The REAL Identity of the Pilgrim and Why It DOESN'T Matter! - Starfield Lore

[@NefasQS]

If you want more Starfield lore, check the following out: The HORRIFYING Reality of Space Travel (ECS Constant) - kzbin.info/www/bejne/b163i6BsmtKIn8k What EXACTLY Are Chunks Made Of? - kzbin.info/www/bejne/bKWyp59un5urgrs Aurora Is FAR WORSE Than You Think - kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIrbd6R8fah-qq8

[@fmo94jos8v3]

That pistol is one of my favourites.

[@felipem7626]

I always take the adoring fan with me to the unity, that way if he chooses to become starborn, there is a superpowered version of him annoying a normal version of me on his new universe.

[@DatsRandom]

Talk about self hatred 😨

[@felipem7626]

@@DatsRandom I'm a masochist

[@LAFORGUS]

Just thinking about this sent shivers through my body...

[@TheCoastalAVENGER]

this needs to be a mod, makes the annoying fan a starborn who chases after you from universe to universe until you die and he sadly travels to the next like a lost puppy until WOW oh golly it's my hero! alive and in the flesh!

[@felipem7626]

@@TheCoastalAVENGER you could probably ask for something like that on the nexus. Take a screenshot of my comment and ask for a starborn version of the adoring fan. It'd definitely be funny.

[@mattalford3932]

The pilgrim is the preacher in New Atlantis, who is also the hunter. Notice the hunter never changes. Its always a version of the same person while the emissary changes every time.

[@milolowly1744]

Nah I bet the pilgrim is Victor

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

I figured it was super obvious the Pilgrim is Keeper Aquilis. Like, he's so eager to have you solve his cute little puzzle that he basically solves it for you. It feels just like Bethesda writing. Furthermore, when you tell him he's The Hunter he already knows.

[@sorantohell5096]

Yeah idk what up with people with theories like "its the emissary." It makes most sense for the Keeper.

[@death299]

it's not just him being the hunter that he already knows in ng+ when you talk to him about it he makes it obvious he knows exactly what all of this is without the façade of hints and clues (and confuses matteo to no end when he just casually goes "oh, you know too then? well go do it") it's really really not subtle that he is the pilgrim it's also rather hilariously fitting that his greatest enemy is himself..the hunter who consistently points you towards him every single time, they may not see exactly eye to eye but it's still the same guy in the end and wants the riddle and fun of it

[@YoungSlim51]

@@death299 Right! He even asks if you feel like going through the quest chain again. Plus says to Matteo that you and he go back further than others realize.

[@supahgaming8249]

@@death299 yeah well when you kill him like the hunter asks you too he litterally just dissapears like starborn do. it doesnt get more obvious than that

[@Iced333]

If everything is possible that means there are universes where the armillary cannot be completed, where starborn get stuck, unable to return through the unity, and proceed to pile up copies of themselves.

[@Sorain1]

Behold, The End. A universe where every Starborn that comes in, can never leave. The solution to the infinity of their numbers. Let us hope, that dumping too much into a single universe doesn't act like too much mass in a given space, or that title will become more prophetic, and final, than intended.

[@JerodTrd]

@@Sorain1or perhaps, make it the place where they have to work together, to create the pieces themselves, becoming those who placed the pieces in these new realities.

[@throwitouttheairlock9556]

Maybe it’ll.. SHATTER the SPACE they’re in 🤔

[@george5432]

Huh you can crack a joke about launching the armillary into a black hole but now I'm genuinely curious. Being that it was broken into pieces then scattered means while it is extremely durable its not indestructible. Whats also crazy to think about is this game all takes place in the Milky way, Why are the required artifacts to build the armillary only in the milky way? Are there other artifacts in the unfathomable amount of other galaxies within the universe? Does each galaxy have an armillary? Did the creators of the artifacts leave into the void? All these questions and I'm not sure even Todd himself knows the answers to them yet, 3,916 solar systems within our own milky way it just hurts my head thinking about it. Maybe I just haven't gotten to enough ng+s for them to explain that yet lmao

[@death299]

the unity and artifacts are blatantly in every universe's core. the most you'd get is that they're not easily accessible and the starborn get stuck for awhile, but that's not that big an issue given that they play key roles in making sure the artifacts are obtainable anyway and in some cases have obviously spent centuries chilling out and giving humanity the tools they need to get the artifacts they want.

[@lionelwhiskerknot]

I suspect the Mysterious Captain who you meet in a random encounter in space may be Starborn who has decided to enjoy the current universe rather than play the Highlander game of the Starborn.

[@user-xi2nh4vs2i]

They are, they tell you that in NG+

[@doomsday437]

When you become starborn she tells you she's also starborn but gave up on looking for artifacts, then she sells stuff to you

[@aidanagain995]

She is called "The Trader" and she caters to Starborn. Her prices are highly marked up because according to her, a Starborn should be able to afford it haha

[@mattalford3932]

She's a starborn only merchant with expensive high powered stuff.

[@mattalford3932]

​@aidanagain995 I mean every mission pays out like 20k in New game plus so yeah you should be able to afford her prices. Replaying the main story again pays pretty good actually

[@Formoka]

I think you did an admirable job of explaining what is essentially theoretical physics. I also love that the identity of the Pilgrim isn’t what matters. Their message is what matters. Power is fleeting happiness that will always drive you for more like a drug fix. Living, making the lives of those around you better, making something from your knowledge and experience; that is the way true happiness lies. It reminds me of an old Einstein quote. “Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of other men -above all for those upon whose smile and well-being our own happiness depends, for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received and am still receiving.”

[@antonioaguera4580]

The real issue with the Unity is, that even though it claims to be center of space and time, every time you step through, you start at the same specific point in time. Makes me think that it is just a simulation some beings created to observe the player within a finite timeframe.

[@elderoth92]

probably because the point you start at is not long aafter you picked up th artifact in your origional universe, i assume all the starborn go back to around about when they first touched an artifact

[@MycoTao]

There was a star born involved 8n the creation of the grav drive on earth which is very interesting and lends to this understanding. As a Taoist I find this game very enjoyable for sure!

[@Ssekkaha]

I was honestly amazed at this from Bethesda. This really isn't their usual writing style, and I really am not into multiverse stuff. However, the way they delivered it was quite thoughtful, and very well worked into the gameplay. I mean, if you keep going through the unity, yeah, you are essentially just the Hunter. If you eventually stop, you are more like the Pilgrim. Personally? I just refused to go through. At the end of the day, my galaxy is here, and everyone in here matters just as much as any potential elsewhere. So, why would I leave? Liked your take on all this, didn't know you were this much into the lore of these games. It's cool to see.

[@joanned8172]

They hired a writer from outside apparently, so its like why its not the usual stuff we get from them.

[@Zal-TheBug]

Maybe eventually you’ll make the journey, I did after making my universe the best one possible from my viewpoint. I felt I wasn’t needed, and that maybe, just maybe, I could find something new out there. Better or worse, the unknown is something I wanna know.

[@amy_grace]

I think there's an argument that the New Game Plus loop, despite being super cool, is also kind of the story's "bad ending" for the player character.

[@xuzeh]

Friend, don’t be too attached to words and concepts that human mind can’t process, such as ‘multiverse’. This game is a soft disclosure about the Game. If you can see this, then it is ‘time’ for you to begin to Know and remember; or you can carry on playing the Game. 😀

[@baneblackguard584]

I had to find out what was there. likely the same reason i won't stay in the next. I'll live here for a while, but i'm certain eventually i will move on again. eventually I'll need to see what's next. I think it boils down to one question. Are you trying to find something, or are you seeing what's there? "All I want for you is to be satisfied" great lyric, but not everyone can accept being satisfied. they will always need to go on to the next thing, ad infinitum.

[@stop_tryharding]

I think the concept of The Unity and the meaning of the Pilgrim story was very much influenced by Andy Weir's short story "The Egg". An excerpt (go read the whole thing if you haven't) --- “The meaning of life, the reason I made this whole universe, is for you to mature.” “You mean mankind? You want us to mature?” “No, just you. I made this whole universe for you. With each new life you grow and mature and become a larger and greater intellect.” “Just me? What about everyone else?” “There is no one else,” I said. “In this universe, there’s just you and me.” You stared blankly at me. “But all the people on earth…” “All you. Different incarnations of you.” “Wait. I’m everyone!?” “Now you’re getting it,” I said, with a congratulatory slap on the back. “I’m every human being who ever lived?” “Or who will ever live, yes.” “I’m Abraham Lincoln?” “And you’re John Wilkes Booth, too,” I added. “I’m Hitler?” You said, appalled. “And you’re the millions he killed.” “I’m Jesus?” “And you’re everyone who followed him.” You fell silent. “Every time you victimized someone,” I said, “you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you.” You thought for a long time. “Why?” You asked me. “Why do all this?” “Because someday, you will become like me. Because that’s what you are. You’re one of my kind. You’re my child.”

[@jere7bear792]

I thought the same thing! The starborn becomes each character in a way. The emissary changes, the hunter is one verson of the 1st pilgrim who remains, but has a deep connection to the player's path. But with only one artifact able to be assmbled, only one person can enter unity before it is destroyed and scattered again. And the friendly, all-knowing verson of the character at the end ties it all together.

[@end1234567]

The writing in this game is both complex at times and down right lazy at others.

[@JeremyDeere]

A paradox of reality just like the main story..... lol

[@HeWhoComments]

I feel compelled to not enter the Unity. Anyone else feel the same way?

[@Chitarinoymi]

Im on my 7th unity and am ready to be done. I went through to chase power and have really regretted it. Because I'm a completionist, I'll go to ten for the armor, (and the abilities) but I think I'll settle there and just focus on building/exploring.

[@qcdoomqc]

I did a first playthrough, after like 120+ hours I went through it and did a "skip the mainquest" playthrough (still did all the factions, my favorite quests) and now, on my third time through, I feel like I want to make this playthrough my forever home and I am not skipping the main quest either. Its very cool with the different Starborn choices this time around! I feel like you distance yourself from everything in the universe once you’ve gone through the unity enough times, it’s only natural… you do not feel the same connection to the 5th or 10th version of X character or Y event as your first time. Such, I am roleplaying this playthrough as a Starborn who loves this universe, and gives up the neverending chase for the unity before he essentially becomes as jaded as the Hunter :p

[@stevemccann4166]

Got to Ng+10 with everything Starborn maxed out. Decided to stay in that universe, got myself the penthouse, got married to Andreja and became a millionaire.

[@itsflexplays]

The allusions to the player are pretty interesting. For example, the last NG+ armor is identical to the Hunter's. At that point, his mindset of trying to find the quickest path to the Unity (whatever that may be, however ruthless) resonates more with me. I find myself becoming jaded and indifferent to the people in each NG+. I make decisions largely out of curiosity, and no threat discourages me in the same manner that the Hunter seems to approve of you being audacious with your dialogue choices. It's just..amusement, but I keep doing NG+ because I realize that my powers get stronger, my ship gets stronger, and my armor gets stronger at the beginning. Now I'm at NG+10 and already completed the faction quests, but I realize the powers get better finding the temples at each Unity, so I'm tempted to forego everything to do it all again to get stronger.

[@Shadowpack95]

I don't think you grow past 10 Unities, i think 10 is the cap, like the Bullshit Ship Limit

[@Chadmlad]

Yeah I'm with you@@Shadowpack95 A ship limit shouldnt exist in a game where there's over a thousand planets for you to park your ship on

[@george5432]

I thought your suit was influence by who you sided with. Im on ng 6 and i have the emissary's robe and gold shoulder pads with the hunters black armor and helmet

[@Untrustedlife]

I think it’s cool that starfield includes two mirrors to the player in the form of the hunter and the pilgrim.

[@Cjorss]

Thinking about it further I think that Keeper Aquilis and the Hunter were originally both followers of the Pilgrim in different universes. The Hunter was likely the Pilgrim's closest confident referenced in the 3rd entry. The one who asked in a soft voice if there was anything above Unity. When the Pilgrim got frustrated by this and escaped through unity, the confident followed. The Hunter is still searching for what might be above Unity, he doesn't take it as it is, that's why he still pushes forward after 1000+ successes. Whereas the Pilgrim became the Emissary after 5 times through Unity, they see the harm that comes from unfiltered access to Unity. The Hunter is their biggest mistake that led to the Pilgrim becoming the Emissary. I wouldn't have expected this, in their interactions It seems like the Hunter is ancient and the Emissary relatively less so. And that is true, the Hunter remembers so much more of his lifetimes. But the Emissary actually came first, and of course before that, they were the Pilgrim.

[@net343]

That wouldn’t be the case because the armor that the hunter wears is the 10+ one, meaning he has done this way more than the emisary

[@Cjorss]

@net343 Except the Emissary does not intend to go through unity, they still fight for it but are forever stuck at Gravitas. While the Hunter does go through unity if he succeeds. It is entirely possible for the Emissary to have come first.

[@sorantohell5096]

​@Cjorss that wouldn't make sense. The Emissary is your teammate that took your place on unity after your death and they even say the Hunter (could be that hunter could be another version) killed you and its why they are trying to stop him. The hunter in the end is way older than the Emissary.

[@Cjorss]

@sorantohell5096 I don't remember the Emissary ever saying that you being killed by the Hunter in their universe was the motivation of the Emissary's problem with the Hunter. It's also not true of the ultimate goal the Emissary has, which is to gate keep who gets to go in. What is true is that the Hunter stated that you always die or are irrelevant in one way or the other. It's actually a very convenient thing during NG+ because in normal universes you only have a place at the lodge because "you" got "lost" on the way.

[@KO-2201]

The emissary may have the gravitas armour but they say they have seen hundreds of universes

[@InfernosPhantoms]

The Pilgrim's Identity. Based on what you're saying I assume you never went back to speak to the keeper after reading those books. I haven't entered The Unity yet and when I did he said he was the Pilgrim. I can't quote it exactly because it was more than a few days back when I went through that dialogue, but I'm fairly certain he said he had chosen to stop and settle like it's mentioned in the books.

[@sirisbelmont2656]

You are correct. And the hunter is the evil spirit he saw in himself, another him that gave into the allure of power.

[@bricaro8808]

​@@sirisbelmont2656Yeah, I thought he was writing about his evil spirit way to personally as they were an actual person rather than just his own thoughts and emotions. I believe he really writes about the hunter here and how meeting him showed him what he would/could become if he kept going through the unity. You also can go talk with the keeper in ng+ and right out tell him you are starborn and that you know he is one too, even if you didn't talk to him again in your first playthrough.

[@baitposter]

I'm thinking Victor Aiza is probably the original Keeper/Hunter, considering he touched an artifact, made the grav drives, talked to himself, and because the Hunter is from Earth.

[@death299]

he isn't. there's alot more to becoming a starborn than simply touching an artifact

[@death299]

@@baitposter ...barrett isn't a starborn either and touched them There is literally nothing pointing to aiza being starborn. Quite the opposite since he died with doubts

[@baitposter]

@@death299 Barrett literally becomes a Starborn, which you can see firsthand in your timeline if he's the one killed by the Hunter. All members of Constellation who can be killed become one. We even see him get his first power firsthand, Parallel Self. He's on his way.

[@death299]

@@baitposter can become one*, they're not all starborn.

[@baitposter]

@@death299 Then you weren't paying attention. They _all_ are in different timelines/universes. Other players' games are other universes that are actually happening in-multiverse. That's a point the game drives home multiple times. The Hunter frequently references other _hims_ that you should be considerate of, even if _he_ gives you a concession personally. It wasn't _your_ [Constellation member] that became Starborn, it was one that is that person from a different timeline/universe. They all have hypothetical universes where they become one. That's the whole point of Bethesda using the multiverse trope. -- Just as the player character has an infinite variety of variations while largely being the same (which is mentioned by the Hunter); this is Bethesda leaning on the 4th wall to make the player character customization diegetic. In the TES games, they achieve the same effect with dragon breaks and the eponymous Elder Scrolls. _All_ of your human Constellation companions are the Emissary in different universes. That's how you can encounter different Emissaries in NG+ with the same PC.

[@chaseburns8418]

I met someone called The hunter in New Atlantis. He told me we would meet again.

[@_vindicator_]

and you will

[@mattalford3932]

You turn into the pilgrim. I did anyway. I ran through 10 NG+ games. Didn't build outposts or ships. Now that ive gained all the power and knowledge im ready to make this my forever universe lol.

[@MedicTJ]

In all of it there's one constant. War never changes.

[@baneblackguard584]

I think Grandma is the Pilgrim.

[@FreddyKrugerGloves]

Who said starfield has a bad main story ? 😅 The story is deep AF 🤩 Love this 👍

[@george5432]

The sidequests are really good too, the terror morph one being my favorite.

[@TheDarkAdventure]

People who speed ran the main story and didn't read anything or take in any of the side quests.

[@LowbrowDeluxe]

I'm hoping for more from the NG+ universes as time goes on and Bethesda can add more here and there. One thing I was expecting from the story that didn't happen, I honestly expected Vae Victis to turn on everyone and have Kaiser steal the samples for him, some sort of plot to come out of hiding and take over. The story we do get is great and makes sense, but I feel like that should be a legitimate NG+ alternate plot.

[@SunBear-kh2td]

I was expecting Hadrian to secretly be responsible for the Terrormorph attacks, attempting to get revenge for her father.

[@finalcam1740]

Vae victis is part of faction quest line not the main questline

[@WhyrenGP]

having been spoiled of the ending before playing the main story, i interpreted it in the way that book 1-3 were written by one person and books 4 onwards by another, much older version, who found himself, tried to hang out with him, and ended up having to fight him.

[@Cjorss]

The thing with unity is that a person is injecting themselves into creation. They can only remember their local past if they continue to pass through unity. They are in some ways doomed to repeat their intentions once they stop. The pilgrim is actually extremely likely to be one individual, sort of. One individuals might be more accurate if not grammatically correct. So each of the pilgrim's writings can be interpreted as happening each after passing through unity once. For simplicity, writing 1 on ng+1 and the final writing is on ng+6. Where this does not make perfect sense is the fact that in practice, these diary entries would have to be rewritten by the pilgrim. They write the first one as if it was relevant but no it all refers to their time in ng+1. That data was lost in it's original universe so the only explanation is that the pilgrim rewrote it. Anyway why is the pilgrim so likely to be one individuals? What does the pilgrim decide to do, what philosophy? To stop going through unity after having done so 5 times. To instead stay behind, guide and teach and then die. On repeat. What starborn Armour do you get on ng+6? Starborn Gravitas. What does the Emissary wear? Starborn Gravitas. What is the Emissary's philosophy? To stay behind, to guide and to teach, to ensure that only those who are ready can go through unity. None of this confused people following in after them helplessly after the pilgrim chooses unity. If you help the Emissary, it is revealed that they do in fact do this. If the pilgrim is not the Emissary, it is at least someone who has the exact same intentions to do as the Emissary does, they share the same philosophy.

[@notreallydaedalus]

I carefully avoided spoilers, and ran headlong into NG+ once I found out it was a thing. I think this is the best story BGS has ever done. Taking my time with the 2nd run, exploring more quest lines. But my first time through the Pilgrim bit, I was absolutely certain it was going to be me, that I would be the Pilgrim in the next universe. Can't wait to see what they do with the DLC.

[@nicholaspowell8174]

Story is mid tbh they could have done something a lot better then this unity bs

[@baitposter]

@@nicholaspowell8174 cope, seethe, mald

[@baitposter]

I've avoided NG+ until just very recently specifically because I learned about the upgrade system for powers. Your first-time temple visit gives you the base power, and follow-up visits give you the upgrades to them in each following playthrough. So, if you want to fully upgrade all powers efficiently/quickly, you need to visit every temple in every run up to NG+9

[@Av1ferreira]

@@nicholaspowell8174 I thought it was brilliant, what other game can you play again and have the option of telling the NPCs that you've already "played" this game? It would probably be very good if there were more [Starborn] dialog options.

[@notreallydaedalus]

@@nicholaspowell8174 I'm not saying it's better than Tolstoy. Just that it's the best CRPG story I've played!

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

Wait wait wait... If he went through the Unity then how is he still writing more books that are in this one place? You can't bring any material object with you through the Unity. So either he didn't go through... or... This really is all just a setup by Aquilis to tell us about his backstory in a convoluted but seemingly deep way... I mean, it makes sense if he's that much of a megalomaniac that he'd become the Hunter he would also do something this absurd in his less violent form.

[@SpartanK4102]

Thought the same thing. Probably just a plot hole in my mind

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

@@SpartanK4102 I mean... yeah, probably just a major continuity error, but it's funnier to imagine they intentionally wrote him as having set up this convoluted Unity puzzle with fake journals about his real experiences in order to get to explain an aspect of his personal philosophy to people who've encountered other Starborn. Like how given the information the movie actually gives us it makes far more sense that Buenos Aires was a false flag attack to motivate recruitment for the invasion in Starship Troopers than that giant bugs with no apparent space travel capacity sent an asteroid from one side of the galaxy to the other in less than a hundred thousand years.

[@cookiessprite]

Great video! This honestly changed my view of the entire main questline, turns out it does make sense, I just didn't pay enough attention because I was rushing haha. It's sort of sad and poetic, I just wish we'd had more interaction with Keeper Aquilus prior to the main quest. The voice acting change between the gentle Keeper and the brutal Hunter is so good.

[@forgottenfox3857]

NGL you could make this channel really successful going into starfield lore deep dives like oxhorn with how much traction your recent lore vids have been getting. I stumbled onto your content and honestly you did a great job of delivering concise 10-30 minute pieces on topical subjects. You definitely have potential if that's what you want to pursue, but if that isn't what you're going for, it was a well done piece and I look forward to more if/when they come out

[@NefasQS]

More lore to come! 💛

[@forgottenfox3857]

@NefasQS I'm glad to hear it! You've earned a subscriber from me, and cheers to your future videos! If I could suggest any topics, it would be cool to hear your perspective on Nova galactic, seeing how close they were tied to the story early on and grav drives. I'll keep an eye out for future content for sure.

[@NefasQS]

@@forgottenfox3857Oh they’re actually mentioned in the video being published tomorrow! Are you sure you’re not a Starborn? 😂

[@jumper9108]

This game is so damn good .

[@elijohnson8007]

I feel like the scientist at nasa is the pilgrim. Let's not forget he's mentioned he met a starborn version of himself before the earth was destroyed by the artifacts and he'd be thousands of years old

[@jacksunstone8771]

They are The Eggmen. I am the Walrus. We are the Unity.

[@Hitman2b]

funny enought you can talk to aquilus after being a starborn and he as dialogue about it

[@Nolzei]

I thought the Pilgrim was the doctor who developed the grav drive. I thought I saw a note that said that the Pilgrim would show you what happened to him by going to Earth.

[@death299]

nothing has ever indicated he was a starborn, just that he was influenced by one basically everything points to the keeper he's starborn, knew the exact details of the pilgrim's location off the top of his head, confirms he IS the hunter and knows it is an iteration of him, he states that after awhile he stopped seeking power and started going around the universe sharing knowledge (founding the sanctum)..which was literally the goal of the pilgrim even the hunter/him thing fits perfectly into the "my greatest enemy is myself" thing as it is literally his greatest enemy in the form of the hunter and how he went back and forth on not caring (hunter) and finally gave into more base desires to try and build something (the sanctum religion) in ng+ he even plays along with your desire to relive the past (story) or simply skip all the mumbo jumbo and just get sent to the temple (much to matteo's shock and confusion) like..the more you talk to him the more blatantly obvious and easy it is to piece together even from NG that yeah...this is the pilgrim playing a game like every other starborn

[@mistressminerva3382]

7:40 "To me it feels like the Pilgrim is us" ... - According to the emissary and the hunter , it is the first time the Player Character Survived for so long and gains the right for the Unity. - That said , with non-linearity of time in mind ... everything is possible.

[@iyziejane]

It's the first time they've seen the player character survive so long, but they aren't all knowing. When you reach the unity and speak to yourself I think it means you were already a starborn, or else how would you meet yourself.

[@mistressminerva3382]

@@iyziejane You are not talking to yourself in a literal sense , you could either say you are talking to the part of you that is also part of the Unity , or you could say you talk to a future self of yourself , or you could say that you are talking to the part of your future self that stayed behind and merged with the unity. You are not talking to a past or alternative version of yourself , which should be clear since this version has seen all you have seen and experienced everything you have and more. Unity as a concept is One as in everything is it , this does not only count for the multiverse and everything in it , but also past present and future. Thats how i understand it anyway.

[@iyziejane]

@@mistressminerva3382 You make a good point, I'm not sure what the answer is. When you meet yourself at the Unity, he/she comments on how beautiful it is, and you can reply "you say that every time", and he/she replies "do I?", so I kind of think it's your non-starborn human side of yourself being left behind, but I am not sure. Another thing that seems related is that the Emissary can be any one of several constellation companions, on your first playthrough and before you reach the unity, implying that those companions have all been to the unity before. This suggests that the "normal" copies of a person continue existing after they become Starborn, and a Starborn version of them can be in the same universe as a normal person at the same time (i.e. the hunter and keeper Aquarius).

[@Metruzanca]

So the hunter tells you he spent time on earth before its destruction. Which means he likely became starborn in his universe "decades before" we do in our universe. Another question I've been having is, how does time work in this multiverse? How far back do you enter another universe? It seems like the player enters universes shortly after touching their first artifact. Does that mean the hunter always enters a universe when earth is still liveable? Does that mean theres always at least 2 hunters in every universe? One to be the keeper, to start the religion and one as the hunter?

[@NefasQS]

I speculate that in terms of canon that you can enter at any random point in a timeline (due to Jinan Va’ruun’s and the Enlightenment’s past encounters with the Pilgrim). What’s REALLY cool is that it’s not exactly time travel as timelines are flexible to the specific sequence of events that may or may not have happened in their respective universes! Due to the game limitations we most likely are confined to a sort of limited range of our universes but perhaps Shattered Space DLC will address it to a extent.

[@MycoTao]

​@@NefasQSI'm hoping shattered space introduces the ability to travel the multiverse more directly.

[@NecroitsHardcore]

hey broski. take no offence, you need to speak a bit louder, and lower the gain of your mic. Maybe get one of those sponge things that blocks popping from P sounds. My PC volume is already at max and I had to turn my speakers up near max too. I can also hear the smacking noise every you open your mouth, and you breathing. Other than that, keep up the videos.

[@a1racer441]

He as the pilgrim found the most accurate truth to himself, and that is it doesn’t matter if you keep going or stay put. Just that staying put is a more fulfilling life for himself. At least he seems happy while the other two do not.

[@laconicscout7555]

Great discussion of the philosophical aspects of the Unity concept in the game. As a fan of the Elder Scrolls series, this video got me wondering if Bethesda would ever link the notion of the Unity of the Starfield multiverse to the similar time and space bending nature of the Elder Scrolls. It would be cool to see a video that compared the lore between the two.

[@Childishxmarkeeloo]

What I like is that technically speaking every single player playing the game is in a multiverse.

[@mattalford3932]

They live forever if they keep jumping through the unity. Say im 20 when i go through the first time. Thats when i touched the first artifact. Then i wait 40 years to go through the unity. Ill come out 20 at the point where i first touched the artifact.

[@BeKind1Love]

I went to ng+ after playing about 60 hours. Personally i stopped at ng8 because I liked the look of that suit the best. (The gold cloak on ng9 is pretty snazzy but for now i didnt want the cloak) While I do enjoy the way they've switched up new playthroughs and added additional things, i think they should've done a bit more. The powers should level up simply by passing through the unity imo. Temple grind is so horrible and i only leveled most powers up to v and vi. The guardian ship (even the best one) is honestly not that great. I was eager to build my own and the sad part is that we cant sell or delete it so it takes up one of our 10 ship slots forever. We also sacrifice up to 6 legendary effects from our pack and helm since theyre all part of the suit in ng+. Funny thing is the hunter is just leaning against the wall in viewport next to the bounty kiosk, and it appears to be a female variant of the hunter suit. Once mods come to xbox I will max out my powers the rest of the way. Really wish we could change our background or traits as well as access the first page of character creation at enhance!

[@Necronossoss]

If you have the max ships slot already, when you get another free ship like UC prison ship it will exceed it and you’ll have 11

[@gilibran]

The temple grind is a part of what the pilgrim says, what's the point of the endless grind? What use is doing NG+ over and over just for the powers and wasting hours upon hours doing the same thing over and over while you could be exploring the universe or just settle down and build a settlement. Think about it, it's a jab at all games that make you grind over and over for what in the end? Getting that piece of cosmetic armor in a MMO with a 0.00001% drop chance after having done the endgame raids 1500 times!? The same running, the same position, the same skill cycle, the same boss fight so many times you can do it blind. Or just play another game and enjoy the content, it's why i love ESO, it has so much story content and each zone has a ton of sidequests you can leisurely walk the world without needing to rush to engame content. The same as in any MMO endless grinding of the same dungeon, i been there when i played Guild Wars 1 and wanted the ecto armor for each of my 8 characters. I'm older now, i dont care anymore it's a waste of time in the end. Just stop and try to enjoy the story is the message.

[@blackguy-ij7ij]

I stopped at the last one that wasn't gay. I think it was 7

[@WardenWolf]

The best analog to the Starborn is the Greek gods. Powerful, yes, but not all-powerful or all-knowing. And all too human. I agree that the Keeper Aquilus you meet in New Atlantis is most likely the Pilgrim in your universe. The single greatest clue is the last one: how he manages to pull Indum out of Infinite Addendum. While it's your character that makes the final connection between "in" and dum" after he finally narrows it down to that, it's such an impossible riddle that nobody would naturally figure it out. He knew. He always knew.

[@lucifer6028]

I’m more curious about when you ask yourself at the unity who made it etc. your unity self responds maybe someday you will learn of them or meet them; the creators

[@NefasQS]

Maybe we'll find out more in the Shattered Space DLC or a NG+ variant. Let me know if you'd like me to make a lore video on it!

[@0malleyAlleyc4t]

You become a Title, a function for and through The Unity. Spacefarer is as much of a "Pilgrim" as he is an Emissary or a Hunter. It's all "The Player". The choices, The consequences, The resets...

[@kmoore8647]

Seems that you are describing "Q" from Star Trek, in this context he makes sense, the "Quorum" is himself from different future stages that came together in this current universe to provide control over this versions insane dealings with "humanity".

[@bringerd1936]

In my interpretation of the starborn is that you're pretty much a demigod with all the dialogue I have seen in my new game plus They make it sound like you're no longer human

[@thecalham]

So new game+ i cant sell my survey reports to vald..... i can only sell to the nerdy book guy in some bars aslong as long as i have 1 habitable survey "animal and plant planets so always save 1," you can sell every other survey just save the one habitable to prompt the sell menu

[@thecalham]

Also i love to visit bars in every game and rl so meeting the hunter in every main bar kinda gave away things

[@defechan7486]

In a multiverse somewhere, at some point somehow one way or another everyone eventually will be a starborn that both simultaneously. succeeds into infinity and falls unto oblivion.

[@peadrianlastname]

I wonder who else is a secret starborn like the keeper. Maybe vae victus? He always seemed like he knew/could accomplish too much for someone in his position to me.

[@Mitsurugi2424]

What I don't understand is the keeper is in every universe along with the hunter and the companion that falls exists along with the emissary, but in ng+ you replace the you from that universe. Vasco just of handedly says you disappeared off the ship as soon as it took off the mining planet, and you start off in a ship in orbit of that planet...

[@RavingNut]

Good old chaos theory. No matter how many time you repeat something perfectly, there COULD be minuscule changes or major ones that show up.

[@wr1483]

The insurance guy is the creator of everything. lol

[@nightowl_759]

These descriptions of the unity mostly describe the word paradox. It also highly injects probability as both random and fixed variables.

[@CSRI]

Dang thanks for sharing. I never read any of these besides the third and final one since I was smart enough to give them to Andjrea since I lost her ADA slate near the end due to bill hicks lol

[@matchesburn]

0:13 [Killing the sanitation bot] ...How DARE you!

[@AIRGEDOK]

There is also collaborating evidence that when you enter a new universe is not constant in terms of when you arrive in time. The scientist that found the Martian artifact talked to a version of himself, that talked of the settled systems. So how did a scientist before the creation of the grav drive reach the far edges of known space to gain the artifacts with no infrastructure? Obviously in his original universe they reached the stars earlier. And he had obviously reach unity multiple times that showed him the settled systems. So when he met "himself" he told him about the grav drive and the worlds humanity settled. This only works if the universes you arrive in are varied in timeline. Also the terrible result of the grav drive could have been a slight variation between universes where this guy's universe the grav drive equations as given, didn't result in tragedy so he had no idea what he set in motion in the universes we visit. There is also evidence that Emissary is not constant either as the person who is the emissary changes. So "who" the pilgrim is also become moot because it likely can change. I wouldn't be surprised that if Bethesda had the time or budget the keeper would sometimes use a different voice actor and model as well as the hunter. But doing so would require significant cost and why it practically is not implemented in the game. I have played the game so much that i have come to the same feelings of the pilgrim about the unity. I have put aside the game until the creation kit and/or the dlc is released. When you have done unity well over a dozen times closer to 20 than not and played the faction quests multiple times there feel a certain futility about entering the unity. My last save is currently in the unity. [Ironically I have never gotten the odd universes that you can get have.] I would like to see more of these "special" version created with each DLC.

[@JockPuppet]

I don't know.. I can totally understand that it's very possible that we are the Pilgrim... But it sounds too much like The Hunter. As if to say, everyone becomes a Hunter through madness... The Hunter actually states that he was alive when Earth was still alive so he's definitely one of the oldest. And he eventually quit being the Hunter to enjoy his final universe and help others like it's said.. I'm writing and listening at the same time it's playing so yea... The Hunter is the Pilgrim. But I believe that Aquilas isn't a different version but instead a retired Hunter... After so long of not seeing significant change, you can only kill for so long before you finally give up. If he's been doing this for so long.. it's very possible where 2 Starborn of the same person can arrive in the same universes.

[@michaelvaughn3153]

You stand at the singularity. Is better wording. For the the center of the multitverse/unity.

[@devduguay2814]

My problem is I went NG+6, then played about 140hrs. Now, that im lvl 130, Id like to go through NG+ again to level powers, but I also want to change traits.... which you cant do, that sucks. I hope they change it, you should be able to revamp the whole character every NG+, I mean you can litterally go get a sex change in any major city, why can't I try to get parents, and an anoying fan in NG+ 😅? I might just wait 2 years, and replay it with 100mods. I had a love/hate relationship with this game, one of the biggest problems for me always doing piracy or "evil" playthroughs is that Nothing you do really matters, and that all major fleshed out companions are goodie 2 shoes with the same moral compass. Even Andreja which makes no sense as a Varuun(killing innocent ppl), and former smuggler/criminal, I cant even steal a ship without her flipping me off, and when you fly with the whole crew on board, they all flip off when you shoot or pirate a trader.

[@sorantohell5096]

Spoilers for those who actually wants to know who is the pilgrim. Its the Keeper he even tells you it if you return to him after talking having the meeting with the emissary and hunter.

[@Jamesgutierrez024]

I’ve gone through unity 10 times, went back and killed both the Hunter and Emissary and took their weapons. Now I just cruise, bc no one can touch me. Phased time X is just broken and feels god like. So crazy man.

[@gevonstria]

I read a lot that the writing is bad for this game. I totally disagree, starfield is such a refreshing story, unlike the father and son story from fallout 3 and 4. I find myself enjoying story

[@The_Mad_King_Aerys]

Cool video man. Love this mind bending stuff.

[@matthewsmith1950]

I feel like these writings and Earth basically being destroyed by an artifact should have been a huge red flag for our explorer group. I wish some options would gave opened up later where you could actively reject the Unity and close off access to it forever somehow. I just think it’d be a really cool and rewarding choice for those of us that felt our current universe and the people we met were enough. I love the game but the current ending if you walk away is “ I’m not going in….yet but the option is always there”. I find that your romantic partners all pretty much say “We can be together for a while but curiosity will win out eventually”. The cool thing is it would have been cool if this had been the universe where it didn’t. As Altair in Assassin’s Crees Revelations said “If only had the humility to say I have learned enough for one lifetime”. Given what happens at the end, i think the Pilgrim was right. I doubt it will happen, but maybe one day we’ll get the chance to have our rejection of the unity really carry narrative weight.

[@matthewsmith1950]

Normally I wouldn’t replay on my own message, but the main problem i have with the unity is it requiring complete sacrifice to travel to other universes when you were basically able to bypass it entirely (The mission entangled) and right before the final fight (seeing vlad holding an alternate version of you) and you came back to your universe without dying. Oh and fighting the emissary/hunter in alternate universes and coming back to your own. The Unity is asking too much and it honestly reminds me of the Vault 11 martyr recording in Fallout New Vegas.

[@octopusgoat2502]

Great video. I enjoyed listening to this a lot and appreciate your perspective

[@matthewgalea6576]

So in our universe, the hunter would be stuck in our 1st universe because we went to the unity and he didn't? And the hunter in the second one and so on are different ones from different universes... Is that right?

[@Hyenadont]

Bethesda: no, fallout and starfield are set in the same universe The multiverse:

[@youngoutlaw5150]

Two of the three religions of this game certainly is space around the unity, but the information was diluted

[@masterbeef981]

This quote about where god is found feels relevant to the overall story of Starfield, the theme of unity, and the character arc of the pilgrim "We don't have to withdraw from the world into a quiet place in order to find God. God's footprints can be found everywhere. In our work and our relationships, in our family and friends, in our sorrows and joys, in the sublime beauty of nature and in the mundane details of our daily lives"

[@knubbs7907]

Edited: ope….I made this comment before you touched on it in your video haha. It might have been the edible I had before playing last night, but reading the pilgrims writings made me think that these writings are Bethesda’s way of teaching and trying to hype the player up to doing multiple new game plus runs.

[@dyent]

I thought it was the Grav Drive guy, thats the only other Starborn we know of who was around when humanity first started expanding out from Earth.

[@tobieschmahl6376]

Why does the Starborn ship have so much emptiness. No furniture or workshops. Sucks huge balls.

[@mrmaitreya7431]

Got dialogue of the hunter calling himself; the great “hunter” . Any thoughts

[@mrmaitreya7431]

Also laughed afterwards

[@DSxnoobkiller]

Bro what am I missing something, the hunter pilgrim and keeper are all the same person… the keeper himself admits it

[@SS-lk6ij]

bro didn’t watch the video😂😂

[@Av1ferreira]

They could easily create a DLC with some "evil" wanting to destroy, break or end, or conquer the unity, and so the Starborns would now be forced to defend, protect as guardians the unity. The end of Unity could probably be the end of everything, of all parallel universes, Or something like that, it would be really cool. If the villain was a being like Darkseid or Thanos it would be really cool.

[@_vindicator_]

was the pilgrim not the keeper / hunter? he's clearly been around the longest

[@death299]

it is, the game makes it obvious the more you talk to him, dude is literally a starborn that gave up the search for power to build something

[@chaselane9827]

i don’t feel like we are the pilgrim because i can remember the hunter saying that in any other universe we had never made it this far. implying in every other universe our player character has died along the way.

[@logangilstrap6060]

Dude i just looked at starfield wiki. ITS AMAZING!! Did you make all of this?

[@ElodinClassic]

As a sound technician, I'm having a hard time paying attention to your content- there is too much low end in the vocals and not enough 1k-10khz. I have to EQ my car stereo to listen on the road :( Script and Video editing is really good. More midrange in your voice will really help capture auditorial attention better

[@NefasQS]

If you could join our Discord and let me know specifically what I could do apart from raising/editing the decibel (currently ~+16 with DeNoise/De-Esser through Adobe Audition) I would love to take your technical advice! discord.gg/7emp My voice in the video is just my speaking voice.

[@blackguy-ij7ij]

We should be able to keep the stuff in our starborn ships

[@BugCatcher89]

Is it possible the pilgrim could be a starborn version of Sebastian Banks?

[@drachendasgut1312]

the hunter and emissary you can get to reveal themselves but I would say based off lines in the game the pilgrim was someone different or even the guy who created humans ability to jump

[@baroncalamityplus]

In my head, Dr. Victor Aiza is the Pilgram. Or at least A Pilgram.

[@mattalford3932]

Because who sends you on thr pilgrims voyage is way more important

[@LodanSD]

What about the Adoring Fan?

[@durandol]

The Pilgrim, and the person you see at the Unity, should have been Sebastian Banks.

[@Troubleshooter11]

I felt quite a bit of stoic philosophy in the pilgrim's writings.

[@benitob2037]

I talked to keep aquilis after I became starborn and found out he’s a starborn too. I think he might be the pilgrim himself. The story matches too much. I’m surprised nobody had thought this yet.

[@death299]

even in ng+ it's pretty obvious. the guy looks at no star charts or other information and goes from "idk what any of this means" to "hey this is obviously a coordinate to this one specific system it all matches" faster than the core of a sun can melt paper....despite claiming he's discussed this with others before and remained stumped for quite some time yet...repeating what he has been told is the key? meaning he either knew it beforehand (ala pilgrim), or the mfer has a supercomputer in his brain

[@NihilistTurtle]

I don't really hate it when media goes into a multiverse but I feel like with Rick and Morty where they just make the whole concept very nihilistic kind of boring, so I actually like the more positive spin Bethesda gave it.

[@allenaju1856]

Honestly Sanctum Universum is probably the closest to a real religion in a game. The concept I can genuinely believe, if there is a god I doubt they are bounded to earth as we aren’t the only star in the Black Sea and I doubt we are the only sentient life out there with their own gods and religions.

[@death299]

the sanctum is literally a religion founded by keeper to point towards the unity. it's not a "god" as you're thinking, it's literally the unity dude is an actual starborn, the game both in ng (with the later artifacts) and ng+ (through starborn dialogue) will admit that he's always been a starborn and gave up power to build something

[@PaladinThizz]

After having to go through the same bullshit 10 times and then having to grind again to get my same old ship back I'm starting to feel like fuck this game. But after I get my ship, maybe the game will start being fun again

[@RickBelt]

I am playing for one month trying to find a sense and purpose of this game.

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

The Unity is most certainly not indifferent. If it was it wouldn't create Starborn. It does create Starborn, so clearly it wants Starborn to exist. And I mean, Starborn get special ships and special spacesuits and everything. It's not even just powers. It talks to you, says some vague shit, and then gives you a new ship and suit. There's obvious intent here.

[@AugustTheStag]

I thought the Pilgrim was the Hunter?

[@varoux4278]

Pretty sure bethesda cut alot of content out for the shatter dlc. It would explain why a main base or anything for the varuun never shows up and why so many other star systems are empty. Or shitty game design i guess

[@oliviamoore3426]

Schrödinger unity

[@RayHorn5128088056]

The player is the Pilgrim.

[@carlosmaffizzoni2576]

Thanks. Amazing compilation, mate. So … are there 4 Starborn peoples? Is player the the only one since they can see the future? And most importantly: can we ride dragons?😂

[@Kurogumo]

There are more, at least one for every temple.

[@death299]

​@@Kurogumo starborn don't die. it's a fairly major plot point that they constantly strike each other down, take artifacts and eventually ones goes through the unity, then the game continues. and during the game you can strike the same ones down multiple times the actual number of them is unknown. possibly entirely unknowable but there is atleast 8 the nameless ones (4 appear at any given time), keeper/hunter/pilgrim, the player, the trader, the emissary

[@Kurogumo]

@death299 Starborn do die, it's just that there are a potentially infinite number of starborn versions of each of the guardians. It's why you're able to betray the Hunter in one universe and help him in the others.

[@death299]

@@Kurogumo yeah that doesn't jive with us knowing they kill each other while having memories of those conflicts. Or that you can kill and get dust from some only for the same named ones to pop back up anyway