags. The Rangers are a decent bunch, but they don’t have the presence of the UC Vanguard or even the Crimson Fleet. Akila’s Wild West atmosphere does give any fight you pick with them the feel of a frontier brawl, though, which makes up for feeling bad about picking on such comparatively nice, wholesome people. Maybe it’s not a good thing to do, but they just make it so fun.
House Va’ruun
The House Va’ruun zealots are a pretty tough gang when you first encounter them. Whenever I encountered them or their powerful ships, they were always at a significantly higher level than me. Maybe that was just random bad luck. Anyway, once you encounter them later in the story with some extra levels under your belt, they’re rather easier to deal with.
Crimson Fleet
The Crimson Fleet lives up to its reputation as a group not to cross. They’re ships quickly overwhelm your own, and since they stick together in large numbers, getting the upper hand in an exchange isn’t always easy. They put up a good challenge, and you can even pick on some of their outlying corps without ruining your faction reputation – as long as you don’t start a fight on The Key. Everyone just tries to kill you then.
UC Vanguard
Getting into a scuffle with UC Vanguard is incredibly easy and challenging for the same reason: They’re everywhere. And they’re well-armed. Start a fight with a random UC Security officer, and you’ll have the security force and any passing marine chasing you down with the entire UC arsenal at their disposal. You can’t really launch a surprise attack in space either, not until you’re traveling the stars with a ship properly outfitted for war.
Ryujin Industries
The way Ryujin Industries operates means you don’t get many chances to cause trouble – not with a good brawl, anyway. All your Ryujin jobs involve stealth and subterfuge, ideally without getting caught. That limits the opportunities for roughing and tumbling, and you won’t last long if you give someone a smack back at HQ either. I started a fight in the board room, with the door shut and had a dozen corporate soldiers and a heavily-armed, crack-shot janitor on me within seconds.
Ebbside Strikers
The Ebbside Strikers have a vision for Neon, and the future they believe in is better than what pretty much everyone else on the planet has in mind. They’re the underdogs of the city’s grimy underside, and sure, their methods involve gang warfare, but in the end, it really is just for everyone’s benefit. Sort of. They join the cops, but hey, at least the Strikers get out of the Ebbside slums. Gotta love an underdog story.
Sanctum Universum and the Enlightened
The two competing philosophical factions are almost impossible to beat up, not because you can’t. You can be absolutely terrible to them if you want, even though they have plot armor like Constellation. But why would you want to? They might be ideological polar opposites, but they’re so sincere in their beliefs and just want to help people find hope and meaning in the lonely depths of space. I just can’t be mean to them.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
