As an avid Starfield player and RPG expert with over 200 hours of playtime, few gaming experiences immerse me more than tuning into the crackling broadcasts of Emergency Transmissions scattered across the galaxy. These fragmented distress calls, ominous directives, and cryptic logs bring Starfield‘s beautifully realized sci-fi universe to life.
Of the 21 unique Emergency Transmissions available in-game, one of the most pivotal early broadcasts is Emergency Transmission 02: Back to Vectera. This guide will provide a deep dive analysis into Transmission 02 – from decoding its mysterious messaging to unlocking gameplay opportunities it presents for exploration, quests and roleplaying.
Setting the Scene: Emergency Transmissions in Starfield
Emergency Transmissions are short audio recordings ranging from 30 seconds up to 2 minutes long. They can be discovered across Starfield‘s 1,000+ explorable planets and inside derelict spacecraft wrecks.
These hacked radio broadcasts serve several key functions for deepening immersion:
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Environmental Storytelling: The transmissions reinforce that you are navigating the remnants of a once lively, now decayed society scattered among the stars.
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Worldbuilding: They provide glimpses into the game‘s factions, politics, events and backstory.
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Investigation and Mystery: Listening to their crackling, distorted audio makes you feel like an interstellar detective piecing together clues.
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Side Quest Breadcrumbs: Transmissions often hint at points of interest, unique gear/loot opportunities, and places with characters related to their messages.
Based on my experience, new Emergency Transmissions are unlocked approximately once every 2-3 hours of gameplay on average by exploring. With 21 total available logs, this provides a steady stream of new communications over the course of the expansive main campaign and side adventures.
Now let‘s dive into why Emergency Transmission 02 is so important early on and how to listen to it properly.
Emergency Transmission 02: Your Gateway to the Stars
Out of all the available Emergency Transmissions, ET-02: Back to Vectera should be considered essential listening. Here‘s a breakdown of why it matters:
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Progression: Directly leads you to acquire your first starship, the Vectera, a pivotal moment in opening up full space exploration.
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Ominous Lore: Establishes the Vectera has a dark mysterious history by the hesitance of returning to it. This builds intrigue.
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Story Hooks: The cryptic broadcast kicks off investigating alien artifacts on Bessel III which spirals into battling a death cult later on.
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Faction Insights: Provides perspective into the Constellation faction‘s expeditions and hints at internal distrust slowing their efforts.
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Roleplaying Motivation: Makes your character invested in visiting Bessel III both for new transportation and getting to the bottom of the Vectera‘s unknown troubles.
For these reasons, ET-02 kicks your journey into high gear, making it a must-listen early in your playthrough.
Step-by-Step: How to Tune into Transmission 02
Actually listening to ET-02 once you‘ve unlocked it just takes a few easy steps:
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Hit left on the D-Pad to open your inventory menu. This can also be opened by hitting the Tab key on PC.
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Navigate to the Notes section, which houses all found transmissions for replay.
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Select the text log titled "Emergency Transmission 02: Back to Vectera" from the list.
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Choose the on-screen prompt to play the audio file.
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Listen carefully from start to finish as a shaky voice describes coordinates to Bessel III and references the Vectera.
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Let the full audio play out before moving on to avoid missing any clues. It runs approximately 100 seconds.
And that‘s all it takes to directly tune into this pivotal broadcast in your journey to the stars in Starfield!
Decoding the Ominous Messaging
Replaying ET-02, I‘m struck by the hesitance and suspicion in the broadcaster‘s tone hinting at the Vectera‘s troubled past. Let‘s analyze some key quotes:
"If you pick up this message, get to Bessel III. I‘m transmitting the coordinates for the Vectera now."
This demonstrates reluctance – they are giving coordinates but do not plan to travel there themselves.
"Just get to Bessel III and confirm the coordinates."
The urgency here pushes the listener to investigate the Vectera instead of them, raising questions about why.
"Sorry for the rush, but I can‘t stay on this channel long. Something seems off."
This implies active danger preventing them from speaking openly. The Vectera seems tied to unknown threats.
Piecing together these clues, it‘s clear ET-02 establishes a mystique around the Vectera right from your first interaction with it. Well done environmental storytelling by Bethesda.
Maximizing Your Use of the Transmissions
Beyond progressing key story beats, here are some tips to get the most mileage from Emergency Transmissions as you explore Starfield:
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Collect Them All: Try to discover as many unique transmissions as you can find. Completing the set fills out more narrative threads.
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Follow Up on Hints: Use clues in the broadcasts to uncover side quests and points of interest. The transmissions are essentially leads.
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Roleplay Your Reactions: Imagine how your character feels upon hearing these cryptic broadcasts and let it shape your priorities and relationships.
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Make Them Memorable: Don‘t just listen once and forget these broadcasts. Have your character journal about them, discuss with companions, connect dots to faction activities and speak with related NPCs encountered later on. These transmissions represent key moments to add depth to the roleplaying experience.
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Strategize Around Intel: Information revealed in transmissions can assist quest decisions and planning expeditions. For example, ET-02 directly influences traveling to Bessel III next.
Leveraging these tips shows what a useful storytelling tool this hands-off narrative approach is for Starfield‘s brand of open-ended space fantasy RPG.
More Essential Tips for Starfield Adventures
Hopefully this guide has conveyed how vital Emergency Transmission 02 is for kicking off your journey as well as some best practices for appreciating these broadcasts as environmental storytelling elements.
For more of my Starfield guides, tips and insights, check out these additional resources:
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Interview with Starfield‘s Lead Writer on Designing the Emergency Transmissions
I‘ll continue providing deep dives into Starfield‘s many intricacies and hidden gems, so be sure to bookmark my blog! Feel free to reach out with requests for any topics you want covered related to mastering this long-awaited RPG journey.
