Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.

Starfield: Best missions, side missions, and activities in New Atlantis

The first main hub has a lot to offer.

Starfield boasts over 1,000 planets to explore across several star systems. If all this content is making you feel lost, we recommend sticking to New Atlantis for your first few levels. New Atlantis is the first big hub city that you visit and the base of the Constellation organization. The planet Jemison is big enough to explore the wilderness and the city limits to find several different quests and activities.

Recommended Videos

With everything you can do in New Atlantis, it can be daunting to know where to start. To make it easier, we have made a list of all the best things you can do during your time on planet Jemison.

Best Starfield missions and activities in New Atlantis

New Atlantis is the biggest city on Jemison in the Alpha Centauri star system. As the main base of the Constellation and the capital city of the United Colonies faction, you will end up meeting a lot of quirky characters here and things to do as you explore the city.

The best missions and activities in New Atlantis will be sorted based on the hotspots in the city that you visit. Each hotspot will give you interesting missions with characters that might be involved further in the story later down the line.

GalBank

An image of Landry Hollifeld in GalBank in Starfield.
Landry will start you off on this quest. Image via Bethesda.

GalBank is the most prestigious financial institution in the colonies, which is why it makes sense that they operate a major branch on New Atlantis. While the bank itself functions like any other, talking to the teller Landry Hollifeld will reveal some deeper underlying problems. GalBank has defaulters and Landry tasks you to collect debt from some of them, non-violently if possible.

There are four debtors in this long questline and we begin with Dieter Maliki. To find him, go to Procyon VI-C, a moon of the planet Procyon VI located in the Procyon star system. Landing at the abandoned military post out here will lead you directly to him since he is holed up in here. Either persuade him to pay off his debt or engage in a fight to secure the money.

An image of Dieter Maliki in Starfield.
Dieter Maliki can be persuaded with a silver tongue. Image via Bethesda.

We prefer the non-violent option since it provides you with extra credits at the end of the mission. After you collect it, head back to Landry and talk to him again after you gain the reward to continue this quest. The second debtor is hiding inside a Spacer ship orbiting Washakie, so travel there and hunt him down for a sizeable reward then head back to Landry.

The third debtor is the delinquent daughter of a CEO who refused to pay the bank what she owed. If you follow the lead to her hiding spot, you will find her holed-up hired Spacers who protect her. Take down all the Spacers and make your way to her where she will put up one last stand against you. Your only choice is to kill her and return to Landry with the payment for her debt.

An image of the Delinquent Mercenary in Starfield.
The Delinquent Mercenary might be a special case. Image via Bethesda.

The fourth and final debtor is described as a delinquent mercenary who maxed out his credits from GalBank and absconded. Following his lead will take you to an older man in a solitary bunker who is tired of running from his problems. He tells you he has nothing left to pay the bank with so you can either pay back his debt or kill him. Regardless of the option you choose, the quest line ends here.

Landry will then feel guilty about what he’s been making you do and stop giving you new leads. This is probably the longest and most involved side quest on New Atlantis that we have experienced so far.

Settled Systems News Network

An image of the reporter Nadia Muffaz looking at the player character in Starfield.
Nadia Muffaz is the most authentic reporter you can find. Image via Bethesda.

The SSN Network quest titled “A Light in the Darkness” is a quest you can pick up when you first get to New Atlantis. Running down the ramp from the Spaceport will lead you to Tommy Bitlow. He will tell you to talk about the Vectera incident to a trustworthy SSN reporter named Nadia Muffaz. Head to the SSN Network station to begin this quest.

When you talk to Nadia and inform her of the events that took place on Vectera, you can choose to tell her the direct truth or embellish the story a little bit. Whatever version you give her will be the version that gets printed, so be careful with what you say. She will then tell you to help with doing more interviews and task you to talk to the inhabitants of The Well.

After talking to the owners of the medical clinic, the electronics store, and the diner, you can head back to Nadia to complete this part of the quest. However, even after completing this part, you will notice that the quest isn’t marked as complete just yet. The next part of the questline simply says “Find News Stories for SSNN” and the quest is marked as ongoing.

This is because “A Light in the Darkness” will continue through Starfield‘s main and side stories. The quest line will take you through some key events.

  • The Galbank robbery on Akila
  • The alien artifact located on The Scow
  • Sysdef’s assault on The Key
  • The New Atlantis Terrormorph attack
  • The death of Ron Hope

As you complete these quests, you can report what happened back to Nadia to progress “A Light in the Darkness” and finally end the quest line with some hefty rewards.

The Lodge

Starfield character standing in The Lodge
The Lodge is now your new home…unless you own a Dream Home. Screenshot by Dot Esports via Bethesda.

The home base of the Constellation is one you will hit pretty early into the game. On your first trip to New Atlantis, you will be led to The Lodge by Vasco based on Barrett’s instructions. Once you get here, you will give them the artifact you found during the opening quest of the game and watch an interesting cutscene about how the artifacts interact with each other.

From this point on, you join Constellation and most of your main quests start from here. Starfield has a total of 19 main quests in its 20-30 hour main questline which starts from The Lodge. Each quest will introduce you to different members of Constellation, most of whom can be recruited as companions to follow you on your journey to bring back all of these mysterious artifacts.

Completing all 19 of these quests will end the main storyline. However, with over 1,000 planets to explore, The Lodge in New Atlantis is just the start of your explorative journey amongst the stars.

The Well

An image of the NPC Louisa Reyez in conversation with the player character in Starfield.
Louisa will get you started with this quest. Image via Bethesda.

Two major side quests in The Well involve you rerouting the power supply and finding out who has been tapping into the power sources down here. The first quest, appropriately titled “Tapping the Grid” will begin once you get down to The Well and find Louisa Reyez who typically waits across the medbay down here. Talk to her to get the quest going.

Louisa will tell you about the brownouts happening as a result of the power fluctuations going on. She will then direct you to four different junction boxes that have to be recalibrated to get the power supply flowing normally again. Follow the quest markers to get to all four of them and eventually complete the quest when you meet Louisa in the Trade Authority building.

This is where the next quest titled “Alternating Currents” begins. This quest will take you to a new set of junction boxes assigned to you by the Trade Authority administrator Zoe Kaminski. This set is a little trickier than before, with the source of the brownouts being above ground. Follow the path and get into the apartment of the offender, then download the proof of his involvement.

From this point on, you can either hand the proof over to Louisa or Zoe, depending on your alignment. We found out that neither choice had a bigger consequence than the other, so go with your gut on this one.

UC Vanguard

Image of a large, steel building with the word 'MAST' spelled out on the front.
The UC Vanguard building is in the MAST district. Screenshot by Dot Esports via Bethesda.

The final questline of note is joining the United Colonies Vanguard as a cadet, then making your way up to the top of the ladder. This questline starts when you first get to the UC Vanguard building and talk to Commander John Tuala. Doing this will lead to him recruiting you to join the ranks of the UC Vanguard. Accepting his proposal will take you through a training session.

As you make your way to the session, you will go through the UC Vanguard building. There is an optional section where you can learn about the history of humanity from when space travel was invented until the collapse of Earth. Once you get through this section, strap in for your simulated flight exam. This exam can take you up to six levels of difficulty, of which you only need to complete three.

When you complete the minimum requirements, you join the UC Vanguard and are assigned to a mission immediately. After your initial Terrormorph encounter, you are fully recruited into the ranks of the United Colonies. From this point forward, you will have to complete eight more quests in succession to complete the UC Vanguard questline.


Dot Esports is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Anish Nair
Anish Nair
Freelance gaming writer for Dot Esports. An avid gamer of 25 years with a soft spot for RPGs and strategy games. Esports writer for 2 years and a watcher for 12 years. Aspiring author. Dad to a host of animals. Usually found trying to climb ranks in Dota 2, plundering the seas in Sea of Thieves, hunting large monsters in Monster Hunter World, or mining rare minerals in Deep Rock Galactic.