Starfield: How to Join the Freestar Rangers

The Freestar Rangers are the Freestar Collective’s peacekeepers in Starfield. A joinable faction, they’re a mix of the UC Vanguard and the Texas Rangers. Featuring a cowboy hat, star badge, and pistol, you’ll be aiding settlers, freeing hostages, and taking out pirates in style. If that sounds like your kind of thing, here’s how to join the Freestar Rangers in Starfield.

How to Join the Freestar Rangers in Starfield

The Freestar Rangers are one of the main factions in Starfield, and can be joined at any time. They’re headquartered out of The Rock in Akila City, which is where you’ll find Marshal Daniel Blake and Ranger Emma Wilcox. Emma is the one you want to speak with to get started joining the Rangers. She can usually be found on the second floor of the building. She’ll give you a task or two that you’ll need to complete before you can become a Deputy. This all falls under the quest Deputized.

If you decide to seek out the Freestar Rangers before you progress through the main storyline quest, The Empty Nest, you’ll need to find Emma and ask to join them. However, taking this route means your dialogue options will be different. For instance, if you wait and complete Job Gone Wrong during The Empty Nest first, you’ll unlock other dialogue options since that quest involves helping out Marshal Blake. You’ll also receive a stamp of approval from Blake, which you can use to push forward on your path to becoming a Ranger.

After you speak with Emma, you’ll need to complete a radiant quest for the Freestar Rangers to prove yourself. The Mission Board Kiosk is located on the same floor, near the staircase heading up to the tavern. Pick a quest that seems interesting! I tend to choose missions that don’t involve space combat. When you’ve finished it, report back to Ranger Wilcox. But be careful with how you respond to her. Depending on how you answer her questions, she’ll either determine that you focus on the people, are bloodthirsty, etc. This opinion holds true for many of the interactions you have with her and the Marshal.

The next step involves chatting with Marshal Blake. After confirming that you want to join the Freestar Rangers, he’ll give you your new equipment and assign you a mission at Waggoner Farm on Montara Luna. It seems the farm owner was threatened to give up her land and is requesting assistance. Simple enough. Montara Luna orbits Montara, which is just to the right of Akila in the Cheyenne system. Since this is your first actual mission, Emma will be joining you as an undismissible companion until the quest’s end.

Freestar Rangers Deputy Equipment

• Deadeye Pistol
• Deputy Hat
• Freestar Deputy Badge
• Ranger Deputy Uniform

You don’t need to wear the uniform, or even have the badge on you, while completing the Freestar Rangers quests.

Head to Waggoner Farm and speak with Mikaela, the farm owner who contacted the faction. She’ll explain that a group of mean-looking men offered to buy the farm, then threatened her when she turned them down. Pointing to the canyon behind her as the way the men left, you’re set on tracking duty.

The quest marker will now point to a group of footsteps heading down the path to the canyon. Plenty of creatures will be waiting to attack you, beginning with Swarming Sunflower spiders. You’ll also want to keep your scanner up, as there are mines set throughout various parts of the path. You can just run through them, or you can set them off with a ranged weapon before you get close.

There’ll be various points where Ranger Wilcox pauses to ensure you’re following the right trail. This often occurs when there’s a fork in the path. You want to search for the grouping of footprints each time this happens.

At the end of the trail is a small camp. The mercenaries won’t attack you, as you need to speak to the leader first. You can try to resolve things peacefully, which will make you look better in the eyes of Wilcox, but at the end of the conversation, you’ll have to kill them all.

After the slaughter, search the leader’s body for a slate, which talks about the fancy ship they stole. This is evidence for the Rangers, signaling a larger mystery is afoot. Return to Mikaela to report your success in keeping her farm safe, then jet back to Akila City.

Once you land at the Starport, head to The Rock to debrief with Marshal Blake. Give him the slate and you’ll learn that the mercenary group consists of The First Calvary members from the Colony War. There’s good lore here, so you’ll want to pay attention, as it’s a key component throughout the faction missions. Chatting with Blake completes the Deputized quest and returns Emma to her post at the tavern.

That’s how to complete the Deputized quest and join the Freestar Rangers in Starfield. Whether you start down the path of a Ranger before you play through the main storyline or use your good deed at GalBank as your launching point, joining the faction brings you through a story of those left behind after the end of a war. It also has a rather startling turn of events towards the end. I highly recommend playing through it. For more on Starfield factions, how to complete other quests, or other assistance, check out our expanding guide vault.