Summary
- In Starfield , Earth has become an uninhabitable wasteland, but players can still visit and explore the ruins of some of the world's most famous landmarks.
- To unlock these landmarks, players need to acquire specific books, like Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist or The Ancient Civilization of Egypt .
- Each landmark has a correlated snow globe that can be found nearby, usually at the base of the structure.
By the time Starfield takes place in the year 2330, Earth has become an inhospitable wasteland after Dr. Victor Aiza's discovery of Grav Drive technology in the 2100s caused the planet’s magnetosphere to collapse merely 50 years into testing, forcing humanity to flee and inhabit many other star systems instead. Although it's no longer deemed to be habitable, it is still possible to visit Earth in Starfield, and even view some of the remaining monuments there.
Amid the vast, seemingly never-ending plains of sand, there are still some recognizable landmarks to be found. Due to the fact that players can't explore entire planets on foot at once in Starfield (and given the size of Earth, that alone could take some time if there were such an option), in order to visit these landmarks, players will need to find special prompts that will add new landing sites.
1 The Shard (London Landmark)
There are plenty of Charles Dickens novels to be found in Starfield, as humanity seemed to all reach for their Dickens collections during the mass exodus from Earth. By acquiring and opening Charles Dickens' second novel, Oliver Twist, in the inventory menu, players will unlock the London Landmark activity.
The London Landmark in question is the remains of the city's current tallest building: The Shard, which stands at a height of 310m. One of Starfield's many collectible snow globes can also be found on a rock near the base of The Shard with a model of present-day London inside.
2 Pyramids Of Giza (Cairo Landmark)
To visit The Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, players must read a copy of The Ancient Civilization of Egypt to unlock the Egypt Landmark activity. This book can be found lying around in various bases across the galaxy, but for those who don't want to spend much time searching for it, there is the option to visit the bookseller and Old Earth books enthusiast Ahnjong Sinclair in Akila City and purchase it directly from her.
Upon visiting the Egypt Landmark, the remains of only two out of the three pyramids can be found. Much like with The Shard, the Cairo snow globe can be found nearby, on a slab of rock near the base of the furthest pyramid.
3 Empire State Building (New York Landmark)
A book called Our Lost Heritage is the key to unlocking the New York Landmark landing zone. Unfortunately, this can't be purchased and must be stolen from the office of President Abello in New Atlantis instead. Abello's office is located on the upper floors of the MAST building, and the book is situated on the right-hand side of her desk.
The New York landmark is the remains of the Empire State Building, which is looking worse for wear with large portions of it crumbling away. The New York snow globe can be found on the right side of the building, sitting on a rock.
4 US Bank Tower (Los Angeles Landmark)
To visit the Los Angeles Landmark, players won't need to acquire a novel, but rather a copy of the Hope Family Tree. The only known location for this is on Ron Hope's Desk in Hopetown, and the first time there is an opportunity to pick this up is during the "Where Hope is Built" faction quest. If players don't grab the family tree at this point, it is possible to revisit Ron Hope's office on Polvo upon completing the "Accidents Happen" quest for Ryujin.
The Los Angeles landmark is the US Bank Tower, which much like some other landmarks is crumbling apart, with a large zig-zag-shaped crack going up the side of it. The Los Angeles snow globe can be found at the base of the tower among the rubble.
5 The Gateway Arch (Saint Louis Landmark)
A copy of The Price of Destiny is needed to visit the Saint Louis Landmark: The Gateway Arch, and this can be found on Neon. The book is situated in Benjamin Bayu's penthouse, so to access this, players will need to pickpocket the key off him as he hangs out in the Astral Lounge's VIP area.
When visiting the Gateway Arch, much of the stainless-steel plating has fallen from the 192-meter-tall monument and can be found semi-submerged in the sand below. Directly underneath the arch amid this debree is the St. Louis snow globe.
6 Shanghai Tower (Shanghai Landmark)
To visit China's Shanghai Tower and acquire the Shanghai snow globe at its base, players will need to find a copy of Essentials of Modern Macroeconomics. This can be found at the foot of a whiteboard in a classroom on the Residential Level of the generational colony ship: ECS Constant.
The ECS Constant can be visited for the first time as part of the "First Contact" side quest when visiting the Porrima star system. If the ship is still intact following the decisions made in this mission, players can revisit it later to pick up this book if they missed it the first time around, however, if it's destroyed, the book will be lost with it, along with the means to unlock the Shanghai Landmark landing zone.
7 International Commerce Center (Hong Kong Landmark)
Maurice Lyon's Journal is the key to unlocking the location of Kowloon's International Commerce Center and acquiring the Hong Kong snow globe near the damaged section of its base. As Lyon is in charge of the museum at the New Homestead settlement on Titan, his journal can be found there. There are many books on display in this area, but the one in question can be found on a metal shelf to the left of the stairs that lead down to the museum.
8 Abeno Harukas (Osaka Landmark)
The Diary of Kyosuke Nagata is required to visit the Abeno Harukas landmark and collect the Osaka snow globe. To attain this, players will need to go undercover for the United Colonies' System Defense as part of the special division's goal of dismantling the space pirate group, The Crimson Fleet.
Once "arrested" in UC territory during the "Deep Cover" mission, the Crimson Fleet's base in the Kryx system, The Key, will become available to explore. Upon The Key, the diary can be located on a nightstand to the left of the bed in Delgado's quarters, just up the stairs from the command center.
9 Burj Khalifa (Dubai Landmark)
The world's current tallest building, Dubai's 828 meter-tall Burj Khalifa, can be found in Starfield by finding the book Race to the Heavens. As with the Diary of Kyosuke Nagata, this can be found during the Crimson Fleet questline as part of the "Breaking the Bank" mission.
Race to the Heavens is found on a desk in Larry Dumbrosky's suite aboard the Siren of the Stars luxury liner. To access this suite, players with a rank two Security skill will be able to pick its Expert lock, but those without will be able to access it later in the quest once the alarm sounds. As with every other landmark, a snow globe can be found on a rock near its base, in this case on the far side of the Burj Khalifa.
10 NASA Launch Tower (Cape Canaveral Landmark)
Starfield's main story will involve traveling to Earth as part of the mission "Unearthed." During this point quite late into the campaign, players will visit the NASA Launch Tower in Cape Canaveral and uncover the planet's past. Unlike the other landmarks, the NASA snow globe isn't situated at the base of the structure but can be located on one of the desks in the upper levels of the facility instead.
11 The Leaning Tower of Pisa (Cut Content)
An Italy Landmark appears to have been cut from Starfield prior to its launch, but there is still a way to find it and collect its snow globe. The location can only be visited by landing in the Piedmont region of Italy and typing the console command "cow 0018E4B4 0 0." This will display the ruins of the Tower of Pisa in the distance, and the Pisa Snow Globe will also appear at the base of the now-fallen tower.