Fighting is inevitable in Starfield, and players will want to build their characters according to the play style they prefer if they want to survive in battle. Melee and close-range fighters in particular will want to have as much HP as they can, so they don't end up on the floor before they can even get within range of their foes.
Unlike some other RPGs, leveling up in Starfield won't increase the player's maximum health. Instead, they'll have to invest in other sources to make their HP bar larger than it originally was. Here are a few ways to do so.
How to Increase Max Health
The most obvious way of boosting max HP is by investing points into the Wellness skill. Each point here increases the player's maximum health by 10%, up to a total of 40%. The only caveat here is that players will need to gain four Skill Points and complete the challenge objectives needed to upgrade the Wellness skill. Thankfully, this challenge only involves healing specific amounts of health back.
Another way to increase maximum HP is by using specific consumables. The Heart+ stim pack is fairly common around the known systems, and using one will increase the player's max health by 20% for 10 minutes. The effect may be temporary, but it might just be enough to help win against a particularly difficult encounter.
An alternative source of maximum health is the Alien DNA Trait, which players can select during character creation. This significantly improves the player's base HP and O2 values at the cost of having food and medical items restore less health than they normally would. Players can circumvent this downside by investing Skill Points into the Medicine or Gastronomy skills — the former makes healing items more effective while the latter unlocks better food recipes.
Max health isn't the only measure of a character's endurance in Starfield. Players who plan on making a burly explorer will also want to complete their loadouts by wearing armor and outfits that reduce incoming damage. On a similar note, consumables that provide strong, but temporary resilience buffs are great for those who want to leap into the fray.
Consider investing points into medicinal and gastronomical crafting skills in order to unlock more recipes for such items. The aforementioned Heart+ is a valuable consumable to have at all times, and gourmet food can help get players back in the fight almost instantly when eaten in bulk.
Starfield is available now on PC and Xbox Series X/S.