Starfield is out at last, and thanks to its inclusion on Xbox Game Pass you can easily play it without having to even buy the game – making it easy to step into Bethesda’s new, gigantic science fiction universe.
Although there’s a quick guided section to introduce the controls early on, Starfield can be a bit of an overwhelming game to get to grips with, though. If you’re just starting out as Constellation’s newest member, here are some handy tips and tricks to make your life easier.
Avoid getting overloaded
In the early stages of Starfield it’s easy to find yourself weighed down with all manner of stuff in your pockets. From weapons to spare suits and materials, if you go over your weight limit you won’t be able to fast-travel around and will tire out quickly as you run.
That’s all quite annoying, so be sure to avoid it with a few tactics. Firstly, don’t bother picking up food and drink – these weigh too much and have tiny effects compared to medpacks and stims, so just leave them behind.
Secondly, if you’re way overweight check your inventory’s Aid section for Ship Parts – these let you repair your ship during dogfights, but should be stored in your ship’s hold as they weigh as a massive 10kgs each.
Finally, unless you’re really into the crafting systems in the game, and in particular outpost construction, consider leaving behind materials and resources like metal and components. They’re heavy and only really useful for those parts of the game.
Grab every bit of ammo you see
Ammo, by contrast with all the stuff listed above, weighs absolutely nothing in Starfield – so grab it all! This will ensure that if you ever run out of one type, you should have a big backlog of the others waiting in the wings, stopping you from ever getting into a sticky situation in combat.
Bethesda
You can buy digipicks
Lockpicking is massively useful in Starfield – we’d almost say it’s an essential skill since it unlocks so many extra options in quests and activities through the game’s massive runtime.
Digipicks are the tool you need here, and even a successful attempt destroys your pick, making them pretty valuable and surprisingly scarce. Many merchants in the game do sell them, though – so be sure to check every seller’s inventory before you leave them whenever you’re selling or buying anything else.
They’re really cheap and could earn you massive rewards if you hack into the right computer or storage chest.
Stick with the main story at first
Starfield has a great main quest, so it’s well worth sticking with on its own merits, but it also brings with a bit of a new toolset at a certain point. This means that you might want to stick with it until you get to a quest called Into the Unknown. When you finish this you’ll see what we mean – it can change how you play the game, in a good way.
Bethesda
You can join every faction in Starfield
As you explore around the game, Starfield’s galactic politics brings you into contact with a few big factions (a bit like the guilds in Skyrim and Oblivion). These are the United Colonies Vanguard, the Crimson Fleet, the Freestar Rangers, and Ryujin Industries. Each is joinable and none of them are locked out by the others – so don’t worry about choosing them in any order, as you can do them all.
We’d actually recommend jumping into the UC Vanguard early on, for one, since it gives you a starting history lesson that can be really useful for understanding Starfield’s world, and also is a great ride on its own merits.
Use your quickslots
When you’re in your inventory you can favourite any item with a button press, then choose its location on a cross-section of slots. This lets you access 12 items quickly using your d-pad while out and about, and is brilliant for weapon-swapping and accessing med packs and other healing items during a fight.
Use “set course”
When you’re in your quest log choosing your next activity or checking what you should be doing, you’ll generally see the option to press a button to “set course” to your next objective. If this is off-world, you’ll be taken to a screen where you can confirm your travel and head off. This is way quicker than fiddling through menus and maps yourself, so be sure to use it to avoid any menu woes. #
Watch out for skill books
Just like in Fallout and Elder Scrolls games alike, Starfield features a lot of in-game books, most them only a couple of pages long but with some resale value.
However, something to keep a keen eye out for are skill books – these are a little bigger than normal books, magazine-sized and therefore very thin. They have custom covers and when you read them you’ll get a permanent stat boost. Some of these are negligible but some are really useful, and they tend to be in story areas, so watch out for them.
Use and abuse your scanner
Hitting your left bumper button will bring up a scanner that makes moving around Starfield’s open areas way easier, highlighting interactable objects and loot for you. This is huge for locating small bits of loot like med kits and digipicks, but also comes into play when searching for anomalies and resources on the surface of a planet. Use it all the time – it’s massively helpful!