Bethesda has officially released a major free Starfield update, Free Lanes, and a paid DLC, Terran Armada. Both these additions bring tons of new gameplay content along with performance improvements for space explorers. Starfield was supposed to be one of the best RPGs of 2023, but it got off to a rocky start.
It received backlash from players on various fronts, including gameplay and performance. The studio has made notable progress in improving the game since then, and the latest update is expected to give it a much-needed boost. And yes, Starfield is now available on PlayStation 5.
Starfield Free Lanes Update: What’s New?
The Free Lanes update has finally added the much-requested Cruise Mode to Starfield. This means players can now perform various activities in their spaceships even while traveling from one planet to another.
They can engage with companions and the rest of the crewmates, decorate the ship, upgrade gear, sort items, and plan what to do next. These activities were previously restricted to only when the ship was either docked or orbiting.
Cruise Mode is essentially an autopilot mode for the spaceship, so that players can focus on other things. The good news is that this mode will automatically slow down the ship when you reach the destination. It means no need to worry about overshooting the destination while you are occupied with other activities.
Similarly, you can change the destination anytime in Cruise Mode if you come across a point of interest (POI) during the journey to your original destination. The team has also added new space encounters and increased their frequency. Some of these encounters will disengage the Cruise Mode, and you will have to take care of them before you can continue the journey.
Starfield has received a new customization resource called X-Tech. It will let players customize weapons, gears, and even the spaceship. In other words, if you care about deep customization, you should have your eyes on X-Tech.
It will be available through combat with bosses and exploration (chests and ship wreckage). Other customization changes include Tier 4 legendary effects for weapons, new quality tiers, and a ship optimization terminal.
The Free Lanes update introduces shared outpost containers to Starfield to make resources and items a lot more accessible. Once you install an outpost container at your outposts, any item or resource stored in one of the containers will be available at every other container.
Players can now have Milliwhale as their outpost pet. It will live at their chosen outpost and can perform tricks. However, it can be unlocked only after completing the Housesitting quest in Anchorpoint.
A new Database system has been added that will show relevant information about everything that you have learnt and discovered during your explorations. These include locations you have visited, recipes unlocked, resources/ingredients researched, and more. The Database will make it faster to find all your other outposts. You can also use it to mark your frequently visited planets as Favorites.
The update makes it possible to rank up unlocked Starborn abilities using Quantum Essence without New Game+. Another major change is that players do not have to start New Game+ from scratch anymore.
They can use the newly introduced Quantum Entanglement Device to bring their favorite items to the new playthrough. Free Lanes is a free Starfield update for players worldwide. It is available on all platforms, i.e., PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.
Starfield Terran Armada DLC Details
Terran Armada is the second DLC for Starfield and has arrived two years after the Shattered Space DLC. It adds a completely new story to the campaign along with new quests, locations, characters, weapons, and rewards. Terran Armada is a group of the United Colonies and Freestar Collective members who vanished during the Colony War.
It mostly includes robotic soldiers and is an advanced military force. Their motives are unclear in the beginning when they arrive, but “the fate of the war against the Terran Armada will have consequences that ripple throughout the galaxy.”
The DLC introduces a new companion named Delta, a reprogrammed Terran Armada robot. It is described as someone who is not evil, but definitely not good. A new Incursion system has been added that can occur almost anywhere in the Settled Systems. It will play an important role in both the DLC storyline and repeatable content.
All Terran Incursions will be visible on the Starmap, and it will be up to players whether to jump in or avoid. Each Incursion will have a different set of objectives, some related to the main story and others optional. Players have the freedom to set the frequency of optional objectives.
Terran Armada is a paid Starfield DLC priced at USD 9.99. It is free to everyone who purchased the Starfield Premium Edition.
