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One ofStarfield’stwo main faction quests explores your path to becoming aRangerof the Freestar Collective. Tracking and tangling with a dangerous mercenary group is only the beginning of your trials. As your very first investigation starts to unravel wide-ranging corruption and coverups, there are some difficult choices to be made.
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The most difficult and consequential choices in this storyline revolve around Ron Hope, CEO of HopeTech and notable member of the Freestar Collective’s Council of Governors. How you interact and deal with Hope can have several short and long term implications for your game.
Where Hope Is Built
Ron Hope’s connection toyour investigationemerges almost as soon as you receive your Deputy badge. Your trial mission under Ranger Emma Wilcox leads to the Waggoner Farm on Montara Luna. That’s where you discover the mercenaries who’ve paid a thief to steal a ship straight out of HopeTech’s factory.
Then Marshall Blake sends you to Polvo, in theValo system, to meet Ron Hope himself and get some answers. After helping out the local Ranger, Nia Kalu, with some Spacers, she’ll introduce you to Hope and your first choices become available.
First Meeting With Ron Hope
As CEO of his own company and Governor of an entire planet, Ron Hope definitely wants you to understand his perspective during your first encounter. This essentially boils down totwo points:
Any disagreement with him on either of these issues will elicit a nasty reply from Hope, in which he’ll repeat his position. He’ll also threaten to take up the matter with Marshall Blake if you refuse to see things his way.
Besides disagreeing with Hope on either of the two points, you can either suck up to him or simply acknowledge his positions in a neutral manner. Both of these methods will move the conversation along faster. This will also avoid unpleasant outbursts from Hope.
Consequences
The only real difference that your choices can make regarding this first interaction is in how Marshal Blake summarizes your Deputy investigation later on. Once you finish collecting clues from the Freestar Collective’s capital systems, Blake will give you some insight into how you’ve performed.
His reports will mainly concern the views and opinions of fellow Rangers. However, powerful figures like Ron Hope may also have something to say to Marshal Blake, if you cause enough trouble. Disagreeing with Hope during your first interaction will lead to some criticism from Blake, but that’s pretty much the end of it. There are no major consequences beyond some light scolding.
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The Hammer Falls
Continue your investigation long enough, and you’ll wind up back inHopeTown. Unknown to Ron Hope, the leader of the First Cavalry kept a record of Hope’s instructions to attack peaceful farmers on Montara Luna. Armed with this information, your second interaction with Hope leads to 4 different choices.
Second Meeting With Ron Hope
This time you’ll be meeting with Hope outon the factory floor. So, thankfully, no more repeating flights of steps to climb this time. It’s also noticeably pretty far away from the places where innocent employees might be working. Less chance of collateral damage that way.
After informing Ron Hope about the evidence of his crimes, he’ll simultaneously bribe and threaten you. He’ll also plead on behalf of his workers' welfare of all things. This is ironic when considering that the farmers he had killed were also his employees. This is when your choices become available.
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These 4 distinct choices only have vastly difference consequences in the immediate meeting with Hope. Attacking him outright will cause Hope to scream in fear, while attempting to arrest him will lead him to shout for his guards instead. Sparing Ron Hope entirely, instead of taking the bribe, only shorts you whatever credits he would have paid.
There are really only two different outcomes in the end. Once you finish your second meeting with Ron Hope, you’ll need to go back toAkila Cityfor Marshal Blake’s debrief. If you killed Ron Hope, Blake will be pretty upset. However, he’ll admit that your evidence was overwhelming and that you did the right thing in the end.
If you helped Ron Hope cover up his crimes, you won’t have any evidence to return to Marshal Blake with. He’ll still be proud that you defeated the First Cavalry, but he’ll also be left wondering who hired them in the first place. The implication is that Ron Hope may continue his corrupt actions, since he never faced any punishment.
Whatever choices you made, Marshal Blake will still name you a full Ranger. All the gear and awesome free ship are still given out. Random NPCs and SSNN broadcasts will give different details depending on those choices. But there isn’t any consequence which would make or break a game either way.
