Matters of the Hart is a companion quest in Starfield. See how to unlock Matters of the Hart, rewards, and how to complete it.

Matters of the Hart Rewards and Unlock Condition

How to Unlock and Rewards

How to Get Likes from Sam Coe

To increase your friendship with Sam Coe and gain access to the Matters of the Hart side quest, you must get enough likes through different interactions with her:

• Travel together with Sam Coe as a companion.
• Get Likes by choosing the FLIRT, ROMANCE, COMMITMENT, and other good options during dialogues with Sam Coe
• Always do a Quicksave before starting a dialogue in case you get Dislikes.
• Maintain good notoriety and don't attack friendly NPCs

How to Increase Companion Affinity

Complete Talk to Sam Coe Activity Five Times to Unlock the Quest

Each time you reach a certain milestone with Sam Coe's companion affinity, an activity will pop up where you can talk to him. Finishing this activity five times is one of the requirements to unlock the Matters of the Hart quest and also offers some opportunities to get likes from him.

Complete Shadows in Neon

Matters of the Hart requires completion of the Shadows in Neon Freestar Rangers quest to progress.

If you start Matters of the Hart before completing this quest, you won't be able to find clues about Lillian Hart at the Ranger Outpost and you'll need to finish Shadows in Neon before you can progress the companion quest.
Shadows In Neon Walkthrough

Things to Prepare for Matters of the Hart

Investment in Combat and Tech Skills

Matters of the Hart is one of the most combat-heavy companion quests in the game, with the quest requiring you to take out an entire camp of enemies, a heavily armored spaceship, as well as waves of powerful enemies during the last section of the quest.

As a result, it's best to invest in sufficient Combat and Skills, as well as some and Tech skills for space combat to make the quest easier.

List of Recommended Skills

A minimum of 3 ranks in either Ballistics or Lasers is recommended depending on your weapon preference due to many of the enemies boasting high health or armor.

Additionally, we recommend at least 2 ranks in both Piloting and Targeting Control Systems to increase your ship's turning rate and lessen the time it takes to lock onto enemy ships. This is useful for the spaceship battle part of the quest since the Dumas has power, long-range weapons.

Matters of the Hart Walkthrough and Objectives

Main Objectives

1. Talk to Sam Coe
2. Proceed to Neon
3. Look for Lillian at the Ranger Outpost
4. Look for Clues About Lillian
5. Read Confidential Informant Financial Disclosure
6. Talk to Sam Coe
7. Look for Lillian's Confidential Informant
8. Find Information About Lillian
9. Show Sam the Victor Compound Slate
10. Go to Victor Compound
11. Wait for Sam to Contact Lillian
12. Talk to Sam Coe
13. Find Lillian Hart
14. Talk with Lillian Back at Your Ship
15. Get Cache from the Dumas
16. Talk with Lillian Hart
17. Approach Valerie's Cache on Andromas III
18. Defeat Valerie and the Syndicate Forces
19. Talk with Lillian Hart
20. Talk with Sam Coe
21. Talk to Sam Coe Near Solomon Coe's Statue on Akila City

Talk to Sam Coe

After unlocking the quest, Sam Coe will tell you that he needs to talk with both you and Cora. You can find her on your ship if Sam is your current travelling companion or at The Lodge if you're not travelling with Sam.

Proceed to Neon

Cora will tell you and Sam that her mother, Lillian Hart has not responded to any of her letters and she may be in trouble. Sam will then ask you to travel with them to the Freestar Rangers Outpost on Neon on Volii Alpha.

Note: As soon as you land on Neon, Cora will start following you as a temporary companion. Additionally, you can't dismiss Sam Coe until you finish the next set of objectives.

Look for Lillian at the Ranger Outpost

Head to the Freestar Rangers Outpost and speak with Jaylen Pryce. After some tense dialogue with Sam, you can use the Freestar Ranger dialogue option and tell him you're on official business so that he can give you access to investigate the outpost.

Look for Clues About Lillian

Head inside the office and collect the Confidential Informant Financial Disclosure on the desk.

Read Confidential Informant Financial Disclosure

Reading the slate will reveal that Lillian had a contact in her investigation and an address where they should meet.

Talk to Sam Coe

Talk to Sam who will explain more about Confidential Informant who is essentially a snitch working for bad people, with Lillian being their contact with the authorities. He'll ask you to go to address at the Ryujin Apartments.

Look for Lillian's Confidential Informant

Once at the apartments, a short cutscene will play where Sam expresses his surprise at Cora's ability to lockpick doors. Once inside, you'll find Lillian's informant dead inside their room.

Find Information About Lillian

Head south from where Sam and Cora are investigating the trail of blood and look for the slate on the floor next to the desk with a computer.

Read the slate to learn information about a place called Victor Compound located on McClure II.

Show Sam the Victor Compound Slate

Give the Victor Compound Slate to Sam who will reveal that Lillian has been doing a deep cover operation against the Seokguh Syndicate. He'll ask you to help him go to Victor Compound and Cora will accompany both of you.

Note: Make sure to save before traveling to Victor Compound just in case the landing bug occurs on your playthrough.

Go to Victor Compound

Travel to McClure II in the McClure Star System and land on Victor Compound.

Victor Compound Landing Bug Fix

A bug may occur where your starship will land on the launchpad of the Victor Compound instead of the forest area outside the Victor Compound. This can cause problems since Sam will spawn in the intended location but you and Cora will spawn on the launchpad, causing the enemies to aggro and prevent Sam from contacting Lilllian, essentially blocking progress.

To fix prevent this from happening, you'll need to do the following:

• On the McClure II planetary map, place a landing marker close to the Victor Compound.
• Land on your custom landing marker.
• Once on the planet, open the planetary map and Travel to Victor Compound.

This will cause you to properly spawn on the forest area outside VIctor Compound where Sam will attempt to establish contact with Lillian inside the base.

Wait for Sam to Contact Lillian

Wait for Sam who is establishing contact with Lillian. After a short argument, you'll find out that you'll need to make a distraction by attacking the Victor Compound.

Talk to Sam Coe

Talk to Sam who will instruct Cora to keep a lookout for enemies in the camp while you infiltrate it. As you make your way in the camp, Cora will point out enemies that she'll spot or are hiding.

Take Out the Seokguh Syndicate in the Camp

You can approach this next part depending on your character's strength. It's possible to climb the nearby mountain to snipe enemies with high enough Stealth or can simply go in guns blazing and take out the Seokguh Syndicate.

Find Lillian Hart

Head inside the base where you'll need to clear even more Seokguh Syndicate members, alongside a stronger Syndicate Assassin who serves as the boss of the base.

Once all enemies are dispatched, talk to Lillian Hart who will ask to talk to you on your ship.

Talk with Lillian Back at Your Ship

Head back to your ship and speak with Lillian who will ask you to help her finish her mission. She'll ask you to retrieve the Cache Location from the Dumas, a freighter that is currently orbiting the Rasalhague Star System.

Get Cache from the Dumas

Grav jump to Rasalhague and Lillian will attempt to contact the Dumas, but the ship will soon attack you.

You can either weaken and board the ship to get the coordinates or simply destroy the ship and loot the Message to Dumas from the wreckage.

Talk with Lillian Hart

With the Message to Dumas in hand, talk to Valeria who will pinpoint the location of Valerie's Cache in Andromas III in the Andromas Star System.

Approach Valerie's Cache on Andromas III

Once on Andromas III, Lillian will warn you that getting close to the Valerie's cache will trigger a signal that will alert the Seokguh to your location. Before heading to the cache, you may place mines in the clearing south of the cache where most of the Seokguh will appear.

When ready, approach the cache to trigger the signal and wait for the Seokguh to arrive.

Defeat Valerie and the Syndicate Forces

The Seokguh will send a total of 6 spaceships to assault you and your team, with the first 2 spaceships carrying a total of 10 Syndicate Soldiers.

The next two spaceships will drop down Syndicate Soldiers, Assassins, and Robots in an attempt to take you down. The last 2 spaceships will include Syndicate Enforcers to the mix, alongside Valerie Mosquera who will serve as the boss.

Take down the Seokguh and Valeria Mosquera either through Stealth or superior firepower to complete Lillian's mission.

Talk with Lillian Hart

Talk to Lillian who will thank you for helping her complete her mission. After a lengthy conversation with Sam, the two will agree to remain civil for Cora's sake though there's no love lost between the two.

Talk with Sam Coe

Talk to Sam and he'll request that you accompany him to Akila City to his favorite spot in the city.

Talk to Sam Coe Near Solomon Coe's Statue on Akila City

Head to the spot near Solomon Coe's statue and talk to Sam who will express thanks for helping him sort out things with Lillian.

This conversation will lead to the choice between Friendship or Romance. Regardless of your choice, Sam will consider you an ally.

Note: Even if you choose Friendship at the end of his dialogue, you can still express romantic interest afterwards by talking to him.

How to Romance Sam Coe

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