Summary
The quests and stories are often the best part of any RPG, giving players a reason to care about characters and the world in which the game is set. Sometimes these stories are fully resolved in the game, but sometimes they aren’t - giving players lots to think about.
Bethesda’s expansive sci-fi RPGStarfieldtied up a lot of the loose ends in its various stories, from its faction quests to smaller side adventures, but there are still some left dangling for players to wonder about. Whether these threads will be tied up duringStarfieldexpansions or a full-blown sequel is anyone’s guess, but there are some storylines simply begging for more attention.
1Juno/Rogue AI/Machine Intelligences
Show Fans Why AI Is Banned
The introduction of Juno, a rogue and independent emergent AI developed from pre-Grav-tech-based technologies in one ofStarfield’squirkiest quests, gives an interesting glimpse into the potential of artificial intelligence inStarfield’s Settled Systems. Sapient AI appears to be banned, although simpler versions are widespread throughout the human-controlled worlds.
Future DLC or expansions toStarfieldcould address the potential for AI and Machine Intelligence to help or hinder humanity. There are already several characters in-game who speak about AI rights - a meaty expansion focused at least in part around AI could help resolve these plot threads and offer a fuller look into life in the Settled Systems.
2Parallel Worlds
Double The Worlds, Double The Fun
One main story quest inStarfieldinvolves the player character traveling between two versions of a location, each one set in a different reality where different choices are made. TheEntangledquestinStarfieldis arguably one of Bethesda’s best quests, offering unique gameplay with a variety of resolutions.
The concept of parallel worlds and other realities is core toStarfield, so an expansion of this kind of gameplay could make for a very interesting and meaty DLC if done well, allowing players to see into worlds with vastly different outcomes than in the mainline continuity - without requiring vastly different world design across the whole of the Settled Systems.
3The Crucible
Genghis Khan… In SPACE!
One ofStarfield’s weirder settlements is The Crucible, a town populated entirely by the clones of various historical figures - including former US President Eisenhower,Amelia Earhart, and Genghis Khan - each one imprinted with the knowledge their donor would have known and knowledge about what their donor did in life. The facility responsible for these clones has malfunctioned and is run by robots, but later in the questline, the player can encounter a ship with more information.
Ultimately, the true purpose of The Crucible remains unknown, but the group behind its construction remains at large. Clearly, a lot of time, money, and effort went into the project, which could have very interesting ramifications for the Settled Systems. This is something that could be explored further in DLC.
4LIST/Independent Colonies
Space Farming Sim
The League of Independent Settlers, also known as LIST, is introduced early on to the player but serves mainly as a sort of fetch quest and a bit of lore for the setting. But the very idea of independent space colonies, homesteads, and towns is an alluring one for many reasons.
An expansion or DLC focused on LIST or other independent settlements has many opportunities to explore interesting and different themes surrounding life on the frontier. Such an expansion could even integrate the game’s outpost system, providing a story that’s different from other parts ofStarfield.
5Xenoweapons
Guns, But Made Of Spiders
Xenoweapons inStarfieldare stated to be some of the most devastating weapons ever designed, and although the player does get to encounter some throughout the game, they’re a minor presence at best - despite having rendered some whole words uninhabitable thanks to their dangerous natures.
But the United Colonies' main faction quest does involve xenoresearch, including setting up a proper research base on Mars. FutureStarfieldcontent could build on this and bring back characters like Hadrian and Kaiser, with brand-new content and gameplay, possibly even including alien mounts for faster traversal or as non-human companions to the player character.
6Ecliptic Mercenaries
Friends Or Foes?
The Ecliptic Mercenary group inStarfieldis a large, multi-system-spanning, organized military corporation used by all of the major players in the Settled Systems, including both the Freestar Collective and the United Colonies. But in the game, they amount to little more than another flavor of lawless bandit.
Future expansions toStarfieldcould expand on the role of Ecliptic, especially given the two resolutions to the game’s Crimson Fleet/UC SysDef storyline. Regardless of the outcome, Ecliptic could be employed by the Freestar Collective or United Colonies to combat a resurgent Crimson Fleet or, if the Crimson Fleet was destroyed, Ecliptic could be seeking to fill the void. The big bonus for Bethesda is that the same characters and locations could be used for both scenarios.
7Mechs
Giant Robots Are Always Fun
Introduced as earth-shatteringly powerful tools of war, mechs were present in the game but never saw any use at all. Touted as being so destructive and dangerous that their use is now banned and considered a war crime, the fact that nobody - not even avowed criminal enterprises such as the Crimson Fleet or the Seokguh - uses mechs feels like a missed opportunity.
FutureStarfieldcontent could include mechs as both new enemy types and as a feature available to players, perhaps like howFallout 4’s Mechanist DLC added new robot types to the game world and allowed the player toconstruct their own robots.
8Seokguh/Neon Gangs
Corruption Offers Many Interesting Possibilities
The Neon City underworld was an interesting look into the world of organized crime and corruption in the Settled Systems, but it could have gone much further than it did. An expansion or DLC dedicated to Neon City could more thoroughly explore the Seokguh criminal syndicate and the Neon streets, giving players a much deeper experience in the Neon underworld.
If Bethesda doesn’t want to touch on the Crimson Fleet again thanks to the base game storyline involving it, the Seokguh and the Neon gangs could be a great substitute for a crime-focused DLC. Players could become part of the corruption or help to keep it in check, with many opportunities to bring back base-game characters such as Benjamin Bayu.
9Unity And The Starborn
What Even Is Unity?
The search for Unity and the identity of the Starborn forms the backbone ofStarfield’smain story, and although the player is ultimately successful in their endeavor, much about Unity or the Starborn goes unexplained. The origins of the game’s Artifacts, the identity of their creators, and even the architects of the temples are all left a mystery in one of the game’sbiggest pieces of lore.
Future expansions or DLC could explore deeper aspects of the Starborn, such as their technology and architecture, while keeping others such as the nature of Unity itself a mystery ripe for future stories - whether DLC or sequels.
10House Va’ruun
There’s Still Plenty That Needs Explaining
Perhaps the single thing most fans picked up on as “missing” from the game, House Va’ruun remains a complete mystery. Present only as Va’ruun Zealots - religious fanatics supposedly exiled from the core of Va’ruun society - House Va’ruun is relegated to a different kind of enemy type using a different kind of damage.
But any bigStarfieldexpansion should consider how best to include House Va’ruun, given that it’s one of the three major factions and has fought a war against the rest of the Settled Systems. There’s a whole lot of potential infuture Va’ruun content, from its hidden homeworld to quests involving joining it or mediating conflicts between Va’ruun and the other galactic powers.
