Starfield Things That Help You Get Started

Starfield Things That Help You Get Started

So, you’re ready to jump into the vast universe of Starfield? That’s awesome! But with so much to see and do, it can feel a little overwhelming at first. Don’t worry, this guide is here to help you navigate those initial hours and get your spacefaring adventure off to a great start. We’ll cover the key things you need to know, from character creation to exploration, combat, and even building your own outposts. Let’s dive in!

Character Creation: Making Your Mark

Your journey begins with creating your character. This isn’t just about picking a cool hairstyle; it’s about shaping who you are in the Starfield universe. Here’s what you should think about:

Backgrounds and Skills

Starfield offers a range of backgrounds, each with three starting skills. These skills influence your abilities from the very start. Think about how you want to play. Do you want to be a smooth-talking diplomat? A sneaky thief? Or maybe a tough-as-nails soldier?

• Diplomat: If you like talking your way out of trouble, this is a good choice. The skills focus on persuasion and trade.
• Bounty Hunter: Combat-focused, good for players who enjoy action. Skills revolve around weapons and survival.
• Explorer: For those who like to venture into the unknown. Skills support surveying, scanning, and resource gathering.
• Cyber Runner: A more tech oriented background, focusing on stealth and robotics.
• Professor: This background gives you a bonus to skills like medicine and research, great for players who like knowledge.

Don’t stress too much about making the “perfect” choice. You can improve and learn other skills as you play. Just pick something that sounds fun! Your background provides a helpful boost early on but doesn’t lock you into a specific playstyle forever.

Traits: Your Personal Quirks

Traits add another layer to your character, giving you unique advantages and disadvantages. You can choose up to three traits. Some traits have good effects, but some traits can make your game a little harder so read them carefully before selecting them. Here are some examples:

• Introvert: When adventuring alone you get increased Endurance, but when adventuring with a companion your Endurance goes down.
• Extrovert: When adventuring with a companion you get increased Endurance, but when adventuring alone your Endurance goes down.
• Taskmaster: Auto Rifles deal more damage but do 50% less damage when you’re low on oxygen.
• Spaced: When on a planet you get increased health and oxygen.
• Terra Firma: When in space you get increased health and oxygen.

Like backgrounds, traits can add flavor to your experience. Read each one carefully, considering how they would fit with your intended playstyle. Some traits even offer unique gameplay opportunities or story lines to explore, while others can make the game more difficult. Don’t worry too much about picking wrong; you can always start a new game later if you want to experiment further.

Understanding the User Interface (UI)

Before you set foot on your first alien world, let’s get familiar with the UI. Knowing what all those little icons mean will make your life a lot easier. The UI may seem a little confusing at first but will become second nature in no time.

• Compass and Map: Located at the top of the screen, this tells you the direction of objectives, points of interest, and local areas.
• Health and Oxygen Bar: Usually at the bottom left, this shows how much health you have and your oxygen levels. Make sure you don’t run out of oxygen, or your health will decrease.
• Weapon and Ammo: Displayed at the bottom right, shows your current weapon and how much ammo you have.
• Inventory: Pressing the inventory button opens a screen that lets you view all the stuff that you are carrying with you.

Pay attention to the different colors of icons. For example, a white dot is an undiscovered place, a blue marker is a quest location, and a red marker might indicate danger! The more you understand the UI, the more effective you will be when navigating the Starfield universe.

Your First Mission and Getting Started

Right after creating your character, the game throws you into the story with your first mission, ‘One Small Step’. This introductory quest is designed to show you all the basics of gameplay. It will walk you through how to move, how to shoot, how to scan things, and how to use your inventory.

Exploring Your Surroundings

Don’t just rush to the objective. Take your time and explore the environment. You might find resources, crafting materials, or even hidden lore tucked away in unexpected places.

• Containers: Look inside every container, locker, and desk. You’ll find valuable items, ammo, and other things that will help you get started.
• Scan Everything: Use your scanner to identify plants, minerals, and creatures. Scanning helps you gather more information about the world and the resources available. You can find new resources this way.
• Listen to Dialogue: Pay attention to what NPCs (Non-Player Characters) say. They might offer hints, quests, or valuable pieces of information.

Starting Your Journey

The initial mission is a gentle introduction to everything Starfield has to offer. Make sure you use it as a learning experience by using the scanner, managing your inventory, and learning to engage in combat. Take your time and don’t feel rushed, Starfield is designed to be a slow burn in the beginning. Completing your first quest is only the first step in a much longer adventure.

Combat Basics: Fighting For Survival

Combat in Starfield is a mix of first and third person shooter mechanics, incorporating both ranged weapons and melee options. Here’s what you need to know:

Weapon Types

There are several different types of weapons you’ll encounter in Starfield, each with their own uses and situations.

• Pistols: Good for short to mid-range combat, usually have low recoil and can fire quickly.
• Rifles: More powerful than pistols, good for mid-range combat.
• Shotguns: Great at close range and can deal a lot of damage.
• Heavy Weapons: Offer the most damage but can be slow and cumbersome to use.
• Melee Weapons: Good for close quarters combat, can be powerful against enemies without armor.

Experiment with different weapons to find what works best for your playstyle. Some weapons will be better for certain situations than others. Always keep an eye on your ammo supply, as running out of ammo at the wrong time can be fatal.

Tactical Considerations

Don’t just run and gun! Think about your approach.

• Use Cover: Find cover behind objects to reduce the damage you take.
• Aim for Weak Points: Some enemies have weak spots, that if hit, can deal extra damage.
• Use Your Environment: Explosive barrels or other hazards in the environment can be used to your advantage in combat.
• Boost Packs: Use your boost pack to get better positioning during combat.

Combat is dynamic, so you may have to adjust as you play and learn about each encounter. Being careful, tactical, and adaptable is the key to surviving any firefight.

Spaceship Management

Your ship is your home, your transport, and your battle station in Starfield. It’s a key part of your journey and learning how to manage it is crucial to success.

The Basics of Space Travel

You can’t just fly anywhere, anytime in Starfield. Space travel has some limitations.

• Starmap: Use the starmap to select your destination. You can jump between planets within a system and then travel to other systems.
• Grav Jumping: You use the Grav Drive to travel between star systems. This requires fuel, so make sure you have plenty of resources to jump.
• Landing: You can land in established locations, or survey points on planets.

Ship Customization

As you earn credits and resources, you’ll be able to customize and improve your ship. This includes:

• Weapons: Upgrade your ship’s weapons for better combat capability.
• Shields: Make sure you have enough shields so your ship doesn’t get destroyed.
• Engines: Increase your speed and agility by buying new engines.
• Cargo: Upgrade your cargo capacity so you can carry more materials and resources.
• Habitation modules: By adding new modules to your ship, you can increase your crew capacity and add crafting stations.

Experiment with different ship parts to find the configuration that works best for your play style. A well-maintained ship is crucial to any player who wants to explore the furthest reaches of space in Starfield.

The Importance of Resources & Crafting

Gathering resources and crafting items are important aspects of Starfield, you will need these things to progress further into the game.

Resource Gathering

Resources can be found in multiple locations, from the surfaces of planets, to containers and even on ships you may come across.

• Surveying: Use your scanner to find plants, animals and minerals and survey them.
• Mining: Use your cutter to mine for minerals and resources in various locations.
• Looting: Always make sure you loot containers, and bodies after you are done fighting.

Crafting Stations

You’ll find crafting benches at many locations, and you can even build them on your ship. Here’s what you can create:

• Weapon Mods: Upgrade your weapons with mods to make them more powerful.
• Armor Mods: Increase the protection provided by your armor.
• Medical Items: Create healing items.
• Food and Drink: Make items that can recover health and other buffs.

Crafting can also help you to save money, so make sure you gather all the resources you can to make crafting items easier. Always think about the items you might need before making a long journey.

Outposts: Building Your Space Empire

Building outposts is a key mechanic in Starfield that allows you to construct and manage your own bases on different planets, providing benefits like resources, crafting facilities, and shelter.

Planning and Building Your First Outpost

Here’s what you need to do to set up a basic outpost:

• Select a Location: Pick a planet with the resources you need. Look for different resource deposits you can mine.
• Build a Beacon: Place the Outpost Beacon to claim the area.
• Build Structures: Add essential structures like storage, habitats, and resource extractors.
• Power: Add power generators and make sure they are working correctly.

Outpost Management

Once you have your outpost set up, you’ll need to manage it. This includes:

• Resource Production: Collect the resources your extractors generate and then use them in your crafting recipes.
• Crew Assignment: Assign your crew members to work in your outpost.
• Maintenance: Keep your outpost well maintained by fixing any problems as they arise.

Outposts help to grow your empire and can offer great benefits and resources as you expand your reach through the Starfield universe. Don’t be afraid to experiment and expand your outposts over time.

Understanding Factions

Starfield features a range of different factions with their own goals, values, and territories. Interacting with these factions can open up new quests, story lines, and opportunities.

Joining Factions

Here are a couple of the main factions in Starfield that you might want to consider joining:

• Constellation: A group of explorers and scientists dedicated to uncovering the mysteries of the universe. They offer a main story line that is interesting and exciting.
• United Colonies: The largest power in the galaxy, that focuses on order and stability. Joining this faction can offer interesting opportunities and missions.
• Freestar Collective: A group of independent systems focused on freedom and independence. They also provide some interesting questlines.

Choosing which faction to side with is a very important decision in the game, and some factions might not work well with others. Make sure you plan accordingly to get the full benefit of choosing the right faction.

The Impacts of Your Decisions

Your actions and choices can affect your standing with different factions. This can lead to:

• Positive Relations: Building positive relationships can result in rewards, discounts, and unique opportunities.
• Negative Relations: On the other hand, angering factions can cause conflict, block you from getting some rewards, and limit your ability to access areas.

Be mindful of the consequences when interacting with factions. Your choices will shape your story in Starfield.

Skills and Leveling Up

As you explore, fight, and complete missions, you’ll earn experience points and gain levels, allowing you to improve your skills. Understanding how this works is very important to your growth as a player.

Skill Progression

The skills tree is divided into five main categories that allow you to develop specific areas to your preference.

• Physical Skills: Improving your physical ability, such as health and speed.
• Social Skills: Skills to help you in trade and negotiation.
• Combat Skills: Increasing your damage and effectiveness in combat.
• Science Skills: Improving your abilities with scanning, resources, and research.
• Tech Skills: Enhancing your ability with engineering and robotics.

Each skill has multiple ranks, and each rank requires you to complete a small in game challenge. For example, you may need to use your boost pack in combat a certain number of times to unlock the next rank of your boost pack skill.

Making Informed Choices

It’s impossible to max out all the skills, so it’s important to pick the skills that best suit your play style. Consider these factors when leveling up your character:

• Playstyle: Prioritize the skills that match the way you enjoy playing the game.
• Balancing: Don’t neglect a specific category of skills, as they all provide value.
• Experimenting: You can reset your skills if you’re unhappy with them, so try some out.

Leveling up can really increase your character’s capabilities and open up new possibilities within the game.

Tips for a Smooth Start

Here are a few extra tips to help you get the best start in Starfield:

• Save Regularly: The universe can be unforgiving so make sure you save frequently.
• Take Your Time: Don’t feel rushed to complete everything right away, take your time and explore.
• Talk to NPCs: Some NPCs offer some very interesting quests and dialogue.
• Experiment: Don’t be afraid to try different playstyles and weapons.
• Have Fun: Remember to enjoy your adventure in Starfield!

Starfield offers a lot to explore, discover, and learn. Don’t be afraid to experiment and you’ll find your path in the vastness of space.

Embarking on your Starfield journey is exciting. By understanding these things at the start, you’ll be well equipped to navigate the vastness of space, build your empire, and create your own story. Happy travels, explorer!