Steam Community :: Guide :: Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Playing

Store Page

Starfield

All Discussions Screenshots Artwork Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews

Starfield > Guides > birolay's Guides

247 ratings

Things I Wish I Had Known When I Started Playing

By birolay

After dumping 150 hours on game pass, I noticed that man... Did I make some stupid decisions and failed to enjoy the game to its fullest. So I decided to give it another go here on Steam for a flawless, no nonsense playtrough.

These are my *30 things I wish I've known* for Starfield.

Award

Created by

birolay
Offline

Category: Gameplay Basics, Loot, Secrets, Walkthroughs

Languages: English

Posted

Updated

12 Sep, 2023 @ 12:05pm

30 Jul @ 8:14pm

11,140	Unique Visitors
253	Current Favorites

Guide Index

Overview

Ultra-mega-blaster-important

Useful Tips

Personal Takes

Quest-related

Suggestions?

Comments

Ultra-mega-blaster-important

If you're too lazy to read the rest, take note of AT LEAST the following:

Be a sleepy bastard:
Make a habit of resting in beds before going on missions. There are significant XP bonuses associated with doing so.
Skill-walled mechanics:
If you think you should be able to do something on the game that you can't quite do yet, try looking up the skill tree. Stuff like using the booster on your pack are locked behind skills. Except...
No In-Game Area Maps:
...for the map. There are (mostly) no in-game area maps, so don't bother.
EDIT: After recent patches, some areas now have maps. Still not all of them, though.
Careful Skill Point Allocation:
This is NOT a yee-yee-levely game. You level up SLOWLY. Thus, skill points are precious. Study the skill tree and spend your points with skills you actually want. Skills like as Piloting, Ship Design, Security, Weightlifting, and mods are of utmost importance. Oh, there's no respeccing in Starfield. So be mindful.
I'm more of a sidequest kind of guy:
Frig the campaign, we all want to EXPLORE, right? Well... Sure. But do me a favor, bud: Focus on the main questline at least until you get something that'll remind you of BioShock. There are plot-locked exploration things that'll only randomly appear once you acquire whatever I'm talking about. As soon as you get it, then you can safely forget about those cOnStELLaTiOn nerds and go on being a pirate, hauling ores and exploring in general. Don't worry, it's one of the first missions.

Useful Tips

Here goes the bulk of the guide. I guarantee you'll wanna read until the end.

Mid-Fight Health Recovery:
Get a load of this... You can refill your health bar in the midst of a battle (sorta). Crouch, go undetected, find a cozy spot and let the healing begin.
Forward-boosting:
Wanna go fast? If you set an alt-key for "jump" you can boost forward with it. Space goes up, *other key* goes forward. May be a bug, may be a feature, definitely is useful.
The Trade Authority can Launder Stolen Stuff:
You probably were scanned upon arriving a planet already, right? Well, that's because you can't go on your business having illegal stuff with ya. The Trade Authority, though, not only will buy your contraband but they can also help you launder your stolen items. Simply sell them the stolen stuff, then use the buyback option without leaving the vendor.
Modding an equipment on a bench will also launder it:
See, officer? My rifle has a SCOPE on it. The one you're looking for doesn't.
Stealthy Space Travel for Contraband:
Speaking of which... If you're carrying contraband in space, there are specific space stations where you can dock without having your cargo scanned. Two of those are The Den in the Wolf system and The Key in the Kryx System.
Chems Usage:
You're one of those dimwits who hold onto buff items "JUST IN CASE", right? Well, ditch that idea. Chug chems as soon as they're useful, such as on combat, persuasion, and sneaking. You'll come across plenty of them, so there's no need to hoard them all for a hypothetical big final boss.
No Need to Hoard Every Note:
There are notes that are quest-locked to your inventory, sure, but you don't have to carry every note you find throughout the game until the end. Dump everything you can on your ship.
Ship Building - Level-Locked Parts:
Keep in mind that many ship components are locked behind level requirements. These include critical components like Reactors, weapons, shields, engines, and grav drives. You won't access them until you reach specific levels. At level 20 you'll get the good stuff, at level 60 you'll have access to everything.
Ship Building - You can paint everything at once:
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥, it pisses me off how the game never tells you this... But get this: if you double-click something on the ship-builder, it'll automatically select everything connected to it...
Ship Building - Ship Has Unattached Modules Error:
...If you did everything right, that'll be the whole ship. Except If FOR THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST you can't find what exactly is unattached and giving out this error. In that case, just double-click your ship (above tip) and whatever is unattached will be highlighted.
Ship Building - Cargo Hold Clutter:
Be aware that every time you make modifications to your ship's habs, you'll accumulate crap in the cargo hold.
How to steal ships:
The game doesn't tell you this, but all you have to do is literally waltz in a ship you see sitting in a planet, kill everyone around, and pilot away. To keep it, just land on a space port. You can also do this to ships in space. Destroy the engines, board 'em and claim 'em. Take note, your companion will *not* react in a good way if he witness you stealing civilian ships.
Ship thievery is not a good business:
Before you sell a stolen ship you have to register it. But begistering a stolen ship can cost as much as a new one. You will make next to no money on this, so don't bother.
You can borrow you crew's skills:
Crew, not companions. At some point you'll recruit people to bunk with ya' on your love yacht. Long story short, whatever skills they have will temporarily go to you. That goes for all sorts of skills, not just piloting/ship ones.
Vendor Stock and Credit Regeneration:
Vendors refresh their inventory and credits every 50 hours in Universal Time (UT). Be mindful of the Universal Time to avoid wasting your in-game time.
Rotate Followers:
Followers have quests. Quests are done and triggered only when they're around. So, rotate your followers every few hours to advance their individual questlines. Avoid sticking with a single one for extended periods.
Companions ruin stealth:
Your buddies will absolutely alert enemies. If stealth is mandatory on whatever mission you're on, you're better off leaving them behind.
Companion Ammo and Grenades:
You only need to provide your companion with one unit of ammo, and they'll be capable of using the corresponding weapon freely. This rule also applies to grenades.
Frequent Saving:
Make it a habit to save your progress regularly, particularly during stealth missions. It's better to be safe than sorry.
Cuttable Emergency Walls:
This may sound obvious, but emergency cuttable walls are indeed cuttable. You can cut things with something called cutter. Let that sink in.
Fast Travel = No Random Events:
Refrain from fast traveling constantly. Whenever possible, take the time to enter your ship, launch, select your quest destination in space, and initiate travel by pressing X (or F if you want to pay respects), as this is what can trigger random events.
Always purchase Medpacks, Digipicks, and Ammo:
Whenever you encounter a vendor, make sure to buy available medpacks, digipicks, and ammunition for your favorite gun. In the later stages of the game, high-fire-rate guns with large clips become prevalent, and they'll will clean you dry of ammo FAST. Moreover...
Always loot weapons, even the low-tier ones:
You only loot the good stuff? Well, I used to... But you'll wanna pick up all bad guys' guns, even if only to ditch it right after. Most of the time, if the bad guy didn't get to shoot a round, the gun will be fully loaded. That's 40~80 rounds that can cost up to 1000 credits or more. 5 bad guys with 5 guns can be 5000 creds in ammo you're leaving behind. As soon as you pick it up it'll add to your total ammo, so you're clear to drop it right after. This adds up and can change your entire gameplay.
Harvest Geysers:
You have the option to harvest geysers in the game. Mind-blowing, right?
Stupid fast XP Farm via Gas Giants:
Take the time to scan every gas giant in every system you explore. For example, if a system contains three gas giants, you can earn as much as 200-250 XP in just about a minute by flying around and scanning them.
Maximize Planet Survey Rewards:
Speaking of which, getting a 100% survey completion on a planet comes with a bonus for any extractors located there.
Optimize Loot from Mini-Bosses:
Get this... Whenever you defeat a mini-boss you'll get random rare equipment. Now, imagine if you could re-roll this lottery? Well, save just before defeating the bad guy, loot, and reload your game until you find something nice. This may count as a cheese or even a cheat, but to each their own.
Survive While Overweight:
Running or sprinting while carrying excess weight won't lead to your demise. Your health will drop to about 5%, but it won't go lower.
Unlimited Storage:
There's a couple of unlimited-capacity storage containers in The Lodge's basement, right next to the workbenches. Great for dumping those heavy-ass minerals. Aside from the one at Ryujin tower (ty @RockyRoad99999), there doesn't seem to be any others in the game.

Personal Takes

These are debatable, and may or not fit your personal playstyle. You're welcome to disagree or suggest counterpoints in the comments.

XP Farm:
There are 2 main XP farms in this game.
1st [EARLY GAME]: This is the simpler, yet you'll feel like ♥♥♥♥ after doing it, but here's the deal... One way of farming XP in this game is murdering helpless animals. Take your time to find a planet with abundant Fauna and land in a few different spots until you find animal packs. Depending on their levels, you can 1-shot literally dozens of 'em for 40~80xp each.
2nd [MID-LATE GAME]: Crafting Adaptive Frames (google "adaptive frame xp cheese" for more info). TLDR, find a planet with Iron & Aluminum within your outpost radius, set an automated extraction routine, make an Industrial Workbench, and craft Adaptive Frames (whose ingredients are solely Iron & Aluminum). Each 99 batch will give you 99xp.
Don't bother looting Food and Misc Items:
Just avoid collecting Food and Misc items, as they tend to clutter your inventory, leave you encumbered, all without any significant benefits. Sure, they have credit value and minor advantages, but the time spent managing them doesn't outweigh the rewards. It'll just provide you with a boring inventory-management gameplay. You'll earn plenty of credits by completing quests.
Optional Outposts:
Technically, you can finish the game without constructing an outpost. While they are not worthless and can provide some nice experience and credits, you can successfully go through all the faction quests and the main storyline without ever needing to build one. So, if it's not your thing, don't worry about it.
Mining Efficiency:
If you're not farming for a specific resource, mining can be time-consuming. It's way, way, way better just spending some cash and purchasing resources instead. It's just faster and cost-effective. Also, the primary use for resources are the Outposts. If you're not bothering with Outposts, you won't need that many resources, buying from vendors should be more than enough.
Consider Skipping New Game Plus (NG+):
Don't leave stuff for a New Game Plus. A lot of people agree that the NG+ is not the best in Starfield. Instead, savor the game in its original form, complete all the side quests, and fully immerse yourself in the main storyline on your first go.
Achievement Hunting:
This game has a simple, yet unforgiving achievement hunting. If you're going for 100%, plan it out first. Half of the achievements are won by straight up just playing the game. The other half can either be a breeze or nasty, depending if you planned it out or not. Specially the "get to lvl 100" one.

If you're up for this, I'd recommend doing the Adaptive Frame XP cheese as early as possible and getting to LVL50, maybe 70, before starting the campaign. It'll 100% ruin your experience and break the game, THAT'S A GIVEN, but the reason for that is story mission XP rewards will scale with your level. The cheese won't. Getting from LVL 90 to 100, 99xp at a time (crafting adaptive frames), might take you as much time as it took to get from LVL 1 to 50. Doing all game missions, on the other hand, campaign and sidequests, will up you about 30~40 levels, regardless of which you're at. And believe me when I say it, getting from Lvl 90 to 100 is a drag. It'll be one hell of a drag. So, unless you're ok with starting over or cheating, plan ahead.

Quest-related

These are also personal choices, but less debatable.

Prioritize Ryujin Industries Faction Quest:
As soon as you hear about Ryujin Industries, go all in. There are some unique rewards involved.
Talk to the fancypants in Cydonia:
If you see a guy with a white shirt and a bunch of papers on a desk on a dank bar on Cydonia, talk to him. EARLY. AS EARLY AS YOU CAN. Otherwise you'll go through the whole game without a dialogue option.
The game doesn't tell you how to join the Crimson Boys:
Here's what you have to do: go to jail. There ya go. Disclaimer: there are financial costs involved in sticking with them, so I would definitely not do this early on.
Complete the Mantis Quest Early On:
If you loot an enemy and see a Note with the name "Secret Outpost", don't just loot it. Open it and read it, it'l give you the Mantis Quest. And while this quest is not as necessary as the Ryujin one, consider tackling it early in the game. Not because you'll have great rewards or anything per se, but because they're not as useful at the endgame as they can be early on.
Stealth Mission + Eliminating Robots = no no:
Here's a valuable tip: Refrain from destroying robots during, uhh, stealth missions. Don't try to understand, just take note. If at some points there are robots and stealth involved, just be careful. Thank me later.
Delay SysDef Quests Until You Have a Strong Combat Ship:
Calm yer' bits and hold off on tackling the SysDef quest where you must choose between fighting SysDef or the pirates until you possess a decent combat ship.

Suggestions?

Anything I missed? Share your experience so we can update this guide.

SMAAASH THAT LIKE BUTTON, SUBSCRIBE, BUY MY MERCH AND I'LL SEE YOU ON THE NEXT ONE

23 Comments

< >

cordinia 1 Apr @ 5:51am

This is great! I've played a bit of SF on and off and just can't seem to get into it partly due to the fear of making an early mistake that I can't undo and partly due to having played the beginning 30 - 45 minutes multiple times trying to get into it. I'll give it another go and maybe I'll get past the Lodge part.

Nhomis the Dark 19 Oct, 2024 @ 4:18am

Thanks for the tips!
Most unfortunate for me the only real thing I need is: maps! I'm horrible in pathfinding. In every rpg I play (like ESO, Guildwars 2, WoW) I heavenly rely on maps, looking every minute where I am and where to go. In Starfield e.g. even in the smalest town I keep taking the wrong subway, or in a factory fighting enemies I can't find back the one bed to rest when outnumbered and running back... So I hardly leveled and hope there will be a mod in future to help me out.

gonzoguns 14 Mar, 2024 @ 4:51am

I'm running over 100 mods now...on a completely UN patched Game, the original install...absolutely ZERO crashes, no broken Quests, Incredible Ship Builder options, Huge selection of Outpost options and decoration, New Clothing for the chicks and Hot Body mods...along with graphics upgrades, NVIDIA Updates...the list goes on...

I won't update my Game until the Creation Kit and Body Slide is out, right now my game is Absolutely Perfect without any of the Bethesda Updates...and it will stay that way.

I'm on my 7th Life + , 51 Million Credits in the bank, Level 202 today...and I'm still playing and having fun, I still find new things just poking around...and flying my own Custom Luxury C Class Battle Cruisers that annihilate Enemy ships in seconds...Just Plain Fun

If you're not modding Starfield...your missing out...or too lazy to learn how to do it.

Blubulous Dubulous 20 Sep, 2023 @ 10:39pm

Instead of trying to get the exact right distance to scan flora, fauna or materials, you can just kill aliens and loot plants/ore to count it as "scanned". Given that you're not gonna be out of aggro range until you get 3-4 levels in scanner (while also sneaking) you might as well get the combat xp and just blast those critters.

arronax06 18 Sep, 2023 @ 8:30pm

@Dewi Morgan The registration price for ships is lower than the sell price, you make a benefit of around 10% of the price of the ship when you register then sell them.

You can sell contraband early game at the Den station, in the Wolf system, there is a Trade authority vendor there and there is no scan before you dock.

Dewi Morgan 18 Sep, 2023 @ 5:08pm

The two space stations in the Sol system can also be visited without scanning, but they sadly have no vendors. You can stack all your contraband in the entrance corridor there, though, until you venture further out and find somewhere you can sell it. I currently have about $1M in loot waiting to sell, because I've been focusing on scanning all the Sol planets and moons.

Dewi Morgan 18 Sep, 2023 @ 5:06pm

The registration price for ships is also the sale price. So, if you steal a ship, register it so that you can sell it, and then sell it... you make exactly $0 :(

Dewi Morgan 18 Sep, 2023 @ 5:05pm

According to a loading screen, food/drink effects do NOT stack: it will use the best value from the stuff you eat, rather than adding them. So, no advantage to drinking 50 beers.

Rogue 18 Sep, 2023 @ 9:04am

I found that you can actually register a ship that you've just commandeered from your menu for a fraction of the usual registration price. I think if you're sitting in the ship, go to your menu > ship and look for a register button. It should be significantly less than what it costs on a planet.

RockyRoad99999 17 Sep, 2023 @ 9:22pm

Regarding useful tip 25, the office you get at Ryujin tower in Neon also has an unlimited capacity safe.

< >