New Atlantis is the main hub of Starfield, and it's the first city most players will visit. It's full of all kinds of activities, encounters, and side missions, including the mission chain that starts with "A Tree Grows in New Atlantis."
Players can learn about this mission by overhearing a New Atlantis guard mention seeing an agitated scientist near the giant tree by MAST headquarters. This creates an activity entry that points him out, but even without the objective marker, players can easily spot the scientist in his blue and white uniform. Walking over and speaking to him will begin this Starfield side mission.
A Tree Grows in New Atlantis
Kelton Frush is a xenobotonist who works for MAST. He's been picking up strange readings from the large tree at the center of New Atlantis, but he's been having trouble getting anyone to believe him. He'll initially be annoyed by the interruption, but if players keep him talking, he'll eventually ask for help.
What he needs is a set of biosensors he set up across the city. There are four of them in total, and they all look like eggs on poles. One is up a tree and can be hard to target, but players should be able to pick it up by aiming at the pole.
The hard part comes when players track down the biosensor by the SSNN building. A kid named Jordan Anchali picked it up, and he sold it to Tseng at UC Distribution. The child has nothing else to offer, so players can head over to the store to continue.
Players can be honest or not with Tseng because, either way, she wants 100 credits for her troubles. This is less than Kelton's reward, but players can also try to steal it if they wish. The biosensor is on a desk in the back room, but it's important to watch out for the guard who sometimes wanders in and the customer who may see players from the main area.
Players can then give all four biosensors to Kelton for a reward of 100 XP and a leveled amount of credits. Kelton will have a follow-up mission once some time passes, so players can either head out to do other things or sit on a nearby bench and wait for 24 local hours.
Out on a Limb
When players return to Kelton, he needs more data about this species of tree from his coworker, Emilio Hadek. However, the two don't get along, and so Kelton wants players to ask for him. Once the new mission starts, Emilio can be found in the park in front of the Constellation Lodge. He also wears the blue and white of a MAST scientist.
Emilio will figure out that Kelton sent the player immediately, and he'll demand their help for the information. Players have no choice but to agree if they want to continue this mission, but after hearing his terms, they can try to persuade him. If players pass the four-step persuasion, they can either ask for more money to help Emilio or demand the data immediately without having to break the law.
Players who decide to help Emilio must go to Orion Tower and take the elevator. The target apartment is locked, but only by a novice lock anyone can pick. There isn't much in the apartment aside from the computer Emilio wants players to alter, so players are free to head over and clear his record. Before then, players can read both Emilio and Kelton's disciplinary records, and they can wipe them both. Wiping Kelton's record seems to make no difference (though reading it gives players a Jurassic Park reference).
With the job done, players can return to Emilio for his data and additional payment and then head back to Kelton. The reward for this mission is another 100 XP and another leveled amount of credits.
Late Bloomer
Another 24 or so hours later, Kelton will have an update. Players may also notice that the vibrations he's been talking about are now audible when close to the tree. Kelton thinks the tree is expecting a response from another tree, but the only one old enough and close enough to be a match went to the Freestar Collective a century ago.
The tree has long since died, but Kelton expects he can analyze its remains and generate an artificial response. However, the sample he needs is in the Coe Heritage Museum in Akila City. As a third party, he expects the player will have a better chance of convincing the museum curator to part with it.
Sure enough, Leah Casler, the curator, has a bad opinion of the United Colonies. Players can attempt a four-step persuasion to talk her into it, or they can try and steal it from the safe behind the counter. Unlike the apartment, this safe has an Expert lock on it.
Fortunately, there's a third option for players who fail the persuasion and don't have enough Security to get through the lock. After failing the persuasion, Leah suggests going to Earl Fulton, who owns Honest Earl's Alien Extravaganza by the city wall. Earl will demand 500 credits for the wood, and he can't be persuaded or robbed.
With the wood in hand, players can head back to Kelton. He'll create a program that can duplicate the proper frequencies, and he'll ask players to add it to the SSNN broadcasting system. The computer that does so is in the SSNN lobby, and players can interact with it freely no matter who's watching. To fulfill Kelton's request, players should select "Upload Diagnostic File" and then "Run Diagnostic" in that order.
When players return to Kelton, the fake signal will already be working. The final reward for this mission chain is another 100 XP and a larger amount of credits.
Starfield is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.