Unearthed is one of the last main quests that you will do in Starfield, and one with a game-changing quest. In this mission, you will be visiting Earth to learn just how destructive the artifacts can be when used by humans. In addition, you will be asked to make your critical decision after the truth of Earth’s fate is revealed. The guide below goes through how to find the truth about Earth and who you should side with for the final battle in Starfield.

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You will be exploring NASA during the Unearthed mission.

How to Start Unearthed¶

Unearthed is one of the three quests that pop up after you have completed In Their Footsteps. After speaking to the emissary on the ship, the quest will pop-up. She tells you that following the clues will help you uncover why the artifacts are so dangerous in the first place. This is a medium-length quest, and you will likely want to do Missed Beyond Measure and Final Glimpses first as you can’t complete Unearthed until they are done.

How to Uncover The Truth About Earth at NASA¶

Once you are ready to take on Unearthed, you will be heading to Earth’s moon, Luna. You will land at the Nova Galactica Research Station, don’t worry as it’s abandoned and no enemies will appear to attack you. Go inside and grab the five slates, they are marked and easy to find. Once that’s done, you just have to go up to the roof and use the marked machine to play the recording. This will tell you that your real objective is inside of NASA on Earth. Head back to your ship and fly down to NASA.

You will have to walk a bit to get to NASA, but it has a towering structure so there’s no way to get lost. Once you’re there, make your way up the tower by using boxes and stairs. You are headed for the elevator up top. When you get there, follow the wires to the power source, pick up the nearby power cell on the ground, slot it in, and return to the elevator to go inside of NASA.

Your first task is to look at a computer with a log about a Mars delivery. Once you’re done there, head deeper inside, you will briefly walk through the NASA museum and then go deeper towards their labs. Follow the marker to Judith’s personal recording and then proceed, you will come to a room on top of a slope that’s sealed due to a missing power cell. Head across the room down the nearby stairs and you will see a power cell. Pick it up and place it in the power slot to open the door. Once you go through it, you will soon find yourself in a room with a robot that was being worked on.

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(1 of 19) Head to Luna the Moon of Earth.

You will be attacked by several robots and turrets here, take them all out. Once you are done, find the sealed door, follow the power wire to find the switch, and open the door. Keep pressing on to find another computer, this time you will learn about a few key dates in NASA history. Proceed forward, and you will enter a room without gravity. You will want to float down to the bottom of the room and go through the door into the room with the artifact. On the bottom left wall of that room, is another door, go through it and you will make your way up to the second floor. Inside you will find a body and a new computer to explore. It will reveal the true nature of using the power of the artifact.

Hit the large red button near the body and grab the Maintenance Key. The artifact will now be obtainable. Use the connected room to make your way back to the artifact and grab it. From here on out Starborn will materialize in and attack you. Your goal is to make your way back out of NASA. Follow the path you took back, a quest marker will help guide you out of the building dealing with any enemies along the way. Once you are outside, the marker will move out into the desert as the Hunter and Emissary are waiting for you to make your final decision.

Should You Side With The Emissary, The Hunter, or Neither?¶

We highly recommend you save the game here in case you have second thoughts about the game-changing choice that you are about to make. You will now speak with the Hunter and Emissary about your findings. After talking with them, you will be asked who to side with, there are three choices.

• The Hunter
• The Emiarry
• Neither

Keep in mind that agreeing with the Hunter’s points during this conversation will cause allies that are following you to lose affinity. The character that you pick will help you face the other during the final battle of the game. In all honesty, neither one of them is a bad choice as they are both equally useful. The big change is that you will need to kill Keeper Aquilus or convince him to hide away so that the Hunter will help you and think that he is dead. In addition, you will get a different legendary weapon depending on who you defeat in the final battle. If you defeat the Hunter you will get the Unmitigated Violence Laser Rifle. If you defeat the Emissary, they drop the Eternity’s Gate Particle Beam Rifle.

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(1 of 3) You will need to speak with the Hunter and Emissary to choose whether to side with one of them or fly solo.

If you want both items, then you can choose to side with neither, but then you will be fighting them both at the same time. You should only do this if you are confident in your combat skills. You can bring a follower to the final battle, but it still will be tough to take them both down. Once you’ve decided, you will either be asked to complete Final Glimpses if you haven’t already done so or you can go on to the second to last mission Revelation.