The achievements forStarfield’sShattered SpaceDLC have appeared on Steam ahead of the game’s release, revealing more about what players will be able to do in the upcoming expansion.Shattered Spaceis known to focus mainly onStarfield’s greatest mystery, the clandestine House Va’ruun. But it’s still shrouded in mystery: beyond cryptic teasers that promise to tie back into the origins of House Va’ruun, players are mostly still in the dark about what’s actually supposed to happen in the DLC.
[Warning: This article containsspoilers for Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC.]
But with the achievements now available on Steam ahead ofShattered Space’s September 30 launch date - just over a year after the base game’s release -players can get a look at some of the DLC’s mission titles. Achievement graphics also provide a lot of hints. Online speculation is the final ingredient in this predictive stew; player insights and theories founded on their experiences with the base game contribute greatly to expectations for the DLC.
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Shattered Space’s New Locations
Shattered Space’s achievement list was posted to Reddit byTERAB1T, provoking near-endless player speculation on what the mysterious titles could mean. One of them, however, is abundantly clear just from its description. The achievement, called “The Great Unknown,” requires players to visit 50 different locations on Va’ruun’kai, House Va’ruun’s home world. This has long since been suspected to be the main setting of the DLC, but this achievement confirms that theory.Players will not only be able to visit Va’ruun’kai, but also to wander around it as an open world, discovering points of interest as on any other planet.
It’s unknown whetherShattered Spacewill feature any other new planets, but it is believed to feature at least one new space station. Another achievement, however, suggestsa new city, alongside what may be a grand final dungeon: “The Scaled Citadel.” PerStarfield’s base lore, this is known to be the palace of House Va’ruun’s sitting leader, located in the hidden city of Dazra. This will probably be the main settlement players visit in the DLC, where they trade their goods and upgrade their ship parts. Voice over in early trailers forShattered Spaceinstructs the player character to “restore the Citadel,” so working to gain access to this fortress may be a major goal of the DLC.
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Vortex Horrors & Va’ruunian Theology
The newly-revealedShattered Spaceachievements also seem to reveal thatStarfield’s DLC will have players contacting ghosts from the past. One of these, called “The Other Side,” has a blue, ghostly icon. This seems to allude to the use of “the other side” to describe an afterlife - usually one with ghostly connotations. However, considering this in concert with certain other achievements, there may be more to this one than meets the eye.
Other achievements (“Facing Your Fears” and “Five of a Kind,” to be exact)mention vortices in one context or another. “Facing Your Fears” references something called a Vortex Horror, requiring players to defeat at least 25. These are probably the ghostly Terrormorph-like enemy seen in the DLC’s first trailer. “Five of a Kind” references Vortex Grenades - more on those later. “Savior of the Promised” has a logo that looks something like a vortex. This appears to be the final achievement received for completing the DLC, as its description reads, “Aid the people of Va’ruun’kai.”
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These details, coupled with a shot from aShattered Spacetrailer that shows a character standing in front of what could definitely be described as a vortex, seem to suggest thatplayers will contact another world through a vortex inStarfield’s DLC. What exactly is beyond that vortex remains to be seen. It could be the past, and the founders of Va’ruun; it could be another universe; it could be the Great Serpent itself.
Some players, likeNo-Barracuda-7071theorize that the “Conflict in Conviction” achievement suggests a religious schism.Players may have to choose sides in this conflict, which may affect the outcome of certain story missions, or even the DLC as a whole. Either way, something to do with that vortex will likely represent an existential threat to the people of Va’ruun’kai. Players will fight enemies like the Redeemed - quite possibly the ghostly Va’ruun adherents who appear in that same trailer - and delve into its mysterious past in order to save the people of Va’ruun’kai.
Other than that,the achievements reference the titles of four additional story missions, although it’s difficult to glean just what they’re about from their titles alone. Nevertheless, the missions and achievements alike are called “What Remains,” “The Promised, Broken,” “Zealous Overreach,” and “Exhuming the Past.” The first, “What Remains,” looks to be an early mission in the DLC - its logo depicts a sattlelite, which could be the source of the distress call that begins the DLC. “Exhuming the Past” probably relates to the ghosts of the vortex, but the true meanings of “Zealous Overreach” and “The Promised, Broken” remain to be seen.
Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC Will Feature New Crafting Options & More
What Are Vortex Grenades, Anyway?
Another achievement revealed forShattered Space, “Five of a Kind,” as stated above, references a new item called a Vortex Grenade. It’s not clear exactly what this is, but one thing is for sure:players will be able to craft them. Perhaps their name implies they’ll be able to draw enemies in, creating a kind of gravitational vortex that can be used to lock multiple foes in a single place. Or maybe they’re just regular old grenades that happen to come from beyond a vortex. These may come along with additional new crafting options made available by the abundance of different materials beneath Va’ruun’kai’s surface.
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The achievement’s name and description also imply the existence offive different kinds of Vortex Grenades. Again, the specifics of these different types are unclear: they could refer to different levels of potency, different kinds of elemental damage, or a combination of the two.
But these finer details will have to wait.Shattered Spaceis due for release on September 30, so players have plenty of time to speculate before the DLC finally reveals its own truth. Until then, much ofStarfield’s first DLC will remain a mystery.
Sources:TERAB1T/Reddit,No-Barracuda-7071/Reddit
Starfield
Bethesda Game Studios presents Starfield - the first original IP from the studio in twenty-five-plus years. Set in the year 2310, the United Colonies and Freestar Collective are observing a shaky truce after a war set 20 years prior. The player will customize their character as a member of a space exploration team called Constellation while navigating The Settled Systems and the conflicts between the warring factions. According to Bethesda, players can explore over 100 systems and 1000 planets to find resources and build their ships, living out their own sci-fi journeys.
