Starfield’s First Contact quest gives players the choice of how they want this story to unfold, and here is a complete guide.

Gamers will encounter an unidentified ship in the Porrima Solar System. With the quest being titled “First Contact,” players are unsure what they will meet on board, with speculation it could be the first signs of sentient alien life.

However, upon boarding the ship, they discover it is a group of colonists who left Earth almost 200 years ago and did not know other humans were still alive. Here is a full guide to completing Starfield’s First Contact quest.

Table of contents

Step 1: Travel to the Porrima Solar System

Players must head to the Porrima Solar System to start the First Contact quest and orbit Porrima II. Once here, players will receive a call from a distressed Jiro Sugiyama, chief of security for Paradiso.

After listening to the call, you must land at Paradiso on Porrima II and speak with Sugiyama. Here, he will explain what is happening and that an unidentified ship has been orbiting the planet, scaring residents.

Your job is to investigate this ship.

Porrima location for Starfield First Contact quest

Step 2: Dock the Unidentified Ship & Speak with the Captain

After speaking with Sugiyama, head back into orbit to investigate the ship. Players can attempt to hail the vessel, but the communications are not working correctly, and you will only hear static.

Instead, you must dock onto the ship. Once you board, you will come into contact with Captain Diana Brackenridge, who explains that her ship, the ECS Constant, is full of colonists whose families left Earth over 200 years ago.

Since they left, humanity has outgrew their technology, which is why it took them so long to reach their destination. She asks you to negotiate with the leader of Porrima II to allow her crew a possible settlement on the planet.

Diana, Captain of ECS Constant in First Contact quest asking for a deal

Step 3: Negotiate with Oliver Campbell

Head back down to Paradiso to speak with the CEO, Oliver Campbell. Here, you will be given three possible scenarios for the fate of Captain Brackenridge and her crew. You can choose one of the following outcomes:

  • Install a grav drive on their ship to let them find another home
  • Let them settle in Paradiso but work to pay off their debt
  • Destroy their ship, killing everyone inside

If you don’t know which option is best in Starfields First Contact quest, we have a guide below explaining all possible outcomes.

Oliver Campbell CEO of Paradiso

Option 1: Buy the Grav Drive

If you plan to help the colonists on board the ECS Constant, buying them the grav drive is the best option.

To buy a grav drive, you must:

  1. Head to the Valo Solar System and land at Hopetown on the planet Polvo.
  2. Enter HopeTech and speak with Bennu St. James.
  3. You can either outright purchase a grav drive for 40,000 credits or persuade him to sell it for 25,000 credits.
Bennu - Grav Drive dealer
  1. Once you have the drive, head back to the ECS Constant and speak with chief engineer Amin Kazemi to install it.
  2. To help, you will need to enter the following inputs into the terminals, but be careful, as entering the wrong one can set the ship on fire:
    • Terminal 1: Magnetic Flange Pipe Enclosures – Decouple – Auxiliary Module Assembly.
    • Terminal 2: Turbopump Port – Cryogenic Radiator Auxiliary.
    • Terminal 3: Plasma Run-off Inhibiter – Set to 5%.
  3. Head back and speak with Captain Diana Brackenridge to tell her the news.
Diana thanking you for grav drive

Additionally, if players choose this option,n they will be able to track the ECS Constant across the universe. To do so, head into your Activity log to find its location.

For this choice, players will earn a few Antique Earth items that they can sell to earn some credits.

Option 2: Settle in Paradiso But Work to Pay Off Debt

While this option isn’t necessarily bad, the crew will not be pleased that they have traveled 200 years to end up working for people they do not know.

Furthermore, when you choose this option, you will have to deliver Oliver Campbell a ton of materials, which can be a time-consuming process.

You will need to gather:

  • Iron – 80
  • Fiber – 40
  • Sealant – 20
  • Lithium – 10

Once you have these materials, speak to Captain Brackenridge, and she will get her crew ready to land on the planet.

Resources list for option 2 of settling on Paradiso

Option 3: Destroy the Ship

For those who love chaos and are playing as a pirate, this option is for you. To destroy the ship, you must:

  1. Dock and board onto the ECS Constant.
  2. Head to the Engineering room.
  3. On the left-hand side, locate the Reactor Computer. This will require a key.
  4. To get the key, you can pickpocket it from Amin Kazemi. If you have not unlocked this skill, you must kill him and loot it from his body.
  5. On the Reactor Compute, initiate the Reactor Overdrive function.
  6. Next, go to the captain’s bridge and hack the Captain’s Terminal. You will need advanced Lockpicking skills to do so.
  7. Once hacked, confirm the request.
  8. Now, fight or run past the crew members to undock on your ship.
Blowing up the ECS Constant
Credit: Backseat Guides

Selecting this method will completely destroy the ship, killing every crew member and erasing the ECS Constant’s history.

Once you head back to Oliver, he will award you with 6,500 credits and unlimited access to the Paradiso Resort. You will have the option to ask for more credits, but doing so will result in you receiving nothing.