Starfield - How To Romance Barrett

In Starfield, Barrett is a scientist who loves dad jokes, misses his deceased husband, and is maybe willing to finally move on--with you specifically--if you reciprocate his feelings. If you're wondering how to romance Barrett, one of the first major characters you meet in the main story of Starfield, we have the details you need here. Learn how to romance Barrett and what to do about his companion quest, Breach of Contract. Find all of our Starfield romance options and companion guides in one place.

Starfield Barrett romance and Breach of Contract companion quest guide

How to romance Barrett: Likes and dislikes

Barrett can be wooed into a romantic relationship with you by boosting his affinity (a score you can't see in-game but is reflected by HUD info like "Barret liked that." As with other romanceable companions, he's generally a good-natured dude and isn't one to enjoy you behaving violently or rudely without justification he can get behind. Here's a summary of how to boost your affinity with Barrett:

• He likes jokes, and very much enjoys when you "yes and" him like an improv duo.
• Initially, he will dislike when you ask about Ervin, his former husband who tragically died under strange circumstances.
• Barrett likes it when you get the job done in a manner that is overall "above board," but he seems not to mind some rule-breaking as much as Sarah does.
• As Barrett warms up to you, he will eventually want to talk about Ervin more, even asking you to help fund an investigation into Ervin's death some years ago. Agree to help him if you wish to romance Barrett and/or unlock his companion quest, Breach of Contract.

If you don't just like Barrett, but you like him like him, you should also keep choosing the "[Flirt]" option whenever it comes up. Even if Barrett isn't vibing with you initially, eventually he will appreciate you and start to view you as a possible way to move on from Ervin, in a sense.

Breach of Contract companion quest

As your affinity with Barrett climbs higher, he will start to talk more about Ervin, eventually asking for your help with an investigation into his late husband's death. In multiple instances when Barrett asks to speak with you during your travels, you may be able to help Barrett fund this investigation, and when those choices come up, you should do so--ultimately a few thousand credits isn't much in the game unless you're constantly building or buying new ships.

After a few third-party investigators help you out off-screen, you'll be able to travel to Gagarin to perform the next (and final) part of the lengthy quest. You'll speak to a lawyer, Ellie Yankton, who will tell you there's not enough evidence to suggest Barrett's reputation, which was previously tarnished before his death, could be saved. It's up to you to track down more evidence to prove Barrett didn't deserve the mud-slinging he got. Note that we're treading carefully around spoilers here so you can experience it all for yourself.

There will be multiple chances to gather evidence across the mining facility and nearby caves of Gagarin, and though the game offers you the option to present your evidence sooner than when you've found it all, we found this to be counterintuitive. It's possible you could even come to a conclusion Barrett doesn't appreciate, so make sure you collect all evidence, displayed as quest markers on your HUD when the quest is active, before bringing it to the lawyer.

You'll find evidence in the following places, each clearly labeled as quest markers, so don't worry about getting lost:

• In Ervin's apartment
• At the Town Hall
• Inside the Haphaestus mine after identifying the relevant mine at a terminal, H-363.

Once you have all that evidence, then it's time to speak to the lawyer again, who will finally agree you have enough to try the case. During your investigation, you'll also meet a few locals, one of whom you can ask to be Ervin's character witness at the eventual trial. Though you'll have three options--Dr. Kaela, Lizzy, and Clint--both the lawyer and Barrett liked our suggestion of using Dr. Kaela, so we recommend assigning her the role.

Should you find all evidence and assign Dr. Kaela as the character witness, Barrett will speak to you and be overjoyed with the progress you've made on clearing Ervin's name, albeit posthumously. If you've been performing actions Barrett likes and choosing dialogue options that make him happy (dad jokes are key!), he will then present an opportunity for you to choose Romance or Friendship with him.

It's up to you how you want to approach this, but just know that it seems at least one character, Andreja, doesn't "like to share" according to her own words, so you won't be able to be polyamourous with Andreja and another character such as Sarah, Barrett, or Sam. It may also be that Barrett wants you all to himself anyway, and can you blame him? Look at you, you're a snack!