Starfield’s United Colonies Vanguard questline has gamers playing the role of diplomat, as they’ll need to hunt down two Armistice Archive codes to protect humanity from the potential threat of a Terromorph invasion. And if that weren’t bad enough, you have to deal with Ambassador Evangeline Radcliff’s snarky personality.
The first stop during the Friends Like These quest is the Freestar Collective Embassy in New Atlantis. In order to access the archive, you’ll need Radcliff’s Armistice code. Luckily, there are a few ways to obtain the code: persuasion, blackmail, or a far more creative endeavor.
Persuading Radcliff to Give You the Archive Code
This is the most direct method of getting the code, and for players with high persuasive skills, this is also the easiest. Walk in, enter the persuasion minigame, and fill the meter to convince Radcliff to do the right thing.
But here are some tips to make persuading Radcliff a bit easier. For one, you can take Hippolyta to increase your persuasion chance. Or if you want to get your hands dirty, the room behind Radcliff is filled with bottles of Chandra Chardonnay, which has a similar effect—more on how to access her room later.
Additionally, if you have the Negotiation skill, you can offer Radcliff 5,000 credits to fill up a good chunk of the persuasion meter. When we attempted this, it resulted in a critical success, and Radcliff led us downstairs to retrieve the code.
Blackmailing Radcliff to Get Her Archive Code
If your persuasion attempt fails or you don’t want to deal with a game of chance, you can go down a less amiable route. This one does require the Stealth perk, as you will be dodging the line of sight of guards.
When you approach Radcliff’s office, wait for her conversation with Cameron Long to finish up. Then, follow Long to his room downstairs and strike up a conversation. This is where the seedier part of your actions begins, as you will need to continuously lie to Long to get him to go along with your plan.
Tell him the UC is aware of his skills → then that his file states he’s a top-notch diplomat → and finally that the UC will offer him a position if he helps them get the Armistice Archive Code. He will give you the Freestar Utility Access Key, which can be used to open the closet door in the meeting room on the main floor.
Open the closet and enter while the guard in the room isn’t looking. Hop up through the vent in the ceiling and then drop down into Radcliff’s bathroom. From here, you can open the doors to enter Radcliff’s bedroom, where a potted plant hides a recording device. Activate the plant to get the dirt on Radcliff.
Next, head back through the vent and into Radcliff’s office, where you can confront her about her plan to off a member of the charter. She will happily comply with your demands and lead you to the basement to get the Armistice Archive code.
Stealing Radcliff’s Archive Codes in Starfield
Deputy Macintyre stated you could get creative as long as no violence was involved, and that’s exactly what I did on my playthrough. But before we begin, you will need a few specific perks: Theft Rank 1+, Stealth Rank 2+, and Security Rank 3+.
When you first enter the Freestar Embassy, there will be a locked air duct to your right that requires a Master Lockpick skill. Unlock this and move through the air ducts until you find another locked grate that requires a Master Lockpick skill. This grate opens into the Armistice Code Machine room. You can’t nab the code just yet, but we will be coming back to this room.
Next, use another Digipick to unlock the door leading into the basement. This area is safe, so you don’t have to worry about trespassing. Go upstairs to trigger Radcliff’s conversation with Long but continue straight into the conference room. Here, there is a closet that requires an Expert-level lockpick skill to open and sneak into without the guard noticing. You can also grab the key from Long if you don’t want to expend another Digipick to open this door.
Next, you’ll head through Radcliff’s living areas until you get to the door that requires yet another Master Lockpick. This door leads into her office, so be careful where you’re standing when you unlock it. Once it’s open, wait for her guard to leave the room and enter.
You’ll need to quicksave here before attempting a pickpocket if you don’t have an upgraded pickpocket skill. At Theft Rank 1, you have a 23% chance to successfully lift the Freestar Code Machine Key. It took me four attempts to steal without alerting the guards, but obtaining the Archive code was simple enough.
At this point, you can just walk out of Radcliff’s office and back downstairs, but you will need to sneak before you go back into the Armistice Archive Code Room. Activate the machine once inside and escape unseen through the air ducts you opened earlier. If you’ve played your cards right, you should have one more piece of the puzzle without Freestar even knowing you were there.
