Can you do a pacifist run in Starfield?

❘ Updated: 2023-08-22T17:51:04

Bethesda

45 minutes of Starfield was leaked ahead of time.

Wondering if it’s possible to complete Starfield in a pacifist manner? Here’s everything you need to know from Besthesda’s most recent Q&A session.

The ability to tackle a game’s challenges without violence has become more prevalent in RPGs in recent years with the likes of Undertale, the Deus Ex series, and Dishonored all rewarding players who choose to take the non-lethal path.

With Starfield just around the corner, and Bethesda’s flagship title Skyrim also allowing players to finish the game with a pacifist run, many are wondering if the option will also be available in the space RPG.

The developers recently addressed this exact topic in a Q&A, so here’s everything know about whether or not a pacifist run is available in Starfield.

Will it be possible to play Starfield as a pacifist?

On August 16, Bethesda Game Studios developers hosted a Starfield Q&A on Discord. ResetEra user vixolus compiled the full list of questions and answers into a single thread, which reveals several interesting details about the upcoming space epic.

One topic of discussion revolved around the potential of playing the game non-lethally. According to devs, a pacifist playthrough is out of the question; however, users will have the option to avoid violent conflict under certain circumstances.

In response to the pacifist mode inquiry, Starfield’s Lead Quest Designer, Will Shen, mentioned a “Speech Challenge game” that some players may want to take advantage of. He wrote:

“I can’t guarantee every mission can be completed in pacifist mode, but we do have a couple of systems that will help. One system is our Speech Challenge game, where you can persuade someone to do something like not fight you. The speech challenge game is added in specific scripted moments, and we try to add one into most quests where important characters confront you.”

Design Director Emil Pagliarulo chimed in as well, noting that talks of a non-lethal playthrough cropped up early in production. “We realized that, for various reasons, that wasn’t totally feasible,” Pagliarulo said.

The developer echoed Shen’s statement about persuasive dialogue, before mentioning Starfield will also boast non-lethal weapons. “Those can be used in certain situations, honestly a lot of situations, though I couldn’t comfortably say you can complete the entire game without any killing whatsoever.”

While players won’t get to play the peacemaker in Starfield’s Settled Systems, it seems that those inclined to practice nonviolence will get to do so on some occasions.

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