There’s a lot to do in Starfield and a thousand worlds to do it on. While the game does an excellent job of introducing players to the experience, it is still easy to get overwhelmed if you peer too far down the rabbit hole right at once.
To have an easy time on the game, you must know what to prioritize and do first. Knowing what to do at the start of the game allows you to slowly and progressively increase your speed until you are completely familiar with the game loop and ready to explore the vast emptiness of space on your own.
To help you out, here are 10 things you should do as soon as you start playing the game:
Pick the Right Character Background
Picking the right character background during One Small Step will provide a significant boost early on as it will instantly unlock three initial skills for your character. The Bounty Hunter (Piloting/Targeting Control Systems/Boost Pack Training) and the Cyber Runner Background (Security/Stealth/Theft) are two of the best character backgrounds to start the game.
Learn the Stealth Skill
Ideally, you would want to rank up the Stealth skill to rank four, but even just learning the first rank is valuable. There will be several occasions when you want to move unnoticed or use sneak attacks, and it’s much easier to do so with the stealth meter on your screen, which not only warns you about your stealth status (hidden, caution, danger, detected) but also about the noise level of your footsteps.
Learn the Boost Pack Training Skill
Having a dedicated boost pack won’t be of much use without the Boost Pack Training skill. However, you can unlock this ability by investing just a single skill point, which is achievable even after completing the introductory missions.
By boosting your jumps, you can gain an advantage in maneuvering around the battlefield. This is especially useful in low-gravity situations. To activate the boost pack, simply jump into the air and press the jump button a second time. This will activate the jetpack, propelling you into the air so that you can travel longer distances or reach places that would otherwise be out of reach.
Also, you can use it to prevent yourself from hitting the ground hard when falling from a height. However, at advanced levels, it’s important to be cautious when using the boost pack since opponents may easily target you while you’re floating in the air.
Learn Piloting and Targeting Control Systems Skills
Both Piloting and Targeting Control Systems are invaluable skills during space combat. Piloting will allow you to perform complex maneuvers to avoid enemy fire and put your set into position to take down enemy ships. Meanwhile, Targeting Control Systems will allow you to slow down time after enabling the Targeting mode and disable an enemy ship’s systems, such as the weapons, shield, grav drive, and engines. The latter will also allow you to board enemy ships, take down their crew, and commandeer them.
Modify and Upgrade Your Ships
The most crucial traveling component is to do so on a well-built ship. The Frontier does a good job of getting you from point A to point B, but if you need something more sturdy, head to staryards, showrooms, and ship service technicians.
You can talk to the ship service technicians and select “I’d like to view and modify my ship.” In the shipyards, you can see the ships that you own or those you have captured.
To upgrade your ship’s current components with better versions, press the A button. If you want to modify the ship, press the X button, and the shipbuilder screen will pop out.
When you modify or upgrade your ship, aim for better reactors, shields, weapons, or just better overall aesthetics to build the starship of your dreams.
Complete Misc/Side Missions
Starfield includes many optional side missions where you can explore new questlines, gain extra credits, or establish a relationship with your chosen faction.
Since Starfield features a lot of side missions, it can take time to determine which missions best suit your current playthrough.
Thankfully, there are many guides that will help you know the best side missions suited for your skill level and how to complete them with the best decisions to maximize your earnings.
Build your First Outpost
Starfield allows players to build outposts on planets and moons and install outpost modules to turn them into full-fledged space colonies.
Outposts are valuable as you can use them for resource extraction and transfer, equip them with crew members to maximize their production, or just use them as bases and homes, where you can access mission boards, install weapon and spacesuit mods, clear your bounty, or even use the shipbuilder.
To build an outpost, first place an outpost beacon. To do so, click the LB button on Xbox or the F key on PC, followed by the X button on Xbox or the R key on PC. This establishes an outpost beacon that claims all surrounding land.
Start Farming Minerals
You should start mining resources with your Cutter as soon as possible and use the minerals for crafting, upgrading equipment, or constructing outposts.
Using the Starnap, adjust the presentation of the planet by selecting the “Show Resources” option. This display will show you the resource locations on each celestial body while ranking up your Scanning skill will allow you to scan planets for rarer resources. Use this map to choose your landing spot and land near the resources you wish to mine or extract using your outpost’s extractors.
Join the Crimson Fleet
The Starfield Crimson Fleet is a band of pirates that prey on unsuspecting merchantmen and civilian boats throughout the settled systems. The United Colonies’ armies have had enough and need someone to end the threat. That’s where you come in as a double agent for UC SysDef, where you can either demolish the pirate roamers from within or revel in the devastation you’ve created.
Although the Crimson Fleet is one of Starfield’s main Factions, joining it isn’t as simple as it is with others.
There are two ways you can join the faction including getting caught stealing, using contraband, or engaging in criminal acts on UC property. You can also join the UC Vanguard and receive the Deep Cover mission from Commander Tuala after completing Supra et Ultra and Grunt Work.
Join the UC Vanguard
You can choose to be a hero by joining the United Colonies Vanguard. The UC’s military patrols the United Colonies to ensure that everyone in the area is secure. To join the faction, you need to talk to Commander Tuala at the MAST Building to undertake the Supra et Ultra faction mission, where you must complete a Piloting exam and then a probationary mission during Grunt Work to become a full Vanguard member. Note that the Piloting Exam Simulator is a great place to level up both your Piloting and Targeting Control Systems skills.
Rank Up Security and Stock up on Digipicks
You need digipicks for lockpicking in Starfield, so have a couple (or a ton) at hand if you want access to more loot, lore, or locked areas. Additionally, reaching rank 3 or 4 in Security is highly recommended as you don’t want to start marking down all the locations of Expert and Master security level locks to return to them later in the game.
There are plenty of ways you can stock up on Digipicks, but the best is probably buying them at most vendors.
Track all Objective Markers
The objective markers guide you through the missions, pointing you to the exact position for your current quests. Sometimes, the trackers are too many, and you might be confused about what each marker does.
In such a scenario, you should use your hand scanner to let you know the role of each marker. Tracking all Objective Markers is a great way to complete multiple quests at once when in major settlements, such as New Atlantis, Neon, and Cydonia.