Should you defend the Lodge or the Eye in Starfield?

While gathering up artifacts in Starfield starts out as a fun activity, it soon becomes quite serious. Not only do you have the unfolding mystery of the universe to try and deal with, but people start trying to kill you, and eventually, a full-scale attack is launched on the Lodge and the Eye, the two places most representative of Constellation’s efforts.

Should you defend the Eye or the Lodge?

While this might seem like a pretty straightforward choice, there is a major story change tied to it, as one of your companions will die. This choice is going to cost you a member of Constellation, and there isn’t much you can do about it except decide which one you wish to save while leaving the other to perish. The giveaway as to how serious this is lies in the name of the mission, High Price To Pay.

Now, there are some hidden mechanics at play behind what happens here, so we would suggest the most unholy of gamer tactics, the save scum. Make sure you have a nice, clean manual save at the start of this mission, and if you don’t like how it goes, go back to the start.

Who can potentially die during a High Price To Pay?

From what I can tell, all the romanceable companions are at risk here. That means Sarah Morgan, Andreja, Sam Coe, and Barret can all potentially meet their end if you make the wrong decision. All the ancillary characters are fine, and you don’t need to worry about them at all. Those characters will be split up between the Eye and the Lodge, and then, depending on where you go, someone at the other location will die.

There seems to be some strength to the theory that the character who dies will be the one whom you have the highest affinity with, but that is not something that we can confirm right now. What is certain is that someone will die in the location that you don’t defend. If you defend the Lodge, someone dies at the Eye. If you defend the Eye, someone dies at the lodge.

What to do if you defend the Lodge

If you opt to defend the Lodge, you will be making a rearguard action as you try to get everyone out. Under attack from The Hunter, this won’t be the easiest thing in the world, as he just doesn’t seem to die. You will need to hold off The Hunter while your friends make their way out of the Lodge and head for the ship. You’ll head down into the Well, so just make a run for it to avoid the risk of shooting any innocents.

Get to the ship, and you will then need to fly to the eye to find out what happened there and get the reveal on what the fate of the characters is.

What to do if you defend the Eye

If you defend the Eye, you will end up needing to visit the Lodge anyway. When you get there, you will find out what has happened to the characters, but Noel will be missing. She fled to the sewers, so follow her down to save her from The Hunter. Make your way to the ship with her, and then go to the Eye to see the quest wrap up.

Once again, the main and most impactful decision here is which location you go to. Someone at the other location will always die, so just head to where your favorite character is, and all should be fine.

Remember, there is a lot happening behind the scenes in this quest. Make sure you save manually before making a decision so you can roll it back if you get a situation you don’t like.