Early on in Starfield, I stole my first ship and ended up in a United Colonies slammer. Little did I know such an act would be enough to begin my pirating conquest across the Settled Systems. Enter the Crimson Fleet: Starfield's pirate faction, and my salvation, at least for a time. Joining them has some great benefits but a seriously dire consequence, so eventually, I decided to quit. If you're also interested in leaving the Crimson Fleet behind, then you've come to the right place.
How to quit the Crimson Fleet in Starfield
There is no quitting the Crimson Fleet according to the faction's swashbuckling leader, Delgado. When I first heard this line, I figured it was more role-playing rather than literal. Turns out, he was telling the truth. You cannot leave the Crimson Fleet once you officially join up. This is great on paper as the Key (the best location to buy and sell items including contraband) is only accessible to members of the Fleet. However, this causes a serious problem that's not obvious until you start exploring again.
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When you join the Crimson Fleet, you become allies with all of the Crimson Fleet pirates in Starfield. This includes any random bases they may control all over Settled Space. This makes sense; the Crimson Fleet is a faction like all the rest, so they should be playing for your team. However, the problem rears its ugly head when you realize a monumental portion of Starfield's enemies are Crimsom Fleet pirates. Your organic exploration is greatly hindered by the presence of allied pirates in locations that you would expect to be full of enemies.
How to make the Crimson Fleet hostile again in Starfield
While you can't officially quit the Crimson Fleet, there is a mod workaround that, at least, turns them hostile toward you so you can enjoy exploration normally. This mod allows you to turn them hostile on allies with a console command, which has saved my experience. However, as a disclaimer, I do not exactly know what long-term effects it may have on your game. It's possible that this command could cause bugs or other internal errors in your Starfield playthrough. Consider yourself warned.
This mod is only available for PC players and it does remove your ability to earn achievements. (There is a separate achievement enabling mod that restores this without any adverse effects.)
How to install the Crimson Fleet hostile again mod
Once you download the mod, place the crimsonally.txt and crimsonenemy.txt files into your Starfield directory. (These files should both be placed in the same directory where your Starfield.exe is located.)
- Steam - Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Starfield
- Game Pass - XboxGames/Starfield/Content
When you're finished, head in-game and open the in-game console. Type bat crimsonenemy to make the Crimson Fleet hostile toward you. If you desire to return to being their ally, this mod also has you covered: simply type bat crimsonally to make them friendly toward you again. While this doesn't officially allow you to leave the Crimson Fleet, it is still a solid workaround that solves the main issue. I just saved your Starfield experience. You're welcome.
For more quality guides and helpful information on all things Starfield, check out How to level Stealth fast in Starfield right here on Pro Game Guides.
Darrus is a creative-minded individual with a passion for all things gaming. As a seasoned Game Guide writer that has been writing for the past 10+ years, and an active Narrative Designer for 5, he charges headfirst into the line of fire, taking on anything the industry has to offer him. The RPG genre is his home base.