Starfield: How to get the Star Eagle ship and complete the Freestar Collective quest line
A step-by-step guide to getting your hands on Starfield's Star Eagle ship
How do you get the Starfield Star Eagle ship? In Starfield, the Star Eagle is one of several Starfield free ships you can get in the game. But, if you're just now digging into the game, you may not know how to go about getting this ship, which is a great ship to obtain early in the game and will make your life easier as you traverse the Settled Systems.
The Starfield Star Eagle is relatively easy to get and requires completing the Freestar Collective quest line and becoming a Freestar Ranger. This means there are several steps involved in getting this coveted ship. Below, we'll break down the basics of what you need to do to get the Star Eagle and will then go into more detail about how to complete each step in the quest line.
How to get the Starfield Star Eagle ship
You can get the Star Eagle by completing the Freestar Collective quest line. The Freestar Collective quest line requires you to complete several missions, which are as follows:
- Job Gone Wrong
- Deputized
- Where Hope is Built
- Shadows in Neon
- Surgical Stike
- On The Run
- First to Fight, First to Die
- The Hammer Falls
We've given you a brief overview of the different components of this mission below, but before that, let's dig into what makes the Star Eagle such a big deal.
Starfield Star Eagle ship overview
- Fuel: 140
- Hull: 948
- Shields: 760
- Grav drive: 16LY
- Cargo: 2500
- Reactor: 29
- Crew: 5
One of the best things about Starfield's Star Eagle is that you can get it early in the game, and it's free, meaning you won't have to spend your hard-earned credits on it.
It also has great weapons and tons of cargo capacity, making things much easier on you as you fight enemy ships, build outposts and collect resources on various planets. It's a class A ship, meaning you can pilot it without leveling up piloting skills. It's 29 reactor means you can have a ton of variation in how you choose to allocate your reactor points. And, while it does require some work to attain it, it's well worth the effort you put into the endeavor (plus, you'll end the questline with plenty of extra credits, too).
If this all sounds appealing to you, here are more details on the steps you need to take to earn the Star Eagle.
Freestar Collective quest line
You can kick off the Freestar Collective quest line by talking to Sam Cole in The Lodge in New Atlantis. While this is not a direct quest step, it will take you to Akila City in the Cheyenne system to trigger the quest line. You can also head straight to Akila City without first talking to Sam.
Job Gone Wrong
You'll encounter as you walk through Akila City. If possible, try to beat it without hurting any of the hostages. You will initially have the option to persuade the bank robbers to free the hostages. If this is unsuccessful, you'll have the option to enter the front door or the back door. If you enter through the back door, you can eliminate the robbers without harming the hostages. If you harm the hostages, note that you may face consequences that render you unable to join the Freestar Rangers and complete the questline. If the robbers hurt the hostages, you will receive less praise but can still continue the quest line.
Once you have completed Job Gone Wrong and collected your reward, the game will direct you to another part of Akila City where you can speak with Ranger Emma Wilcox.
Deputized
This step requires you to earn your place in the Freestar Collective by completing a mission from the Freestar Collective mission board. You can find the mission board near Ranger Wilcox on the second floor of The Rock in Akila City. You may wish to choose an easy mission with a lower credit reward, as it will likely be easier to complete and will allow you to move more quickly through the quest line.
Once you complete this, return to Ranger Wilcox. She will invite you to join the Freestar Collective and reward you with a pistol, uniform, badge, and hat. Wilcox will then direct you to a farmer on Montara Luna. Follow the quest to the Waggoner Farm and speak with Mikaela Waggoner. Use your scanner to follow the footsteps so you can enter the canyon, but prepare to face the Swaming Sunflowers and other aggressive wildlife along away. Eliminate the enemies and head to the Ruffian camp. Once you defeat the Ruffian Leader, search the body to find the "Job's Done" data slate and return to the farm to speak with Waggoner again. After, you'll then head back to Wilcox.
Where Hope is Built
Meet with Marshal Daniel Blake to show him the "Job's Done" data slate. Blake will direct you to Nia Kalu on Polvo in the Valo system. Kalu will send you on a quick mission to patch up her ship, at which point you'll learn there are outlaws headed toward Miatha, the moon of Polvo. Defeat them in a space battle, then head to HopeTown on Polvo to find Kalu.
Kalu will introduce you to Ron Hope, the leader of HopeTech. Ask him questions to learn about the stolen ship. You'll then learn that someone has spotted the ship landing on Neon. On your way out of HopeTown, you'll speak to Nia again, who will tell you to speak to Ranger Jaylen Pryce when you reach Neon.
Shadows in Neon
Head to Neon and meet Ranger Price. Pryce will then direct you to an informant named Billy Clayton. You can get Clayton to tell you everything you need to know, but you'll also have the option to confront a loan shark named Emmet Goodman, who is threatening Billy. Regardless of which choice you make, Billy will tell you Grace Early is the one who stole the ship, and you can find Grace at Madame Sauvage's Place. Get her to tell you about who hired her to steal the ship, and she will hand you an encrypted data slate.
Head back to Akila City and give the slate to Alex Shadid to decrypt and receive your reward. You'll then have the option to continue with the Surgical Strike or On the Run missions. It doesn't matter what order you complete them, but you must do both to proceed.
Surgical Strike
Marshal Blake will instruct you to go the The Clinic to find a suspect named Maya Cruz. Find this in the Narion System. Speak to Ranger Ben Armistead, who will then lead you to Ari Miller. If you have the Security skill, you can bypass the interrogations and hack directly into the system. However, if you do not, you'll learn you must speak with patients Jane Nakamori and Candace Doolin, one of these being an alias for Maya Cruz.
This process will lead you toward the VIP wing. You can either persuade the doctor to let you into the VIP wing or steal a keycard from the doctor or the safe in the doctor's office.
Enter the VIP wing. Then, pick up the data slate in the hospital room, which will explain how Cruz has fled to Sakharov. You can also access logs at a terminal for more information about Cruz.
Head to Sakharov and the Eklund Site CL25. Be wary of Cruz's traps, using your scanner to detect and avoid them. At the end of this sequence, you'll then have to take on Cruz. Whether you fight her or let her live, you'll need to get the encrypted slate from her, which you'll then return to Alex Shadid in Akila City.
On the Run
This mission will take you to The Red MIle in the Porrima System. Find Autumn MacMillan at the bar and, following her lead, talk to Jade. You'll then need to find Mei Devine and run the Red Mile. This is a challenging feat, so ensure you have plenty of aid items and equip your best gear, particularly if it offers environmental advantages against the cold. Use the workbenches you encounter to upgrade your gear as needed. For this, our run involved running as quickly as possible and avoiding the wildlife to the extent possible. Don't forget to loot the areas as you press the button at the halfway point of the mission, as there are some solid goodies in there that you can even equip to help you through the final leg of your run.
Once you complete this, you'll again talk to Mei, who will direct you to Marcos Graziani on Codos. You can either fight him or agree to his deal, but either way, you must obtain an encrypted slate, which you can then return to Alex in Akiva City.
First to Fight, First to Die
Talk to Marshal Blake and Ranger Wilcox, and Alex will return to you with the data from the encrypted data slates. The quest will then send you to Arcturus II, where you'll face six enemy ships. You'll have to take down numerous enemies, so stock on ammo and health items and equip your best gear. Once you land, enter the factory, defeat the enemies, and take down the leader, who will give you a data slate and reveal that the CEO of HopeTown was behind the entire operation.
The Hammer Falls
Travel back to HopeTown in the Valo system to confront Ron Hope and explain to them that you have evidence that Hope hired the First Cavalry to clear out the farms on Montara Luna. You'll learn how deep the conspiracy goes and have to choose Hope's fate. No matter what you choose, you'll head back to Akila City to talk to Marshal Blake. You'll become an official Freestar Ranger at this point, which means you're entitled to a Star Eagle ship. Access it by going to a ship services technician (or the outpost shipbuilder at your large landing pad if you have one), where you can assign it as your home ship.
Now that you're piloting the Star Eagle, you may want to check out our guide to learn about the best Starfield ships. And, if you want to see a master list of all the ships we've found in the game so far, check out our Starfield ships guide for a master list so you can explore all your options.