Starfield Guide: Essential Tips & Tricks Guide to Master the Stars

Here is your guide to conquering the cosmos! 🚀✨

Chapter 1: Your First Steps into the Starfield 🧑‍🚀

Your epic space adventure kicks off with some big decisions. 🤔 Who were you before becoming a star-voyager? These first choices will give you a massive head start on your journey through the stars. 💫

Choosing Your Background: More Than Just a Backstory 📜

Your Background is the most important choice you’ll make at the start of the game. It’s a huge strategic advantage, giving you three starting skills for free! 🥳 Think of it as getting three free level-ups before you even start playing. 📈

Understand the Value 💡: This isn’t just for role-playing! Your Background is an “early-game accelerant.” ⚡ Skills like Piloting or Targeting Control Systems are needed to use advanced ship features. By picking a Background with these skills, you get to hijack cool ships 🏴‍☠️ or haul massive cargo hauls 📦 hours before anyone else!
Prioritize Utility ✅: While any Background can be great, some give you a clear advantage. Check out these top-tier choices:
- Bounty Hunter 🤠: Starts with Piloting, Targeting Control Systems, and Boost Pack Training. This is the best start for any aspiring ace pilot, letting you fly better ships and target their engines for boarding right away. 💥
- Homesteader 🌾: Grants Geology, Surveying, and Weightlifting. Perfect for the dedicated explorer! You’ll be a master at gathering resources and scanning planets from the get-go. ⛏️
- Space Scoundrel 😎: Comes with Pistol Certification, Piloting, and Persuasion. A fantastic all-around pick that makes you a pro at ship control, combat, and charming your way through conversations. 🗣️
Don’t Stress Perfection😌: Remember, you can learn any skill in the game over time. Your Background is just a launchpad 🚀, not a permanent box.

Selecting Your Traits: Adding Flavor and Function 🧬

Traits are optional quirks that give you cool bonuses and interesting downsides. You can pick up to three! 🤏

Embrace Role-Playing Traits 🎭: Traits like “Kid Stuff” 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 (visit your parents!) or “Hero Worshipped” 🥰 (gain an “Adoring Fan” who follows you everywhere) add unique stories to your game.
Leverage Gameplay Modifiers 💪: Some traits give you straight-up stat boosts. “Terra Firma” gives you more health and oxygen on planets 🌍, while “Extrovert” makes you more efficient when traveling with a buddy. 🚶‍♀️🚶‍♂️
Use the “Removable Trait” Strategy 🧠: This is a pro-gamer move! Select a powerful trait you plan to remove later.
- The “Alien DNA” trait 👽 gives you a big boost to Health and Oxygen early on, but healing items are less effective. This is amazing at the start!
- Later, when you’re tougher, you can visit an Enhance! clinic 👨‍⚕️ and pay a small fee to have the trait permanently removed. You get all the early benefits with none of the late-game drawbacks! 😉
Get Rid of Annoying Traits 🚮: You can remove other traits, too! If the Adoring Fan gets on your nerves, you can get rid of him. If sending money home to your parents becomes a hassle, you can tell them you can’t afford it anymore. 😢

Recommended Starter Builds 🌟

Here are some fun archetypes to get you started!

Build Archetype	Recommended Background	Key Starting Skills	Suggested Traits	Playstyle Focus
The Space Scoundrel 🏴‍☠️	Space Scoundrel / Bounty Hunter	Piloting, Persuasion, Targeting	Wanted, Spaced	Piracy, smuggling, ship combat, dialogue challenges. 🗣️
The Planet Surveyor 🪐	Homesteader / Long Hauler	Surveying, Weightlifting, Geology	Terra Firma, Alien DNA	Exploration, resource gathering, outpost building. ⛏️
The Ground Soldier 💥	Soldier / Combat Medic	Ballistics, Wellness, Boost Pack	Extrovert, Terra Firma	On-foot combat, mission running, faction quests. 🔫
The Stealth Operative 🤫	Cyber Runner / Ronin	Stealth, Security, Theft	Introvert, Alien DNA	Sneaking, lockpicking, thievery, silent takedowns. 🥷

Chapter 2: The Explorer’s Toolkit: Mastering Starfield’s Core Mechanics 🛠️

Every explorer needs to master their tools. Getting good with these core mechanics will make your life in the Settled Systems way easier. 👍

The Hand Scanner: Your Most Important Tool 📱

Forget your gun—your scanner is your real best friend. It’s a universal remote for interacting with the world, saving you tons of time. ⏳

Navigate with Ease 🧭: Lost? Just pull up your scanner! Blue arrows will appear on the ground, pointing you exactly where you need to go. ➡️
Identify POIs from a Distance 🔭: See those unknown location markers? Aim your scanner at them from far away. It’ll tell you if it’s a “Structure,” “Cave,” or “Natural Feature,” so you don’t waste time running to something boring. 😅
Land Directly from Orbit 🚀: While orbiting a planet, open your ship’s scanner. You can highlight cool spots on the surface and land there instantly, no need to open the big map! 🗺️

Master the Efficient Exploration Loop 🔁

Integrate the scanner into your exploration flow to become a super-efficient adventurer!

Step 1: When you land, immediately pop open your scanner to see nearby resources. 💎
Step 2: Scan those distant question marks❓ to identify them before you start walking.
Step 3: Once you pick a spot, follow the scanner’s handy navigation arrows on the ground.
Step 4: After you’re done looting a location, just aim your scanner at your ship’s icon 🚀 and fast travel back instantly! So long, long walks! 👋

Inventory & Encumbrance: The Eternal Struggle 🎒

Your journey will be defined by what you can carry. Here’s how to manage your loot without getting weighed down. 🏋️‍♂️

Use Your Companions as Pack Mules 🤖: Your active companion has their own inventory. Give them all your heavy stuff!
Utilize Your Ship’s Cargo 📦: Your ship’s cargo hold is your main storage. Offload all your resources and extra gear there.
Exploit the “250m Cargo Bubble” 😮: You can transfer items from your inventory to your ship’s cargo from the menu, as long as you’re within 250 meters of your ship. This is a game-changer! When you’re looting a big base, just run to the edge of the complex, open your menu, and instantly send all your loot to your ship. No more slow, over-encumbered walks of shame! 🎉
Find the Infinite Storage at The Lodge 🏠: In the basement of The Lodge in New Atlantis, there’s a storage box with unlimited capacity. It’s the perfect place to hoard all your crafting goodies. 🛠️
Sprint While Over-Encumbered 🏃‍♂️💨: Being over-encumbered drains your oxygen and hurts you, but it will never kill you (it stops at about 5% health). You can still sprint and boost pack in short bursts to get back to your ship much faster than walking.
Invest in Weightlifting 💪: This skill is a must-have! Each rank dramatically increases how much you can carry.

Persuasion, Security, and Other Essential Skills 🗣️🔓

Some skills don’t just give you a small bonus—they unlock entire parts of the game!

Unlock Boost Pack Training Immediately 🚀: You can’t use a boost pack until you put one skill point into this skill. This should be one of the first things you unlock. It’s essential!
Invest in Piloting and Targeting 🎯: Want to fly the coolest Class B and C ships? You need the Piloting skill. Want to target specific parts of an enemy ship to board it? You need Targeting Control Systems. Don’t lock yourself out of the best content!
Prioritize the Persuasion Skill 💬: You can talk your way out of (or into) a lot of situations. The Persuasion skill gives you a better shot at winning speech challenges, letting you skip tough fights or get better rewards. 💰
Don’t Neglect Security 🔐: The Security skill lets you hack digital locks (“digipick”). The best loot is always hidden behind these locks. Always buy Digipicks when you see them for sale!

Chapter 3: On-Foot Operations: A Starfield Ground Combat & Survival Guide 🏃‍♂️💥

Your ship is your home, but the real action happens on the ground. Here’s how to survive and thrive in a firefight. 🔥

Weapon Modding: Your Path to Power 🔫🔧

The guns you find are just a starting point. With crafting, you can turn a basic pistol into a legendary weapon of destruction. ✨

Understand the “Advanced Base” Philosophy 📈: A weapon’s Tier (Calibrated, Refined, Advanced) is way more important than its Rarity (Rare, Epic, Legendary). An “Advanced” gun will always do more damage than a “Legendary” gun of a lower tier. So, your goal is to find an “Advanced” weapon and then mod that into a masterpiece. Don’t waste resources on low-tier gear!
Research Unlocks Mods 🔬: You have to unlock mods at a Research Lab before you can craft them. You can find all the stations you need in the Lodge basement.
Mods are Permanent 🔒: Once you install a mod, it’s there forever. You can’t move it to another weapon. This is why you should only invest your best resources into an “Advanced” base weapon.
Buy Crafting Resources 💸: Don’t waste hours mining for basic resources. You can buy tons of aluminum and titanium from vendors in big cities for cheap.

Stealth & Subterfuge in Starfield 🤫

Prefer a quieter approach? Starfield has you covered. 🥷

Ditch the Spacesuit 👕: Your spacesuit is loud and clunky. Unequip your suit, helmet, and pack to be a true ninja. Lighter clothes are much better for sneaking!
Peek from Cover 👀: When you’re crouched behind a wall, aiming your weapon will make you lean out to shoot, keeping you safe from enemy fire.
Use Suppressors 💨: A suppressor is the most important mod for any stealth build. It lets you take out enemies without alerting the whole base.
Invest in Stealth Skills 🌟: The Stealth skill makes you harder to detect and adds a handy stealth meter. The Concealment skill is even better, making you invisible when you stand still and giving you huge sneak attack damage bonuses!

Powers & Special Abilities ✨

As you play the main story, you’ll unlock incredible space magic known as Powers. 🪄

Use Personal Atmosphere for Hauling 💪: This power gives you unlimited oxygen for a short time. Activate it when you’re over-encumbered to sprint back to your ship without a care in the world!
Control the Battlefield with Anti-Gravity Field 🎈: This power makes enemies float helplessly in the air, turning them into easy targets. Pew pew! 🔫
Bend Time and Space ⏳: Other powers let you slow down time or even turn completely invisible. Use them to dominate any combat encounter.

Health, Afflictions, and Aid ❤️🩹

Let Doctors Cure Afflictions 👨‍⚕️: You’ll get sick with things like Lung Damage or Burns. Instead of waiting for them to heal, just visit a doctor in any city. They’ll cure everything for a small fee. Easy!
Stockpile Med Packs ➕: You’ll use these constantly. Buy Med Packs from every vendor you see.
Sleep for an XP Boost 😴: Sleeping in a bed for one hour gives you a 10% XP boost! If you’re married and sleep with your partner, it’s a 15% boost! ❤️ Make it a habit to nap before every big mission.
Holster Your Weapon 👋: Hold down the reload button to put your weapon away and look less threatening in cities.
Use Wine for Persuasion 🍷: A glass of wine can give you the temporary boost you need to pass a tough speech check. Cheers! 🥂
Equip Your Companions 👍: Give your companions your second-best guns and armor. Don’t forget to give them at least one bullet for the gun you want them to use!
Turn Your Companion into a Grenadier 💣: Give a companion a single grenade, and they’ll have an infinite supply! Just be warned… they aren’t always very accurate. 😬
Find a Lost Companion 🗺️: If you lose a companion, just go to your ship’s Crew menu and reassign them. They’ll pop back up on your ship!

Chapter 4: The Final Frontier: Starfield Space Combat & Piloting Mastery 🚀💥

Your starship is your best friend. Here’s how to fly it like a pro and dominate the vacuum of space. 🌌

Power Management: The Core of Combat ⚡

How you manage your ship’s power will decide if you win or lose a dogfight.

Use the Standard Combat Loadout 💪: A great all-around setup is max power to shields (SHD), four pips to engines (ENG), and the rest split between your weapons. 🛡️
Drain Your Grav Drive 🚫: Your Grav Drive (GRV) is only for jumping between systems. In combat, it’s useless! Take all the power out of it and put it into your shields or weapons.
Power Boosts Fire Rate 🔥: The more power a weapon has, the faster it shoots. If you’re in trouble, pump all your power into your best weapon to melt enemies quickly.
Use Targeting Mode for Tactical Power Shifting 🧠: The targeting mode that slows down time is perfect for managing power. A pro move:
- Hit an enemy with full power to your energy weapons to strip their shields.
- Once the shields are down, activate targeting mode to slow time. ⏳
- While time is slow, safely move all the power from your energy weapons to your ballistic weapons to shred their hull! 💥

Advanced Maneuvering in Starfield 🔄

Find the Sweet Spot for Turning 👌: To make sharp turns, you need to slow down. Keep your speed in the blue section of the speed indicator for the tightest turning radius.
Boost to Break Missile Lock 💨: When you hear that missile warning 🚨, hit your boost! This will make the missiles miss.
Unlock Thrusters for Drifting 💫: The Piloting skill lets you use thrusters to drift. You can fly in one direction while aiming your ship in another. It’s essential for advanced combat!
Fight in Third-Person View 🎥: The cockpit view is cool, but the third-person view gives you way better awareness in a chaotic fight.

Targeting, Boarding, and Piracy in Starfield 🏴‍☠️

Why destroy a ship when you can steal it? 😉

Target Engines to Disable Ships 🎯: To board a ship, you have to disable it first. Use targeting mode to aim specifically for its engines (ENG).
Dock and Board 🤝: Once the ship is dead in the water, fly within 500m and you’ll get a prompt to dock.
Clear the Crew and Claim Your Prize 🏆: Fight your way through the ship and take out the crew. Once they’re gone, sit in the pilot’s seat to make the ship yours!
Loot Everything 💰: Before you take the ship, loot the captain’s locker and the cargo hold. You’ll often find valuable contraband!
Steal Ships to Fly Them, Not to Sell Them 🚀: Selling stolen ships isn’t very profitable because of the high registration fee. The real value is getting a powerful Class B or C ship for free long before you could afford one. Find a keeper for your fleet!
Register Ships from the Menu 📝: If you do want to sell a ship, register it from your ship menu. It’s cheaper than doing it at a spaceport for some reason!
Repair in Combat with Ship Parts 🔧: Your hull doesn’t heal on its own. Use Ship Parts during a fight to repair it. Always keep a good supply!

Chapter 5: Charting the Cosmos: A Starfield Guide to Exploration & Surveying 🪐🔭

Your main job as a member of Constellation is to explore! Here’s how to do it right and make a fortune. 🤑

The Surveying Process from Start to Finish 📝

Start with an Orbital Scan 🛰️: Scan a planet from orbit first. This reveals its resources and how many plants, animals, and special traits it has.
Land in Different Biomes 🌲🏔️🏜️: To find every creature, you need to land in each biome (forests, mountains, etc.). Your scanner will tell you when a biome is “Complete.”
Check the Coastlines 🌊: Can’t find that last animal? It’s probably a fish! 🐠 Land in a biome next to an ocean.
Look for Traits at “Natural” POIs ⭐: To find a planet’s unique traits, scan for unknown locations and go to any marked as “Natural.” You’ll find scannable anomalies there.
Fully Scan Each Specimen 🌿: You have to scan multiple plants or animals of the same species to complete the entry. Your scanner will show your progress.

Monetizing Your Data in Starfield 💰

Sell Survey Data to Vladimir Sall 👨‍🚀: You can sell your completed planet surveys to any vendor, but Vladimir Sall at The Eye pays way more! 💸
Use the “Gas Giant Loop” for Effortless Early Credits 🤑: Surveying a whole planet takes time. But you can survey gas giants with a single scan from orbit! This is one of the best and safest ways to make money early on:
- Step 1: Go to a star system. 🌌
- Step 2: From your cockpit, scan every gas and ice giant in the system. 🪐
- Step 3: Jump to the next system and repeat. Collect tons of survey data slates!
- Step 4: Fly to The Eye and sell them all to Vladimir for a massive payday! 💰💰💰
Scan from Your Ship 🛰️: Use your ship’s scanner to check out other ships. You can see their level, faction, and what they’re carrying.
Know Your Star Systems 🗺️: On the starmap, systems you’ve visited have a faint glow. White systems are in range but unvisited. Red systems are too far away for your current ship.

Chapter 6: Making a Fortune in Starfield: Economy, Crafting, & Contraband 🤑

Credits make the galaxy go ’round. 💫 Here’s how to get rich.

The Best Ways to Earn Credits in Starfield 💰

Complete Faction Quests 📜: The questlines for the major factions (UC, Freestar, Ryujin, Crimson Fleet) are the best way to earn huge amounts of cash. 💸
Use the Mission Boards ✅: Cities and space stations have mission boards with an endless supply of quests. They’re a reliable source of income.
Loot Everything (and Invest in Commerce) 🛍️: Pick up everything you can and sell it! The Commerce skill will let you sell items for much more money.
Sell Your Unused Ammo 🔫: Ammo has no weight! Sell the types you don’t use for a quick and easy profit.
Ignore “Activities” 📝: Your quest log will fill up with minor “Activities.” You can safely ignore most of them, as they offer tiny rewards.

Research & Crafting for Profit and Power 🛠️

Use the Lodge Basement 🏠: The Lodge basement has every crafting and research station you’ll ever need in one convenient place.
Track Your Recipes 🧐: If you’re missing resources for a crafting recipe, you can “track” it. A little magnifying glass icon 🔍 will appear next to those resources when you find them in the world.
Craft Adaptive Frames for XP 📈: A great way to level up early is to build an outpost that mines Iron and Aluminum. Then, use an Industrial Workbench to craft them into Adaptive Frames over and over for easy XP.

A Smuggler’s Guide to Contraband in Starfield 🤫

Willing to break the law for big profits? Welcome to the world of smuggling. 😈

Identify Contraband ⚠️: Illegal items are marked with a yellow icon. You’ll be scanned for these when entering a major faction’s space.
Get Shielded Cargo 🛡️: To sneak past a scan, you need a Shielded Cargo module on your ship. You can buy one from Lon Anderssen at the Red Mile.
Sell at The Den 🐺: The safest place to sell contraband is at the Trade Authority vendor in The Den, a space station in the Wolf system. There are no security scans there! ✅
Join the Crimson Fleet 🏴‍☠️: If you join the Crimson Fleet, you can sell your illegal goods at their headquarters, The Key, without being scanned.
Jettison Contraband if Caught 😱: If you’re about to fail a scan, you can dump your contraband out of your cargo hold. You’ll lose the items, but you won’t go to jail!

Contraband Smuggler’s Ledger 📋

Task	Location / Method	Key Information
Finding Contraband 🕵️‍♂️	Spacer/Pirate bases, Captain’s Lockers	Look for it in chests and on tables in enemy hideouts.
Acquiring Shielded Cargo 🛡️	Red Mile (Lon) on Porima III	This is essential for hiding your illegal goods!
Selling (Safest Method) ✅	The Den (Trade Authority) in the Wolf System	No security scans here, ever! 🎉
Selling (Faction Method) 🏴‍☠️	The Key (Crimson Fleet Base) in the Kryx System	Join the pirates to get access to multiple vendors.

Chapter 7: Advanced Systems: A Starfield Guide to Ship & Outpost Building 🏗️

For the engineers and architects out there, this is how you build amazing ships and outposts. 🔧

Ship Building 101 in Starfield 🚀

Visit Manufacturer Headquarters for Unique Parts ⭐: Each ship maker has a headquarters with exclusive parts you can’t find anywhere else. For example, go to Titan for the awesome two-story Nova Galactic cockpit!
Build an Outpost Landing Pad 🏠: The best way to get parts from many different companies in one place is to build a Large Landing Pad at your outpost.
Pay Attention to Landing Gear Thrust 💪: If you’re building a huge ship, make sure your landing gear has enough “Thrust” to support its weight, or the game won’t let you finish the build.
Respect the 12-Power Limit ⚡: You can only put 12 power into any single weapon system. So, it’s smart to use weapons that have a low power requirement. That way, you can mount more of them in one group!
You Can Rename Your Ship 🎨: In the ship builder, you can give your creation a custom name!

Advanced Ship Building & Glitch Techniques 😉

Clip Parts Together 🧩: You can use a simple trick to merge parts together. Select a part, duplicate it, and while it’s flickering, you can often place it in a spot where it overlaps with another part.
Use Placeholders to Mount Weapons 🔫: If a big weapon won’t fit, place a smaller weapon there first. Save the build, then go to the “Upgrade Ship” menu and upgrade the small weapon to the big one. The game won’t check if it fits! 🤫

Outpost Fundamentals & Optimization in Starfield 🏠

Find the “Holy Trinity” of Resources 🙏: The perfect starter outpost planet has Iron, Aluminum, and Helium-3. You’ll use these resources for everything!
Build on Biome Borders 🗺️: Place your outpost beacon where two or more biomes meet. This often lets you mine resources from all the different biomes with just one outpost!
Experiment Freely 🧪: When you delete something you’ve built, you get 100% of the resources back! So go ahead and try out different designs without fear.
Link Your Outposts with Cargo Links 🔗: Create a supply network by connecting your outposts with Cargo Links. You’ll need Helium-3 to power the links that go between different star systems.
Assign Crew to Boost Production 🧑‍🚀: You can assign companions and crew to your outposts. Their skills can boost your production and defenses!

Chapter 8: Beyond the Horizon: Advanced Starfield Tactics & Secrets 🔮

This is the classified info for veteran explorers. Get ready for Starfield’s deepest secrets. 🤫

New Game Plus (NG+) Explained ✨

When you finish the main story, your adventure is just getting started!

Enter a New Universe 🌌: You’ll get the option to start a new journey in a parallel universe. This is Starfield’s New Game Plus.
What Carries Over ✅: You keep your level, skills, and powers. You lose all your items, ships, and outposts.
Get Stronger with Each Cycle 💪: Each time you start NG+ (up to 10 times!), you get a new, better spacesuit and ship. Your powers also get stronger every time.

Hidden & Hard-to-Find Quests in Starfield 🗺️

Hunt for the Mantis 🦗: If you find a data slate called “Secret Outpost!”, read it! It starts the “Mantis” quest, which leads to a secret lair with a free legendary ship and a full set of legendary armor! This is one of the best rewards in the early game.
Visit Charybdis III for Operation Starseed 👨‍🔬: Go to this system to find one of the weirdest quests in the game, involving clones of famous historical figures.
Make First Contact on Porrima II 👽: Travel to this system to find a mysterious ship from Old Earth that’s been traveling for centuries. You decide its fate.
Run the Red Mile 🏃‍♀️💨: On Porima III, you can run a deadly gauntlet for cash and a unique weapon.
Help the Settlers in Groundpounder 💥: Go to the Altair system to find a research outpost under attack. This starts a long and awesome combat quest.

Locations of Unique Weapons & Armor 🔫🛡️

Get the Mark I Spacesuit for Free 🤫: In the Lodge basement, you can grab a full set of Mark I armor from a locked display case without any lockpicking skill. Just wiggle your cursor around the gap in the door until the “Open” prompt appears!
Complete Faction Quests for Top-Tier Gear 🏆: The big faction questlines all reward you with amazing, unique ships. The Freestar Collective questline gives you the Star Eagle, one of the best ships in the game!
Check Specialized Vendors 🛒: Unique weapons can often be found for sale at specific shops, like Laredo Firearms in Akila City.
Explore Every Nook and Cranny 🧐: Unique items are hidden everywhere! Curiosity is always rewarded.

Bonus Tips for the Veteran Explorer 💡

Use the Cutter’s Power Attack 💥: Hold the aim button with your mining cutter to charge up a more powerful beam that breaks rocks faster.
Break Asteroids for Resources ☄️: You can shoot asteroids in space to mine them for resources.
Take Photos for Your Loading Screens 📸: Any pictures you take with photo mode will show up on your loading screens!
Change Your Appearance 💅: Visit an Enhance! clinic in any major city to change your character’s appearance anytime.
Avoid Jail Time 👮‍♂️: Going to jail makes you lose XP. It’s almost always better to just pay the fine.
Increase Your Difficulty for Better Loot 📈: Playing on “Very Hard” makes more Legendary enemies spawn, and they drop the best gear. You can crank up the difficulty to find them, then turn it down for the fight to make it easier. 😉

Conclusion: Your Starfield Journey Has Just Begun 🌟

You now have the knowledge to become a legend in the Settled Systems. You know the tactics, the tricks, and the secrets. ✨

But this is just the beginning. There are hundreds of systems to see and stories to uncover. Your adventure is yours to create. What will your legacy be? 🤔

The stars are calling. Go answer them. 👋🚀

Disclaimer: This is an unofficial fan work, all trademarks and copyrights for Starfield belong to the developer Bethesda Game Studios.

Find the game here! https://store.steampowered.com/app/1716740/Starfield/