Bethesda may lack in several aspects of their games, but no one can beat their level of freedom and choices. For example, unlike other modern RPGs, Bethesda games allow you to create your character from scratch. You can choose everything from the character’s name to its gender and even something as detailed as facial expressions. However, so many options will definitely overwhelm you with the burden of selection. The good news is that no one can stop you from creating your dream melee build or even a Star Wars-inspired character.
The only problem is that you must choose everything yourself and trim the character as you progress through the storyline. As a result, one miscalculated step can easily ruin your fantasy build. Therefore, this article covers the best melee build in Starfield, how to make it, and all its crucial puzzle blocks.
Table of Contents
Best Starfield Melee Build:
Even though Starfield gives you complete freedom to shape your character however you like, your options are pretty limited in the case of a melee build. Firstly, there aren’t many melee weapons available to focus on for the entirety of your playthrough. Secondly, you must trim your character by investing skill points in some of the best powers and skills.
Such attention to detail may seem overwhelming for most players. So, here’s a step-by-step guide on how to create the most powerful Starfield melee build:
Best Melee Build: Backgrounds:
Before you step into the endless Starfield universe, you must choose a background for your character. There are about 12 unique backgrounds available in this section. Each option focuses on relevant skills, so your journey begins right here. The only problem is that your options are pretty limited when it comes to a melee build.
The goal is to choose a background that excels in Dueling and Scavenging, whereas the third slot is optional. In this regard, you can choose from the following options:
- Ronin
- Chef
- Soldier
- Gangster
For this build, we will choose the Ronin background, as it comes with Dueling, Scavenging, and Stealth. The first two options will help you fight and loot valuables from your defeated enemies. Similarly, the Stealth skill will come in handy in your sneaky strategies. Alternatively, Soldier and Gangster are two solid options if you aren’t interested in becoming a silent assassin.
Best Melee Traits:
Once you choose the background, the next screen asks about your traits. While there aren’t many traits that boost the melee combat, you can use some of them to increase your effectiveness. For this build, we have selected the following traits:
- Terra Firma: Terra Firma grants you additional HP and reduces your oxygen consumption when landed. As most of your melee combat takes place on land, this trait will give you an upper hand in many encounters.
- Alien DNA: Alien DNA increases your HP and reduces oxygen consumption on hostile planets and in space. So, this trait can potentially cover the remainder of your melee encounters as you will need a lot of health to battle against heavily armed foes.
- Introvert: Again, oxygen is your best friend on hostile planets. Secondly, the melee build will turn you into a lone wolf as you develop a taste for such thrills. So, the Introvert trait reduces your oxygen consumption when you are alone, a plus point for your character. However, you can’t travel with companions or assign crew members, so keep that in mind.
Best Melee Build Skills:
After completing the tutorial section of Starfield, you will be on your own to polish your character. In this regard, Skills play an important role in finalizing your Starfield build. Firstly, you can upgrade various skills to cover up the flaws of your character.
For instance, the Ronin background grants you some points in Stealth, but it isn’t enough to quietly sneak past your foes. Similarly, you can choose from over 80 skills from different trees and upgrade them with skill points. However, you can’t acquire all skills in one playthrough, so here are the top options for your melee build:
- Concealment: Rank 4
- Crippling: Rank 4
- Dueling: Rank 4
- Fitness: Rank 4
- Gymnastics: Rank 3
- Boxing: Rank 4
- Martial Arts: Rank 4
- Medicine: Rank 3
- Pain Tolerance: Rank 4
- Scavenging: Rank 4
- Spacesuit Design: Rank 2
- Stealth: Rank 4
- Weightlifting: Rank 3
- Wellness: Rank 3
Optional:
- Rejuvenation
- Persuasion
- Shotgun Certification (you can carry an optional sidearm for hard times)
Best Melee Weapons:
Now comes the hard part, your best bud: the weapons. Starfield doesn’t have a huge melee weapon arsenal as Elden Ring. So, your options are pretty limited, but that can’t stop you from your dream melee build.
For starters, you can stick with any melee weapon or knife that you can find until you finish the first few quests. After the Into The Unknown quest, you will acquire the Wakizashi, the best early-game weapon in Starfield.
You can stick with the Wakizashi until you find one of the best melee weapons, like the Last Priest or the legendary Va’Ruun Painblade. Similarly, if you prefer safety, you can carry any shotgun or sniper rifle as your handy sidearm. This weapon, combined with the Shotgun certification, will give you the required boost to finish off your foes.
Best Powers for Melee:
Unlike Starfield Skills, you don’t need to limit your selections when choosing the best Starborn Powers. However, you must complete various quests like Echoes of the Past and Further into the unknown to unlock these powers. Furthermore, you must travel to distant solar systems and complete temple puzzles to acquire the Starfield Powers.
The good news is that each power grants you near invincibility for a limited time. You can use this time window to close on your foes or even take them down without doing anything special. In any case, here are a few powers that can greatly improve your build:
- Grav Dash: This power allows you to quickly dash in any direction to close the distance and get within your combat range.
- Reactive Shield: This shield will not only protect you from projectiles as you close in on your foes but also counter their attacks.
- Anti-Gravity Field: This next Starborn power will temporarily disable gravity, knocking down all nearby enemies so that you can quickly attack them.
- Inner Demon: Summons a mirror image of your enemies to fight on your behalf, giving you time to escape the hurdle.
- Supernova: This time bomb will crush all nearby enemies while you pick out the survivors with your sharp blade.
Some Tips:
- Always carry a few medpacks and other crafting items to refresh your HP during combat.
- You can rely on persuasion and other non-combat ways to avoid conflicts.
- Feel free to carry at least one reliable weapon as your second option.
- Avoid using Supernova and other destructive powers until the last moment.
- Stealth is your best friend: don’t give away your position unless it is necessary.
- Though unnecessary, travel with companions when learning the melee combat mechanism.
Conclusion:
Creating a melee build in Starfield can mess up your adventure. However, once you develop a taste for such thrills, you will never go back to ranged weapons ever again. The only problem is that you must calculate your every upgrade if you wish to survive in the futuristic universe. Therefore, this article provides a step-by-step guide to creating the most powerful Starfield melee build ever.
