Starfield Matters of the Hart quest guide – how to romance Sam Coe

The Starfield Matters of the Hart quest is the first companion quest on your way to romancing the space cowboy Sam Coe. You’ll team up with him and his daughter Cora on a mission to save Cora’s mother from some fairly unsavoury characters.

If you haven’t already, be sure to take a look at our Starfield tips and tricks guide for some helpful advice no matter where you are in your playthrough. And if it’s quests you’re after, the Starfield Delivering Devils and Starfield Operation Starseed quests are great options. For now, let’s take a look at the Starfield Matters of the Hart quest, and how you can confess your love to Sam Coe.

How to begin the Matters of the Hart quest

To unlock the Matters of the Hart quest, you first have to reach a high enough level of affinity with Sam Coe. Our Starfield romance guide goes into this in more depth, but essentially, you have to consistently say and do things that Sam likes, until he considers you enough of a friend to confide in you about this quest. Make sure to have him as your active follower at all times, and avoid doing anything he dislikes.

Matters of the Hart walkthrough

The Matters of the Hart mission starts off with Sam asking you to have a chat with him and Cora, stating that Cora wanted to talk to you both about something important. Cora is worried about her mother Lillian Hart, who hasn’t been replying to her letters. Agree to help out, and then head to Neon on Volii Alpha in the Volii system – Lillian’s last known location.

Leaving the elevator down from the Neon spaceport, turn left and head inside the Freestar Rangers Outpost. Speak to Jaylen Pryce at the desk who will let you into Lillian’s office to nose around. Pick up the slate on her desk and read it to learn that she has an informant in the city.

Head to Ryujin Apartments just across the street (not to be confused with the Ryujin Industries tower) and take the elevator to Apartment #305, where you’ll find that a gang known as the Syndicate has got there first and killed the informant. Pick up the Victor Compound slate on the ground and head back to your ship. Grav jump to the McClure system and land at the Victor Compound on the planet McClure II.

Once you land, Sam will attempt to contact Lillian over the radio. Clear out the enemies around the outpost, and then head inside and proceed through until you find Lillian in the back. Talk to her and she will want your help to complete her mission. Take her back to your ship, and then grav jump to Rasalhague II in the Rasalhague system.

Here, you’ll immediately be placed in a space battle with the Dumas, who have the coordinates of Valerie’s cache that Lillian is after. Defeat them to receive the coordinates, and then head to Andromas III in the Andromas system.

After landing, you’ll have to take on four waves of Syndicate members from landing enemy ships. These aren’t too difficult to defeat, and you shouldn’t have too many issues, but make sure to stock up on ammo and healing items before this fight. Once you defeat the final enemy, Valerie, talk to Sam and Lillian to complete the quest.

Sam will then ask you to meet him in Akila City, next to the Solomon Coe’s statue. Head there, flirt a bit, and you’ll be able to confess your love to him using the Romance dialogue option, making your relationship official.

That’s the Starfield Matters of the Hart quest completed. If you’re looking to get yourself a better ship, our Starfield best ships guide has some great choices, while our Starfield best ship parts guide will help you build one yourself. And if you’re looking to build some Starfield outposts, check out our Starfield adhesive and Starfield adaptive frame guides to see how to get those essential materials.