Choosing Your Faith In Starfield: A Guide To Universal Vs. Enlightened

With all the choices players need to make when creating a character in Starfield, it makes sense that choosing a religion would be one of the more puzzling options. How many people start off praising one deity before ultimately deciding that, actually, this other holy entity is really the one that exists? More people probably just stop believing in something entirely when they realize that Santa Claus isn’t real. So, when it comes down to choosing between Universal or Enlightened in Starfield, how do you know which fictional religion is the best for you? Fortunately, I explored both routes, and I’m here to help you make your choice, like any good practicing religious figure.

Now, while most of humanity’s real religions made it into space in Starfield, you’re only able to choose between three fictional ones when you start your game. The third option, the House of Va’ruun… well, we don’t really talk about those folks. They’re more than a little creepy and they believe some gigantic snake will one day swallow the whole galaxy. They’re super shady, and most NPCs view the group as a cult. Plus, you don’t get any free items when you join them, so we’re just going to focus on the Sanctum Universum and The Enlightened for this guide.

Differences Between Sanctum Universum and The Enlightened in Starfield

So, out of the two choices, what do they each represent? The Sanctum is far more grounded in faith, while The Enlightened believe in the power of humanity. The former believes that as people spread amongst the stars, we should be making a concerted effort to find God living in the cosmos. They believe that we will ultimately find the universe’s creator, and that the invention of the Grav Jump was effectively God getting tired of waiting around for us.

On the opposite side of the proverbial faith wheel, The Enlightened don’t believe in any kind of higher power, effectively serving as Space Atheists. Spacetheists, if you will. They’re all about looking after one another and working to better the community through simple acts of support and charity. It’s a pretty decent group of folks to know. With all that said, what’s the benefit of choosing one or the other?

Choosing a Religion in Starfield

When it comes down to what you have to gain from each group in Starfield, the truth is there’s not much difference between choosing either Raised Universal or Raised Enlightened. Your decision will grant you a small box of rewards and a unique outfit from each group, each providing slightly different stats that aren’t game-breakingly good, but they can help you with an early character build.

If you opt for Raised Universal, then you’ll obtain a goodie box that contains five Med Packs, two Addichrone, a Boom Pop! Orange, and three volumes of the group’s religious text, Sanctum Universum. The best item is the Festive Neocity Poncho, which will refill your oxygen levels 5% faster. While a very small improvement, it can make the world of difference when you’re sprinting all over the place, desperately trying to pick up and turn in as many quests as humanly possible. You can find this lootable crate in New Atlantis in the MAST District. Just look out for a large gold and white building with a series of circles embedded into the roof, and your loot will be in a small box on the left as you enter the structure.

On the flip side, choosing Raised Enlightened will provide you with almost the same items. This loot box features five Med Packs, two Penicillin, a Water Drink Pack, four volumes of Charity in a Godless Universe (a riveting read, I’m sure), and the Settler Poncho. This piece of apparel is simple enough to understand in that its boost is just a flat 10% increase to your character’s HP.

While neither option will have a major impact on your game in a mechanical sense, they will provide you with different dialogue options as you progress. Overall, it’s really a choice of your own philosophy when it comes to how you view the world. Sure, the added health is nice in the early hours, but you’ll quickly find some new threads that offer much better rewards. If neither Enlightened nor Universal are really doing it for you in Starfield, just go ahead and not pick either. Or become a follower of the House of Va’ruun and become the galaxy’s creepiest nerd.

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