Starfield: Should You Side With Imogene In Guilty Parties? (2024)

Whether to side with Imogene Salzo in Starfield during the “Guilty Parties” quest can be a tough choice, especially due to the circ*mstances in which she is encountered. Imogene Salzo is the player’s main supervisor during the Ryujin Industries questline in Starfield, as she is the one who usually sends players on their assignments. For further reference, Imogene is the character who interviews the player’s character when they submit their application to work at the company in the first place. She is also responsible for promoting them once she notices how handily the player deals with disgruntled ex-employee Tomo at the TerraBrew Coffee shop during "Back to the Grind".

Ryujin Industries is a special set of side quests that essentially transforms the player into a corporate lapdog, sent out to sabotage, persuade, and intimidate competing parties so that Ryujin can come out on top. At first, the missions appear to be among the most boring-sounding quests in Starfield, but players quickly descend into a tale of espionage, betrayals, sabotage, and all the other evil-inclined deeds one would expect from large and greedy corporations. In the midst of all this controversy, specifically during the “Guilty Parties” quest, Imogene Salzo’s name shows up as one of the possible traitors, turning players against their mentor and ally.

What Happens With Imogene Salzo Before Starfield’s Guilty Parties Quest

During the mission that precedes “Guilty Parties” in Starfield, called “Background Checks,” players will discover that a vital piece of information regarding Ryujin Industries’ future plans, the mysterious Project Dominion, has been leaked. They will then be sent to infiltrate their own company and install a program written by the hacker Nyx, in an attempt to identify the source of the leaks. Players will take the data back to Nyx, and they will inform the character that Imogene’s name may be associated with the mess. The next step is to return to Dalton, who will request that players bring Imogene to him for questioning, effectively starting the “Guilty Parties” quest.

Finding Imogene In Starfield

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Upon reaching Imogene’s office in Ryujin Industries’ Tower, players will notice that she is not there, which is rather suspicious, especially considering the implications against her. Just outside, the player character can instead talk to her assistant, Yuko Serrano. Yuko reveals that Imogene's last known location was Frankie’s Grab & Go shop, which is but a front for the Seokguh Syndicate’s hideout in Starfield. However, she recommends that they talk to Dalton Fiennes, Ryujin's head of security, first. Dalton will direct them to Benjamin Bayu, an important name in Neon’s underground scene, who's hanging out at the Astral Lounge.

Both of these conversations are skippable, but worth undertaking. It's possible, but more difficult, to get into the hideout without Benjamin's help. Benjamin allows the player character to waltz right in without combat or lockpicking, but getting him on their side requires a little more effort. Players will either have to steal a slate for Benjamin while they're at the hideout, or win a Persuasion check to convince him they both stand to benefit from this job. Neither option is particularly difficult, and both make getting to Imogene easier, so it's recommended to gain Benjamin's help by any means necessary.

But either way, once they get into the hideout, they'll find Imogene. The player’s former mentor and supervisor in Ryujin Industries will then plead to have time to explain the situation. It's possible to attack her outright, but if the player really wants to know what happened, it is recommended that they listen to her.

Imogene Salzo will then explain that fellow Ryujin executive Ularu Chen set her up, and that she was operating as a double agent in the Seokguk Syndicate under Ryujin’s orders. According to Imogene, she was meant to deceive Ryujin’s competitors, not help them. She also states that she only knows about Project Dominion because she wanted to know what she was being accused of leaking. This is when players will be able to choose whether to side with Imogene Salzo.

Is Imogene Innocent Or Guilty In Starfield?

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Ultimately, the truth is that Imogene Salzo is innocent in Starfield. She has not actually leaked any of Ryujin’s secrets. Instead, it really was Ularu Chen who set her up. Ularu inserted information regarding Project Dominion’s Internal Neuroamp on files that Imogene was supposed to give to rival corp Infinity LTD. This was the source of the leak, and Imogene fled the Ryujin Industries headquarters as a way of keeping herself safe from any possible manipulation once Dalton started asking questions. Regardless of the facts, players still can opt to side with Imogene or betray her, instead siding with Ularu, who is the actual mole inside Ryujin Industries.

Should Players Side With Imogene Or Ularu In Starfield?

Siding With Imogene Is Morally Correct, But Siding With Ularu Has Its Benefits

Once the truth comes out, the most moral decision in Starfield's "Guilty Parties" is to side with Imogene. Despite accusations, she's not guilty of leaking anything, and simply needs a chance to prove her innocence. In fact, she hands that proof to the player, asking them to deliver it to Dalton. If players side with Imogene in Starfield, they will keep the order inside Ryujin, even if most of what the company does is morally questionable. Players can keep the accusation a secret until the last minute, which serves as a fantastic final plot twist in the story.

By siding with Imogene, players help expose Ularu as the traitor and mole inside the company, and have her fired to the overall benefit of the corporation. They can still choose whether to back Project Dominion as a vital piece of Ryujin Industries’ future going forward, regardless of choosing to help their former mentor in Starfield. This has a direct impact on which of Starfield's endings they get, but choosing whether to side with Imogene does not.

Killing Imogene is morally wrong, as she's not actually guilty of anything. However, there are no major downsides to doing so: the player character will continue with the remainder of the Ryujin Industries quest line, only this time, siding with Ularu. The only other benefit of siding with Imogene is that she later returns safely to the Ryujin Industries headquarters. Despite this, she is no longer the player’s supervisor and instead allows the operative to work their own hours and pick their own jobs. She can be briefly interacted with, but that is the extent of the impact of this quest, other than making the morally correct decision.

The other option is siding with Ularu, aiding her evil corporate plot. To do this, players will have to betray Imogene and go to Ularu with the damning evidence. There, they will need to imply they know of Ularu’s treachery and convince her that they want to be a part of the plot. If the Persuasion check is successful, Ularu will see the player as an ally, and mention the next step of her plan: Ularu means to overthrow Masako and take her position, becoming the next president of Ryujin Industries in Starfield. Players will still have to infiltrate Infinity LTD and sabotage them, but will later help Ularu.

This is an evil-aligned decision to make, but it does not impede the player from completing the entire Ryujin Industries questline. As expected, Imogene will not return to the company if Ularu is aided - even if she is not killed inside the Seokguh Syndicate’s hideout. Masako will also be removed from the area, as her time as CEO will have come to an end. In terms of gameplay experience, there is no right or wrong answer when it comes to helping Imogene. The only thing that matters here is the moral path players are choosing for their characters in Starfield.

Starfield

Platform(s)

PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

September 6, 2023

Developer(s)

Bethesda

Publisher(s)

Bethesda

Genre(s)

Action , RPG

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence