Summary
- Starfield's quest descriptions often lack critical details such as where to go and why to go there, making it difficult for players to know how to proceed.
- Unlike previous Bethesda games, Starfield's quest log does not provide location information, making it hard to plan quests efficiently and anticipate what is involved.
- Starfield only allows players to have one quest active at a time, causing frustration and unnecessary menu navigation, and a better system could improve gameplay.
It can be hard to keep track of which Starfield faction to first, but after ing them, it can be even harder to keep their often converging quest lines straight.
Variety is nice, but the mountain of tasks that Starfield piles up on the Missions screen quickly gets overwhelming. A player can end up so torn over what quest to do next that they wind up not doing anything at all. That goes double for those who aren't rushing to New Game Plus in Starfield, taking the time to complete as many side quests as possible without locking themselves out of any available content. And it's not just the amount of content that causes problems - it's the way many of Starfield's side quests are presented, too.
Starfield's Mission Logs Lack Critical Details
In short, Starfield's quest descriptions often don't tell the player where to go. The worst offenders are Activities, a category of mini-quests most often picked up when overhearing pertinent NPC chatter. Sometimes, they'll be unlocked through more involved conversation, but new Activities most often pop up on the Missions screen when least expected. They usually involve just a single step, like talking to an NPC or finding a particular object. Completing that step almost always leads directly into a larger quest.
Activities are a way for players to continuously, unconsciously pick up side quests in Starfield without having to talk to every single person in every single area. It can prevent them from missing an interesting or important quest just because they failed to explore a particular room where the quest-giving NPC hangs out. In theory, this is a great idea, ensuring that there's always a fresh buffet of side quest options to pick from so no one ever truly runs out of content. However, in practice it can contribute to unnecessary and repetitive side quest bloat.
And a greater problem comes along when the player decides not to tackle a particular Starfield mission or Activity immediately. Maybe they didn't notice it when it first popped up, put it off because the destination was far away, or wanted to switch to a different Starfield crew member whose skills or morals better align with the task. They'll see it in their quest log again later, and the description will read something as simple as, "Talk to the scientist by the tree." "Speak with Rivkah." "Follow Noel." But who are these people? What do they want to talk about, and why? And most importantly, where in space are they?
This can be incredibly confusing, and defeats the entire purpose of having a quest the first place: reminding the player of where they need to go and why they need to go there, instead of relying on their memory or hastily-taken notes to remind them of what side quests exist. Both approaches can work for different games, but one with a map as huge and side quests as numerous as Starfield's basically requires a way to track missions. However, without the most pertinent information readily available for all existing quests, even one-step Activities, Starfield is no better off with its mission log than it would be without one.
Previous Bethesda Games Did Quest Logs Better
Almost every Bethesda-developed game that came prior has done a far better job at describing its quests than Starfield. Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 3, New Vegas, and 4 all adhere to at least the basic courtesy of including a location in most quests' descriptions. Logs like "Speak to the Jarl of Dawnstar about the land for sale" find the perfect balance. They explain exactly where to find the necessary NPC, and what they want to discuss. The player can get some idea of what's involved in the quest just by reading it, and can instantly determine if it's worth the trip now or should be saved for later.
But still, there's a lot the quest log isn't giving away. Without talking to the Jarl, it's impossible to know how much land is for sale, what it costs, or what kind of building can be constructed on it. This allows a game like Skyrim to retain an air of mystery and anticipation around the quest, while still providing all the necessary information to complete it up front. It's fair to the player, and fair to the developer.
You Can Only Select One Quest At A Time In Starfield
Now, it is possible to get a more detailed directive pointing to where a particular quest NPC is by highlighting it in the Missions menu, selecting it as the active quest, and clicking on the "Show on map" button. But since Starfield only allows one quest to be selected at a time, doing so requires a lot of juggling back and forth.
For example, say a Starfield player has just finished up a major quest line in a particular star system, and wants to determine if there are any other quests revolving around the same sun before they jump to their next system. They'll have to open the Missions menu, highlight every single quest one at a time, and press "Show on map" to see where each one is located. This creates an annoying cycle of unnecessary menuing, and feels like a chore every single time.
There's a good reason that Starfield doesn't display every available quest icon on the map at once: it would make the screen too cluttered. It's entirely possible for a Starfield player to have hundreds of quests active at once, and keeping track of all those markers would be impossible.
However, there must be a better way to resolve this. Even allowing players to have three quests active instead of just one, like in the average MMO, would be extremely helpful in reducing the time spent juggling menus. Otherwise, showing all accepted quest icons on the map menu, but not in-game, could help in plotting efficient and productive courses across the galaxy without constantly checking and rechecking the mission log.
It's hard enough to keep track of all the quests in Starfield, and its incomplete quest logs only make that worse. It may seem like a minor nitpick, but it creates major annoyances throughout the entire game. It complicates fast travel, makes side quests sound uninteresting, and wastes a ton of time. For a game that markets itself on open-world freedom and individual choice, Starfield's poor quest descriptions are holding it back.
