Ultimate Guide To Starfield (20 Tips and Tricks)

Starfield’s scope is gargantuan, to say the least. There is a myriad of things to do and adventures to embark upon. Bethesda has gone out of its way to make this a true near-infinite space experience. In this highly detailed ultimate guide, we will try to condense everything that is under the hood of this massive RPG.

Starfield is filled to the brim with RPG-esque content. The new galactic setting paired with Bethesda’s expertise in building an expansive world truly shines through this game’s every nook and cranny.

If you have been a fan of their particular vision then you will be very happy with the overall package. For others, it is just another Bethesda RPG with no personality of its own. You are the judge!

How much content does Starfield have?

Much like the galaxy you are traversing in Starfield, this game is chock-full of almost infinite content. Let’s summarize what you are getting yourself into in this game:

An expansive main story that pulls the player to the far reaches of the universe to uncover the hidden secrets of a mysterious alien artifact.
Meaningful choices to make that alter the course of your character’s arc.
A detailed character creator. Not just for aesthetics but also impacts the early playstyle and changes the background of the player with consequences.
Massive open space and planets to explore. 1000 planets!
Interesting factions to join and carry out their storylines.
A meticulous ship-building system that opens up a lot of creative designs.
Spaceship dog fights in space!
Tons of random encounters that lead to some memorable moments.
Planet surveying and discovering all kinds of flora and fauna.
Mining resources to craft valuable items.
Expansive outpost building mechanic on any planet you want.
Companions to take along on missions and even fall in love with.
Fascinating locations to run into while blindly exploring the universe.
A crazy amount of NPCs to interact with.
Procedurally generated worlds add an element of surprise to each new world you visit.
Buying homes and decorating to your liking with all the stuff you have hoarded/stolen.
A plethora of missions ranging from mystery to downright funny to boring to as impressive as they come.
Elaborate skill tree systems to tweak your character to your preferred playstyle.
Build experimentation.
Endless roleplaying possibilities.
Survival elements force you to adapt to your surroundings or suffer from not ailments if you are not prepared.
Insane amount of loot from tons of weapon variety to clothing and spacesuits.
Weapon and Spacesuit modding system.
New Game Plus to experience the alternate route you opted for in your previous playthrough.
Although not official, the modding community will have a field day with this huge sandbox.

This is just from the top of my mind. I’m pretty sure there is more to this game. There is no shortage of content in Starfield. You will undoubtedly be investing hundreds of hours discovering every inch of the universe for gripping content.

Is the Main Story any good?

The story starts off with you, an employee of a galactic mining organization, tasked with mining a planet. While the mining continues, your crew stumbles upon an enigmatic-looking rock with an artifact lodged inside. You end up touching it and it shows you a cryptic vision of the universe.

Turns out a secret organization named the Constellation hired your company for this very reason, to extract the artifact. You deliver the artifact to these people on New Atlantis and they end up recruiting you to uncover other artifacts much like this one.

What follows is a series of missions that send you to the far reaches of the universe to collect all the artifacts and make them whole. Where did it come from? What is its purpose? Are you the only one to know about its existence? All will be answered by the end of the rather intriguing story. We won’t go into spoiler territory.

One of the best things about Starfield’s main story is that there isn’t the same sense of inherent urgency to complete the quest and get to the finish line. Many of us surely stray off the beaten path on our adventures and put the main story to the side in every other Bethesda RPG. After hours of hopping from one side quest to the next, we end up realizing “Oh I have to still find my son (Fallout 4)” which pulls you out of the exploration immersion of these games and somewhat forces you to stick to the main quest i.e. the pressing matter at hand.

The way Starfield’s main story unravels, it doesn’t push you to always make your way to the next main objective. The story is spread around the entire universe and you are expected to stop in the middle and go about discovering the expanse of this vast space.

However, much like any other Bethesda RPG, the main story is interesting but takes the back seat to the more refined and nuanced narratives of the side content/quest. In this case, the Crimson Fleet questline is leaps and bounds ahead of the main quest.

How are the RPG Elements in Starfield vs. other Bethesda Titles?

Starfield aptly named Skyrim or Fallout in space, comes packed with all the staple Bethesda RPG elements. It is the galactic exploration theme and the new characteristics that come with it that apply a new coat of paint to this game. Underneath the surface, it is the same kind of experience as Bethesda’s other RPGs, for better or for worse comes down to personal preference.

Similar elements include:

Hoarding anything that isn’t glued to the floor
Companion system with options for romancing a few
Base building much like Fallout 4/76
Skill Trees
Character Creator
Factions
Weapon, gear, and loot variety
Path altering choices
Tons of quests
Vast locales to discover
Random encounters

The new elements come in the form of:

Shipbuilding and ship battles in space
Instead of a single map, there are loads upon loads of planets to explore individually
Planet surveying and discovering their surfaces
Space theme antics like the life of space piracy or space cowboy life
Building outposts on any planet you want
Sci-fi theme
Discovering the mysteries of space
Intergalactic politics
Massive cities with their unique interactions

All in all, this is very much a Bethesda game so you won’t find anything new other than the added elements we mentioned before. However, this new setting does come with its own set of unique perspectives and things to explore.

What are the Factions in Starfield

Technically there are 5 factions in Starfield. However, the Constellation is the mandatory organization that you are a part of from the get-go. It is the organization that sends you on your main adventure to scour the space to unravel the mystery of the strange artifact you discover at the start.

Hence, there are actually 4 factions where you have the option to join and carry out their respective questline. These factions are:

The UC Vanguard (New Atlantis)

How to Join: Simply follow the main missions and eventually in the ‘The Old Neighbourhood’ mission, Sarah will take you to the Mast lobby in New Atlantis Planet Jemison where you can enroll in this faction by talking to Commander Tuala. You can visit this location on your own too without needing to complete the main quests. Their HQ is in New Atlantis.

The UC Vanguard is the earliest faction you can join in Starfield. This faction is one of the two governing bodies in the Starfield universe, tasked with defending the United Colonies. If you want to make the colonies a safer place then this ensemble of galactic military is the right faction for you.

Lore and quest-wise, it is the second-best faction. This faction’s journey starts off lukewarm but gets very interesting as you progress so don’t be discouraged by its early hours. There is a lot more going on underneath the surface of this faction and worth checking out.

Also, the orientation mission of this faction will take you through a museum which acts as a great way of introducing the world and politics of Starfield through engaging exhibits. Make sure to inspect all these exhibits to clearly understand what the hell is going on, despite it being told through the lens of this particular organization. There is even a great spaceship flight simulator at the end of the mission, perfect for honing your piloting skills and gaining valuable XP.

The United Colonies Native Trait will boost the credit yield of each mission. Even without the said trait, this faction is quite lucrative. The missions provide tons of great gear. It is a good starting point when choosing your faction.

The Crimson Fleet (The Key)

How to Join: The Crimson Fleet’s HQ is found on the star station called The Key, orbiting planet Suvorov in the Kryx system. There are two ways to join this faction:

The quickest way; get caught doing anything illegal or smuggling Contraband in any of the United Colonies’ protected spaces. From here you will be taken to jail and meet up with Commander Ikande who will propose you infiltrate the Crimson Fleet or some undercover action. Accept the request and you eventually join the faction.
Another, albeit legal, way is to progress through the UC Vanguard’s quest until you receive the Deep Cover mission. It will also take you to Commander Ikande and ultimately penetrate the criminal space pirate faction.

The Crimson Fleet is a bunch of cool-looking red-clad space pirates who are in perpetual conflict with the Vanguards. If you are all about pillaging, smuggling contraband, and all manners of dubious activities then don’t sleep on this faction. It is essentially an antagonistic faction but don’t get fooled by that, they have a lot of heart.

Dubbed the best faction in all of Starfield, the fascinating and self-reflecting quest The Crimson Fleet takes you on is outstanding. It rivals every other faction and even the main quest line. It is full of meaningful choices and makes you want to question your alliances.

There are tons of spaceship dogfights involved in this story arc so it is advised to upgrade your spaceship piloting and combat skills. There are no Traits that compliment this faction so your initial choice is free in that regard.

One of the best perks of being in this faction is the ability to sell Contraband items without any repercussions at their bases. It is by far the best method of making large sums of Credits. Aside from this, there aren’t many good rewards for completing missions so keep that in mind.

The Freestar Rangers (Akila City)

How to Join: You need to head for the Cheyenne system and choose the Akila City on planet Akila. As soon as you enter the city, there will be a big commotion in front of a bank being robbed. Speak with Marshall Daniel Blake in the crowd, he will give you the Job Gone Wrong quest where you have to deal with the robbers. Once done, head for the central building The Rock, and talk to Emma Wilcox who will end up recruiting you to the Freestar Rangers. Akila City is their HQ.

The Freestar Rangers are the other governing body in Starfield. They are the space cowboys, keeping things in check on planets under their regime. If space Western fantasy and traveling the galaxy for bounty hunting rock your boat then by all means join this faction.

Narratively, this faction might be the weakest, and even the theme seems very much played out. If you enjoy the gunplay of Starfield then this faction has got you covered in that area. There will be tons of crazy firefights so practice your quickdraw skills. Even the leader of the faction will give you a good old-fashioned Revolver for your peacekeeping needs.

The Faction synergizes well with the Freestar Collective Settler Trait opening up better rewards at the end of each mission. The final prize of this faction is a Class C ship for which you wouldn’t need to upgrade your piloting skill. You’ll even get a great Class A ship while progressing the faction quests.

Ryujin Industries (Neon)

How to Join: Simply interacting with any red Ryujin Industries Spaceport Terminal will open up a recruitment form where you have to enter your Work Experience and answer a bunch of questions. The terminals can be found on New Atlantis, one being very close to the Mast where you join the Vanguards.

You can also visit the company’s HQ in the Volii system, planet Volii, Neon City, and immediately receive the Back to the Grind quest to enroll. After submission of the form, you will be tasked to talk to their employee Imogene Salzo who will give you your first job.

Ryujin Industries is a giant corporation with a shady side. You will be climbing the corporate ladder and aiding the organization in maintaining its dominance amongst its competitors. Although you’ll start out as a lowly intern delivering coffee to the big suits on the top floor, it will soon turn into the high stakes game of corporate espionage, backroom deals, and tarnishing the image of your rivals.

Of all the factions with their galactic peacekeeping and pirating motives, Ryujin Industries stands out with its unique corporate theme. It’s a great change of pace from all the shooting and looting of other factions. It forces you to be more diplomatic and talk your way through situations with a bit of stealth sprinkled here and there.

The industry itself and the city it operates in have a distinct cyberpunk vibe. The city of Neon and Ryujin stand out for their unique aesthetics and shadiness. Ryujin has the most quests out of every faction in the game. It pairs really well with the Neon Street Rat Trait, not only giving you a better “in” to the industries but also augmenting the rewards.

Working for the corporate sector has its financial benefits. The starting and subsequent payouts are enticing for living large among the stars. And, of course, the high stakes of corporate espionage will result in a good variety of armor and weapons.

Is the exploration seamless in Starfield?

In a nutshell, exploration in Starfield isn’t as seamless as one would expect. It is not like No Man’s Sky where you could land your ship anywhere you want and start exploring. There are some invisible walls, limitations, forced fast traveling, and loading screens in the middle that make it a bit jarring. You are expected to use the Grav jump mechanic to explore rather than stumble upon planets while traversing space like an actual explorer.

To comprehend the scope of the entire playing field, there are around 100 star systems with 1000 planets, at least on paper.

The exploration comes down to two different sides: Planet Side Exploration and Space Exploration. Let’s go over each of these distinct explorations.

How does the Starmap work?

When you access the Starmap in the game, you will notice a bunch of red dots spread about. Each of these dots is a Star System with its own set of orbiting planets. Manually flying from one system to another is next to impossible since the distance is insane so you have to rely on the Starmap to teleport you them. Even planet-to-planet manual flying is a tedious time-consuming job.

There are a few things to know when viewing the Starmap. Side note, each system has a level mentioned on it depicting the recommended level you need to be to face the challenges that lie within :

Glowing systems are the ones you have already visited and thus can fast travel to.
White systems are the ones you haven’t visited yet but are in the range of your ship’s current jump drive capabilities. You can visit them by selecting and using Grav Jump via the Starmap.
Red systems are the ones you cannot jump to and you have not visited. The reason you cannot go to these stars is because you haven’t explored any of it’s neighboring stars.

When you select a system in the Starmap, it will show you a route you must take in order to get there. It involves several layovers on the systems in between. If you haven’t discovered any of the systems in that route then the game will force you to stop at the last system you can jump drive to.

Grav jumping to systems also consumes your ship’s fuel. It is essentially a limiting factor to how far you can jump. It is not something you will have to replenish but it just paces out your exploration capabilities. The larger your ship’s fuel tank the farther you can jump without having to stop in the middle.

As you arrive in a system, you will most likely be welcomed by an event. It can be an NPC ship asking for help, a massive spaceship battle that you can take part in, or a series of quests ready to embark upon. It is quite random and makes things interesting while discovering uncharted star systems and planet orbits.

How does the system map work?

When you are in a star system, you can now view the system’s map. It shows all the planets in that particular star’s orbit.

While hovering in space, you can scan the planet in your proximity to determine the resources it houses, what are its special conditions (gravity, atmosphere, etc.), and the progression of your survey of the planet. You need to be in the orbit of the planet to scan it. If you are further away then it is not possible. Scanning can be upgraded a bit through the Science skill tree.

Your ship also has a scanner similar to the one on your hand. When active, it will display all the relevant information of the system you are in. Things like other planet distances, landing zones on a planet, and their relative stats, all will be shown without the need to open the Starmap.

Some icons like a landing zone or city name can be interacted directly through the scanner meaning you can land there just by the press of the button if you hover your reticule over it. You can not manually fly the ship into a planet’s atmosphere and land the ship. You will have to go through a type of fast travel menu and loading screen to land at your desired location.

It is advised to not fast travel all the time especially when visiting new systems or planets. You will find interesting encounters when you warp in their orbits which you might miss out on if you resort to fast travel to specific locations on a planet.

How is the planet exploration?

You can either land on a fully hand-made planet location like vast cities or outposts or you can visit any planet surface of your choosing and the game will procedurally populate it with all types of stuff.

Keep in mind that you can not walk from one point on the map to the other side if you are looking forward to testing the game’s capacities. There will be an invisible wall that will stop your wandering adventures. Even then it is very generous with the amount of stuff that gets generated.

Similar to the space exploration discussed above, planet exploration functions very much the same. You have your Hand Scanner to survey the planet’s flora, fauna, points of interest, the planet’s unique planetary traits, and planet encounters.

As you’re exploring planetary surfaces you’ll see a whole bunch of different icons on your scanner. Different icons represent different types of structures or locations. There will be a question mark on the icon if you haven’t already discovered it.

When on planets you can also discover a whole variety of other locations like natural formations like caves or man-made structures like bases. Structures can range in size from small civilian outposts to military complexes and even underground facilities. Caves meanwhile are a lot of fun to explore and can certainly bring you a few resources and sometimes even hostile encounters.

You can scan the resources strewn about the planet as well. This will help you mine the materials you are in need of and even provide valuable information once you have surveyed them completely.

Planets are also home to all manner of plant life and hostile and docile creatures. They are also a good source for resources so make sure to scan them for information and what material you can extract from them.

You can even encounter NPC who are either hostile or friendly. Talk to them if they are sociable and they might send you on a quest.

How does the Perk System work in Starfield?

When creating your character you’ll get the chance to pick a background. This background comes with three starting skills which unlock the first rank and subsequent bonuses right out of the gate. Starting skills don’t lock you out of any future choices, they just provide you with a foundation for how to build your character.

Once you are knee-deep in completing quests and defeating spacers, you’ll level up with the XP you accumulate, and with each new level, you’ll also gain a Skill Point. You can use this point to invest in any of the skills you want.

The real magic comes when you rank up a skill by completing the associated challenges. Once you complete a skill’s challenge you can then spend a skill point, advancing it to the next rank giving you even more benefits. It can be a passive stat boost or it can unlock a new functionality.

For meaningful builds, you have to think about what’s going to make an immediate impact in your playthrough and what kind of playstyle you prefer. You can not respec skill points in this game so choose wisely.

There are 5 skill trees in Starfield with their specific set of complementary abilities.

Physical Skills

The Physical tree ties into your overall hardiness in the game. If you’re a melee-focused player or plan on going that route, you’ll most likely spend a lot of points in this tree. Outside of that, there are still some valuable skills worth investing in.