Summary
- Planets in Stanton system offer diverse options for starting locations, each with unique benefits and gameplay opportunities.
- Stanton is a hub of business and industry, while Pyro remains lawless and dangerous for players due to the pirate threat.
- Updated content in Alpha 4.1 introduces new quest-givers and mining profession overhauls, impacting starting location choices.
Star Citizen‘s unique planets give players the ability to explore and find new locations in the star system. However, to begin the game players will need to choose a starting location where they will spawn at the start of each session. Out of the 7 options, each one has its own benefits and shortcomings. It’s really down to the player as to which one they call home.
Each planet in Stanton is owned by a large corporation; microTech, Crusader, ArcCorp, and Hurston Dynamics. This makes Stanton the business and industry center of the UEE territories. While Pyro remains a lawless and abandoned system, where nothing protects the player from pirates and raiders!
Updated on March 29, 2025, by Mehrdad Khayyat: With the release of Alpha 4.1, Star Citizen introduced a brand-new quest-giver, along with a significant overhaul of the mining profession in the game. This new content may have a deciding role in choosing the starting location.
With the introduction of personal hangars, starting locations are now more than a spawn point. Players now get to choose where to own their customizable hangar, and this means they will mostly lurk around that part of the universe.
7
Ruin Station
Pyro
Unlike Stanton, Pyro does not have any big cities. Instead, the starting locations are bigger abandoned space stations. Players who choose Pyro as their home should get themselves ready for high-risk-high-reward gameplay.
PvP is inevitable in Pyro, but there are also great opportunities for miners and FPS mission enthusiasts. Ruin Station is the farthest starting location from the Stanton Jumppoint, which makes it difficult for cargo haulers to get back and forth between the star systems, instead, it is located next to Terminus, one of the good planets for traders.
Similar to other Pyro starting locations, Ruin Station also features a Contested Zone as well as a dealership and weapons store.
6
Lorville
Hurston, Stanton
Hurston is the innermost planet found in the star system. This makes travel to other planets and locations quick and easy as soon as players exit the atmosphere of the planet. The dirty and industrial design gives Lorville a dystopian feel.
The city of Lorville comes with Star Citizen‘s best dealership that covers a wide variety of ships and ground vehicles from different brands, including but not limited to Aegis, Drake, Misc, Origin, and Tumbril.
Similar to MicroTech, Hurston is also a planet with lots of bunkers and distribution centers, which makes it a decent place to run on-foot and FPS missions. Hurston’s quick access to other planets and even the Pyro Jumppoint also make it a great starting location for cargo haulers.
5
Orbituary
Pyro
Located next to Bloom, Orbituary is the favorite spawn point for many of the Pyro residents. The space station doesn’t offer anything extra compared to other starting locations in Pyro, but offering the closest distance to Bloom is already enough for many.
Bloom is the most beautiful planet of Pyro and it comes with a good amount of mineable rocks as well as outposts and trading spots. Bloom is an ideal destination for a wide variety of players, and that’s one big reason why Orbituary is quite popular.
4
New Babbage
MicroTech, Stanton
New Babbage is located on the edge of the System. With great shopping facilities, most of the player’s basic needs are met in the common area located within the city. With a range of stores, players will find weapons, armor, modules, and mining equipment for their ships.
New Babbage is home to Ghost Hollow, one of the PvPvE activities that could earn players a significant amount of cash in a short period of time. The planet is also home to a lot of bunkers and distribution centers, which makes it ideal for anyone looking for on-foot missions.
There are no dealerships in New Babbage, and it is pretty far away from the Pyro Jumppoint. These are two big downsides to this starting location, but the good news is that players spawning in New Babbage will get a fancy Aeroview Hangar.
3
Orison
Crusader, Stanton
Crusader is the largest planet in the Stanton system and Orison is the main city found on this gas giant. Unlike other cities, this location is suspended within the atmosphere of the planet (making ground vehicles such as the HoverQuad obsolete) and seems to orbit the planet to stay aloft. The landing zone here is absolutely beautiful, especially at sunset or sunrise.
Crusader can be a great spot for both miners and criminals. GrimHex, the nest of criminals in Stanton, is located pretty close to Crusader, which makes this spot a good starting location for anyone with a tendency for criminal activities in the star system.
Aside from that, Crusader’s moon of Daymar is a decent location for ROC mining and hand mining. There are dozens of sand caves in Daymar with minerals inside them. With the release of Alpha 4.1, the moon now also hosts Valakkars, the giant sandworms of Star Citizen.
2
Checkmate
Pyro
Checkmate is the closest starting location to both the core of the Pyro as well as the Stanton Jumppoint. Checkmate serves best for both cargo haulers and bounty hunters because they basically spawn in the middle of the system and have almost equal distance to every destination or target in Pyro.
When it comes to the space station features, there is no difference between Checkmate, Ruin Station, or Orbituary. However, miners may also find Checkmate a great spot, which allows them to reach Monox, Bloom, and Pyro 1 in almost no time, all of which are ore-rich planets.
1
Area 18
ArcCorp, Stanton
The spawn location in ArcCorp is directly adjacent to weapons, armor, and clothing stores making for a convenient setup when heading out on a long venture. The trading hub is also a short walk from here which is great for those partaking in this gameplay loop.
If Crusader’s moon was the best place for ROC and hand mining, ArcCorp’s moon of Lyria is an amazing spot in Stanton for ship mining. Lyria is one of the richest locations in the universe for mining Quantanium. So
, anyone who owns a Drake Golem, Misc Prospector, or Argo Mole will probably benefit from Area 18 more than others.
The only major issue with ArcCorp is its confusing and maze-like nature. For new players, this may be a massive turnoff making Area 18 a location that isn’t viable for the novice side of the community. However, after some time and practice, players can learn the intricacies of the infinite city and learn to love its tiny details and amazing endless skyline made possible by the game engine.
That being said, ArcCorp is home to the Astro Armada dealership, which sells all the Anvil Aerospace models along with the Alien brands. The location is also home to the Invictus Launch Week expo, which goes live in mid-spring every year.
