Over the last handful of weeks, Starfield players have been able to happily run around Bethesda’s galaxy joining their favorite factions while they continue to uncover the mysteries scattered across the stars. It’s all a lot of fun, and there’s plenty more fun to be have in Bethesda’s plans for this RPG come to fruition. However, as exciting as joining these Starfield factions might seem, there’s a clear favorite among you on Xbox – and one that’s being left a little behind. Looking at the numbers, we know what the least popular Starfield faction is and it – while you’re missing out on a couple decent missions – it’s an obvious one.
Bethesda’s Starfield is rightfully considered one of the best RPG games out there right now, but it’s far from perfect and Xbox players clearly prefer some areas of the game to others. When you look at all the Starfield factions you’re able to join, the numbers highlight the most unpopular option clearly – and that’s a real shame. Although, it is also quite easy to understand why this is.
Looking at the stats online via Xbox achievement tracker site TrueAchievements, we can see that the Starfield Ryujin Industries faction is undoubtedly the least popular faction out there right now – and, you won’t have to look very hard to find this sentiment shared online.
Only 29% of players have the Back To The Grind achievement for joining the Ryujin Industries faction, whereas 36% of players have the relevant achievement for joining the Freestar Rangers and 37% of players have the relevant achievement for joining the Starfield United Colonies Vanguard faction. On top of all this, 30% of you have joined the Crimson Fleet during your playthroughs.
We know that isn’t the widest spread, especially when you look at the 1% between the players joining the Starfield Crimson Fleet faction during their playthroughs and those joining Ryujin Industries. However, when you look at how many players have each faction’s secondary achievement, things start to become clearer.
Only 16% of players have the Executive Level achievement for effectively finishing the Ryujin Industries faction questline. Comparatively, 23% of you have the equivalent Freestar Rangers achievement, 21% of you have the equivalent achievement for finishing the UC Vanguard storyline, and 19% of players have the Crimson Fleet achievement Legacy’s End.
Just looking at the numbers alone, the Ryujin Industries faction is clearly the least popular, which is a shame when you look at the missions you’re missing out on. However, if you look at the first few missions, it’s easy to see why.
The Ryujin Industries questline is all about corporate espionage and working within a conglomorate corporation. It’s nowhere near as exciting as the Freestar Rangers’ investigtions, as noble as the United Colonies’ Vanguard missions, or as daring and dangerous as joining the Crimson Fleet. It’s very easy to see why so many people might skip this one – especially when early missions have you taking job interviews and fetching coffee for executives.
While you will be able to work towards the first tier of one of the best Starfield skills throughout this storyline, you’re not going to get your hands on any of the best Starfield weapons completing this. And, that skill is something you can unlock outside of this questline with skill points – so, it’s not necessary to unlock it. The final mission is worth playing, and it’s an interesting way to earn some extra Credits, but you do have to play through some conversation-heavy moments that are quite lacklustre when compared to the other factions’ missions.
When you think about the fact that both the UC Vanguard and Freestar Rangers missions give you multiple spacesuits and weapons far better than what you get with Ryujin Industries, and you get a unique weapon with the Crimson Fleet, it makes even more sense why people drop Ryujin Industries after joining. The United Colonies also give you a Penthouse Apartment in New Atlantis, and you get access to The Key with the Crimson Fleet. What do you get from Ryujin Industries? Well, you get your own office – which is fine, but far from the best reward on offer.
The Ryujin Industries faction isn’t the only part of this RPG where fans feel Bethesda has missed the mark, though. It also misses the mark majorly with this unqiue Starfield reward and players all agree that Starfield’s best mission is lacking in one key area – and that’s a United Colonies Vanguard mission, one of the more popular factions. Xbox players also hope the upcoming Starfield DLC forces Bethesda to up the ante in boss battles – of which the Ryujin Industries questline doesn’t really have any. We know the numbers might seem deceiving, but this really is the least popular faction for a reason.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools like a New Atlantis map for exploration.