The vast emptiness of space in between Starfield’s more than a thousand planets gives players a lot of time to think about how insignificant they are in the grand scheme of the universe. Which naturally brings people to religion, and Starfield has plenty of religions to devote yourself to. But how does joining one of the game’s in-world religions benefit the player, and which one is the best to join? That’s what our helpful guide is here to tell you. So strap in and get ready to learn about the space religions of Starfield.
With such a big universe, one would expect there to be more religions in Starfield than there are planets. The game does have a plethora of religions in the lore, but most of these are set-dressing for the universe and the player can’t truly interact with them. There are three main religious organizations that the player can talk to and join, they are The Enlightened, Sanctum Universum, and House Va’ruun.
You can join one of these religions by selecting certain traits during character creation. Raised Enlightened for The Enlightened, Raised Universal for Sanctum Universum, and Serpent’s Embrace for House Va’ruun. Depending on which religion you choose you will unlock special loot and dialogue options. Nothing in Satrfield will be locked to you by choosing a certain religion and you can any of the three religions whenever you want, so don’t get too stressed.
First off is The Enlightened, which isn’t actually a religious organization at all. The Enlightened is a group of atheists within Starfield that reject the belief in a higher power behind the universe. They are more focused on believing in the power of humanity itself and spend most of their time doing humanitarian work throughout the universe.
The main appeal in choosing The Enlightened is that it grants access to a special chest located within the House of the Enlightened in New Atlantis that includes the Inclement Weather Outfit. While helpful in the early game, the Inclement Weather Outfit isn’t much and it won’t be useful to you for more than a few hours.
Universals, the name for followers of Sanctum Universum, believe in a supreme being who bestowed technology upon humanity so that they could explore space in search of God. The benefits of joining Sanctum Universum for players are fairly similar to the benefits of joining the Enlightened. Having the Raised Universal trait will give you access to a special chest inside Sanctum Universum’s main building on New Atlantis. The chest contains the Neocity Urbanwear outfit, which again isn’t all that helpful except in the very early game.
Finally, we have House Va’ruun, which is viewed in the world of Starfield as less of a full-fledged religion and more of a cult. It follows the Great Serpent, a giant space snake that is believed will essentially eat the entire universe and kill all nonbelievers. House Va’ruun doesn’t have the best reputation as it is responsible for causing a holy war in Starfield’s world called the Serpent’s Crusade, though, at the time of the game, House Va’ruun is trying to make amends to the rest of the universe.
Rather than special gear, House Va’Ruun’s trait — Serpent’s Embrace — instead grants the player a buff to HP and oxygen that lasts four hours and then turns into a debuff unless cleansed by doing grav jumps.
While there are pros to choosing The Enlightened or Spectrum Universum, most of the benefits that come with these groups go away after the early game, since you’ll quickly find or buy better equipment. House Va’ruun’s trait will stick with you during a playthrough. What’s more, you’ll pick up a lot more fascinating in-game lore.
House Va’ruun is the way to go. All hail the Great Serpent!
