Starfield boasts numerous captivating characters, but none are as fascinating as The Hunter and The Emissary. At first glance, The Hunter appears to be a callous murderer, while The Emissary is portrayed as a guardian of the universe's enigmatic secrets, committed to keeping them away from the unworthy. Nevertheless, spending more time with these characters reveals that there is much more to them than meets the eye.
Between the two, The Emissary is likely to captivate most players, given their complex perspectives and motivations that defy simplistic categorization. As The Hunter astutely observes, although they may initially appear to be complete opposites, they are truly two sides of the same coin. The only distinction lies in The Hunter's honesty about their desire for the Artifacts and the power of the Unity.
Warning: This guide contains significant plot spoilers for Starfield.
The player's choices determine the Emissary's gender, allowing them to be either male or female. Throughout this guide, the Emissary will be referred to using they/them pronouns. Individuals who are sensitive to pronoun usage in video games are advised to discontinue reading.
Who is The Emissary in Starfield?
In the main story mission In Their Footsteps, players discover that The Emissary is actually their deceased companion from the High Price to Pay quest. However, The Emissary is a version of themselves from a different universe where the player was killed by The Hunter during an attack. In this alternate universe, The Emissary and the player used to be close friends.
Later in the game, players can take advantage of this information. Depending on which faction of the Starborn they choose to align with, they may have the opportunity to convince The Emissary to hand over their Artifacts without a fight. If successful, players can manipulate The Emissary by reminding them of their past relationship and how their deceased friend would not have wanted them to fight.
What Does the Emissary Want?
The Emissary asserts their commitment to safeguarding the Unity's secrets from unworthy individuals. Nonetheless, their tactics bear striking resemblance to those employed by The Hunter, as both resort to intimidation and force to achieve their objectives. Consequently, this portrayal not only exposes the Emissary as somewhat hypocritical, but also raises doubts about their authority to determine who deserves access to the Unity's power.
Starfield can now be enjoyed on PC and Xbox Series X|S platforms.