How to Recruit Rafael Aguerro

As with all other Bethesda titles, you will come to a point when you ask how to recruit Rafael Aguerro as a companion in Starfield. The studio’s games have always allowed players to choose their sidekick, and each follower in the game has unique abilities that would apply to specific playstyles.

Starfield is no different in this regard, and there are several companions you can enlist to help you on your journeys. One of them is Rafael Aguerro, a late-game NPC you can encounter and then recruit. But how do you get him to join your team? We’ve got all the Starfield help you need to expand your companion choices!

Who Is Rafael Aguerro, and Where Can You Find Him?

Many companions in Starfield can only be recruited after earning their trust. This can be done by completing tasks for them or embarking on an adventure with them. It’s also a great way to test if this companion is someone that can benefit your playstyle. While the player will probably have their ideal companion by the time they encounter Rafael, he does serve specific purposes.

Rafael Aguerro is an NPC you encounter during the end-game stage, but he is well worth the effort it will take to recruit him. With his background as the chief engineer at the Nishina Research Station, his skills would be best used when you assign him to a settlement.

As he is the only recruit who has both the Outpost Management and Outpost Engineering skills, he can be a great addition alongside Vasco to run a successful outpost. He has the following skills:

• Outpost Engineering (Rank 1): Can construct improved outpost modules and research additional modules at a research lab.
• Outpost Management (Rank 1): Additional cargo links can be placed at outposts.
• Starship Engineering (Rank 2): Ship systems have 25% damage mitigation.

You first encounter him at the Nishina Research Station on Freya III in the Freya system. This will be when you are addressing the distress call during the Entangled mission, and at the end of this mission, you will decide if Aguerro will join your team.

How to Recruit Rafael Aguerro to Your Crew?

With Entangled being a late-game mission, there are a few integral choices that could affect the overall outcome of your game. Once you land on the planet to investigate the distress signal, you will speak with the security guard over the intercom, who will instruct you to speak with Ethan. After speaking with him, he will ask you to follow along, and this is where things get a little wonky.

The room will disappear, and you will be in an alternate universe where the lab is destroyed. As you explore the ruins and find a Weapons Case and Storage Case, you will be set upon by some Cataxi. Deal with them using your best guns or run by them and head through the door to reappear in your current universe and continue to follow Ethan. You’ll walk through the Work Room and once again be transported back to the ruins.

Approach the large desk in the ruins, and you’ll jump back to the main universe, where you will encounter Rafael Aguerro for the first time in Starfield. He will explain what’s going on and mention a metallic object that is the cause of all the destruction you see ahead of you. He will then give you the objective to go to the Director’s Office, but the moment you turn, you’ll be back in the ruined lab.

Explore the ruins some more and pick up items such as Dr. Barakova’s Journal in the clutches of a skeleton, and when you enter the room labeled Emergency, you’ll be transported back once more. Now, you can head up the stairs and finally speak with Director Patel and Maria. Speak with them, and just as you begin to follow Maria, you will be once again transported back to the ruins.

Which Choice Will You Make in Entangled?

Your new objective is to get to the lab. Explore the ruins until you get to the Emergency room once again. Go southwest from here and then proceed down the hole in the floor, which will once again transport you back to Rafael.

Speak with him, get the Nishina Pantry Card, and head back through Emergency to once again warp back to the ruins. This mission is quite a bit longer than other companion tasks.

Follow the instructions of the mission, and you will be taken back and forth between the universes quite a bit. Later on in the mission, you’ll get the ability to switch between universes freely, and this is essential for the final phase of Entangled, which presents three choices.

The first of three choices presented is to save Rafael in Starfield and let everyone else in the Research Station perish. The second is to save everyone else and let Rafael die. The third is to save everyone and Rafael and get a legendary space suit from Dr. Patel.

The third option may be the most alluring, but it’s also the one that takes the most work. It will require you to start Degaussing in both realities and also fix power locks in both realities. Once you have completed your objectives, you will be able to leave the planet and travel to New Atlantis. You will find Rafael in this Starfield settlement and then ask him to join your crew.

Getting Rafael on your team is going to be one long ride, but it’s an interesting mission for players with some unique gameplay mechanics. Which mission has been your favorite in the game so far? Let us know in the comments below and check out our other Starfield guides on how to recruit other companions!