Starfield’s Shattered Space DLC reaches its grand finale with the last main quest, The Scaled Citadel. Every little choice you’ve made so far will come down to what you do in this quest.
Every interaction with the three houses, every Phantom you’ve taken out, and all those trips from Dazra to the various outposts – it all leads to this moment. In The Scaled Citadel, your decisions will determine the fate of not just the Va’ruun, but the entire Settled Systems in Starfield. So, making the right choices is kind of a big deal.
This guide covers all the outcomes, including whether you should release the Phantoms, which house is the best choice to lead the Va’ruun, and whether you should kick off the Serpent Crusade.
How to end the security lockdown and destroy the modulator
Once you’re inside The Scaled Citadel, turn right and head down the stairs. To your left, you’ll see a door that leads to the Research Level.
As soon as you go through that door, you’ll get the “End the security lockdown” objective. Walk past the glowing doors and open the yellow door to the right to find the Security Control System. When you try to click on “Override Lockdown,” you’ll get an error because you first need to destroy the Modulator.
Follow the quest marker until you find a red and white door. Behind it, there’s a lever you need to pull to reveal the blue modulator above. Before a protective shield covers the modulator, shoot it repeatedly until it’s destroyed. If you run out of time, just repeat the process.
Once the modulator is destroyed, interact with the computer behind you and try to end the security lockdown again. Then, just follow the quest marker to reach the Reactor Level and replace the Vortex Interlock.
Should you release the Phantoms or terminate pod life support?
Your choice between releasing the Phantoms or terminating Pod Life Support ultimately leads to the same outcome in The Scaled Citadel.
- If you release the Phantoms, Anasko is happy at first, but the Zealots will still breach the Citadel, and you’ll be attacked by Phantoms on your way to The Pinnacle. Once there, you face Anasko again, but you can choose to attack or submit.
- If you submit, you kneel before Anasko and die. This is not a suitable ending for your character, so Starfield sends you to the last respawn point in hopes that you’ll make a better choice next time.
- If you attack, you become Anasko’s enemy and get a new objective: overload the Vortex Gate and defeat him.
- If you choose to terminate Pod Life Support, Anasko immediately turns hostile, but the end result remains unchanged; you’ll still have to deal with the Zealots, face the Phantoms, and ultimately take out Anasko.
No matter what you do, you’ll still need to overload the Vortex Gate and defeat Anasko.
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How to overload the Vortex Gate
To overload the Vortex Gate, first interact with the Modulator Containment Release to temporarily disable the shield protecting the Modulator. You’ll need to shoot the Modulator with everything you have before the timer runs out to destroy it. You’ll have to repeat this process four times with four different Modulators, so be sure to find each switch’s Modulator before pulling the lever.
You also need to defeat Anasko at least once. Like most Phantoms, he respawns every time he’s killed, but you only need to take him down once to complete the objective.
After you destroy all four Modulators, the Vortex Gate will overload, and then you can escape The Scaled Citadel.
Which House should you pick to run the Va’ruun?
Back at Dazra, the Va’ruun have no Speaker, and you need to choose which of the three houses will govern the planet: House Va’ric, House Veth’aal, or House Dul’kehf. You can’t name yourself the Speaker or refuse to choose; you must pick a house.
This choice is entirely up to you and depends on which house you think is best suited to lead – or simply the one you like the most. By this point, you’ve completed one main quest for each house (like Conflict in Conviction, Zealous Overreach, and Exhuming the Past) and hopefully picked up some side quests to help you get a sense of which one resonates with you the most.
Should you start the Serpent Crusade?
The Serpent Crusade is a mission launched back in 2240 to exterminate all non-believers in the Settled Systems. This went on for two decades and a half until Jinan Va’ruun died and his son vouched for peace. Now, it’s up to you to decide whether you want to resume a crusade that is bound to wipe every NPC you’ve met in the game from existence.
- If you choose not to start The Serpent Crusade, all Houses agree and the Va’ruun remain in Va’ruun’kai. The High Council takes their leave and you enjoy your newly acquired house in Dazra.
- If you choose to start The Serpent Crusade, all houses agree as well but don’t expect anything to happen. You won’t get to see The Serpent Crusade in action. Story-wise, Andreja explains this is because the preparations take “a decade.”
That’s a wrap on Shattered Space’s main story. If you’re ready to tackle some side quests, why not start with The Duel?
