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InShattered Space,the first major DLC expansion to Bethesda Game Studios' open-world space RPGStarfield, players see themselves helping out on the devastated world of Va’ruun’kai, home to themysterious House Va’ruun. In typical RPG fashion, Dazra has been troubled by near-apocalyptic troubles that only a particularly intrepid adventurer can hope to solve. From religious conversion rituals, political intrigues, family feuds, and even finding a lost groat,Shattered Spacehas a lot of fun things to do.
The thrilling conclusion to its main quest,The Scaled Citadel quest, comes with a layer of intrigue, challenging enemy encounters, lashings of new lore, and even some far-reaching player choices. The Scaled Citadel quest inShattered Spaceis more than worthy of being the final quest of the DLC, as it’s long and challenging enough to feel earned. But there are some twists and turns, and the player’s final choices can be very difficult. So, let’s look athow to complete The Scaled Citadel quest.
Starting the Scaled Citadel Quest
The Scaled Citadel quest should begin after completing the third and final House objective in the Aligning the Houses quest. After many hours of work restoring the Mourning Device to proper function, Ekris will insist that the player help to fire the device. Once calibrated and fired, the Mourning Device will unlock access to the Scaled Citadel by removing the surrounding energy barrier. And it’s a pretty cool sequence, too.
Then, Ekris will inform the player that the High Council wishes to meet with them, and they will be waiting just past the Mourning Device platform. The High Council will instruct you to enter the Citadel and do whatever is necessary to help Anasko Va’ruun, the missing leader of House Va’ruun.
First, head to the Dazra Crater via the entrance used in the earlier quest. There will be Vortex Phantoms and Vortex Horrors on the way to the Scaled Citadel, but the way forward is quite simple. If you get lost, bring up the Scanner and look for the directions.
Although there’s some loot on the way to the Scaled Citadel, it’s worth not picking up everything because there is a massive amount of loot,including Credits,inside the Citadel itself.
Enter the Scaled Citadel
The Scaled Citadel’s exterior will be defended by a number of Vortex Phantoms, some quite high level, along with at least one Vortex Horror. Dispatch them and head inside.
Help Anasko Va’ruun
Once inside, you’ll be greeted by Anasko Va’ruun, who needs help resetting the experiment. He’ll tell you to head down to the Reactor level, but that’s easier said than done, as the Scaled Citadel is swarming with hostile Vortex Phantoms. Head through the Citadel, but don’t bother going upstairs - it’s blocked off, and you’ll be directed there later. Instead, head to the Speaker’s Hall, marked with a big sign.
The fight in the Speaker’s Hall can be intense, as there are many Vortex Phantoms, some of which are high level. They can be ignored, but some will follow you if you try this.
Once through, head past the stage and down towards the Reactor level.
Once inside the Research Level, you need to follow the quest objective through the glowing blue doors. After doing so, the entire level will enter a security lockdown, and the quest objective will change to overriding the security lockdown. This isn’t especially difficult - there are several ways to do this. The easiest is to go through the cuttable Emergency Exit just around the corner in the room with the security doors. Follow the access tunnel until you reach a Facilities Computer.
Then, try to override the lockdown. It will fail and direct you to a new quest objective. Throughout this part of the quest, you’ll be attacked by turrets and robots, some of which hit quite hard, so be prepared.
Follow the objective and flip the switch. Then, destroy the Modulator that appears after hitting the switch. Then, head back to the Facilities Computer to override the lockdown.
Reach Anasko Va’ruun and Replace the Vortex Interlocks
Head down to the Reactor Level. The locked room just before the quest objective has some locked safes and weapon cases, so it’s worth looking at before moving on. Once done, head towards the quest objective to speak with Anasko Va’ruun. He’ll say that the Vortex Interlocks need to be replaced, and as he’s both a weird ghost and not in possession of any interlocks, that task falls to the player. Replace them, flick the switch, and follow Va’ruun into the next room.
Shut off Life Support or Release the Phantoms?
Next up isthe first major choicein the The Scaled Citadel quest.Anasko will reveal his plans and the true purpose of the experiment, and it’s up to the player to decide whether to help or hinder him byshutting off life supportto his army of Phantoms or, conversely, byreleasing the Phantoms.
The answer depends on roleplay choices since there isn’t really a mechanical benefit to either choice. Cutting the power to life support means you’ll be able to immediately attack Anasko later in the quest, but otherwise, the outcome remains the same. However, these two choices clearly outline the character’s approach to the quest, so it’s worth considering the outcome.
Whichever choice is made, the player will have to traverse a Scaled Citadel overrun with hostile Vortex Phantoms and Va’ruun Zealots.
Reach the Pinnacle
This is probably the most difficult part of the quest, except the very last encounter. The Scaled Citadel will beswarming with enemies, some Vortex Phantoms and some Va’ruun Zealots. All will be hostile to the player. Many of these enemies are pretty high-level, and there are a lot of them, especially closer to the Pinnacle itself. You can attempt to run past them, but many of these areas are open, and the Phantoms will follow.
Head back up through the building to the main lobby, then ascend the Citadel through the areas that were previously blocked off. Little caches of weapons, ammo, and aid items are scattered around the areas to be visited next, so it’s useful to stock up on the off-chance you’re missing something.
Moving through the Citadel brings you to a small museum with functional exhibits centered on the Serpent’s Crusade. The displays can be interacted with to learn more, and the weapons and ammo caches can be looted.
Find Jinan Va’ruuns Logs and Grab and ID Card
Although this isn’t a quest objective, players can find audio logs from Jinan Va’ruun himself. After progressing past the Council Chamber, the fight is taken to a large atrium-type room with a lot of enemies. This is just prior to the main quest objective. Take out the enemies, then search the rooms near the door to the main quest objective.
One room, Anasko Va’ruun’s office, has three logs as well as a dungeon reward chest which provides some nice loot. A key card will also be on the desk, which is necessary to progress. Then, head downstairs to a bedroom to find an audio log made of Jinan Va’ruun while he was having his ‘vision’ of the Great Serpent.
At the Pinnacle
At the Pinnacle itself, Anasko Va’ruun will be found attempting to implement his plan. The player has only one real choice here: attack Anasko Va’ruun. There is the option to submit to Anasko’s plan using the All Must Serve dialogue choice, but this results in a short cutscene and a reload to the previous save.
Anasko can be difficult to defeat as he can’t die. There are conflicting reports that Anasko will die if the life support was cut, but not all players experience this, and the fight plays out the same way anyway. This is the most difficult part of the DLC, as many high-level enemies are attacking all at once.
Destroy All Four Modulators
This part of the quest is very simple, but it’s pretty hard, as you’ll be under constant attack from Anasko Va’ruun, Vortex Phantoms, and Va’ruun Zealots. Head to the quest objectives and flip the switches. Then, the Modulator will be visible in a few seconds, so destroy it. Each destroyed Modulator reveals a new pathway to the next and the Vortex energy blocking the way dissipates.
Escape the Scaled Citadel
Once all four Modulators are destroyed, the Citadel will start to explode. The next quest objective is simply to escape. The route out is now through the floor. Follow it. In this part of the quest, Phantoms and Zealots will attempt to prevent passage, but most can simply be sprinted past on the way to the exit. Anasko Va’ruun will follow the player, attempting to stop their escape. Once the main door to the Scaled Citadel is reached, there will be a cutscene followed by a load into a new cell.
Quest Wrap Up
Once awake, the quest will be wrapped up by speaking with the three High Council members. They will ask you to choose a new Speaker for House Va’ruun. This choice is mainly flavor, as it doesn’t have any real impact on the quest outcome otherwise. However, each House has its roleplay advantages and disadvantages. For example, House Veth’aal is the most zealous in its application of laws. At the same time, House Ka’dic is more pragmatic, especially in its approach to the Va’ruun Zealots.
Getting Kicked off Va’ruun’kai
One of the choices in this part of the quest can result in the player losing access to Dazra, Va’ruun’kai, and being kicked out of House Va’ruun altogether. If the dialogue option suggesting no one should rule and that House Va’ruun should be destroyed is chosen, this outcome will occur. The quest will still be complete, and the player will still gain access to Va’ruun decorative items, but all access to Dazra and the surroundings will be revoked, and House Va’ruun will be hostile on sight.
Should you Restart the Serpent’s Crusade at the End of Shattered Space?
The single biggest choice in the DLC, players are tasked with deciding House Va’ruun’s approach to the Settled Systems at the end of this DLC. Predictably, the High Council cannot come to an answer and asks the player for their input. The choices are simple: start the Crusade again, or don’t. But which is the best choice?
The answer ispartially down to roleplay choices.Restarting the Serpent’s Crusade is a good option for dedicated Va’ruun characters, as it’s what Anasko had wanted. This outcomeprovides new events in the Settled Systemswhere Va’ruun Crusaders will appear. It finishes the quest and grants the Player Home reward and Va’ruun decorative items.But all four Constellation companions do not like this outcome.Barrett, Sarah, and Sam will hate this outcome.
The Best Choice for The Scaled Citadel quest
Arguably, the best outcome for The Scaled Citadel quest is wherethe Serpent’s Crusade was not started again, and a House was selected for the new Speaker. In-universe, Dazra and House Va’ruun are in no position to fight a war against the entirety of the Settled Systems, and such an undertaking is ethically and morally wrong to begin with. But mechanically, this outcome is better, too, because it prevents opinion loss with companions while still granting access to the Va’ruun Player Home, Va’ruun decorative items, and everything else Dazra has to offer, such asHouse Va’ruun bounty missions.Players do miss out on some content, such as the new Serpent’s Crusade events. However, these are quite minor overall.
Companions will have opinions on the quest’s outcome, too, so it’s worth speaking with them after the quest is done.
