Wiki · Guides · Full Walkthrough

Chapter-by-Chapter Walkthrough

Major spoilers · This guide covers the full narrative arc. Play the game first if you want the discovery experience.

Prologue — Verge Station, Gate 17

The game opens with you at Gate 17 of Verge Station, receiving a suspicious cargo assignment from the automated dispatcher. Three options:

Take the run — Skips the child encounter entirely. Not recommended for a first playthrough.
Peek inside the crate ✓ — The recommended path. Reveals Lyra and opens all three branching choices.
Walk away — Alternative path where the Rift finds you regardless.

If you peek, save the child. This is the single most important decision in the game. See Save the Child for details.

Chapter 1 — Keros-4 and Vex

After the prologue, you fly to Keros-4 and meet Vex. Her encounter has three main outcomes:

Listen and understand ✓ — Recommended. +50 Vex reputation, opens Guardian alliance.
Combat — Tough fight at Chapter 1 level. Kills Vex in this branch only.
Refuse — Neutral path. Still progresses the story.

Secondary Chapter 1 objectives: bank 20,000-30,000cr through cargo trade, hire Mara Voss at Verge Station, visit Keros-7 to meet the Traveling Merchant. Consider the Missing Pilot side quest at V-77 for a legendary relic.

Chapter 2 — Elder Sera Sanctum

Chapter 2 brings you to the Guardian Sanctum in the Silent Rift. Major decisions:

Accept or refuse Vex's gift (the Vex Prism) — Accepting is recommended for most endings.
Commit to the Guardian alliance — Reputation-gated; reaching +60 unlocks Guardian ships.
Ritual of Seventeen Mirrors — At +80 Guardian reputation, optional but grants the Guardian Fragment relic.

Chapter 2 is also when you can upgrade to a Rare-tier ship (Guardian Skiff, Gunship MK-II, or Corvette). If you saved the child, "The Child" becomes available as free crew here. Bank credits to 75,000+ for Chapter 3.

Chapter 3 — The Three Leads

Chapter 3 presents three leads, each taking you to a different region. You can pursue only one per playthrough:

Lead A: Black Fleet Reach — Takes you to the Black Site. Main reward: partial Starforge coordinates. Major decision: the wired Guardian prisoner.
Lead B: Silent Rift (Oracle) ✓ — Recommended cleanest path. Exact Starforge coordinates but costs a memory.
Lead C: The Keros Wreck — Finds a dead version of yourself with cryptic warnings. Partial coordinates plus the Rift Phantom encounter.

Lead B is canonically the "intended" path for first playthroughs. The other leads offer different insights and different difficulties. All three eventually converge on the Chapter 4 approach.

Chapter 4 — The Starforge Chamber

Chapter 4 is the approach to the Starforge in the Silent Rift. The chapter's critical moment is the "temptation" scene (c4_temptation) where the four endings are offered:

Prune the tree → Rift branches ending
Walk away → Multiverse ending
Take another branch → Another Life ending (requires a pruned branch where you took the prologue bribe)
Burn the tree → End of History ending

Each ending is gated by specific prerequisites. See All Endings for the full requirements. Chapter 4 also contains optional boss encounters with the Rift Phantom (if not already encountered) and the Starforge sentinel.

Chapter 5 — Epilogue

Chapter 5 is the epilogue of whichever ending you chose. Each ending has its own Chapter 5 scene set that extends the narrative into the aftermath. If you own a paid epilogue expansion, Chapter 5 is significantly extended with additional content, characters, and sometimes new systems to explore.

After completing Chapter 5 for the first time, the Starforge ship becomes available for purchase in the Trunk Chamber (1,200,000cr). You can continue playing in the completed branch or revisit to explore alternate endings.

Recommended full-game path

Prologue: save the child
Chapter 1: listen to Vex, trade cargo, hire Mara Voss and Brood-7
Chapter 2: alliance with Guardians, accept Vex Prism, upgrade to Rare-tier ship
Chapter 3: Lead B (Oracle), accept the memory trade
Chapter 4: prune the tree → Rift branches ending
Chapter 5: accept the job, see the photograph

This path produces the highest-content first playthrough. Subsequent runs should revisit to explore other endings.

New Game Plus considerations

After completing any ending, starting a new playthrough carries forward: ship fleet, purchased epilogues, cosmetics, and achievement progress. Credits reset. Reputation resets. Story progress resets but the branch tree remembers all prior branches as ghost branches. Vex and the Oracle recognize returning players and deliver modified dialogue.