Starfield has revealed new details and video footage for a ton of new features coming in its Free Lanes update, which hits the space exploration action-RPG on April 7. Free Lanes will bring a lot of new elements to Starfield that players have been requesting since its initial release in September 2023, and they won’t have to wait very long to dive into the fresh content.
The Free Lanes update for Starfield was announced on March 17, alongside news of the for-pay Terran Armada story content expansion. While Terran Armada will focus on a powerful new robotic threat and be filled with large-scale missions, Free Lanes will also add some new points of interest to planetary maps, alongside a bunch of features that make life onboard starships feel more natural and realistic.
Just a few days ahead of the update’s launch, the team at Bethesda has given players a sneak peek at Free Lanes via a new trailer, providing deeper insight into how many of its features will be implemented. One of the most requested features players have had is the ability to free travel through space, as many have found Starfield‘s fast-travel system of grav jumping between planets to be less engaging than soaring at high speed between different solar systems. New footage from Free Lanes shows off what many players first hoped to see, as a ship can be seen in the new Cruise Mode, zooming past multiple planets at light speed. Players will also be able to engage an autopilot mode, allowing them to plot a course to specific points in the galaxy while spending time free-roaming about their ships, and their journeys may be interrupted by Interdictions, combat events that will interrupt travel and force players into defensive battles against hostile ships.
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In addition to changes to Starfield‘s planetary travel, there will also be a lot more for players to do on ships and bases. The Ship Optimization Terminal will give players more in-depth ways to adjust and maximize power flowing to ships’ weapons, shields, engines, and grav drives, and it will be arriving alongside a host of new ship upgrades. Additionally, Free Lanes will add some upgrades to bases, including the ability to distribute resources more easily through shared containers, and it will add a special orbital mansion in the form of Asteroid Manor.
Players should also expect upgrades to their collection of handheld weapons in Starfield, as they’re about to get access to X-Tech, an in-game resource that will allow players to re-roll legendary effects on equipment and upgrade not just their gear, but also ship systems, beyond their previous capabilities. There will also be a bunch of new weapon skins added through Free Lanes, along with the potential to score special one-hit kills on robots. Taking a page out of the Fallout universe’s handbook, players will also be able to collect action figures to gain new buffs, and items will be transferable through The Unity for better New Game Plus starts.
Although they haven’t been confirmed for Free Lanes, a collection of unique companions will be added to Starfield through Terran Armada, giving players more options when choosing a crew to sail around the galaxy with or staff for their planetary bases. One character in particular seems to have now been leaked through the new Free Lanes trailer, though whether she will be recruitable without Terran Armada remains to be seen. Players who became enamored with sass-mouthed goth NPC Muria Siarkiewicz as she applies for a job at Galbank may be in for a pleasant surprise, as the trailer appears to show her chatting it up with the player character onboard a ship, talking about her passion for her previous job working in a morgue. Additionally, players will be able to adopt a pet in the form of the Miniwhale, an adorable, palm-sized, eight-legged alien creature that can be seen wiggling around on the floor, begging for attention.
- Released
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September 6, 2023
- ESRB
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M For Mature 17+ / Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence, In-Game Purchases
