Summary
- New Atlantis is considered the starting location of Starfield, offering a variety of quests and opportunities for players to gain XP and make money fast.
- Some optional quests require very little effort but yield decent XP and credit rewards. This makes them profitable to grind out quickly while in New Atlantis.
- The UC Vanguard is a more "major" quest line despite still being optional. However, new Starfield players should start it as soon as possible due to its introductory nature.
The UC's New Atlantis is one of the first major locations players will enter in Starfield after a brief introduction. This is where the Constellation's main HQ, the Lodge, can be found. There are also a bunch of other side quests and interesting areas that are worth checking out while journeying through the ultra-modern city by foot or on the NAT.
When it comes to optional side quests, New Atlantis has quite a few of them. That includes a faction quest, which is also technically optional, as the only "requirement" for finishing Starfield is to simply finish the main story questline. Here's what other adventures players shouldn't skip out on while in New Atlantis.
7 Talk To Sergeant Yumi
- Location: Next to New Atlantis Spaceport, UC Security office
Those looking for a bit of easy XP and credits to make without too much effort should head to the UC Security office, which is located just outside the exit of the spaceport, on the right side as players make their way past the entry scan into the city.
Sergeant Yumi is in charge of security in New Atlantis, and he'll hand out a couple of simple odd jobs for players looking to help out. Thanks to the close location to the spaceport, this quest is pretty easy to start, and is considered an Activity by the game more than an actual quest.
6 Investigate Brown-Outs In The Well
- Location: The Well
Players have a chance of overhearing a guard mention brown-outs in the city's lower quarters, known as The Well. They might also come across this quest by venturing into The Well itself and speaking with Louisa, who's standing near the elevator at The Well.
The quest has players exploring the underground portion of New Atlantis, which is why it's a good pick-up. While completing it, it's possible to find other side quests or interesting vendors. Consider it a tour of The Well, above all. In the end, players can even up their credits if they decide to side with Zoey from the Trade Authority.
5 Supra Et Ultra
- Location: The MAST
New Atlantis' go-to faction quest has players join up with the UC Vanguard, a quest that is technically optional from a purely completionist perspective, but one that is highly recommended as the first faction quest to complete. Why? The introductory mission to the UC Vanguard has players go through a museum exhibit that explains the brief history of Starfield's three main factions, giving context to much of the game's events and lore.
Moreover, the UC Vanguard faction quest takes players to some of the most interesting locations in Starfield, including Mars' hidden science facility and the infamous Londinion, which was wiped out by Terrormorphs. It's a quest with heavy space marine vibes, with excellent rewards in its final missions.
4 Visit The Apollo Landmark On Luna
- Location: The Lodge (and then Luna, Sol System)
While this quest technically takes players out of New Atlantis, it can be started almost immediately as players first enter the Lodge. Head upstairs and turn right to go down the first hallway lined with bedrooms. Enter the second bedroom door on the left, and on the desk, there should be a book called Sir Livingstone's Second Journal.
Reading this will grant players a new Activity, with a location marker on Luna. It's nothing special, but it's one of those cool Easter egg missions with a little collectible at the end that players can display at their outpost.
3 Talk To Kelton Frush
- Location: Near a tree between the MAST and the Lodge
A scientist seems very concerned by a tree found in the gardens that separate the MAST and the Constellation's Lodge. Speak with Keltron Frush to start a small quest that has players assist him in his investigation of a strange tree in the gardens.
This quest doesn't require a whole lot of effort, but it does demand that players wait around a bit between quest steps to let Kelton gather more data. In the end, however, the monetary rewards make this short side mission worth it.
2 Olive Branch
- Location: Bench outside of MAST in the park
A man called Nilesh Sherazi can be found sitting on a park bench just outside of MAST. For a short and easy side mission, speak with him and agree to help him plant a little olive tree in the gardens. But beware: the guard standing nearby won't approve of the player's actions.
Nilesh can distract the guard enough for players to complete the mission (which also leads to a hilarious interaction between the two NPCs). Afterward, he will reward players with a decent sum of credits. It's a quick and easy boost to XP and money that shouldn't take more than a minute.
1 A Light In The Darkness
- Location: New Atlantis spaceport
A man called Tommy Bitlow will eventually approach the player in the New Atlantis spaceport, to ask them a few questions about events on Vectera. After speaking with him, players can head to the SSNN headquarters and regularly speak with the receptionist Nadia to tell her about a new major in-game event.
Each event grants players 1500 credits, so it's well worth speaking with her after major story beats in faction quests and such, especially since it only takes a short interview with her to complete each story.
Starfield is available on PC and Xbox Series X/S.