How to start Starfield Shattered Space DLC

Starfield Shattered Space lets players explore a brand-new planet to find out what happened to the followers of House Vaa’run, battle new enemies, and collect new gear.

While Starfield boasts tons of explorations across over 1,000 planets, the new Vaa’run’kai planet is “handcrafted” and built to feature the entirety of the expansion’s story. If you played Skyrim, it’s more like the Dragonborn DLC than Dawnguard.

Here’s everything we know about how to start Shattered Space including the requirements and recommended level.

Starfield Shattered Space requirements

Before you can begin Starfield Shattered Space, make sure you own the DLC. If you bought the Premium Edition you’ll already have access, but if not, you can get the DLC separately for $29.99 (Game Pass subscribers also get a nice 10% discount).

Once you’ve bought Shattered Space and updated the game, make sure you’ve completed the “One Small Step” quest. This is Starfield’s first main mission, so unless you’re starting a new save, you should have it ticked off already.

Where to start Shattered Space

Once you’ve completed the introductory mission, grav-jump to any system that’s not being used for a quest. Here, you’ll get a distress call and find The Oracle, a large star station.

This will lead you to Va’ruun’kai where you can continue Shattered Space’s main quest, talk to the locals to kick off sidequests, or freely explore the new planet.

Recommended level

Bethesda recommends being at least level 35 “for the best experience.” However, it’s not necessary, so if you find Va’ruun’kai and its new enemies too difficult, you can always lower the difficulty.

Remember that playing on a low difficulty will slow progression following Update 1.11.36 so try to find the balance that works best for you. For some extra help, you can also arm yourself with the best weapons in the game before jumping in.

Also, make sure you’ve got the REV-8 vehicle as it’ll make exploring Va’ruun’kai much easier.