The Freestar Collective has given the power of the law to its Rangers, and now,Starfieldplayers can uphold the law and bring justice to an often wild galaxy as a Freestar Ranger. As players proceed through the Freestar Collective quest chain, their time as a Deputy will see a conspiracy unfold before their eyes, one that ultimately ends with The Hammer Falls, marking the last Freestar Collective main quest inStarfield.
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As the finale to the Freestar Collective story, the Deputy has a decision to make in regard to the fate of Ron Hope, the CEO of HopeTech who is beloved bythe Freestar Collectivecitizens for the job opportunities that he provides, and the fact that he is a member of the Council of Governors makes him a powerful man.
Kill Major Paxton Hull
To begin The Hammer Falls mission, players will first need to complete the previous mission, which sees players take on an army of The Firsts, a group of mercenaries with a secret contractor. After mowing down countless enemies, and finally besting their leader, the Colony War veteran Major Paxton Hull, he will confirm secrets that could cause Hope Tech and the Freestar Collective to fall.
After receiving the news of Ron Hope’s involvement in an unfolding conspiracy, players will be forced to kill Major Paxton Hull, thus ending the life of yet another criminal, and war veteran. Now that this matter has been dealt with,players should waste no time, and get themselves to Hopetown.
Travel To Hopetown
Hopetown has been visited by the player before if they are following along the Freestar Collective Faction quests. In fact, it was one of the first locations they would have visited, as they would have needed to question Ron Hope about the stolen ship from his factory. Nevertheless, embarking to the Valo System will find players on the planet Polvo, where they can land at Hopetown.
Now on the planet’s surface, players can rush to Hope Tech and make their way past Ron Hope’s office and into the factory where the workers will be making new ships and devices. Here, Ron Hope is conversing with Birgit, and players can interrupt to finally confront the man behind it all.
Confront Ron Hope
The player can then let Ron Hope know that they have caught him red-handed, and his schemes are over. If Ron wants more evidence, then players can hand over the Slate that Paxton Hull provided players with before his death. This Slate makes Ron Hope defensive about his situation, and he will try to reason, or fight his way out of this, but only after confessing to the truth.
Ron tells the Deputy everything, along with Birgit as a witness. Ron informs the player that Hope Tech was failing to bring in profits, so they created an experimental fertilizer, which wiped out many crop fields. However, he discovered that this fertilizer transformed the soil to bolster the minerals inside. So, they gave the fertilizer to farmers, and ran them off their land, to strip it of the newly mutated minerals. Ron’s despicable act that ran people from their homes, made them sick and even killed them if they refused, makes him a criminal. However, the Deputy hasfree rein over their vision of justicehere, now that they have all the facts.
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Yet, if only things were so easy. Players can converse with Ron Hope for three different outcomes, each with unique effects based on what the player makes. Below, will be these decisions and the outcomes if players kill or spare Ron Hope:
Outcome 1: Accept The Bribe
Ron Hope is a powerful and rich man, one that can spare a few thousand Credits. If players are interested in taking a Bribe, and making sure nobody gets hurt in the process (other than the feelings and pride of their companions), then they can accept Ron Hope’s 20,000 Credit bribe, where they will swear to lie for Ron Hope in the report to the Marshal.
However, players can up the ante even more and enter into a [Negotiation], which could see the playerearn up to a whopping 50,000 Credits. That’s definitely a lot of money, especially so early on into players’Starfieldcareer, but is it worth using the face of the law for monetary gain, and letting Ron Hope get away with it? That’s the player’s call. Companions won’t be happy, but everyone else will be none the wiser, and Ron Hope can continue his business at Hope Tech, promising to never hire mercenaries again.
Outcome 2: Keep Ron Hope’s Secret
Ron Hope refuses to go to prison and allow his reputation to be tarnished in the process. Ron Hope’s crusade makes him dangerous, and he believes that he has power above all else just because he helps provide security and jobs to many people around the galaxy. His status as a respected and loving CEO is under fire, and he won’t allow anyone to sabotage that. Which is exactly why he tries to reason with the player that he’s made a mistake, and it won’t happen again. Ron Hope debates that if the secret gets out, and Ron goes behind bars, countless families will suffer because no one will want to buy from Hope Tech or work with them ever again.
Keeping Ron Hope’s secret is a dark area to walk in, as players have rejected Ron’s bribe, and shown that if he dares try anything like this again, he will see the barrel of a gun, or the inside of a cell.Companions won’t like this outcome, but it’s better than taking a bribe for morality. Ending Ron’s scheme and keeping his secret for the sake of his employees is perhaps the most ‘nothingness’ outcome. Players can return to the Marshal and lie about what happened, whilst Ron fails to see justice for his crime.
Outcome 3: Kill Ron Hope
Unfortunately, players cannot arrest Ron Hope and bring him to justice through the means of a court. Ron Hope refuses to go down without fighting, and if players reject both his bribe and his begging to keep his lie, then they can attack him, and he will turn hostile. As will his security detail. Killing Ron Hope will satisfy the crew ofStarfieldplayers, as they have seen Ron Hope as someone who needs to bebrought to justice in one way or another.
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This is the only outcome in The Hammer Falls that results in violence, andplayers will have no choicebut to fight back. They cannot back down from this battle or reason their way out of it. Violence is the only answer for Ron Hope and the Hope Security team. Once everyone has been killed, players should look for Birgit, who will be hiding and cowering waiting for the gunfire to be over.
Talking to Birgit McDougall, players will try and reason with her, as she tries to wrap her head around what made Ron Hope do such a thing. Even in his attempted murder, he was still a friend to her that helped countless families. With the CEO of Hope Tech dead, many will fear for their jobs, but Birgit is cautiously optimistic that Elana Nwanko, the second-in-command of Hope Tech, will take over and do right by the employees. Hope Tech has a hard road ahead of them, but with Ron Hope put to justice, maybe it can be a bright one.
Talk To Marshal Blake
With Ron Hope dealt with, and regardless of whether he was killed, players accepted a bribe or kept his lie, they will need to head back to Marshal Blake. Players can find Marshal Blake on planet Akila in the Cheyenne System, located in Akila City, where they will then enter The Rock.
Talking to Marshal Daniel Blake, players will be able to discuss their findings about the mercenaries from the mech factory, as well as the outcome with Ron Hope. Marshal Blake will ask if the player has discovered why the First was taking over farmland, anddepending on the optionsdepend on the Marshal’s response, but not the reward.
If Players Accepted the Bribe / Kept Ron’s Secret
Players can play ignorant, and tell the Marshal that evidence was inconclusive and could not be found. They can also tell him that whatever evidence there was, died with the First, and the leader Paxton Hull. Marshal Blake will not be satisfied with the idea that whoever is behind the hiring of these mercenaries is unknown and out there, but there’s not much he or the Rangers can do about it other than keep a watchful eye on the settled systems.
If Players Killed Ron Hope
If Ron Hope was killed, players can tell Marshal Blake the truth, and inform him of how Ron used the First to take over farms for profit. Players can provide the Marshal with the Slate of evidence to close this case for good, ensuring Ron Hope won’t be using corruption ever again.
Regardless of the outcome, players will be promoted by Marshal Blake from a Freestar Deputy to a Freestar Ranger.
Starfieldis available now for PC and Xbox Series X|S.
