The Sims 4 Star Wars factions, including how to join First Order, the Resistance and the Scoundrels
The basics of the Star Wars-themed expansion.
If you've ever found yourself wanting to join one of the Star Wars factions, then The Sims 4 Journey to Batuu is going to be just the right expansion for you.
By aligning with the First Order, the Resistance, and the Scoundrels, you can meet iconic Star Wars characters and undertake themed missions. The good news you don't have to align with one alone - you're able to work with all three over the course of playing the expansion.
Of course, the First Order and Resistance might not be a fan of you working with the other - while the Scoundrels are pretty easy going.
This page gives an overview of all three factions in The Sims 4 Star Wars expansion, and how to complete each of their starting missions.
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If you've yet to start the game pack yet, we have a how to start The Sims 4: Journey to Batuu explainer, as well as how to get a lightsaber in The Sims 4.
The Sims 4 Journey to Batuu factions explained and how they work
If you're unfamiliar with Star Wars or just aren't caught up on the latest additions to the canon, here's a very, very brief history of the three factions you'll encounter on Batuu; as well as where and how to find them in The Sims 4.
The First Order (A.K.A. 'The Bad Guys', though they have their fans) are a military dictatorship and the main antagonists of the most recent Star Wars film trilogy.
Members of this faction around Batuu can be recognised by their clothing, which tends to be either a severe black uniform or a set of Stormtrooper armour. They are led by Kylo Ren, though in order to meet him you'll need to improve your Sim's standing with the First Order by completing missions.
The Resistance (A.K.A. 'The Good Guys', though they have their detractors) are a guerilla army who oppose the First Order's control of Batuu.
Due to their efforts to thwart the First Order they're not exactly welcome in the other settlements, and can instead be found in their forest encampment.
Their leaders are Vi Moradi and Rey, though in order to earn the former's trust and eventually meet the latter, you need to improve your Sim's standing with the Resistance by completing missions.
The Scoundrels are a rogue faction who are (mostly) neutral in the conflict between the First Order and the Resistance.
Able to move openly throughout most areas of Batuu, they will happily deal with either of the other factions without any reservations. Well, as long as there are Credits in it for them.
Their leader is Hondo Ohnaka who, unlike the First Order and Resistance leaders, can be found front-and-centre from the beginning, hanging out in or near Oga's Cantina in Black Spire Outpost.
Alliances with the three factions in Journey to Batuu are non-exclusive: that is to say, you build your Sim's reputation with multiple factions concurrently, and don't need to formally declare for or against any of them. However, some actions that improve your Sim's standing with one faction will decrease it with another.
This is particularly true of the First Order and the Resistance, due to their total ideological opposition to each other, and gaining reputation with one of these factions will cause members of the other to regard your Sim with increasing suspicion.
The scoundrels, on the other hand, are generally happy to live and work alongside both other groups, and in return are tolerated by both the Resistance and the First Order for their occasional usefulness.
Note: In terms of Credits, the First Order and the Resistance pay only about 50% per mission of what you get from the scoundrels, at least to begin with. Just something to think about when choosing your Sim's faction if money's your main concern - for example, if you're keen to buy your Sim their very own lightsaber or droid.
The above links provide a step-by-step explainer on how to join all three of the factions.
How to join the Scoundrels in The Sims 4 Journey to Batuu
If you begin your Sim's maiden trip to Batuu at the Black Spire Outpost, you're likely to run into the leader of the scoundrel faction sooner rather than later.
Hondo Ohnaka seems never to stray far from Oga's Cantina, the focal point of the area and the only building in Black Spire Outpost you can see inside (zoom in on the Cantina and hover the cursor over to see a cut-away of the interior, which then acts like a regular building in The Sims 4).
Hondo himself should be pretty easy to spot: like all mission givers in Journey to Batuu, he has a large circular icon over his head - for scoundrels, it's a yellow icon with the faction's logo within it.
The scoundrels are the simplest faction to get in touch with, and Hondo is by far the easiest leader to get close to. Simply approach him at Oga's Cantina, click on him and select 'Ask to See Missions' from the social interaction menu.
This will give you access to the mission selection menu, which at this point will only contain the 'Hello Hondo' mission. Select and accept it to add it to your Batuu missions panel.
This first mission requires only one task for completion: you need to beat Hondo at a game of Sabacc. Fortunately, Oga's Cantina is set up to facilitate this particular betting game, which can be played at any nearby table as long as there are four chairs set around it.
(Note: Due to this restriction, you can't play Sabacc in any of the booths around the cantina.)
Click on an available table and select Hondo as your opponent to begin gambling. While playing Sabacc you can select from three different play styles for your active Sim ('normal'; 'logical' - which improves with and builds your logic skill; or 'confident' - which improves with and builds your charisma skill).
You can also accuse Hondo of cheating, which might succeed in calling him out. However you choose to approach it, play a few hands and your Sim will eventually be victorious, completing the mission.
Hondo will be impressed with your Sim's performance: he'll give them 400 Credits plus a bonus item, a boost to their scoundrel reputation, and a promise of further work with the faction if they feel like it.
Repeating the 'Ask to See Missions' interaction on him will give you access to the second scoundrel mission: 'A Little Favor'. For this one, Hondo wants you to collect (steal) a package from a friend's (target's) house in the First Order District.
Unlike the first mission, there are multiple steps to this one. Some missions in Journey to Batuu have steps that can be completed in any order, but in this case, things are pretty linear:
Step 1: Obtain a dataspike. Dataspikes are used for hacking control panels found around Batuu.
There are actually a few ways of obtaining them: there's a high chance that your Sim will receive one as a 'bonus item' reward for completing missions; and after achieving the rank of Rookie with the scoundrel faction, Hondo himself will sell them to you.
Unfortunately, since that's exactly what you're undertaking this mission to accomplish, you'll have to look elsewhere this time.
Ask around with the locals and eventually you'll be directed to Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities, a shop right here in Black Spire Outpost (it's the circular white building directly opposite the entrance to Oga's Cantina, if you're lost) that will sell you what you need for a very reasonable 25 Credits.
Step 2: Obtain the package for Hondo. Use the map to travel to the First Order District.
The control panel you need is one of several in the area and can be a bit hard to spot, but it should be more or less directly to your Sim's left as they arrive in the district, set into the wall of a tall round building next to a door with a red awning.
The panel itself is quite small, so be sure to hover the cursor over the face of the panel rather than the pillar it's set into in order to interact with it.
In order to gain access to the panel you're going to need to 'Slice' it.
The Batuu equivalent of hacking, Slicing both improves with and improves upon your Sim's Programming skill. There are three Slicing approaches you can take: 'Spoofing Access Codes', 'Scrambling Keys', or 'Rewriting Code'.
Unfortunately, when your Sim first encounters the panel they won't know which approach will work - this will be indicated by a yellow question mark symbol next to each option in the interactions menu.
You can just take your chances here, but there is a way to narrow things down: select 'Analyze Control Panel' from the interactions menu, and your Sim will investigate one of these approaches.
After the analysis is complete, one yellow question mark will turn into a green thumbs-up symbol (meaning this is the correct way to Slice the panel) or a red thumbs-down symbol (meaning it's a no-go). Therefore, completing the analysis a couple of times will allow you to narrow down the correct approach.
Note: At some point while analysing control panels in the First Order District, your Sim is likely to be stopped by an officer of the First Order and asked to show their identification.
Fortunately, since you're just starting to build your reputation with the scoundrels at this point, you're almost certainly obscure enough to be allowed to go about your business after some brief scrutiny.
Things may not go so well for you once you're a well-known scoundrel or Resistance member, however; for the future, it might be a good idea to hang on to any Fake ID Cards you receive as bonus mission rewards.
After you've successfully Sliced the control panel using the correct method identified, you can select 'Bypass Door Security to Acquire Package' from the interactions menu. Your Sim will briefly disappear inside the building, and return with the package in hand.
Step 3: Deliver the package to Hondo. Return to Black Spire Outpost, find Hondo in Oga's Cantina, and select 'Deliver Package' from the social interaction menu.
Hondo will be very pleased with your performance: rewarding you with 400 Credits, a bonus item, and a reputation boost with the scoundrel faction that bumps your Sim up to Rank 1 - Rookie! Selecting 'Ask to See Missions' on Hondo again now gives your Sim access to a wider array of higher-level scoundrel missions.
Gaining the Rookie rank also grants a few extra Credits as a bonus; plus, it allows your Sim to perform the 'Swindle' interaction on others around Batuu to part them from their precious Credits.
How to join the First Order in The Sims 4 Journey to Batuu
Like the scoundrels, members of the First Order faction are a visible presence in Batuu as soon as your Sim arrives in Black Spire Outpost. However, if you're looking to join up with this sinister bunch, your Sim will need to start by opening up the map and travelling to the First Order District.
The First Order's headquarters are located in the big square white Cargo Building that's across the map and to the left as you arrive (there's also a TIE Echelon space shuttle parked to its right, if you need another landmark to navigate by).
Like Oga's Cantina in Black Spire Outpost, the Cargo Building is the only building in the First Order District that cuts away to an indoor view when you zoom in and hover the cursor over it, so it's relatively easy to spot.
The main appeal for many of joining the First Order will likely be the chance to rub shoulders with Star Wars antagonist Kylo Ren, but before you're introduced to the main man, you're going to need to make a good impression on another prominent member of the faction: one Lt. Agnon.
Lt. Agnon can usually be found hanging around just outside the Cargo Building and its environs.
Like all mission givers in Journey to Batuu, his most identifying feature is the prominent circular quest giver marker hovering over his head: in this case, it's a red icon and has the First Order logo within it.
Click on Lt. Agnon and choose 'Ask to See Missions' from the social interaction menu, and you'll be presented with the mission 'Reporting for Duty'. Select and accept to add it to your Sim's Batuu missions panel.
In order to prove their interest in joining the First Order, Lt. Agnon tasks your Sim with spreading the faction's propaganda to five Sims.
From here, it's a simple matter of going up to five different characters and performing the 'Spread First Order Propaganda' social interaction on them - there should be enough people milling about the First Order District to make this a fairly quick and easy task.
You can proselytise to members of any faction, as well as to neutral Batuu Citizens; however, members of opposing factions may prove less receptive to your message. Fortunately, it doesn't matter whether you succeed in convincing them or not, just as long as you spread the word to them.
Once you've repeated this five times, return to Lt. Agnon and select 'Report Back' from the social interaction menu.
For their efforts, your Sim will receive 200 Credits plus a bonus item, a boost to their reputation with the First Order, and a corresponding hit to their reputation with the Resistance. Using 'Ask to See Missions' again on Lt. Agnon will now give access to the next mission: 'The Shake Down'.
To complete 'The Shake Down' there are two main tasks to undertake: resealing three First Order crates that have been tampered with by the Resistance, and checking the IDs of three citizens you deem suspicious in the hopes of rooting out the saboteurs. These tasks can be completed in any order.
Task: Reseal First Order Crates. There are a number of supply crates to be found lying around Batuu, but you can tell a First Order crate by its sinister ebony black casing (most of the crates in Journey to Batuu are silver-grey).
Two of the plundered crates are easy to find, since they're front and centre outside the First Order Cargo Building.
The third is a little trickier to spot, but isn't far away: it's behind and to the left of the Cargo Building, tucked away in an alley next to some surprisingly beautiful foliage. (I like to think this is where the Stormtroopers spend their tea breaks.) Click on the boxes and choose 'Reseal Supply Crate' to close it up again.
Task: Check IDs of Suspicious Citizens. To complete this task, simply interact with any three Sims and choose 'Check ID' from the social menu. While NPCs in Journey to Batuu quite literally have their faction loyalties displayed above their heads, it's really up to you who you deem 'suspicious' enough to merit scrutiny - the interaction is available on any NPC in the First Order District or Black Spire Outpost areas who aren't members of the First Order faction.
Since members of the Resistance don't make a habit of travelling in the open outside of their Encampment, your Sim will most likely end up having to check scoundrels or neutral Batuu Citizens to make up their quota.
Still, the important thing is to be seen to be checking IDs, so once you've done this three times the task is complete.
Once you've completed both of these tasks, return to Lt. Agnon and select 'Report Back' to finish the mission. He'll reward you with 200 Credits, a bonus item, and a reputation boost with the First Order faction that should elevate your status with them from neutral to Rank 1 - Supporter.
(At the same time, you'll gain the 'Suspicious' negative reputation with the Resistance faction.)
To celebrate their newfound loyalty and status, your Sim will receive a host of goodies: a few bonus Credits; the unlockable First Order Outfit, which they can change into at the Dwelling (or on any dresser once they return home); the ability to purchase Dataspikes from the First Order Holotable inside the Cargo Building; and they will now have access to a wider range of higher level First Order missions when performing the 'Ask to See Missions' social on Lt. Agnon.
How to join the Resistance in The Sims 4 Journey to Batuu, including how to Disrupt the First Order Transmission
The Resistance are the hardest faction in Journey to Batuu to meet and develop trust with (as might be expected from an underground anti-establishment faction acting in opposition to a literally iron-fisted ruling class).
Resistance members tend to steer clear of being seen in Black Spire Outpost and especially the First Order District unless they have a good reason to be there, so in order to make contact with them, you need to open up the map and direct your Sim to travel to the Resistance Encampment.
There are a few ways in which the hierarchy of the Resistance differs to the other two factions. First, there are two recognised Resistance leaders in Journey to Batuu: Vi Moradi and Rey, the protagonist of the newest Star Wars movies.
Rey, like her dark-side counterpart Kylo Ren, doesn't appear in the game until your Sim improves their reputation with her faction. Vi Moradi, on the other hand, will already be in the Resistance Encampment when you arrive; but unlike Hondo Ohnaka or Lt. Agnon, it's not her you want to talk to straight away.
(It seems that she's keeping her head down and not telling every random tourist who turns up that she's in charge of the anti-government militia, which seems like a wise precaution.)
In order to get your first Resistance mission, start by performing the 'Ask about Resistance' social you used in the 'Welcome to Batuu' mission on members of the faction around the Encampment. After one or two tries, you'll eventually be entrusted with a password: 'Ignite the Spark'.
Repeating this phrase to any member of the Resistance (Note: except Vi Moradi at this point) will turn them into your first quest giver, and grant your Sim access to the 'Leap of Faith' mission. Select and accept the mission to add it to your Sim's Batuu missions panel.
To complete 'Leap of Faith', your Sim will need to travel to the First Order District and undertake a few little acts of espionage. These tasks can be completed in any order:
Task: Talk to First Order Stormtroopers
You can also find a few Stormtroopers hanging around in Black Spire Outpost much of the time, but they're guaranteed to make an appearance in the First Order District, and since you need to be there to complete the other tasks anyway you might as well have your Sim go there.
To complete this task, you need to talk to two Stormtroopers. There's no special interaction for this one: just introducing yourself if you've never spoken to that Sim before is enough, or simply asking how their day is going if they're already an acquaintance.
Stormtroopers are people too, after all; though exactly how knowing what FR-1255 had for lunch today is helpful to the Resistance remains to be seen.
Task: Analyze the TIE Echelon
The TIE Echelon is the space shuttle parked just to the right of the First Order Cargo Building; it's almost directly opposite the entrance to the First Order District, on the other side of the map.
Click on it and select 'Analyze TIE Echelon'. After a brief examination, your Sim will collect a data set that will be added to their inventory.
Task: Survey First Order Supply Crates
The black supply crates specific to the First Order can be found outside the Cargo Building. (Elsewhere in Batuu you can find silver-grey supply crates too, but they won't do for this job.) Since you only need to survey one, you can take the easy route and choose one of the two directly outside the entrance to the Cargo Building.
However, if you'd like to give your Sim a little privacy while they spy in the enemy's home territory, head around the back of the Cargo Building and to the left to find a slightly more concealed crate there. Either way, choose 'Survey Supply Crate' from the interactions menu to complete this task.
Once all three tasks are complete, your Sim should return to the Resistance Encampment and 'Report Back' to any Resistance member to finish the mission.
(Their original quest giver will now be marked out with a circular blue icon above their head containing the Resistance logo. However, once again, anyone but Vi Moradi can take your Sim's report.)
Your Sim will be rewarded with 200 Credits, a bonus item, and a boost to their reputation among the Resistance (balanced out by a corresponding loss to First Order reputation). Repeating the 'Ignite the Spark' interaction on any member of the Resistance will now grant access to the second mission: 'Risks and Rewards'.
'Risks and Rewards' is the most in-depth early mission in Journey to Batuu, requiring your Sim to travel to all three areas of Batuu and perform a very specific series of actions. Due to the linear nature of the mission, the four steps must be completed in order.
Step 1: Acquire a Dataspike from the Scoundrel Contact
Dataspikes are used for hacking (or 'Slicing', to use the local parlance) control panels found around Batuu. There are actually several ways of obtaining them: there's a high chance that your Sim will receive one as a 'bonus item' when they complete a mission, so you might well already have one on you.
However, the Resistance specifically wants you to visit Oga's Cantina in Black Spire Outpost and pick one up from their contact within the scoundrel faction.
Once you get there you can't just go up to any scoundrel and ask them, though; you need to find the one whose info panel reads 'Scoundrel Contact' rather than just 'Scoundrel' when you hover the cursor over them. Fortunately, they should show up in Oga's Cantina without making you wait for too long, and you can use the 'Retrieve Dataspike' social interaction on them to get what you came for, after which you can be on your way.
Step 2: Obtain Comm Tower Access Codes
Use the map to head to the First Order District and find the control panel your Sim needs to Slice.
There are a few of these control panels in the area; the one you need for this specific mission is on the right-hand side of the map as you enter, opposite the R2 units on display outside the Droid Depot. The panel itself is quite small, so be sure to hover the cursor over the face of the panel rather than the pillar it's set into in order to interact with it.
The Batuu equivalent of hacking, Slicing both improves with and improves upon your Sim's Programming skill. There are three Slicing approaches you can take: 'Spoofing Access Codes', 'Scrambling Keys', or 'Rewriting Code'.
Unfortunately, when your Sim first encounters the panel they won't know which approach will work - this will be indicated by a yellow question mark symbol next to each option in the interactions menu.
You can just take your chances here, but there is a way to narrow things down: select 'Analyze Control Panel' from the interactions menu, and your Sim will investigate one of these approaches.
After the analysis is complete, one yellow question mark will turn into a green thumbs-up symbol (meaning this is the correct way to Slice the panel) or a red thumbs-down symbol (meaning it's a no-go). Therefore, completing the analysis a couple of times will allow you to narrow down the correct approach.
Note: At some point while analysing control panels in the First Order District, your Sim is likely to be stopped by an officer of the First Order and asked to show their identification.
Fortunately, since you're just starting to build your reputation with the Resistance at this point, you're almost certainly obscure enough to be allowed to go about your business after some brief scrutiny.
Things may not go so well for you once you're a well-known scoundrel or Resistance member, however; for the future, it might be a good idea to hang on to any Fake ID Cards you receive as bonus mission rewards.
After you've successfully Sliced the control panel using the correct method identified, you can select 'Retrieve Comm Tower Access Codes' from the interactions menu.
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Step 3: Disrupt First Order Transmission
Directly behind the control panel your Sim just Sliced and next to the entrance to the Droid Depot, there is a courtyard. In the centre of the courtyard is a tower connected up with wires and what look like swathes of black cloth.
This is the First Order Comm Tower. Built into its base is another small control panel. Click on this and select 'Disrupt First Order Transmissions'. Mission accomplished! Now is probably a good time to get out of the First Order District, though.
Step 4: Report Back to Any Resistance Member. Use the map to travel back to the Resistance Encampment. Click on a member of the Resistance faction and select 'Report Back' from the social interaction menu.
You'll be rewarded with 200 Credits, a bonus item, and enough Resistance reputation to push you over the edge from neutral to Rank 1 - Sympathizer! (At the same time, you'll gain the 'Suspicious' negative reputation with the First Order faction.)
Upon attaining this rank your Sim will receive a few extra bonus Credits; the unlockable Resistance Parka clothing item, which they can change into at the Dwelling (or on any dresser once they return home); the 'Hatch Elaborate Plan' social interaction; and the ability to purchase Dataspikes and Electrobinoculars from the Resistance Holotable in the Encampment.
Unlike the scoundrels or First Order, gaining Rank 1 with the Resistance does not immediately unlock a wider catalogue of available missions.
Instead, newly-minted Sympathizers who repeat the 'Ignite the Spark' password to another Resistance member will be given access to the 'Forest Flight' mission, and invited to meet with Vi Moradi as the leader of the Resistance.
(Don't worry if you've already said hello to her while hanging out in the Resistance Encampment: 'Meet Vi Moradi' is a special social interaction that your Sim can perform at Rank 1, even if they've already introduced themselves to her socially.)
Progress through her missions to unlock higher reputation and a wider selection of missions with the Resistance.
Now that you know how to join each faction, you can really begin your Star Wars journey in a galaxy far, far away...