The Starfield Terran Armada represents the latest threat to the Settled Systems, with a faction of military deserters building a robot army that has been programmed to unite all of humanity... by force! If you've purchased the new story DLC then naturally you'll want to track down this fresh enemy as soon as possible, but you need to trigger it first. To get you on your way, this is how to start the Terran Armada DLC in Starfield, along with an explanation of what their Incursions are.
If you're looking for the Starfield Algorab system so you can visit the new Anchorpoint Station then we've got a guide on where to find it, or you can see everything that was added with the Starfield Free Lanes update.
How to start Terran Armada in Starfield
To start Terran Armada in Starfield, you need to find an SSNN beacon broadcasting a news report about luxury cruise ship Opulence of the Stars being hijacked and going missing in the Nirvana system. We found one of these down near the mining area of Cydonia on Mars, but there should be SSNN beacons in most populated locations of Starfield if you look around.
During this report detailing the missing ship, an unknown voice proclaims "We are the Terran Armada. We are the true children of Earth. And none shall stand in our way." This is followed by a plea from the authorities for all available pilots to aid the search for survivors, which will add the Attack of the Terran Armada mission to your log with the next step being to Join the search party orbiting Nirvana I.
The location of the Nirvana system is shown on the map above, which is a fair distance out of the central region and one potential route there involves passing through Olympus, Volii, and Rivera on the way. It's worth noting that Nirvana is a Level 40 system and the Attack of the Terran Armada mission has a Recommend Level of 50+, so if you're under levelled then you are going to struggle – we've got pointers for how to farm Starfield XP and level up quickly if you need a boost, though if you're not close to that then you should consider progressing further through the main story first.
What are Terran Armada Incursions?
Terran Armada Incursions in Starfield occur when the robot forces attack existing locations, turning them into active combat zones as they try to seize control. If these attacks are Major Incursions then Starfield fast travel to and from the location is shut down, so you'll need to reach the vicinity then use Starfield Cruise Mode to reach the area and join the defense effort. Once all of the Terran Armada forces at the location have been defeated, the usual travel options will become available once again.
We haven't been able to 100% confirm this for ourselves yet, but it seems unlikely that Incursions will start until you've progressed through the Attack of the Terran Armada mission.
Can you change how likely Terran Armada Incursions will occur?
If you want to increase your chances of encountering Terran Armada Incursions in Starfield, or you'd prefer to avoid them as much as possible, there is a new setting found under Gameplay Options in the Settings menu to help with that. Scroll down to Terran Armada Options to find the Incursion Chance setting, which you can configure to Reduced, Normal, or Increased. It's worth noting that while there is no XP bonus for setting this to Increased, choosing the Reduced option will result in a -4% XP penalty that will marginally slow down your progress.
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