One of the first choices players will make duringStarfield’sShattered SpaceDLC is whether to join the mysterious House Va’ruun faction. The entirety ofShattered Spacecenters on House Va’ruun, a religion that’s remained in isolation on the hidden planet of Va’ruun’kai for centuries.TheShattered SpaceDLC beginswith a distress signal from a space station, which suddenly transports them to the House Va’ruun capital city of Dazra. In the aftermath of an enormous explosion, and with a ghostly version of its founder Anasko manifesting, its people are unsure of what to do.
No one on Va’ruun’kai can hear what the phantom Anasko is saying, except for the player character. When they begin to interpret Anasko’s messages for the people of Dazra,they are declared a vessel of the Great Serpent, and asked to join House Va’ruun. Here, they’re presented with the first official choice of the DLC: should they join House Va’ruun, or refuse the call to adventure?
Can You Refuse To Join House Va’ruun In Starfield?
What Happens If You Refuse To Join House Va’ruun In Shattered Space
Technically,is is entirely possible to refuse to join House Va’ruun inShattered Space, but doing so prevents the player from continuing with the DLC. It’s not by any means a permanent choice; if they tell Malibor they’re not interested, Malibor will just scoff and brush them off. Malibor tells them, in so many words, to leave the planet, but that they’ll certainly return, whenever the Great Serpent’s will leads them back to Dazra.
Every Starfield: Shattered Space DLC Ending Explained (In Detail)
Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC allows players to decide the fate of House Va’ruun in its final quest. Here’s how it ends, depending on their choice.
With that,the DLC grinds to a halt, and cannot be restarted until the player finally agrees to join House Va’ruun. In order to join House Va’ruun and officially continue the DLC, they’ll just need to speak to Malibor in the same place where they arrived in Dazra, and say, “All right. Just tell me where to begin.”
There are two dialogue options that allow the player to refuse to join House Va’ruun: “I’m not agreeing to anything right now,” and “I could never join House Va’ruun.” Although the latter sounds decidedly more final,neither option locks them out of joining House Va’ruun permanently; they can always return to Malibor to change their mind.
The refusal to join House Va’ruun doesn’t affect anything in the wider story ofStarfieldor in the DLC itself; when the player eventually comes back and agrees to join, things will proceed much the same as if they had joined immediately. It won’t affect interactions with House Va’ruun members elsewhere in the galaxy, either.
Can You Play Shattered Space Without Joining House Va’ruun?
The DLC’s First Major Choice
Unfortunately,no, it’s not possible to playShattered Spaceat all without joining House Va’ruun. If players refuse the call when Malibor first offers, they’ll be unable to play any of the main quests orside quests related toShattered Space. They may be able to find some of the related items during House Va’ruun attacks elsewhere, but they’ll be locked out of the plot until they agree to join.
However,players who refuse to join House Va’ruun can still explore parts of Va’ruun’kaiif they so desire. They just won’t get access to any of the related quests, which means they won’t be able to access the full rewards of all their exploration.
Why Shattered Space’s Biggest Choice Doesn’t Matter
Joining/Not Joining House Va’ruun Has No Effect On Starfield
It’s a bit of a shame that there’s no alternative to joining House Va’ruun; this one-sidedness gets to the heart of acommon criticism withStarfield’s first DLC.Shattered Spacefrequently gives players the illusion of choice where there really is none; whether to join or spurn House Va’ruun,kill or spare Sahima, follow or reject Anasko’s teachings. Although the player can technically choose one option or the other, either the results are so ineffectual that it makes no difference, or the game railroads them into their preferred choice anyway.
Joining House Va’ruun is arguably the biggest choice the player makes for themselves during the DLC; it means committing to a whole new philosophy, agreeing to lead an entire planet full of people they’ve never met before.This had the potential to be an engaging, pivotal story moment, but instead, it’s next to nothing; the player’s decision basically only determines whether they startShattered Spacenow or later.
Starfield Fan Uncovers All New POIs In Shattered Space DLC
A dedicated Starfield fan manages to uncover every new point-of-interest introduced in Shattered Space, and it’s more than players might think.
Imagine the story tensionthat would’ve inevitably come from the isolated people of Va’ruun’kai having to accept help from a complete outsider, or the character growth that could take place as the player slowly immersed themselves in the ways of the Great Serpent. There could’ve even been a second faction, a sort of anti-Va’ruun group, or a schismatic sect that split from the orthodoxy, and now wants to take control of Va’ruun’kai for itself. These multiple paths to progress would’ve been narratively interesting, and lent the DLC the replay value that it currently lacks.
So players are pretty much free to say anything they want at the beginning of the DLC; join House Va’ruun if they’re ready to play the DLC right away, or refuse if they’re okay to wait. While it’s unfortunate there’s no real decision behind it, for roleplaying purposes, players are free to dream up their own in-character reasons for joining House Va’ruun to square it better with the wider world ofStarfield.
