One of the first choices players will make during Starfields Shattered Space DLC is whether to join the mysterious House Va’ruun faction. The whole of Shattered Space Centers on House Va’ruun, a religion that has remained in seclusion on the hidden planet of Va’ruun’kai for centuries. The Shattered Space DLC begins with a distress signal from a space station, which suddenly transports them to the House Va’ruun capital city of Dazra. In the aftermath of a huge explosion, and with a ghostly version of its founder Anasco, the people are not sure what to do.
No one on Va’ruun’kai can hear what the Phantom Anasco is saying, except the player character. As they begin to interpret Anasco’s messages for the people of Dazra, They are declared to be a vessel of the great serpent, and they are asked to enroll in Beit Varun. Here, they are presented with the DLC’s first official choice: should they join House Va’ruun, or refuse the call to adventure?
Can you refuse to join House Va’ruun in Starfield?
What happens if you refuse to join House Va’ruun in Shattered Space
technically, It is entirely possible to refuse to join House Va’ruun in Shattered SpaceBut this prevents the player from continuing with the DLC. There is no permanent choice; If they tell Malibor that they are not interested, Malibor will only hurt and brush them off. Malibor tells them, in so many words, to leave the planet, but that they will surely return when the Great Serpent’s will leads them back to Dazra.
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with this, The DLC grinds to a halt and cannot be restarted until the player finally agrees to join House Va’ruun. In order to deal with the house and officially continue the DLC, they will only need to talk to Malibor at the same place where they arrived at DZRO, and say, “Good. Just tell me where to start.”
The refusal to join House Va’ruun does not affect anything in the wider history of Starfield Or in the DLC itself; When the player eventually comes back and agrees to join, things will proceed much the same as if they had joined immediately. Nor will it affect interactions with House Va’ruun members elsewhere in the galaxy.
Can you play Shattered Space without joining House Va’ruun?
The first major choice of the DLC
unfortunately, No, it is not possible to play Shattered Space In all without joining house Varun. If players refuse the call when Malibor first offers, they will not be able to play any of the main quests or side quests related to Shattered Space. They may be able to find some of the related items during House Varun attacks elsewhere, but they will be locked out of the plot until they agree to join.
however, Players who refuse to join House Va’ruun can still explore parts of Va’ruun’kai If they want. They just won’t get access to any of the related quests, which means they won’t be able to access the full rewards of all their exploration.
Why Shattered Space’s biggest pick doesn’t matter
Joining/Not Joining House Va’ruun has no effect on Starfield
It’s a bit of a shame that there’s no alternative to joining House Woron; This one-sidedness comes to the heart of a common criticism with Starfields first DLC. Shattered Space Often gives players the illusion of choice where there really is none; Whether to join or reject House Va’ruun, kill or spare Sahima, follow or reject Anasko’s teachings. Although the player can technically choose one option or the other, either the results are so ineffective that it makes no difference, or the game trains them in their preferred choice anyway.
Joining House Va’ruun is arguably the biggest choice the player makes for themselves during the DLC; It means surrendering to a whole new philosophy, agreeing to lead an entire planet full of people they’ve never met before. This has the potential to be an engaging, pivotal story momentBut instead, there is still nothing; The player’s decision basically only determines whether they start Shattered Space Now or later.
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Imagine the story tension Which would inevitably come from the isolated people of Va’ruun’kai having to accept help from a complete outsider, or the character growth that could happen as the player slowly immersed himself in the ways of the Great Serpent. There could even be a second faction, a kind of anti-Varun group, or a schismatic sect that split from Orthodoxy, and now he wants to take control of Varun’kai for himself. The multiple paths to progress would have been narratively interesting, lending the DLC the replay value it currently lacks.
So players are pretty much free to say whatever they want at the start of the DLC; Join House Va’ruun if they’re ready to play the DLC right away, or opt out if they’re okay with waiting. While it’s unfortunate that there’s no real decision behind it, for roleplaying purposes, players are free to dream up their own in-character reasons for joining House Va’ruun to make it better with the wider world of Starfield.