Embark on your galactic journey with Starfield’s gripping first mission, “One Small Step,” where you start as a humble miner on the moon of Vectera before uncovering a mysterious artifact that propels you into a vast cosmic adventure. Follow Supervisor Lin through treacherous mines, fend off pirate attacks, and navigate your first starship battles as you take your inaugural leap into the expansive universe of Starfield on PC and Xbox.
In “One Small Step,” you’ll create your character and take to the stars for the very first time. In this Starfield walkthrough, we’ll take you through the objectives for “One Small Step” and help you understand the outcomes of some of your decisions before you make them.
A possible bug at launch is that players are sometimes unable to follow the scanner. If this happens to you, we recommend returning to orbit and waiting by passing time. Consider shutting the game off and launching it fresh as well, just in case.
Also, when you make to re-land on the planet, be absolutely sure you’re picking the Scanner Anomaly Site. If you land anywhere else by accident, the temple won’t appear on the map and you won’t be able to find it.
Work your mining job
At the start of the “One Small Step” quest in Starfield, you begin your mining job at the Argos Extractors Mining Outpost on the Moon of Vectera. After exiting the elevator, follow Supervisor Lin as she guides you through the mine. You will be directed to pick up a Cutter from a nearby crate, which is essential for mining mineral deposits. Using the Cutter, collect five marked Beryllium deposits scattered around the cave walls by aiming and firing at them until they break. Once you have gathered all the minerals, return to Supervisor Lin to continue the mission. This initial mining task serves as a tutorial to get familiar with movement, interaction, and resource gathering in the game.
You’ll first gain partial control of your character on a dusty elevator delving into the depths of a space mine on a world called Vectera. You’ll immediately meet Supervisor Lin – who runs the mining operation – and her smart/dumb-ass companion, Heller. These two will be your first guides into the world of Starfield.
Follow Supervisor Lin
Once the elevator stops, follow Lin and Heller for a classic Bethesda walk-and-talk. You don’t need to interact with anything here, so just enjoy the ambiance.
Collect Mineral Deposits // Return to Supervisor Lin
Eventually, Lin will tell you to pick up a Cutter, which you can use to mine rocks. Head down the corridor toward your objective marker and shoot the laser at the glowing rocks.
Once you’ve gathered all the Beryllium, Lin will summon you back to her. Talk to her when you exit your mining cavern.
Follow Supervisor Lin // Explore the cavern
Follow Lin and Heller deeper into the cave once the big machine moves out of the way. Continue along the main path when Lin and Heller send you off on your own. Go up the ramp and into the small cavern.
Break up the deposits // Take the strange object
Walk up to the strange anomaly in the cavern – the one covered in floating, silver rocks. Use the Cutter to clear the strange material away from the embedded artifact.
Once the artifact is clear of rubble, grab it. You’ll suffer a vision of some strange celestial bodies and pass out.
Creating your character
Creating your character in Starfield begins shortly after the initial mission “One Small Step,” where you awaken in a med bay with your memory wiped. The character creation system is comprehensive, allowing you to customize your character across five main areas: Biometric ID, Body, Face, Background, and Traits. You start by selecting a Biometric ID from 40 presets, which serves as a base model. Then you can fine-tune your body shape, skin tone, and walk style, followed by detailed adjustments to facial features such as hair, eyes, and jawline. Choosing a Background is crucial as it grants three starting skills that influence your gameplay style, with options ranging from Chef to Bounty Hunter. Finally, you select up to three Traits that further define your character’s abilities and interactions. While appearance can be changed later at Genetics facilities, Background and Traits are permanent choices that shape your Starfield experience.
When you wake up in the infirmary, you’ll find Lin and Heller standing over you, concerned. They’ll then ask you a little about yourself, prompting you to create your character.
Take your time here to really perfect your avatar, as you’ll be seeing them all the time if you play in third-person (and in your menu even if you don’t).
Backgrounds
First you’ll need to pick a background. It will determine how players initially refer to you, and it will give you three starting skills. Our guide on what background to choose can help, if you’re stumped.
Traits
Traits are completely optional trade-offs. You can choose up to three but you can also choose zero. Some of these come with cool things like your own house that comes complete with a mortgage you have to pay. Traits can be more impactful in minute-to-minute gameplay than your background, but you can remove traits you regret later in the game, so don’t stress about this too much either. Our guide on what traits to choose can help.
Surviving the space pirates
During the “Surviving the Space Pirates” segment of the “One Small Step” quest in Starfield, players face their first combat challenge against the Crimson Fleet pirates. After equipping a pistol and ammo found nearby, players must take cover and systematically eliminate the attacking pirates with the help of allies. This initial battle serves as an introduction to Starfield’s combat mechanics, including weapon use and cover tactics. Once the pirates are defeated, players board the ship loaned by Barrett and prepare for space combat, where they will face more Crimson Fleet ships, learning to manage ship weapons and shields. Successfully surviving these encounters is crucial to progressing in the quest and continuing the adventure to the planet Kreet.
Once you finish creating your character, Lin will tell you that a buyer is headed to Vectera to buy the artifact you found. She wants you to talk to them.
Follow Lin // Meet with the client
Follow your boss outside and wait for Barrett to touch down and greet you. (If you want to get a leg-up on the upcoming combat encounter, you can grab a pistol out of the box just before you reach the ramp up to the landing platform.)
Once he lands, talk to Barrett about your experience with the artifact.
Hold off the pirates // Talk to Barrett
Mid-conversation with Barrett, you’ll be attacked by space pirates. You can fend them off just fine with your pistol, but know that you can also find an automatic Maelstrom rifle on the dead bodies – feel free to upgrade mid-combat.
Once the pirates are dead, Barrett will lend you the Frontiership and direct his robot companion, Vasco, to follow you. He asks you to return to the Lodge.
Board the ship
Board your new ship and learn all about navigating the stars.
Learning to fly
In the “Learning to Fly” section of the “One Small Step” quest in Starfield, players receive a tutorial on piloting their spaceship shortly after taking off from the planet. Vasco, the robot companion, guides you through the basics of controlling the ship, including accelerating with the engine, managing shields, and avoiding hull damage. This segment also introduces space combat, where you engage and defeat pirate ships using your ship’s weapons like the Gatling Laser and missiles. After defeating the initial attackers, you loot their wrecks before facing additional enemies. Successfully completing this tutorial prepares you for navigating the vastness of space and progressing to the next objectives in the mission.
Once you’re done poking around Barrett’s stuff, head to the cockpit and take off into space. Here, the game will teach you all about allocating the power systems on your ship and give you some mild combat to test your mettle.
Take off from Vectera // Learn to fly
Before you get to the real flying tutorial, the game will teach you how to take off from a planet and reach orbit. Follow the prompts.
Once in space, the game will walk you through powering up your various flight systems and moving around in orbit. Follow the prompts again.
(Optional) Power up all systems to skip tutorial
If you already know what you’re doing, you can power up all your systems (including the Grav Jump) and instantly skip the rest of the ship tutorial.
Deal with the Crimson Fleet
If you don’t skip the tutorial, you’ll be attacked by more space pirates and will need to deal with them via ship-to-ship combat. After you’ve finished your encounter, make sure to fly around and collect the loot from the space pirates’ destroyed hulls.
Hunt down the space pirates
During the “One Small Step” quest in Starfield, after completing the initial mining and exploration tasks, you will face an encounter with the Crimson Fleet space pirates. Prepare by grabbing a pistol and ammo from a nearby gun case, as you will need to defend yourself in this straightforward but pivotal battle. Take cover and eliminate the pirates with the help of allies before boarding your ship with the robot Vasco. This marks your first experience piloting a spaceship and engaging in space combat, including fighting off more Crimson Fleet ships in orbit. Successfully defeating the pirate leader and their fleet is essential to progressing the mission and traveling to the next objective on the planet Kreet.
Once you deal with them on Vectera and in space, you’ll need to get to the root of the space pirate problem by hunting them down on their home planet.
Travel to Kreet // Land at the Kreet Research Base
Open your map and use the star chart to travel to Kreet, the home of the local space pirate chapter.
Once you’re in orbit around Kreet, select the Kreet Research Lab either in the map menu or by using your ship’s scanner on the planet. Land and prepare yourself for some combat (thankfully you’ll have Vasco the robot for backup).
Make your way toward the research station, but feel free to take a second to check out some of the alien life and collect some resources.
Deal with the Crimson Fleet Captain // Return to the ship
Inside the building you’ll find quite a few space pirates. Take them out and follow the objective marker up to the roof. When you reach the top you’ll encounter Captain Brogan. This is where Starfield will try and teach you how to persuade NPCs to do what you want and avoid violence. You can either do that or you and Vasco can murder the captain and his goons. (If you fail to persuade the captain, the encounter ends in violence anyway.)
However you resolve the captain problem, head back to your ship (remember you can fast travel to it instantly if you’re not encumbered).
The first meeting at The Lodge
At The Lodge in the MAST District, you meet the other members of Constellation during a significant and lengthy conversation. Here, you place the mysterious artifact on the table alongside two others, triggering an impressive light show. This moment leads to a key dialogue with Sarah Morgan, Chairwoman of Constellation, marking the conclusion of the “One Small Step” mission and setting the stage for the next main quest, “The Old Neighborhood.” Upon completion, you receive important rewards including the Constellation backpack and the Key to The Lodge, solidifying your place among the explorers.
Now that the space pirates are out of the way, it’s time to fulfill your promise to Barrett and head to the Lodge.
Grav Jump to Jemison // Land at New Atlantis
Once you’re back on your ship, head to orbit and follow the game’s instructions on how to use the Grav Jump feature so you can reach Jemison and New Atlantis city.
When you land on New Atlantis, talk to the shipwright and talk to Vasco.
Go to the Lodge (MAST District)
Follow the objective marker to the tram. This will take you to the MAST District. After your tram arrives, follow the waypoint to the Lodge, where the mysterious organization known as Constellation operates. Use your watch to open the door.
Enter the library // Talk to Sarah // Listen to the meeting
Once your load ends, head into the library and talk to the Constellation crew.
Speak to Sarah Morgan, the woman wearing the red leather jacket, and stand around while you listen to the Constellation characters chat about their organization.
Place the Artifact // Listen to the meeting // Talk to Sarah
Walk up to the console in the middle of the room and place the artifact on the table. This will cause it and the other artifacts Constellation has already found to start spinning in the air together.
Listen to the various responses from the different Constellation members, who are all very excited about this new discovery.
What secrets does the ‘One Small Step’ quest reveal about Starfield’s story
The “One Small Step” quest in Starfield introduces key story elements that set the stage for the game’s expansive narrative. It reveals that the player begins as a miner who discovers a mysterious alien artifact, which triggers their involvement with Constellation, a space exploration organization dedicated to uncovering the secrets of these artifacts. The quest hints at a larger cosmic mystery involving ancient alien technology and the enigmatic “Starborn,” individuals connected to the artifacts and the multiverse. Through placing the artifact on a special table at the Constellation Lodge, players witness a light show and engage with key characters like Sarah, who invite them to join the organization and begin a deeper investigation into the artifacts’ origins and powers. This initial mission thus unveils the foundation of Starfield’s main storyline: a quest to understand alien relics that could unlock gateways to other universes and reshape the fate of humanity.
What does the artifact placement in ‘One Small Step’ suggest about Starfield’s deeper lore
The placement of the artifact in the “One Small Step” quest suggests that Starfield’s deeper lore revolves around mysterious, possibly sentient alien artifacts that are scattered across the galaxy and connected to ancient, advanced civilizations. These artifacts are not merely collectibles but hold significant power and unlock visions that gradually reveal a larger cosmic puzzle. When placed together, they create a link to hidden temples on various planets, hinting at gateways or advanced technologies left behind by these civilizations. The artifacts may even grant special powers or enable new forms of space travel, indicating their pivotal role in uncovering the universe’s secrets and the fate of the “Starborn.” This all points to a storyline where collecting and understanding these artifacts is key to unlocking the mysteries of a hidden alien civilization and the broader multiverse, blending exploration with a deep, unfolding narrative.
