Summary
- Invest in Tech Skills for faster targeting, increased ship speed, and damage in space combat in Starfield.
- Know the different ship weapons and their advantages and disadvantages to come out on top in battles.
- Keep shields up and repair the ship with ship parts to prevent hull damage and ensure survival in space combat.
Starfield is the newest IP from Bethesda that has shown itself to be a phenomenal sci-fi role-playing game filled with planetary exploration, an interesting story, and space battles. When the player builds their ship they should always consider how well the floating structure would do in a battle, as when jumping between systems, it's near impossible to avoid at least one fight among the stars.
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Besides building the right craft, there are many other tips and tricks that can help a player when taking combatants in space in Starfield. These are the sorts of things a player should be considering and preparing for before they decide to test their luck against pirate vessels or steal a craft from one of the factions.
Updated on January 7, 2024, by Jake Fillery: Players continue to explore the galaxy and all its unknowns in Starfield. However, traveling across the stars isn't always safe, and players are going to eventually come across the superstitious and cowardly lot of criminals, space marauders, religious zealots, and pirates who seek to pillage their ships and kill their crew. To become the best at space combat in Starfield, take on board these tips to become a pilot that the Crimson Fleet will fear. These essential tips to space combat in Starfield may just save the player's life as they further seek Artifacts and discover what is truly out there in the vast galaxy waiting for an explorer.
9 Invest In Tech Skills
Provides The Ability To Increase Ship Speed & Damage
When players check out the Tech skill tree in Starfield, they might be able to find something that they like. Whilst there are specific requirements for unlocking these skills and their upgrades, players are going to want to check them out if they intend to get into a fair few amount of space fairing scraps. There are some notable tech skills worth investing in, and players will easily notice their advantage over other ships during space combat, especially with these examples:
- Targeting Control Systems - Unlocks ship targeting functionality. Further upgrades will allow players to lock onto ships faster and will have enemy ships fire at the player slower.
- Ballistic Weapon Systems - Increase the damage of Ballistic ship weapons and decrease the cost of using them in targeting Mode.
- Engine Systems - Increases the ship's top speed and uses a boost that lasts longer and distracts enemies to disengage them.
8 Know The Ship Weapons
There Are 5 Different Weapons For Ships With Advantages & Disadvantages
When stealing, buying, or creating a ship, players are going to have a grand scale of choice when it comes to weaponry. Ships aren't just about looks, and players will want to make sure that they are investing in the best ship weapons in Starfield in order to come out on top against their opponents. Whilst they range in cost, players will need to know their weapons before being caught in a space battle with no understanding of how to use the guns they have, so here are the 5 types available:
Ballistic Weapons - Great at destroying ship hulls.
Lasers - Great at destroying ship shields.
Missiles - High but slow damage to ship hull and shields.
Particle Weapons - Average damage output for hull and shields.
EM Suppressors - Used specifically to destroy ship systems to disable ships, not destroy them.
7 Keep Shields Up
Shields Stop The Hull From Being Damaged
A crucial tip that every player in Starfield should follow is to pay attention to their ship's shields. These allow the player's hull to remain intact and not take any actual damage. Once the shields have been busted down the ship is vulnerable to damage. When that hull health bar goes to zero the entire ship will explode.
The shields of a player's ship will regenerate over time, but for that to happen the player must first avoid getting fired at. When building the ship a player should therefore invest heavily into their shield above all else, so they can remain protected.
6 Ships Parts Should Always Be In Cargo
Ship Parts Can Be Used To Heal The Hull
When players do take hull damage there is a way to repair the vessel without needing to spend a thousand credits at a Ship Engineer to repair it. To avoid these constant stops players can instead purchase Ship Parts. These essentially work as a healing item that can only be used by the spacecraft the player is flying around in.
They can be used both in and out of combat and simply demand the player press a specific button. That's when the ship will start regenerating its hull health. The Ship Parts must be in the Cargo hold of the ship for them to be used, and therefore a player should always check that they have a few on hand.
5 Never Fight Head On
Attack From Behind To Avoid Incoming Fire
To avoid losing shields or the hull of the ship being damaged a player should think strategically about how they wish to approach and pick their battles. Like a true pilot, they should always be attacking from behind the ship they are attempting to destroy or steal. This prevents the opponent from shooting back at the player.
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Keeping on their tail with little room to spin around is the optimal way of quickly dealing with a spaceship. Naturally, this won't always be the case if the player is being attacked by multiple ships at once but avoiding some of that gunfire is still desirable.
4 Always Have An Assortment Of Weaponry
More Guns Means More Versatility Against Enemy Ships
Just as on the surface where the player can choose between a variety of weaponry, the same can also be said when building a ship. There is a wide variety of guns that can be equipped on to a vessel, each with its own functions.
Players can control up to three different weapons at once, meaning it's important to decide on three different types of weaponry that can then be used against any opponent. It's possible to choose between Lasers, Ballistic shots, Missiles, Suppressors, and much more, so there's plenty of room to get creative.
3 Focus On Enemy Shields
Use Laser Weapons To Weaken Shields
Before a player can decide if they wish to destroy or steal an opponent's ship they must first prioritize removing its shields. Players cannot do any real damage to an enemy without removing its defenses first.
The quickest way to remove an enemy's shield is by using Laser weaponry. These shots can easily melt through any shield, including the player's if they take on a foe with a similar style of weaponry. It should also be noted that if a player doesn't continue attacking after removing a ship's shields then they will eventually regenerate.
2 Move Around The Ships Power
The Grav Drive Is Not Essential During Combat Unless To Escape
There is far more detail to ship combat than a player may first realize. A player's ship has a certain maximum amount of power from its reactor that must be shared between the various systems of the ship. When in combat it's important to quickly rebalance these systems to have the best chance at winning.
It's recommended to remove power from the Grav Drive and half the ship's engine, so this energy can be put fully into shields as well as the three different guns the player is likely to be using. The more power to a system to move shots that can be fired the less likely the shields are to go down.
1 Focus Fire To Avoid Destroying Valuable Aircraft
Target Weakspots For Better Loot
It's easy to shoot at a ship since the game will automatically lock onto it once the player is close enough. However, sometimes a player may not want to destroy the ship they are facing in Starfield as it may actually be better than the one they're currently flying.
Targeting certain areas of the opponent's ships, especially the engines, will put the opposing ship into a state where it can be easily boarded. From this point, a player can then kill the crew inside to take the ship as their own. Suppressor shots are another way of easily getting the ship to this point without the worry of it exploding.
Starfield
- Released
- September 6, 2023
WHERE TO PLAY
- Developer(s)
- Bethesda
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
