Early game optimization in Starfield focuses on completing faction missions for better gear, utilizing resources effectively, and choosing skills that complement your play style.
Starting your Starfield journey? You’re probably wondering how to best prepare in the early hours. This guide helps with Starfield how to optimize early game guide to get you moving fast. Getting the right start is crucial for later challenges in the vast galaxy.
We will focus on essential tips for resource management and initial skill investments. Learning effective early game strategies will benefit your gameplay immensely. This means more enjoyment and less frustration.
Starfield How to Optimize Early Game Guide
Starting out in a big game like Starfield can feel a bit overwhelming. There’s so much to see and do! But don’t worry, you don’t need to be an expert to have a great time. This guide is all about making your early game experience smooth and enjoyable, focusing on things that will help you from the beginning.
Understanding Your Skills and Background
Right at the start, Starfield asks you to pick a background and three starting skills. This choice can make a big difference in how you play early on. Let’s break down what you should consider:
Choosing the Right Background
Your background isn’t just for show; it gives you a little boost at the beginning. Here are a few backgrounds and why they might be good for beginners:
- Explorer: If you’re excited to just wander around and see everything, this is a good choice. You get extra skills in Surveying (finding resources), Gastronomy (cooking), and Piloting (flying ships).
- Bounty Hunter: If you like a bit of action, Bounty Hunter gives you skills in Piloting, Targeting Control Systems (better shooting), and Boost Pack Training (better jumping with a boost pack).
- Diplomat: If you want to talk your way out of situations and deal with people, then you should pick this background. This background grants you bonus skills in Persuasion, Commerce and Wellness.
- Cyber Runner: This background is good for players who want to do a bit of everything, It grants you bonus skills in Stealth, Security, and Theft. This could be a fun way to play if you enjoy sneaking around.
Don’t worry too much about making the “perfect” choice. You can always improve your skills as you play the game. Pick something that sounds fun to you.
Selecting Your Starting Skills
The three skills you pick at the start will give you an early advantage. Here are a few recommendations for your initial skill picks:
- Piloting: This skill is super important because you need to fly your ship all over. Starting with it makes space travel easier.
- Persuasion: Being good at talking your way through situations early on can save you from fights and open up new opportunities.
- Security: Lots of locked doors and containers hide good stuff. Security allows you to pick locks and get more loot.
- Wellness: Having extra health at the beginning is very useful, because during the early missions there will be a lot of combat. This skill helps you stay alive longer.
There are some other good choices like, Stealth, Targeting, Boost Pack, Surveying and Commerce, but the above listed skills are the best to pick for the initial start.
These are some useful skills that you should pick for a good head start, but remember, you will be able to get all of the skills eventually.
Quick Tip: Don’t spread your points out too much at first. Focus on getting a few skills you really like to level 2 or 3, instead of having a lot of level 1 skills.
Money Management and Resource Gathering
Money and resources are the lifeblood of your Starfield adventure. Here’s how to manage them effectively in the early game:
Making Credits (Money)
You need money to buy ships, weapons, and other cool stuff. Here are a few ways to make credits early on:
- Completing Missions: The main quests and side missions all give you good payouts. Focus on these when you start.
- Selling Loot: You will find tons of items while exploring, sell what you don’t need. Places like New Atlantis and Akila City have vendors who will buy your goods.
- Surveying Planets: Scanning planets for resources can give you data you can sell.
Quick Tip: Always check to see which items vendor is willing to pay you more for, for example, medical supplies are bought at a higher price from the medical vendor rather than a general goods vendor.
Gathering Resources
Resources are needed for crafting, research, and upgrading your stuff. Here’s how to find them:
- Scanning Planets: Use your scanner to see what resources are available on a planet.
- Mining: You can mine resources with your Cutter tool by shooting at resource deposits.
- Exploring Buildings: Old labs, factories, and other buildings usually have resources lying around.
Quick Tip: Remember to check your crafting station regularly to see which resources you need more of. You’ll save time by gathering what you need when you find it instead of later when you need them.
Ship Management and Combat
Your ship is your home in Starfield. Here’s how to keep it running smoothly and handle ship combat:
Upgrading Your Ship
Your starting ship is fine, but eventually, you will want to upgrade it. Focus on these:
- Reactor: This is the heart of your ship, so upgrading it allows you to equip better parts.
- Weapons: Better weapons mean you can take on tougher ships.
- Shields: Better shields mean you can take more damage before your ship gets destroyed.
- Cargo: More cargo space lets you carry more loot, which means more money.
Quick Tip: You can upgrade your ship at ship service technicians found at most major settlements, like New Atlantis, Akila City, or Cydonia.
Handling Ship Combat
Ship combat can be tricky at first, so here’s what you need to know:
- Use your Targeting: Lock on to enemies and target specific systems, like engines or weapons.
- Boost: Use your boost to dodge enemy fire.
- Manage your Power: Use power bars to switch focus to shields or weapons, or engines.
- Stay in Cover: Try not to fly directly in front of enemy fire. Maneuver to avoid as much damage as possible.
Quick Tip: Try out different ship parts early on to see how they affect your ship’s combat performance. Experiment with weapons, shields, engines and reactors to see what works best for you.
Understanding the Skill System
Skills are how your character gets better at different things. Let’s look at how they work:
Skill Tiers and Challenges
Skills are organized into tiers. You need to complete challenges to move to the next rank. For instance, to move the Piloting skill from rank 1 to 2, you might need to destroy a certain number of enemy ships. Keep an eye on skill challenges and plan accordingly.
Skill Points
Skill points are given to you every time your character levels up, then you can use these points to purchase new skill ranks. Always try to level up at least 1 skill every time you gain a skill point. This way your character will always progress.
Skill Categories
Skills are divided into different categories. Here is a list of the main categories and some good skill choices for each category.
- Physical: These skills are related to your character’s physical abilities, like health and stealth. Some of the best physical skills are:
- Wellness
- Stealth
- Weight Lifting
- Social: These skills focus on interactions with other characters, like persuasion and commerce. Some of the best social skills are:
- Persuasion
- Commerce
- Deception
- Combat: This category is all about fighting, including weapons skills and combat tactics. Some of the best combat skills are:
- Ballistics
- Rifle Certification
- Pistol Certification
- Science: These skills relate to research, crafting and planetary exploration. Some of the best science skills are:
- Surveying
- Research Methods
- Medicine
- Tech: These skills concern ship-related activities like flying and ship repairs. Some of the best tech skills are:
- Piloting
- Security
- Targeting Control Systems
Quick Tip: Think about which skills are most important to the way you want to play. Do you prefer shooting? Pick a good combat skill. Do you prefer talking? Pick a good social skill. Focus on skills that are useful to you.
Understanding the Game Mechanics
Starfield has a lot of systems and game mechanics that can affect your gameplay. Here are a few to understand and pay attention to.
Fast Travel System
Fast Travel is key to saving time, but it has some specific rules:
- Discovered Locations: You can only fast travel to places you’ve already visited.
- Ship Location: If you want to travel somewhere within a system, you must be in your ship first.
Inventory Management
Managing your inventory is essential, here are some tips:
- Weight: Make sure you do not go over your carry weight limit, otherwise you won’t be able to move fast.
- Resources: Store resources in your ship cargo hold or at an outpost, as this does not contribute to your carry weight limit.
- Organize: Use the inventory menu to organize your items and mark favorites.
Quests and Exploration
Starfield has tons of quests, which are very important, here are a few tips:
- Follow your quest markers: These show you the general direction you need to go.
- Talk to everyone: Some side quests or good loot are sometimes only found by talking to an NPC, so don’t skip any dialogue options.
- Explore each place thoroughly: Starfield is all about exploring, so look for hidden areas and secret loot.
Tips for Early Success
Here are some general tips to make your start to Starfield easier:
- Don’t rush through the main quest: Take your time to explore planets, do side quests and get more loot and gear.
- Always have a weapon type you like: This will ensure that you can handle any combat situations.
- Pay attention to tutorials: Don’t skip the tutorials, they are very helpful and will provide good tips that are useful for the start.
- Save often: You don’t want to lose a lot of progress after an unfortunate death, so always save.
- Experiment: Try different weapons, ships, and skills and see what you like the most.
- Do not forget to sell junk: There are a lot of items that are useful for research, but are mostly just junk. Make sure to sell them for a bit of extra money.
- Keep spare med kits: Always have a lot of med kits because they are key in keeping you alive during combat situations.
These tips will help you have a much better time exploring the vast universe of Starfield. Don’t feel pressured to do everything perfectly, play the game your own way, and try to enjoy every minute of it.
With a bit of preparation, you can start your Starfield adventure with confidence. Remember, the goal is to have fun and explore everything this amazing game has to offer.
Starfield Tips: Up Your Sneak Game – improve Stealth and Throwing + learn how to rename weapons!
Final Thoughts
To optimize your Starfield early game, prioritize main quests for skill points and better gear. Focus on resources, build outposts early for income, and upgrade your ship with salvaged parts. This allows quicker progression, enhancing your overall gameplay experience.
Carefully choose your starting skills and character background as they impact your game direction. Following this ‘Starfield how to optimize early game guide’ will help you start strong and set you up for success in the vast universe.
