The Best Backgrounds in Starfield

As is the case in many other modern role-playing games, rather than just their appearance, Starfield has players decide on the personality of their character during the character creation process. This doesn't really have too much of an impact on gameplay in the long run, but the Background that they choose does determine which three skills the player will start the game with.

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As a result, choosing the best Background in Starfield can be important for those hoping to get off to the best possible start. There are 21 Backgrounds in total, each one with its own unique theme and backstory. Some are tailored to very specific playstyles, while others offer a broader range of skills that are likely to appeal to beginners and more casual players.

What Are the Best Backgrounds in Starfield?

The best backgrounds in Starfield are arguably Diplomat, Space Scoundrel, Bounty Hunter, and Industrialist. Exactly which one of these is the best option will vary from player to player, depending not only on their strengths and weaknesses but also on how they plan on approaching their current playthrough. This is because some of the starter skills in Starfield are much more useful than others, so players should take this into account when choosing their character's Background.

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The good news is that players will get a chance to unlock every starter skill in Starfield a little later on, so they don't really need to worry about missing out in the long run. That said, it's still a good idea to think about which skills will be the most useful early on as well as which ones will be essential at some point during a run. In this regard, the aforementioned backgrounds really stand out and can help players get off to the perfect start in Starfield.

The Best Backgrounds in Starfield #1 - Diplomat

Diplomat is the only Starfield Background that grants access to the Commerce skill right out of the gate. This useful skill allows players to sell items for more and buy them for less, so is one that players will definitely want to unlock at some point during their playthrough. Persuasion allows players to talk themselves out of tricky situations and comes in useful fairly early on, while Wellness increases the player's maximum health. This last one isn't really essential - especially if players are skilled in combat or prefer taking a more diplomatic or stealthy approach to avoid combat altogether- but having a little extra health is never a bad thing.

The Best Backgrounds in Starfield #2 - Space Scoundrel

Players will find themselves picking up a pistol almost immediately after choosing their Background, making the Space Scoundrel's Pistol Certification incredibly useful early on. Pistols are among the most common weapons in the game too, so the skill remains useful even after players start to gain access to different types of weapons. Persuasion is one of the best skills in Starfield and can save the player's bacon in a pinch, while Piloting allows players to use their ship's thrusters, which can be a real game-changer when it comes to ship combat. All three of these skills can be useful during the early stages of the game.

The Best Backgrounds in Starfield #3 - Bounty Hunter

Another Star Wars-inspired Starfield Background, Bounty Hunter focuses on technology, with all three of its starter skills falling under Starfield's Tech skill tree. Piloting makes navigating space in the Frontier far easier, granting access to the ship's thrusters right away, while Targeting Control Systems allows players to pick off specific parts of enemy ships, which can come in handy during dogfights. The final skill is Boost Pack Training, which, as the name suggests, allows players to use boost packs.

The Best Backgrounds in Starfield #4 - Industrialist

Industrialist is another Starfield Background that gives players access to Persuasion; an essential skill for just about any run. This Background also makes crafting and research much easier due to it granting the Research Methods skill. Finally, those who opt for the Industrialist background will start the game with Security, which, among other things, allows players to pick locks. Though the latter two skills won't really become important until after players have gained the ability to unlock new skills for themselves, they are definitely ones that players will want to get at some point, so getting them early makes sense.

All Backgrounds in Starfield

Anyone looking to compare every Starfield Background side by side can do so by referring to the table below. Those who do will see that Fitness, Persuasion, and Security are among the game's most common skills, which could perhaps be seen as a sign that the developers found these to be the most useful or the most desirable of the 25 starter skills. If one subscribes to this idea, then Bouncer and Industrialist are arguably two of the best Backgrounds in Starfield.

All Starting Skills in Starfield

Though the game does give a brief description of each starter skill on the screen where players are asked to select their character's Background, it doesn't really go into too much detail as to what each skill actually does. The table below should give a much better indication, allowing players to make a more informed decision. It's also worth noting that every skill in Starfield has four ranks, with higher ranks providing players with bigger stat boosts, or in some cases, granting access to brand-new perks entirely.

Physical Skills
Boxing	Fitness	Stealth
Unarmed attacks do more damage and have a chance to knock down opponents.	You have more oxygen available.	Adds a stealth meter. You are more difficult to detect when sneaking. Suppressed weapons do additional sneak attack damage.
Weight Lifting	Wellness
Increase total carrying capacity.	Increase your maximum health.
Social Skills
Commerce	Gastronomy	Persuasion
Buy for less and sell for more.	You can craft specialty food and drinks, and research additional recipes at a research lab.	Increased chance of success when persuading someone.
Scavenging	Theft
There's a chance you'll find extra items when searching containers.	Unlock the ability to pickpocket items.
Combat Skills
Ballistics	Dueling	Lasers
Ballistic weapons do more damage.	Melee weapons do more damage. Take less damage while wielding a melee weapon.	Lasers do more damage.
Pistol Certification	Shotgun Certification
Pistols do more damage.	Shotguns do more damage.
Science Skills
Astrodynamics	Geology	Medicine
Increase grav jump range of jump drives.	Get more common and uncommon inorganic resources from surface objects.	Med packs, Trauma Packs, and Emergency Kits restore additional Health faster.
Research Methods	Surveying
The amount of resources required to craft items and complete research projects is reduced.	Adds an optional zoom to the hand scanner, and increases scan distance.
Tech Skills
Ballistic Weapon Systems	Boost Pack Training	Piloting
Ballistic ship weapons have increased damage and cost less to use in Targeting Mode.	You can now utilize boost packs.	You can now utilize ship thrusters.
Security	Targeting Control Systems
You can attempt to hack Advanced locks, and auto attempts can be banked.	Unlocks ship targeting functionality.

How Important is Choosing the Best Background in Starfield?

Given that players will be able to unlock all of the starter skills during the course of their playthrough, they needn't worry too much about their choice of Background. That said, each Background does provide players with unique dialog options in certain situations, and while it doesn't appear as though any of these dialog options can have a drastic effect on a playthrough besides annoying or pleasing certain NPCs or companions, players may still wish to choose a Background that lines up with their own personality or interests.

Starfield is available now for PC and Xbox Series X|S.