Mechs were part of the arsenal of both the Freestar Collective and the United Colonies when they waged their three-year Colony Wars in Starfield. Ultimately, when the Collective and the UC decided on a truce, both sides dropped the use of these gigantic bipedal war machines.
Thus, we hear the community excuse that mechs are no longer legal within the FC and the UC jurisdictions. If you know how treaties work, this military hardware will spark another Colony War if one or both sides would revitalize their use.
Some Redditors, however, think that this is a very convenient reason for Bethesda to bar the use of mechas in its latest open-world RPG.
DNAisjustneuteredRNA, for instance, thinks that Bethesda is withholding mechs until they create a DLC, which people will have to pay for, to unlock these giant robots for use in battle.
In his post on Reddit, the user argued that people always do illegal things on Starfield. They clear their bounties by paying for them at any kiosks spread throughout the Settled Systems. They carry contraband or make Aurora and sell them for cash.
The whole point is that Bethesda allowed those actions, but why not mechs?
Some agreed, saying they were stumped when they reached the climactic battle with Paxton Hull. They thought he would board one of the factory mechs, but he didn’t.
Other users in the thread said it might be because the studio is trying to take Starfield away from the mechanics and aesthetics of the Fallout franchise.
In any case, a modder is already working on a way to get you to pilot a mech. For now, he combines the effects of the Vasco Mech mod with Skyrim spells adapted to Starfield. It’s crude and “transforms” the player into a Model A mech.