Summary
One ofStarfield’s most interesting mechanics has tons of untapped potential. For all thechangesStarfieldhas undergone since its latest update, it still has a lot of issues. One of those in particular starts to rear its ugly head near the end game, when the player has come into their own with a slew of artifact powers and a fully tricked out custom ship. Not much can ruin the experience by then, but little hiccups likeStarfield’s combat issuesor repetitive planetary exploration can throw a wrench in the works.
But those little gripes can add up, and inStarfield’s case, they amount to a pretty boring end game. Some of its worst issues are the ones players are least likely to notice. They’ll see them coming, but just as they’re about to have an impact on gameplay, they’re already gone. They couldmakeStarfieldmore interesting, but in their current form, they’re doing neither the gameplay nor the story any favors. Still, there’s plenty of potential for change.
One Easily Missed New Starfield Setting Almost Makes It A Completely Different Game
Starfield’s May update changes the game in a lot of ways, but one of the best can only be found by examining all the options available.
Starfield’s Random Starborn Encounters Are Way Too Easy
Weak Starborn Break Immersion
Attacks by Starborn inStarfield’s end game are boring, and over way too quickly. Once the player character has gathered a few artifacts, they’ll start to experience random encounters near temples. Starborn will pop out of the ether (or really, uncloak themselves), and attack the player. The lore includes a pretty clear explanation for these ambushes: it’s no secret that there’s a lot of competition forStarfield’s Artifacts. There are many who would prevent the player character from collecting Artifacts, in the interest of claiming them for themselves.
This is actually a really cool concept, and one of the more interesting aspects ofStarfield’s lore. The idea that anyone can become as powerful as the player character by simply finding the Artifacts first is fascinating. The idea thatthere’s an organized army of Starborn out there somewhere, sending waves of troops to prevent anyone they deem unworthy from claiming the Artifacts, is terrifying. Who are they to judge the player character’s worth? Would the world be better or worse off if someone else were to claim the Artifacts? What terrible visions could they enact on the world if these great powers were to fall into the wrong hands?
In some dialogue, the Emissary mentions offhand that Starborn throughout the galaxy share their belief system, and aim to prevent the player character and other unknowns from claiming undue power.
But any sense of immersion is shattered almost immediately, becausethese Starborn ambushes are too easy. Fire a few rounds at them, and they go down almost instantly. The player character is free to shrug, loot their bodies, and move on. These encounters don’t even feel like big boss fights that players must overcome before claiming some unique reward. They pose no risk to the player, and certainly aren’t a barrier to progress - if anything, they’re just delaying the inevitable.
Starfield Player Discovers A Bizarre Sight Hanging Above New Atlantis
A Starfield player shares their bizarre discovery of an unidentified ship that’s quietly looming in the skies of the galaxy’s most populated city.
Starfield’s End Game Would Be Much Cooler If Starborn Ambushes Were Harder
Higher Stakes & Greater Challenges
These brief encounters may seem inconsequential, butimagine how much more interesting they could makeStarfield’s endgame if they actually posed a challenge. They could be like miniatureversions ofStarfield’s final boss, pulling off unbelievable feats with their Starborn powers. It only makes sense in the context of the lore: even attempting to find an Artifact requires great courage and strength.
This would greatly raise the stakes of each Starborn battle, as the player would be forced to realize the risks of letting the Artifacts fall into the wrong hands. The enemy Starborn could make use of legendary weapons and nigh-impervious armor, the kind of thing that most can only hope to gather from years of interstellar exploration. These could even provide additional rewards for the player, creating an extra incentive for Artifact hunting.
Moreover,these more powerful Starborn would make each trip to a temple, each retrieval of an Artifact, more memorable. As it is, they all kind of blend together,much likeStarfield’s cookie-cutter planets. The only thing most players will remember of an individual Artifact quest is the power they gained from it. Even then, some Starborn powers aren’t particularly memorable, and they might not be able to match each reward to its appropriate temple. But if there were a semi-unique, procedurally generated boss fight before each Artifact, these moments would stand out as bigger set pieces. Those with especially trying combinations of StarboIrn powers, or especially cool legendary loot, could become bright spots in the player’sStarfieldexperience.
One Rare Starfield Weapon May Be A Glimpse Into Combat For The Shattered Space DLC
Starfield is great in some ways but severely lacking in others, making room for some significant updates in the Shattered Space DLC.
Increasing Starfield’s Difficulty Might Improve End Game Starborn Fights
Players Should Try Very Hard Or Extreme
There is, however,one potential remedy forStarfield’s lackluster Starborn encounters: cranking up the difficulty. It won’t turn them into the Starborn power-slinging, unique foes they deserve to be, but it’ll at least make these fights feel more important and consequential. It’ll hammer home the point that forces beyond the player’s understanding know more about the Artifacts than they do, and they’ve made it their goal to prevent the player from learning more. It’ll make the effort to find the Artifacts feel much more worthwhile and memorable.
Very Hard can give these fights enough oomph, but for the truly interested,Starfield’s new Extreme difficulty mode can make them even more impactful. Extreme requires the player to give these fights everything they’ve got, using every Starborn power and healing item to its fullest potential. They’ll also have to contend with more severe environmental effects, and choose the right weapons to penetrate the Starborn’s armor.
These underwhelming Starborn ambushes seem like a case of wasted potential, but there’s always room for improvement.Starfieldcould always increase the difficulty of these Starborn, or add new end game encounters that actually pose a challenge to the player. TheShattered SpaceDLC, in particular, is perfectly poised to create a much more interesting end game. Even the slightest change would make an enormous difference, bringing new challenges and higher stakes toStarfield.
Starfield
Bethesda Game Studios presents Starfield - the first original IP from the studio in twenty-five-plus years. Set in the year 2310, the United Colonies and Freestar Collective are observing a shaky truce after a war set 20 years prior. The player will customize their character as a member of a space exploration team called Constellation while navigating The Settled Systems and the conflicts between the warring factions. According to Bethesda, players can explore over 100 systems and 1000 planets to find resources and build their ships, living out their own sci-fi journeys.
