Outer Worlds 2 Vox Relay Choice: Fairfield, Westport, or Space?

The Vox Relay decision in The Outer Worlds 2 is one of the most consequential choices in the Paradise Island arc. At the climax of the main quest The Saboteur of Paradise, you must decide where a failing orbital facility will crash: the town of Fairfield, the settlement of Westport, or, if you meet specific requirements, out into space. This guide explains every outcome, how earlier quests influence your options, and which choice is generally best depending on your priorities.

Where the Vox Relay Choice Happens

The decision point appears late in the Eden/Paradise Island storyline, after you have tangled with corporate intrigue and revolutionary scheming throughout the region.

More specifically:

• You are completing the main quest The Saboteur of Paradise.
• You confront and defeat Brigadier Montelli inside the Vox Relay facility.
• In the room beyond, you access a terminal that opens a hidden safe room belonging to Augustine de Vries.
• Triggering this system starts a catastrophic launch sequence, forcing you to quickly decide where the Vox Relay will fall.

From that final terminal you gain up to three possible destinations: Fairfield, Westport, or Space. Which of these you can actually select depends on your prior choices and character build.

How Earlier Quests Shape Your Options

The Vox Relay crisis is heavily influenced by your actions in earlier Paradise Island quests, especially The Brain Benders of Auntie’s Choice! and related objectives around Westport and Fairfield. These quests determine who lives where and whether a truly safe solution is possible.

The Brain Benders of Auntie’s Choice! and Westport

During The Brain Benders of Auntie’s Choice!, you work with Minister Milverstreet in Fairfield. He wants you to deal with Vigilant Hogarth and the inhabitants of Westport, and gives you two main approaches:

• Sabotage Westport’s infrastructure so everyone is forced to relocate to Fairfield.
• Convince key citizens to defect peacefully, persuading them that Fairfield offers a safer future.

Either method can lead to the same outcome: Westport being largely evacuated, with its population resettling in Fairfield. This has huge consequences later when the Vox Relay starts plummeting toward the island.

The For Whom the Bridge Tolls and Vox Relay Access

Another quest, For Whom the Bridge Tolls, is also tied into this storyline. You need allies and technical expertise to access the Vox Relay in the first place, and the people you helped or neglected in Westport and Fairfield can determine:

• Which companions join your crew permanently.
• What support routes are available to reach the Vox Relay facility.
• Whether you can still access certain shops and quest-givers later on.

By the time you reach The Saboteur of Paradise, the map of Paradise Island — who lives where, who trusts you, and which towns remain populated — is largely the result of your earlier decisions.

Unlocking Every Vox Relay Outcome

When alarms blare and the terminal offers choices, you may not see all three destinations at once. Here’s how each one becomes available.

In short, anyone can crash the facility on Fairfield, most players can earn the Westport option by exploring, but only hackers or very brainy builds can redirect the Vox Relay harmlessly into space.

What Happens if You Crash the Vox Relay on Fairfield?

If you allow the Vox Relay to crash into Fairfield—either by selecting it directly or by walking away and letting the default sequence continue—the consequences are severe.

Immediate Effects

• Fairfield is destroyed: The town is effectively wiped off the map.
• Most vendors and quest-givers die, including those who provided major questlines earlier.
• Any unfinished side quests that rely on Fairfield NPCs become impossible to complete.

Lost Loot and Quest Rewards

Destroying Fairfield means locking yourself out of several pieces of unique gear and potential rewards, including:

• High-value loot hidden in basements and locked containers.
• Unique hats and equipment from characters like Milverstreet, which can usually be obtained via quests or pickpocketing their keys.
• Miscellaneous collectibles tied to Fairfield-specific quest lines.

From a purely mechanical perspective, this is almost always the worst option. Fairfield simply has more quest density, more unique rewards, and more long-term utility than Westport.

Story and Role-Playing Implications

From an ethical standpoint, knowingly sacrificing Fairfield to save Westport paints your character as ruthlessly utilitarian at best and coldly indifferent at worst. Some companions may react negatively, and the tone of your “Halcyon hero” narrative shifts significantly.

However, players who want to role-play a cynical corporate fixer or someone who prioritizes certain factions over others might deliberately choose this outcome for narrative reasons, accepting the mechanical losses for the sake of story.

What Happens if You Crash the Vox Relay on Westport?

Sending the Vox Relay crashing down on Westport is harsh, but often more tactically sensible than hitting Fairfield, especially if you have not evacuated the town beforehand.

Immediate Effects

• Westport is obliterated: The settlement becomes a smoking ruin.
• All remaining Westport vendors and quest-givers die.
• Any companions or NPCs you failed to recruit before the crash may be lost forever.

Content You Lose

Westport does offer some economic opportunities, dialogue content, and side quests, but it generally has less late-game value than Fairfield. You still lose:

• Shops and services unique to Westport.
• Remaining Westport-specific side quests and rewards.
• Some environmental storytelling and exploration content.

Compared to Fairfield, however, Westport tends to house fewer unique, irreplaceable items and long-running questlines.

Why Westport Is Usually the “Lesser Evil”

Between the two settlements, sacrificing Westport is typically the less damaging gameplay choice for most builds. You keep Fairfield’s bustling quest hub, its key NPCs, and many unique rewards, while losing a smaller amount of content from Westport.

This is especially true if you have already:

• Completed major Westport quests.
• Recruited any companions tied to the area.
• Looted key chests, lockers, and collectibles there.

For players who cannot unlock the Space solution, Westport is the recommended sacrifice from a min-max perspective.

How to Unlock the Space Option (Best Outcome)

The most satisfying outcome is to avoid killing anyone at all by firing the Vox Relay into space. This third option is easy to miss unless your character is built for technical solutions.

Requirements for the Space Choice

When you reach the terminal during The Saboteur of Paradise, the Space option appears only if you meet one of the following conditions:

• Hack skill at level 4 and at least one Bypass Shunt in your inventory; or
• An appropriate high-Intelligence trait such as Brilliant that simulates advanced technical insight.

With those prerequisites satisfied, you can override the default crash trajectory and send the Vox Relay off-world, where it explodes harmlessly.

Benefits of Choosing Space

• No settlements destroyed: Both Fairfield and Westport remain intact.
• All vendors and quest-givers survive, preserving every side quest and reward.
• Companions remain recruitable, even if you missed them earlier.
• You can still freely explore Paradise Island without walking through the ruins of your decision.

In terms of both ethics and long-term gameplay, Space is unequivocally the best outcome if you can unlock it. It is particularly appealing to pacifist or diplomatic role-players who have been trying to minimize collateral damage throughout the campaign.

Why Sabotaging Westport Early Can Make the Ending Safer

An important twist is that earlier decisions in The Brain Benders of Auntie’s Choice! can effectively turn Westport into a “decoy” settlement, limiting the human cost if the Vox Relay hits it.

What Sabotaging Westport Does

If you complete the sabotage route during that quest, you systematically cripple Westport’s infrastructure:

• Water Supply – You corrupt or disable the town’s purification system, making the area unsustainable.
• Broadcast Facility – You manipulate Westport’s radio propaganda, undermining residents’ morale.
• Generator – You sabotage the main power source using explosives or a specialized device.

As a result, Vigilant Hogarth is forced to admit Westport is doomed and agrees to evacuate the residents to Fairfield. When done thoroughly, this can mean that by the time the Vox Relay is falling, Westport is largely empty.

How This Interacts with the Vox Relay Decision

If you have pushed Westport’s population into Fairfield, then later choose to crash the Vox Relay onto Westport, the town you destroy may be mostly uninhabited. In practical terms, this can act as a partial “safe” option even if you cannot send the Relay into space.

This creates an interesting dynamic:

• Sabotage Westport early → Most people relocate to Fairfield → Crashing into Westport kills fewer people.
• Leave Westport intact → Both towns remain populated → Crashing anywhere causes mass casualties unless you pick Space.

Sabotaging Westport is therefore often recommended for players who want a fallback “lesser evil” if their build cannot meet the Hack 4 or trait requirement for the Space solution.

Comparing All Three Vox Relay Outcomes

The table below summarizes the main trade-offs between the three possible Vox Relay destinations.

Suggested Strategies by Playstyle

Different players value different things: story, loot, or moral consistency. Here are quick recommendations based on common playstyles.

Completionist Players

• Prioritize Hack 4 early and keep at least one Bypass Shunt on hand.
• Sabotage or evacuate Westport to add a safety net if you mismanage skills.
• At the Vox Relay, send it into space to preserve all content.

Morality-Focused Role-Players

• Lean into diplomatic or high-Intelligence builds that can unlock technical solutions.
• Use The Brain Benders of Auntie’s Choice! to minimize civilian risk (evacuation rather than pure sabotage if you prefer the pacifist route).
• Choose Space whenever possible; if not, prefer Westport after evacuation as the place with minimal population.

Power-Gamers and Min-Maxers

• If you cannot reach Hack 4 in time, focus on Westport as the sacrificial town.
• Clear out Westport’s unique loot and rewards before the Vox Relay mission.
• Preserve Fairfield to keep access to more shops, quests, and valuable gear.

FAQs About the Vox Relay Decision

Does the Vox Relay choice affect the overall ending of The Outer Worlds 2?

It primarily shapes the fate of Paradise Island and how certain characters talk about your legacy there. While it may be referenced in later content, the main effect is on regional outcomes, quests, and settlements rather than completely rewriting the global ending.

Can I change my mind after choosing where to crash the Vox Relay?

No. Once you confirm the destination at the terminal and the cutscene plays out, the decision is final for that playthrough. To see alternate outcomes, you’ll need to reload an earlier save or start a new run.

What if I never visit Westport before The Saboteur of Paradise?

If you ignore Westport, the game generally treats Fairfield as the default target. You may not even see Westport listed as an option on the terminal, and you’ll miss associated quests and rewards. It’s worth visiting both towns before starting the Vox Relay mission if you care about maximizing content.

Is there any downside to taking the Space option if I qualify for it?

Mechanically, no. Space preserves every settlement and quest, making it strictly superior from a content standpoint. The only “downside” is for players who intentionally want a darker, more destructive narrative and feel that a clean solution undermines that story choice.

Do companion approvals change based on whom I sacrifice?

Reactions vary depending on your party and prior dialogue, but in general, killing fewer civilians is better for staying on good terms with more idealistic companions. If your crew skews toward rebellious or anti-corporate types, they tend to favor solutions that spare ordinary people over corporate assets.