Starfield skills guide: How to build the best character in space

Starfield, like any proper RPG, can tell you a lot about its universe by the skills it chooses to emphasize. But when you have so many skill choices, it can also be difficult to decide which ones you want to specialize in. Starfield's backgrounds give you a good starting point, complete with some lore about who you were before you decided to make a career as an RPG protagonist. But as you grow your character, you'll probably want to branch out a bit.

Since almost all of this information comes from pausing trailers and showcases and scribbling down what tiny text we could make out, this list is far from comprehensive at this point. But in the cases where we don't know much about a skill yet, we've at least tried to make a best guess how it might work.

Skill groups

Skill Groups

Starfield's skills are broken up into Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech.

Some of those sound a bit like they would overlap. So what's the difference? When it comes to Physical vs Combat, Physical skills seem to represent things you do with your body not involving a weapon, including sneaking and unarmed combat. Combat skills are anything that does involve a weapon.

Science vs Tech is even trickier, almost to the point that it feels arbitrary. But as a general rule, Tech seems to deal mostly with static machines like computers, whereas Science includes skills based around studying alien worlds, as well as starship-related stuff. 

Except… starship engineering is part of the Tech skill group. Like I said, it's kind of fuzzy. If you want to be a scientist, go Science. If you want to be an engineer or a hacker, probably go Tech.

Note: Skills with an asterisk (*) are ones we haven't seen any info on yet, other than the name.

Physical skills

Physical skills

*Concealment: The fact that this is a separate skill from Stealth is a bit puzzling, given we don't know what either of them do yet. It could be that concealment has more to do with hiding items, like sneaking a weapon past a security checkpoint, as opposed to simply remaining unseen.

Decontamination: Increases your chance to recover from infections. Basically how strong your immune system is.

*Martial Arts: Even when your enemies are armed with death rays and nanofilament blades, sometimes the best course of action is just to punch them in the face.

*Neurostrikes: Yet to be revealed. I definitely get "Vulcan Death Grip" vibes from this one, though. Hitting pressure points to stun or damage organic enemies. Stuff like that.

*Stealth: Yet to be revealed. This is probably the skill for remaining undetected on foot.

Weight Lifting: How swole you are. Increases your max carrying capacity by 10 kg per rank.

Wellness: Increases your max hit points by 30 per rank. 

Social skills

 Social Skills

Bargaining: Reduces the buying price of all items by 5% and increases the selling price by 10% per rank.

*Commerce: You would think this would be the same as Bargaining, huh? Maybe we'll be able to invest in Space Stonks or something.

Gastronomy: You can craft specialty food and drink, and research additional recipes at a Research Lab. We're not sure what multiple ranks will do yet.

Instigation: At rank 1, you can force an enemy at or below your level to attack their allies for a limited time. This probably also opens up new dialogue choices.

Intimidation: At rank 1, you can intimidate an enemy at or below your level to flee for a limited time. Higher ranks let you intimidate enemies who are a higher level than you, and increase the time they will flee. This probably also opens up new dialogue choices.

Leadership: At rank 1, companions gain affinity 15% faster. We're not sure how the affinity system will work yet, but it can't hurt to make friends.

*Outpost Management: Since the Outpost skills are broken into Engineering and Management, this one probably has more to do with keeping an already-built outpost running efficiently and in good working order.

Persuasion: Increases your success chance on speech challenges.

*Scavenging: I'm not sure why this is a "Social" skill, but it probably increases the amount or quality of components you can get for breaking down machinery or starships, or maybe your chances of finding extra loot.

*Theft: Again, I would say this is more of an anti-social skill. Since Security already covers cracking locks, this could be Starfield's equivalent of the Pickpocketing skill in Skyrim, allowing you to snatch things right off of people without them noticing.

Xenosociology: Lets you mind-control alien creatures. You can pacify them if they're hostile, make them flee, frenzy them on other creatures or targets, or give them specific orders.

Combat skills

 Combat Skills 

Ballistics: Ballistic weapons do 10% more damage per rank.

Demolitions: Explosives do 10% more damage and have a 10% larger explosion radius per rank.

Dueling: Melee weapons do 10% more damage per rank.

Heavy Weapons Certification: Gain damage resistance while aiming down the sights on a heavy weapon.

Lasers: You guessed it! Laser weapons do 10% more damage per rank.

*Marksmanship: Since Targeting increases your accuracy when not aiming, and Sniper Certification increases your accuracy when using a scope, I feel like this is probably the skill that improves your accuracy when aiming with normal sights.

*Particle Beams: It honestly wouldn't shock me if this caused particle beam weapons to do 10% more damage per rank.

Pistol Certification: Pistols do 10% more damage per rank.

Rapid Reload: You have a chance (not a guarantee) to reload your weapon ~12.5% faster per rank. Unclear if the ranks also increase the chances of a "reload crit."

*Rifle Certification: Call me a lunatic, but I have this strange feeling that this one makes rifles do 10% more damage per rank.

*Shotgun Certification: I can see two possibilities here. Either it causes shotguns to do 10% more damage per rank, or allows you to summon an unknowable horror from the depths of the void between galaxies to make you a sandwich.

Sniper Certification: For each rank, scoped weapons have less sway when aiming down the scope.

Targeting: Increases your accuracy when firing "from the hip" without using a scope or sights.

Science skills

 Science Skills 

Astrodynamics: Increases your ship's grav drive capability, which determines how far you can go in a single jump.

Astrophysics: 10% increased chance of discovering a trait when scanning moons. I guess so you can be more aware of what to expect when you go explore it.

*Botany: You know a lot about plants. Space plants. Maybe which ones of them restore health?

Chemistry: You are better at making chems (space drugs), and can research new space drugs at a Research Station.

*Geology: You know a lot about space rocks. Maybe this might help you identify resource deposits on a planet you haven't visited yet.

Medicine: Med packs heal 10% more hit points per rank.

*Outpost Engineering: Since the Outpost skills are broken into Engineering and Management, this is probably the one that governs the cost or ability to build outposts.

*Surveying: This probably is similar to Astrophysics, helping you gather information on a planet before you land there. 

Tech skills

 Tech Skills 

Boost Pack Training: At rank 1, allows you to use boost packs. Higher ranks might improve your mobility.

*Missile Weapon Systems: I'm going to make a guess that "Weapon Systems" skills separate from their combat counterparts, are probably related to using the weapons on a starship rather than on foot, since we haven't seen anything like a "Gunnery" skill yet.

*Particle Beam Weapon Systems: This seems to lend credence to my theory that "Weapon Systems" refer to starship weapons, since there's already a Combat skill called Particle Beams.

Payloads: Allows you to carry more stuff in the same amount of cargo space on your ship.

*Piloting: How good you are at making the ship zoom around all cool and stuff.

Robotics: You do 10% more damage to robots and turrets per rank. That's kind of hilarious if that's all it does. I would hope there is more use for your knowledge of advanced robotics than being really good at breaking them.

Security: Each rank lets you attempt higher-level locks (no more bypassing everything just because you're really good at the lockpicking minigame) and bank "auto-attempts," which I would assume just let you bypass lower-level locks without having to play the minigame.

*Starship Engineering: This seems like it's probably the skill that governs designing and modifying starships, perhaps reducing the cost or unlocking more options.

*Targeting Control Systems: If Weapon Systems skills govern your damage with starship weapons, I could see this being the skill that determines their accuracy.

Skill progression

 Skill Progression in Starfield 

 To rank up a skill in Starfield, you will generally have to complete a set challenge. For most weapon skills, this simply involves killing a certain number of enemies with that weapon type. Security requires you to pick more locks. This feels similar to Skyrim, but is a bit more transparent about the exact requirements and can allow you to grow certain skills in ways other than simply using them over and over.