The Starfield essential start early game guide involves completing the initial story quests, prioritizing resource gathering, and upgrading your ship.
Embarking on your Starfield journey can feel overwhelming, but with the correct approach, you will thrive. Many players dive in without a clear plan and miss vital early game opportunities. This Starfield essential start early game guide will ensure you make the most of your first hours in the Settled Systems.
Focus on completing the main story missions right away to access crucial features. Resource collection is key for upgrades, so prioritize gathering while exploring planets. Improving your ship early provides crucial combat and travel benefits.
Starfield Essential Start Early Game Guide
So, you’ve just stepped out into the vast universe of Starfield! It’s huge, it’s exciting, and maybe, just a little bit overwhelming at first. Don’t worry, we’ve all been there. This guide is your friendly helper for those crucial early hours. We’ll get you set up for success with some simple tips and tricks. Forget getting lost in the cosmos; let’s get you exploring like a pro!
Choosing Your Background and Traits
Right at the start, you’ll get to pick your character’s background and traits. Think of these as your character’s starting skills and quirks. They can really shape how you play. It’s like choosing your superpower, but with a little more nuance. Here’s how to approach this:
Backgrounds: Your Starting Story
Backgrounds are like a job you had before adventuring. Each gives you three starting skills that can give you a head start. For example:
- Bouncer: If you like dealing with people, Bouncer could be a great choice because it gives you boxing, security and negotiation skills.
- Explorer: If you are keen to explore the planets and other places then you can pick this, which gives you scanning, surveying and astrophysics skills.
- Cyber Runner: For stealth and technology lovers, you can choose Cyber Runner, which gives you stealth, security and tech skills.
Don’t overthink this too much; pick what sounds fun. You can always improve other skills as you play.
Traits: Your Quirks and Perks
Traits are like personal bonuses or challenges that make your experience unique. You can pick up to three, but some of them can have negative effects along with the positive effects.
- Introvert: You get more endurance while travelling alone, but less endurance while travelling with a companion.
- Extrovert: It’s opposite of introvert, you get more endurance while travelling with a companion, but less endurance while travelling alone.
- Kid Stuff: If you pick this, then your parents will visit you and will live in a small house, but 2% of your earnings will be directly gone to them.
Read each trait carefully because they can affect your gameplay in positive and negative ways. Some traits have clear benefits, while others can create unique challenges.
Understanding the User Interface (UI)
The User Interface, or UI, is how you interact with the game. Getting comfortable with it will make the early game a lot easier. Let’s check out the important parts:
The HUD (Heads-Up Display)
This is the info you see on the screen while playing.
- Health Bar: Shows how much damage you can take before you need to heal.
- Oxygen Meter: Shows how long you can stay outside without running out of oxygen. Be careful on planets that have no oxygen, because there you will deplete this quickly.
- Compass: Helps you navigate.
- Ammo Counter: Shows how many bullets you have.
The Inventory
This is where you keep all your stuff.
- Weapons: Guns, melee weapons, and more.
- Apparel: Helmets, space suits, and clothing.
- Resources: Materials for crafting.
- Aid: Healing items and buffs.
Manage your inventory because you have limited carrying capacity. Try to pick up only important things at the start.
The Map
Use the map to find places, set up locations to visit, and travel. It’s very important to open up the map while exploring new areas. Don’t hesitate to spend time learning to navigate around your map because you will need it constantly.
Early Missions: Your First Steps
The early missions introduce you to the world and its mechanics. They’re not just about story; they’re also about learning how to play.
Following the Main Quest
The main quest is a great way to start. It introduces you to key characters and places. Try to follow the quest lines to learn the main features of the game and to progress in the main story.
Side Quests: Opportunities to Explore
Don’t ignore side quests! They offer valuable rewards, extra experience, and the chance to learn about Starfield’s lore and universe. These are a great source to get experience and level up your character.
Talking to NPCs
Chat with the characters around you. They might have important information, quests, or even trade items.
Combat Basics
Combat can be tricky at first, but with some practice, you’ll get the hang of it. Let’s look at the essentials:
Shooting
Aim for the head for more damage. Use cover whenever possible to avoid taking damage yourself. Different weapons have different uses, so experiment to see which ones fit your play style.
Melee
Sometimes, you need to get up close and personal. Melee combat can be useful in tight spots, but make sure to check the statistics before engaging in fights. You also need to be wary of the enemy types because you don’t want to engage enemies with high health bars using melee weapons.
Using Cover
Don’t forget to use cover when engaging in fights. Enemies don’t have much intelligence at the start, but they can kill you easily if you are not hiding behind covers. Be careful in open spaces while engaging in fights.
Healing
Keep plenty of healing items with you. You will need them, trust me. Use aid items to regain health, especially during or after fights. Don’t forget to use items that can provide buffs in the start of the fights.
Resources and Crafting
Collecting resources and crafting is a very important aspect of the game. Let’s dive in:
Gathering Resources
Explore planets and collect resources like iron, copper, and aluminum. You’ll find them in rocks, plants, and other places. Look out for different types of planets and their biomes.
Crafting Basics
Use workbenches to create useful items. You can craft weapons, armor, aid items, and more with the collected materials. Always prioritize crafting aid items whenever you get the chance, as they are very important.
Selling Items
If you have extra resources you don’t need you can always sell them at the vendors that you find in the cities and space stations.
Ship Management
Your ship is your home and your transport. It’s important to get to know its features:
Basic Controls
Learn to fly your ship effectively. You’ll need to use thrusters, adjust speeds and learn how to jump between planets.
Ship Upgrades
As you advance in the game, you will get opportunities to upgrade different sections of your ship including weapons, shields, storage, and more. Always try to upgrade your ship as early as possible because it can make your journey much more easy.
Fuel and Maintenance
Make sure to manage your fuel level and fix the damaged parts if your ship takes damage. If your ship’s fuel level goes too low, then you will not be able to travel between different planets.
Leveling Up and Skills
Leveling up in Starfield is like gaining new powers. Here’s what you should know about that:
Gaining Experience
You gain experience by doing quests, completing objectives, and fighting enemies. You can also gain experience by exploring new areas.
Skill Points
When you level up, you get skill points to spend on your skill tree. You can improve skills that you already have or learn new ones. Always focus on improving your skills based on your gameplay style.
Essential Early Skills
These are a few that are good to grab early.
- Boost Pack Training: Allows you to use a jetpack. It can help you to move easily around cities and planets.
- Weight Lifting: You can carry more items in your inventory. This is one of the most important skills that you need in this game, especially at the start.
- Security: Helps you to unlock doors and containers. There will be a lot of instances in the game where you will need this skill to unlock doors.
- Medicine: Helps your healing items to work more effectively.
Exploring and Scanning
Exploration is a big part of Starfield. Here’s a quick overview:
Scanning Planets
Use your scanner to identify resources and points of interest on planets. This is very important if you want to complete all the objectives and gain rewards. Make sure to scan new planets that you find on your way.
Finding Points of Interest
Explore unique locations that you find using your scanner. There are many hidden places that can help you to complete different challenges and quests.
Scanning Fauna and Flora
Use your scanner to identify the plants and animals that you find on planets. You get experience by scanning them. You can also sell these scans to earn money. Always prioritize scanning new things that you find while exploring new places.
Making Money
Money, or credits, is important to buy items, ships and to upgrade them. So, here’s a brief about that:
Selling Resources
Sell the extra resources that you have gathered in your journey to merchants in the cities.
Completing Quests
Doing side quests and main quests can give you rewards that help you in the early game.
Looting and Selling Items
Collect different types of items like weapons and outfits, you can sell these items to merchants that you find in cities.
Important Tips for New Players
Here are some final bits of advice to keep in mind:
- Save Often: Starfield has auto saves, but saving manually can save you from unexpected incidents.
- Don’t Rush: Take your time to explore, talk to people, and learn about the world. There’s no need to rush through the game. Enjoy the experience.
- Experiment: Don’t be afraid to try out different things and figure out your own way of playing.
- Read the Tutorials: Tutorials can guide you through the basic mechanics of the game.
- Take Breaks: Long gaming sessions can be tiring. So make sure to take breaks often.
Starting out in Starfield can feel like jumping into a vast ocean, but with these early tips you will find your footing quickly. Remember, the most important thing is to have fun exploring this incredible universe. Keep exploring, keep improving your skills, and keep going after your dreams in the galaxy. Good luck and happy adventuring!
Starfield Guide: 15 Things You NEED To Do First
Final Thoughts
Focus on exploration, prioritize completing main quests initially for crucial upgrades. Early resource gathering is must and will make a significant difference later in the game. Don’t neglect shipbuilding and crew management, both provide unique advantages.
This Starfield essential start early game guide highlights crucial elements. Remember to explore various locations carefully, many useful items are hidden within plain sight. Effective skill selection early on will dictate your play style and character’s effectiveness.



