I’ll be the old one in the room and admit that the fourth Crimson Fleet mission in Starfield, Breaking the Bank, gave me some serious The Fifth Element vibes. A futuristic cruise ship sailing the stars, a clandestine mission, a diva. The only thing that could tie it together is an emergency threatening the ship. But we might have that in store. The Breaking the Bank mission in Starfield consists of a lot of conversations and shady dealings, but our quest guide will steer you home safe.
The gist of the mission is logical enough. You need information to locate the last coordinates of the Legacy ship from GalBank. We learn there’s a GalBank VIP aboard a flying cruise ship, Siren of the Stars, and it’s your job to infiltrate it and vacate with their credentials. Your first step is to meet with the captain of the vessel, Naeva’s inside man who was already a part of a heist.
In fact, Naeva ropes you into her scheme just after you get your orders from Delgado. She and her inside man planned to steal a pricey item called the Earth Savior Award. But now, she sees an opportunity in you to cut her man out of the deal and reap more awards. So, not only do you have to run off with the credentials, but you have the chance to make Naeva happy and earn some creds on the side. Easy.
Note: Taking the award is optional, but I’ll include the steps.
Starfield Breaking the Bank quest guide – “We’re in”
You begin the quest by meeting Naeva’s guy, the Siren’s captain, Evgeny Rokov. And here’s our diva I mentioned earlier. Rokov can help you get inside, but he wants something from you in return. A spurned Crimson Fleet member, his desire to help predicates you convincing Delgado to let Rokov rejoin the pirates. In your conversation, you can agree to help him or don’t. Either way, that decision doesn’t happen until much later.
Rokov might be a bit grating, but he’s not stupid. He offers you the access key to the ship promises the the crew will allow you into low-security areas. However, he knows something is fishy and wants to know if you and Naeva are planning something. You can let the cat out of the bag and admit you’re also there to steal the Earth Savior Award or keep silent.
If you choose to tell him about your plan to take the Earth Savior Award, he demands you let him in on the cut in exchange for his help getting the item. Letting him in means you’ll get less cash at the end of the quest, but he’ll tell you about its handler, Sheila Holbrooke. You can get to the award without his help, so it’s up to you. Telling him about Delgado’s plan changes nothing.
Chat it up with the VIPs
Next, go to the Starview Ballroom where smug socialites can’t stop talking about the “positively horrid” canapés. Earlier, Rokov mentioned you’ll need to get some dirty deets on the GalBank VIP, Larry Dumbrosky, to squeeze him out of the information you need. Talk to the guests about Dumbrosky and they’ll share what they know. Keep doing it until one finally gives you what you need: Information on an affair with a GalBank executive named Klaudia Swist. This is perfect; no one wants their filthy laundry left out in the wind.
Note: If you didn’t tell Rokov about the award, you also need to ask the patrons about it to track down Sheila Holbrooke. She won’t spawn into the area until you learn her name.
Starfield Breaking the Bank optional mission guide: Earth Savior Award
Once you learn about both women, your quest markers will point you toward them. Holbrooke is chilling upstairs to the right of the Guest Suites door, while Swist can be found in a lounge in the Guest Suites area. It doesn’t matter whom you speak with first, but don’t ignore Holbrooke for long if you want that award.
Convince Holbrooke to give you the access card to the award
It’s easiest to get the optional quest for the award sorted first since you’ll run across Holbrooke on your way to Swist. Chat her up and ask if she’s in charge of the award. She’ll say yes, of course. Tell her she must be feeling “nervous keeping something so valuable” in her cabin. She’ll scoff and exclaim that she isn’t stupid enough to leave it in there. And then she’ll just tell you where it is: Locked away in a master safe in the Purser’s Office. Super. Head there next and ask to be let inside. You’ll rightly be told “no,” unless you show up with the Claim ID for the safe.
I suggest trying to use your Persuasion skill to convince her to give up the Claim ID. It’s the easiest method, in my opinion. She nearly threw the ID my way. If your skill in Persuasion is low, make sure to bring an outfit that increases the skill along with the Hippolyta item which increases your chance to persuade by 20% for five minutes. She has six points of persuasion. Here’s the route I took:
- +1 Look, I get it. You’ve got your orders, I’ve got mine.
- +3 What’s the harm if you tell me?
- +2 I’m glad you’re starting to come around to my point of view.
If you don’t have the skill or fail the persuasion check, you need to speak with Rokov and he’ll give you information to use to blackmail Holbrooke.
Get the dirt from Klaudia Swist
With that out of the way, head into the Guest Suites and track down Swist. You’ll find her sulking in a lounge area with an empty glass by her side. Swist doesn’t like to beat around the bush. The fastest way to get what you need is to be upfront: You know about the affair, and you need evidence. Don’t try asking for her GalBank credentials since she’s not high enough for them to grant you access. She’ll give up the information via Persuasion check or if you pay her 2,500 credits. If you can’t do either option, you can find the incriminating evidence locked in Suite 01. Unless you’re skilled enough to pickpocket her for the key or unlock her door, it’s fastest to pay. You’re on the fast track for a big cash drop as it is.
Track down Gabriel Vera
Swist lets you in on a scheme between herself and Dumbrosky. Together with a UC Security hotshot, Gabriel Vera, they have been skimming the top of GalBank transactions “for months.” However, she found out Dumbrosky had been altering the transactions the give him a bigger cut. She doesn’t have evidence of this, though, but points you to Vera. You find Vera in the Starview Ballroom. Chatting with him makes it clear he won’t fold as easily as Swist, and shoos you off under threat of arrest.
Track down Rokov, who’s upstairs in the lounge area of a bar with tote bag at his side. Looks like someone is ready to bail. He says that he saw your conversation with Vera… somehow from the distant bar lounge. Suggest implementing a “shipwide emergency” to trap Vera in his cabin, where the isolation may cause his lips to flutter more easily. Oh, here’s the emergency! Rokov believes that messing with the life support sensors should do the trick. He tells you to speak with the Life Support engineer, and maybe use some blackmail to convince him to let you in.
Head to the Life Support System
The door to Life Support is located in the ballroom. Head through and make your way to the Life Support room and speak with Chief Engineer Sandin. Tell him you need to go in, and he’ll say no. You can either blackmail him by saying you know about his gambling debt, or you can pay 1,000 credits. Either choice gets you in, but I suggest telling him about the debt and saving some cash. Go inside Life Support and flip all three switches. This triggers the emergency, and all guests will leave for their cabin.
We’re now halfway through the Breaking the Bank quest in Starfield, so now will be a good time for a tea break before things get spicy.
Get what you need and confront Larry Dumbrosky
Head back upstairs to the guest area and locate Suite 02 — Gabriel Vera’s cabin. Now that you have him alone, it’s time to twist the screws. You can convince him to hand over everything he knows by telling him you’re undercover with UC SysDef or representing the Crimson Fleet. Either option works the same: He’s still not convinced, so tell him Dumbrosky’s been cheating him of his money. Vera still isn’t sure if he should give you the evidence. You can pay him 2,500 credits for the dirt, or choose the option to Attack. You should pay the money, because attacking him here, even with a silenced weapon, will trigger the alert and cause all ship security to target you. This is supposed to be a stealth mission, after all.
At last, it’s time to talk with Dumbrosky. Follow the quest marker back to the left staircase and head up. Locate Dumbrosky in Suite 05, where he prepares to lob a Thesaurus at your head. But that’s pretty much as offensive as Larry can get. He’ll cowardly give you his GalBank VIP credentials to keep the whole scheme under wraps. Or, so it appears. Take the credentials and head to the exit. First, however, you need to tell Rokov that the job is done. He once again mentions his desire to rejoin the Crimson Fleet. We’ll make that decision soon.
Go to GalBank in Jemison for a “transaction”
It’s time to finally get the information you and Delgado need from GalBank on New Atlantis. Head there now and enter the elevator. Chat up the not-at-all-suspicious bank guard and he’ll let you inside. But oh, it’s a trap! That wasn’t a guard, but an Ecliptic mercenary — and he brought friends. Fight off all the mercs, likely hired by ol’ Larry, and get the information on the Legacy from the GalBank Archives.
Starfield Breaking the Bank quest – Final steps
It’s time to give (almost) everyone what they want. Head to Delgado and hand over the information gained from the bank. We learn that the Legacy was last seen near an EM gas giant known as Bannoc IV. This leads to our next Crimson Fleet quest, Eye of the Storm. Note: If you tell Delgado you don’t like Rokov, he will not let him rejoin the fleet.
Next, Naeva pulls you aside to ask about the Earth Savior Award. You can hand over the award or choose the option to lie about getting it. The pirate will believe the lie for whatever reason. I received 8,300 credits with the lie, but I got to keep the award. It’s worth 65,000 credits if you can find someone who would buy it. Handing her the award gave me 16,800 credits. It would have been less if I let Rokov into the deal.
Your final stop is the UC Vigilance. Brief Commander Ikande on everything that happened, and they’ll get ready for what’s next.
Published: Sep 28, 2023 02:20 pm