Starfield is a vast game, and with that comes a million tiny things to keep track of constantly. As such, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed or forget many of the game’s more minor yet significant features.
That’s why I’ve spent the last few days putting together some handy dandy tips and tricks for Starfield so that when you take to the skies, everything will be handled – think of this as the cheat sheet you wish real-life would come with.
So, without further ado, here are some tips and tricks for Starfield to make your interstellar adventure great.
The Past Doesn’t Matter – Only The Future Does
After you’ve finished creating your space explorer, it will be time to select a background for your character. While it may be tempting to go with a background that matches what you envision your character as, for example, a Bounty Hunter, you might want to change your mindset.
Regardless of what the game will lead you to believe, your character’s background doesn’t affect the story. Instead, all the background does is determine your three starting skills.
So make your choice depending on what skills you want the most, and then as you level up, you can start to shape your character into the Bounty Hunter you always wanted them to be.
I suggest you pick a character background that will give you the Security skill because this will let you pick advanced locks right from the start. Without it, you’ll lose out on some rather significant early-game loot.
Make Sure You Listen To Everything
Sometimes, during conversations with characters, you will see the option to persuade them. When you select this option, there will be several new conversation prompts, each with a number attached.
Each successful choice will fill your persuasion bar with the number of points attached to the successful options. Persuasion is always a risk, and many decisions rely on you knowing certain things about the character in question.
Because of this, it is always a good idea to go through all the other dialogue choices before trying to persuade the character so that you go into things with as much tangible information about them as possible.
There Is A Difference Between Stolen Goods And Contraband
Starfield differentiates between stolen goods and contraband, with stolen items glowing red and classified as anything stolen from an NPC in the game.
The contraband glows yellow, and your ship will be scanned whenever you enter a settlement. If any contraband is detected, it will result in significant trouble.
Both stolen goods and contraband can be sold to the Trade Authority, provided you can find a way to get it to them by stashing it somewhere safe, like in your house.
If you join the Crimson Fleet, you can offload these goods to the faction-specific shopkeepers.
You’re Going To Be A Pack Mule
As with all the other Bethesda RPGs, a significant part of your playthrough will constitute running around and gathering pens, cups, papers, and anything else you can get your grubby little paws on.
This means becoming over-encumbered is unavoidable. In Starfield, becoming over-encumbered works slightly differently from what players are used to. You’ll still be able to move and sprint; however, your oxygen levels will decrease more rapidly as you do so.
When you run out of oxygen, you’ll start to get CO2 poisoning, and while this won’t kill you, it will hurt. An excellent way to get around this is to transfer all non-essentials to your chip or companions.
There is also an early game perk to being over-encumbered. To unlock the ability to upgrade your carry capacity, you must run while carrying a certain amount of stuff over your available capacity.
As In Real Life, Sleep Is Vital
When you sleep in Starfield, you’ll receive the Well Rested bonus – something more vital to your success in the game than you might initially think.
Having the Well Rested status effect will give you a 10% XP boost for 24 in-game hours, which provides you with an advantage while just running around and exploring.
Building Your Ship Is Going To Be Expensive
One of the most satisfying parts of playing Starfield is the ship-building and customisation. Still, no matter how you cut it, it will be expensive.
Most major cities will have technicians to help you upgrade and repair your ship throughout the game. Once you’re in the building menu, all you need to do is click anywhere outside your ship to bring up the parts list.
I’d recommend building a Workshop on your ship because this will give you easy and convenient access to workbenches.
Now that the big things are out of the way, here are some quickfire tips and tricks to help you be the best damn space explorer you can be:
- If you don’t like a Trait you have, don’t fear; most of them can be removed throughout your playthrough, either by a Reliant Medical surgery or other methods you’ll discover.
- You won’t be able to land your ship during combat, but if you are in a battle that you don’t want to participate in, you can always grav jump to another part of the galaxy.
- Prioritise the Targeting Control Systems skill if you plan on engaging in lots of spaceship combat. The skill lets you lock onto an enemy ship and directly target one of its systems.
- Don’t forget about your Afflictions. Afflictions are Starfield’s version of status effects. While some will heal on their own, others will need you to use a specific type of health item or visit a doctor to cure yourself.
- If you want to see some of the fabulous outfits you have and not just your spacesuit while on breathable planets, all you need to do is head on over to your Spacesuit and Helmet in your inventory and then pick the option to hide these on planets that have a breathable atmosphere.
- Always avoid landing up in jail. Being arrested can happen to you for minor infractions, like murdering someone, stealing or hacking. However, it’s worth noting that each time you end up in the slammer, you’ll lose XP, so it’s best avoided.