Boarding enemy ships is the best thing that you can do in Starfield. That’s why we have made this How to Board Ships guide. Boarding enemy ships is a much better thing to do than destroy them. Why? Simply because once you board the ship, you can take advantage of looting precious items and become the owner.
But boarding and stealing a ship requires a special ability. And that ability is the Targeting Control System. This is one of the skills in Starfield that you can unlock. However, this specific skill is a basic one which means you can unlock it at the early stages of the game.
This guide has everything that you need to know before stealing your very first enemy ship. We have covered everything that is involved in this fun and challenging process. So, let’s start our guide.
Table of Contents
Boarding & Stealing Ships in Starfield
At the beginning of the game, players are given a ship which is used to compete basic level missions. Once those missions are completed, you are free to move around the open galaxy and explore space stations, plants, and other POIs.
While moving around the galaxy, you will see other ships. These ships are also the enemy ships. Players can interact with them and start a space battle. That’s where you can choose to either fully destroy their ship or your ability to disable the ship and board it.
So, to board a ship. We need to make use of the Targeting Control System. Start a battle and target lock the ship, then choose the ship’s engine. Once the target is locked at the engine, just start shooting. An EM weapon is the best for disabling engines in Starfield. Keep firing until the Engine meter shows no points. Once done, stop shooting, or else the ship will be destroyed.
Now, you will get the option to board the ship. Select that option, and the enemy ship will be boarded. Next, you are going to get on that ship. Be careful when entering that ship; the enemies are still on it. You will need to kill them before you can start looting and controlling the ship.
Make sure you have equipped your ship with better weapons, as it will make it a lot easier for you to disable the ship. The weapon with a high damage rating will get the job done at the earliest.
You can also board your ship to a station or a planet by choosing any station or planet by using the target function. You can cycle between different planets and choose the one you want to board on. Once selected, get in its range until the board option appears. As soon as the option appears, you can then board to your target.
Starfield Ship Weapons
The best thing about the ships in Starfield is they all can be fully customized. Players can choose to upgrade all of their parts. The engines can be upgraded to increase the speed, the mass of the ship can be decreased to make it much more stable and easy to control, and you can also attach various weapons to it, which makes your ship ready for a battle.
When it comes to weapons, we have four types of weapons here; this includes missiles, ballistic, lasers, and particle weapons. Each of these weapon types has its own benefit and is best to use in specific situations.
When upgrading or adding weapons, you will see a long list of different weapons. Each one has a different functionality, and also they have different stats such as the range, damage, and others.
Here we have discussed the weapon types that you can find in the game so you can find the best Starfield ship weapon for the right occasion.
Lasers
Lasers are best for mid-ranged attacks. They provide better damage ratings against the shields of ships. So, you can use them while breaking the shield. A lot of different types of laser weapons are available at the ship customization.
Missiles
Missiles are the most powerful weapons that you can equip on your ships. They have slow firing speed, but they do extremely high damage. Missiles are mainly used to target the specific parts of ships such as the engines, shields, or any other part. They are of best use when you are disabling the ship.
Cannons
Cannons have different categories but all of them are mainly used in short to mid-range attacks. They are capable of doing ballistic damage so they are great for destroying ships. Cannons are recommended if you are planning to completely destroy the enemy ships.
Turrets
Turrets give you the ability to perform auto attacks. However, they are quite less accurate and you will lose a bit of control when the turrets are active. But, they are effective for range attacks. Best for use when you have several enemies at the same time.
Railguns
Railguns are designed to break the ship hull but they are also great for breaking the shields. These guns are quite similar to cannons, but they are capable of doing a little more damage than those cannons.
Particle Weapons
Particle weapons have great-range attacks. Players can use them for both hull damage and shield damage. They are kind of all-in-one weapons that have all sorts of attacking ranges. Plus, they are powerful enough to destroy ships pretty easily.
Suppressors
Suppressors are totally different weapons than the others that we have seen above. The systems of enemy ships are disabled with this weapon. Suppressors shoot electromagnetic waves at the enemy ships which results in temporary shutting down their system. Great to use when you are planning to steal ships.
These are all types of weapons that you can find in Starfield. Now, it’s up to you which of these weapons you find useful.
EM Weapons
EM weapons or Electromagnetic weapons are the number one way to disable ships and board them in Starfield. These are meant specifically for disabling systems like engines, so you can dock into them.
Another bonus is that they pierce through shields.
Can You Board Ships in Starfield?
Yes, you can definitely board ships in Starfield. All you need to do is unlock the Targeting Control System ability and use it during the battle. What this ability does is target a specific part of the ship instead of destroying the whole ship.
So, with this ability, you can target lock the engine and destroy it to completely disable the ship. After doing that, you will get the option to board it. Select that option to board the enemy ship. After that, you can get on to that ship.
How Do You Board the Space Station in Starfield?
To board a space station, target the station you want to board on. Once you have chosen the station, get in its range until you get the boarding option. Once the option appears on your screen, simply just select it and your ship will be boarded.
You can now choose to move around your ship or exit it to explore the station. This applies to all the targets including the planets and other stations.
That’s all for Starfield How to Board Ships guide. The boarding process involves using the Target Control System ability. With this, you can target the engine of a ship. Meaning that you can destroy the engine of your enemy’s ship and completely disable it.
Once you do that, the boarding option will appear. Now, you can easily board your ship to the enemy’s ship. You can also board the ship to a station by targeting a planet and getting in its range.
Hopefully, this guide has helped you in boarding ships. Stay connected with us for more exciting guides.
