How to join the Crimson Fleet Pirates in Starfield

Delgado, leader of the Crimson Fleet Pirates in Starfield — (Image credit: Bethesda)

Joining the Starfield Crimson Fleet pirate faction requires a bit of undercover UC work at first, but you can commit to the space pirate life if antagonising the Settled Systems calls to you. The Crimson Fleet is certainly the most cutthroat of the various Starfield factions that you can join. The faction is a great place for smuggling, raiding, and various other illicit activities in Starfield, though be aware that you'll make a lot of enemies and will probably rack up a huge bounty along the way. So, if you want to hoist the space jolly roger above your ship, metaphorically speaking, here's how to join the Crimson Fleet in Starfield.

Joining the Crimson Fleet Pirates in Starfield

Base for the Crimson Fleet Pirates in Starfield — (Image credit: Bethesda)

At time of writing, we know of two methods to find the Crimson Fleet Pirates faction in Starfield. They are:

Get arrested by the United Colonies. If you're caught being too inept or unlucky with the Starfield contraband smuggling mechanics, you can agree to be arrested rather than fight your way out. The first time this happens, you'll be taken to a prison run by the Vanguard and told that you'll be going undercover as a mole to infiltrate the Crimson Fleet Pirates, as an alternative to a lengthy prison sentence. This then starts the Starfield Crimson Fleet questline. Complete the missions "Deep Cover" and "Rook meets King" and you'll be given access to the Crimson Fleet.
Join the Vanguard. On the planet Jemison and New Atlantis in The Mast district, players can join the United Colonies' peacekeeping arm known as the Vanguard. You’ll get two missions when you join and one of them, Deep Cover, will see you start the same undercover entry to the Crimson Fleet you get when caught smuggling.

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However you get there, the Crimson Fleet Pirates are situated on a repurposed prison and space station in the Kryx System known as The Key, which serves as their headquarters and main base - it's also one of the major cities in Starfield, filled all sorts of vendors and facilities.

There are certainly advantages to being a pirate - you get access to special tech that helps with smuggling, can easily offload contraband, get access to piracy and smuggling missions, and more besides. Not only that, but while you’re in the faction. any pirates you encounter in bases and other areas will leave you alone because you're one of them.

For more info on the criminal lifestyle, get a refresher on the Starfield lockpicking system, or find out how to steal ships in Starfield here!

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and Very Tired Man with a BA from Brunel University, a Masters from Sussex University and a decade working in games journalism, often focused on guides coverage but also in reviews, features and news. His love of games is strongest when it comes to groundbreaking narratives like Disco Elysium, UnderTale and Baldur's Gate 3, as well as innovative or refined gameplay experiences like XCOM, Sifu, Arkham Asylum or Slay the Spire. He is a firm believer that the vast majority of games would be improved by adding a grappling hook, and if they already have one, they should probably add another just to be safe. You can find old work of his at Eurogamer, Gfinity, USgamer, SFX Magazine, RPS, Dicebreaker, VG247, and more.