Should you protect the Lodge or go to the Eye in Starfield?

Starfield eye lodge choice
(Image credit: Bethesda)

You need to protect the Lodge or go to the Eye in Starfield during the High Price to Pay mission as Constellation faces a sudden attack on all fronts. Although be aware that whichever location you choose to defend has some significant consequences for the rest of your Starfield playthrough. It doesn't affect the overall story, but is still a tough decision to make. With that in mind it's helpful to know what the possible outcomes are in advance, so I'm here to explain what happens when you defend the Lodge or head to the Eye in Starfield.

Warning: obviously there will be spoilers for both outcomes ahead, though nothing beyond the scope of the mission itself.

Protect the Lodge or go to the Eye in High Price to Pay?

Starfield eye lodge choice

(Image credit: Bethesda)

The choice to protect the Lodge or go to the Eye during the High Price to Pay mission determines which of two Constellation members will die permanently. Essentially one will be on the Eye and the other in the Lodge, and whichever place you decide to defend results in the death of a companion at the other location. If you stay and defend the Lodge, the companion at the Eye will die and vice versa.

Multiple members of the guides team have gone through this mission, and we determined that the two characters at risk varies from playthrough to playthrough. Not being able to see behind the scenes directly, we reckon that the two Starfield companions in Constellation you have the best relationship with are the ones in danger. This includes only the companions eligible for Starfield romances too, so that's Sarah Morgan, Sam Coe, Barrett, and Andreja.

As an example, on one person's playthrough, the choice was between saving Barrett and Sam Coe, but for another it was between Andreja and Sarah. Basically, save the game before making the choice to see who's at risk, so you have an option to go back and choose again if you're not fond of the result.

Is there a way to save everyone in High Price to Pay?

Starfield eye lodge choice

(Image credit: Bethesda)

No, as far as I know there's no way to get through the mission without a major character death occurring, and all you get to decide is which of the two characters it is that gets finished off, as this ultimately is a scripted event - somebody will either bleed out on the Eye or get shot at the Lodge. 

If you want to prevent this from happening, the only recourse is to delay the High Price to Pay mission and just spend more time with them as a companion before going back to the Lodge to start it - though all that time spent with them makes it fairly likely that they're the ones that will get killed, if my theory about what determines the outcome is correct.

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Joel Franey
Guides Writer

Joel Franey is a writer, journalist, podcaster and raconteur with a Masters from Sussex University, none of which has actually equipped him for anything in real life. As a result he chooses to spend most of his time playing video games, reading old books and ingesting chemically-risky levels of caffeine. 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 USgamer, Gfinity, Eurogamer and more besides.