Starfield The Empty Nest: Persuade Jacob, Ask Cora, or Steal The Maps

You’ve just become a member of Constellation and are given three leads on where to find a few artifacts. And it’s just about this time that Sam Coe and his daughter Cora arrive at The Lodge. The cowboy thinks he knows where another artifact is located: his home planet, Akila.

But there’s a catch. His father, Jacob Coe, is holding the map of the artifact’s whereabouts hostage due to a long-standing grudge. Jacob wants Sam and his grandaughter around more often, while Sam has been itching to leave Akila in the dust. So you’re left with three options: steal the map, persuade him to give it to you, or ask Cora for help.

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Asking Cora For Help With Jacob Coe

Right off the bat, this is the easiest yet worst option (unless you hate kids and/or cowboys). Instead of handling your own problems, you can run to Cora back at the ship and ask her to help. And immediately upon asking her, you are met with your first bane. Sam Coe will hate that you’ve asked her for help.

But she will run off, and you will need to return to the estate where Jacob insists Cora stay with him while Sam ventures around the galaxy. Sam will object at first but will give in shortly after. You’ll be handed the maps, but Cora will be removed from your ship permanently.

Persuade Jacob to Let You Have the Map

This might be the best outcome, morally speaking. And thanks to Jacob’s paper-thing willpower, he folds after just four bars of the persuasion meter are filled. If you have the Negotiation skill, you can pay Jacob 2000 credits to bypass the minigame completely.

Regardless, he just wants to get you and Sam out of his hair, so he will give you a key to unlock the door he was standing in front of. Spoiler alert: The map is sitting on a desk inside the room. Snag it, and that’ll be mission complete.

Steal the Map From Jacob Using a Distraction

Stealing the map is also pretty darn easy. Talk to Jacob and tell him Sam needs to speak with him about something. Sam will lead Jacob to the kitchen so you can use your Novice Lockpicking skill to open his office door. This doesn’t require any points to be put in the Security skill, but it will consume a Digipick.

After an incredibly simple lockpick, snag the map like before (this time with a theft symbol on the item) and head out to talk to Sam.

Fun fact: This is the only way you can steal the map. You can’t find an alternate route into the office or even pickpocket the key from Jacob’s inventory. We tried; it’s not in there.

As far as repercussions go, if you are caught with contraband or committing a criminal act, authorities will take the map from you. Other than that, there doesn’t seem to be any negative impact on you, Sam, or Cora if you steal the map.

Can You Kill Jacob Coe?

The short answer is no, you can’t kill Jacob Coe. In fact, he is one of the many invincible NPCs in Starfield. Shooting Jacob will cause him to keel over, but he will revive once you exit and re-enter the house.

Another reason not to shoot Jacob is that Sam will dislike your actions. He won’t dislike them as much as asking his daughter for help, but he will not be a fan. He will become angry with you, and you’ll get a bounty on your head. And after all of that, you still won’t be able to complete the quest this way.