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Starting Tips (Wish I knew before starting)
By T2
A simple guide to tips to know before starting Starfield.
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Created by
T2
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Category: Characters, Classes, Crafting, Game Modes, Gameplay Basics, Loot, Secrets, Story or Lore, Trading, Weapons
Languages: English
Posted
Updated
1 Sep, 2023 @ 1:25am
24 Sep, 2023 @ 4:07am
31,561 Unique Visitors
458 Current Favorites
Guide Index
Overview
On Spoilers - you're safe. 
Skills/Traits 
You 
Ship 
Home / Outpost 
Crew and family 
Trading 
Loot 
MISC 
Final Thoughts and Conclusion 
Comments
On Spoilers - you're safe.
Very minor spoiler may be present in terms of what features are available and such, that is the nature of the tips and tricks to know before starting.

If anything is a spoiler, I will hide it for your decision to read it or not.
Like this: Now you have been spoilt with a spoiler, congratulations.
Skills/Traits
  • You should take a little time to decide what character you want to be.
  • Plan ahead for a build.
    • I wont do guides here but there will be plenty online if you want some help with that.
  • Shielded cargo and scan jammer are good for hiding contraband. Pick them up if you see them as they are hard to find.
  • You cant use skills without 1 point in them.

Spoiler on which priority skills:

  1. Boost Pack (Just 1 point is enough to use jetpacks.
  2. Security (I cant stand not being able to open a door) level 1 is enough. Master picking is all you really miss out on.
  3. Something inline with your build here


A good guide on Skills(external link): https://www.pcinvasion.com/best-starfield-starter-skills-explained-and-ranked/

Spoiler:
  • Extrovert - Amazing with a companion, penalty without.
  • Terra Firma - land boosts, where you spend most of your playtime
  • Dream Home - Mentioned before, a cheap first outpost(500/week rent or 125k homeowner)
  • Taskmaster - Heal ship, crew costs more(one time)
  • Empath - Only beneficial when companions like your actions.
  • Hero worshipped - Fun with free loot :)
  • Wanted - Free XP skirmishes + low HP boosts firepower

A good guide on Traits(external link): https://www.pcinvasion.com/best-starfield-traits-ranked/

Spoiler on traits I would pick given the Endgame:

  1. Extrovert - Amazing with a companion, penalty without.
  2. Terra Firma - land boosts, where you spend most of your playtime
  3. Taskmaster - Heal ship, crew costs more(one time)
  4. Wanted - Free XP skirmishes + low HP boosts firepower
You
  • Sleep for free health recovery
  • Sleep long enough for 10% XP boost
    • Companion relationship +5%
  • Eat for Health recovery
  • Med packs are useful, save them.
  • DigiPicks = Lockpicks, save them (use Hacking when possible)
  • Freedom to explore comes quickly but you may want to unlock everything from the story first .
  • Don't try to do everything in 1 playthough, you are likely going to want to play again.
    Moderate Spoiler with no details: Unlock Game+ mode and continue your adventures..?
  • There is no level cap, rushing to lvl100 is unnecessary ;)
    • Spoiler on skills abundance: its possible to unblock all skills. ~300+ skill points to max everything, a HUGE grind you are not expected to consider achieving!
  • Don't get arrested, prison is bad for XP
  • You can change your name and looks later
  • Afflictions are bad
    • Injuries and infections - try avoid them. Some heal themselves, others will require items to fix.
  • Traits can be removed, but then they are gone.
  • Use the scanner while wondering around a new area. You can sell the data and XP gains.
    • The scanner allows fast travel to your ship and some locations
    • Objective markers can be managed here.
    • Scan fauna, flora, resources, sites and creatures - 100% for extra gains
  • Explore settlements, listen out for quests or other useful info.
  • Holding more mass means you use more O2, offload into your ship's cargo hold.
    • Some items like ammo weigh nothing.
    • Use your companions for extra storage space.
    • (unconfirmed) You can place things on your ship and it doesn't take any cargo space, put stuff you don't want to trade here?
  • Check your favourite items/weapons - be ready for when you need them.
  • Red arrow on items is stealing, take care.
  • Use the flashlight, it's a bit weak. Optional cheats - Increase your screen's brightness ;)
  • Look out for yellow information Kiosks.
  • Signs are actually useful, read them.
  • Not all doors can be opened.
    • Some doors can be hacked or opened by other means.
  • If you don't do min(?) damage to a kill, you don't get the XP.
Ship
  • Landing is not possible during combat
  • Scan planets before landing. Can you breath the air and resource info.
  • Fast travel is possible in the same Solar System.
  • Cargo hold is your storage, if you hoard, make sure you invest in cargo or ship upgrades.
  • Fuel capacity upgrades are needed to explore Solar systems that are too far(shows red).
  • Destroy Asteroids, they give resources.
    Don't collect everything, Target farm as needed as resources are easily found.
  • Navigate easier with the "set course" button on the pause menu.
  • Not all cargo upgrades are made the same, ie assess the mass vs storage for the best results - it's not always the most expensive ;)
  • workbenches are from "hubs" when building your ship. You need to check which ones have variations and cycle through them to find the ones you want.
    • "Workshop" and "Science" hubs are prime options, most are cosmetic additions for RP. Maybe add an all-in-one kitchen for the cooking bench?
Home / Outpost
  • It is possible to start with a player home, it's a trait during player creation but has a small ongoing cost (500/week)

Crew and family
  • Remind yourself to Assign members to ships and home.
  • Talk to your people when they want to chat
  • you can hire most people.
    • Civilian's are not hireable, lookout for named.
Trading
  • Trade Kiosks in Spaceports will buy your goods. Resets daily
  • The Trade Authority will buy *anything*, including contraband assuming you can get it to the planet or station.
  • Contraband is easily hidden by a shield cargo hold
  • If you have a shielded cargo bay, it protects items in your ship's storage, not your person's storage
  • Contraband is easily sold at a space station in "The Wolf" system called "The Den". Located East of Sol, NW of Alpha Centauri.
  • Deception Reduced your chance of scans picking up contraband.


Loot
What should I pickup?:
  • Dont pickup everything
  • Dont pickup everything
  • Dont pickup everything
  • ...but Im a hoarder.
  • Dont do it...
    A good rule of thumb:
  • Pickup all ammo
  • Pickup guns for their ammo.
  • Pickup all DigiPicks
  • Pickup all medpacks
  • Pickup to replace what you wear
  • Pickup Items to sell, Mass vs value.

    • Value =/= sell price.
My Favourite Legendary armour attributes:
  1. +25 Thermal
  2. -Weapons mass
  3. -Resource mas
  4. -75% O2 when overburdened
  5. +25 Radiation resistance
  6. Balanced Boost
  7. Bolstering more resistance as HP lowers
  8. Chameleon Invisible when crouched
  9. -25% O2 Usage
MISC
*WIP*
Cheat code for an awesome ship from the start?
Okay its not a cheat code but it may as well be:
  • (unconfirmed trick) Save before entering the lair.
    I believe the Loot boxes can spawn different weapons? The human miniboss can spawn different cool weapons - dropped best melee weapon in game for me

  • Save before opening the armour, the stats are random each time you loot it.
Final Thoughts and Conclusion
FAQ:
  • This guide is intended to be short and simple, it already borders on TL;DR. Details on how to do things are reserved for a Google. Apologies.
  • NB = "Nota Bene" as I can't figure out how Steam nests bullet points. I'll update the guide to stop using NB, etc.
  • *SPOILER*
    More details with no plot spoilers - why should I not worry about investing everything into my first playthrough and what is Game+.
    I decided this is relevant to things I want to know from the start of my playthrough so I've added it for those that keep asking:
    New Game+ mode Keep your char skills, levels etc. All items, rep and "universe data" is reset. You can complete the story fully, or up to the point where the game+ restart happens.
    Even more spoiler.. minor plot spoiler here:
    As part of the New Game+ you get a cool starter ship (can't be customised), epic armour that you probably will never change out again. Also you can skip the storyline and have a different story experience
    ..continued into a MAJOR Endgame Plot SPOILER:

    In New Game plus, you will lose everything except, traits, skills, exp/levels.
    Additionally, You will gain The Frontier ship, Starborn ship, Starborn suit.
    Pro Tip: There are at least a dozen variations to the universe new+ starts. They can all be seen when entering the lodge (AFAIK) - and they are usually pretty damn cool. Many of them end up being shorter to your next playthrough.
    Pro Tip 2: Every time you restart, your Starborn ship and suit gets slightly better each time. Consider this when you decide to settle down and slow burn the story, side missions, outposts, shipbuilding, etc. You might want to play through a bunch of times to be the best self on your playthrough.
    Pro Tip 3: When you enter the lodge and speak with Sarah, Pick "skip story" and getting the artefacts is so much quicker!

My Rule of thumb after 3rd playthrough lessons:
  • Only loot Weapons/armour over 5k creds (mass/value ratio can be off, but its fast). Increase as you wish.
  • Digipicks (buy more at vendor if you hack)
  • Loot/buy heal Meds (I stop buying at 30)
  • Get piloting up if you plan to steal big ships
  • Buy resources - they are cheap and easy to get from vendors.
  • Radiation and Thermal resistance = QOL
  • Carry an armour that has -75 O2 use when overburdened - it's amazing for hoarders!
  • Don't bother with scanning (or skills) until MUCH(When? - Ref Spoilers) later:


    Stay safe out there,
    -T2-

81 Comments
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Tyrax Lightning 30 Aug, 2024 @ 6:02pm 
Also read that Link Guide on 'best Starter Skills' and disagree with Lasers being not S-Tier as a Starter Skill to aim for... there's a real great Laser Weapon to pair that with at game start that would rock to hit harder with right outta the gate, it's called... the "Mining Laser"! >:)
Tyrax Lightning 30 Aug, 2024 @ 6:00pm 
I learned elsewhere another interesting tip: You can Sprint till your CO2 is full then keep sprinting while your Health gets damaged and debuffed really seriously hard but never to the point where you die, so it's totally doable to tell your Character's physical limits to suck it and sprint non-stop as much as ya want if ya are daredevil enough to traipse long amounts of distance on a fraction of health and dare to try to get to Point B a damage sneeze away from death... for example from a POI ya cleared and looted into poverty to your parked Ship with 4 digit Encumbrance's amount of Lewt... without taking that last bit of damage and biting it before making it to safety and a Bed to rest that rekt Health back up to snuff. ;)

I double dog dare ya'all to try pulling this stunt while Wanted... >:)
Kytampe® 15 Nov, 2023 @ 9:52pm 
And don't forget to pick up everything, and I mean EVERYTHING. Why? Because the damned credsticks are everywhere and mostly under other things. I don't know how many thousands extra in credsticks I found since I started doing this.

I know, it takes time doing it, and especially if you throw the trash away afterwards, but how much time do you spend farming for money anyway? This is much faster, trust me. :)
Kieks 13 Sep, 2023 @ 8:02am 
@T2 yeah, if you are bothered by that though theres a mod that reactivates them.
Harag 10 Sep, 2023 @ 3:22am 
Great little guide, thanks for doing this. For the "Dream home" trait, is the location random per play through? If not can you put the location in the guide, I have no idea where mine is, it's not even listed on my missions....
⋠Ĝ๏ą✞⋡'ƦэŁĨq. 9 Sep, 2023 @ 7:02am 
Another tip : Don't drop and place items ( Like the plushies ) in your outpost. They will glitch and evaporate unfortunately..
JimmWasHere 9 Sep, 2023 @ 12:16am 
@ineedbettername to expand if you sell stolen items and buy them back and it will remove the stolen tag
T2  [author] 8 Sep, 2023 @ 12:12am 
@ineedbettername good reminder on those tips, I'll add them to the guide, thank you :)
islandhitech 7 Sep, 2023 @ 8:10pm 
great review BUT, how do i change my pronouns from kitty that shits behind the couch to lizard person?
ineedbettername 7 Sep, 2023 @ 2:17am 
Regarding Trading, the Trade Authority will buy *anything*, including contraband assuming you can get it to the planet or station. Second tip: If you have a shielded cargo bay, it only protects items in your ship's storage, so if you forget to stash your contraband and leave it in your pockets, be prepared for a fine or a fight.