Starfield throws you into the vast universe without explaining what skills you need in order to survive the horrors of the world. In most cases, you start the game with a blank slate character and a couple of novice skills that come with your backgrounds. So, it is up to you to trim and polish your character by unlocking some of the best skills in the game.
Each skill you unlock grants you various abilities and powerups like Boost Pack, lockpicking, negotiations, and damage buffs. The only problem is that you can only unlock or upgrade one skill after each character level. So, you will need to progress to character level 328 to unlock and fully upgrade all 82 skills in the game, which seems a bit unreasonable for most players. Therefore, this article provides the top 10 indispensable skills for every build.
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Top 10 Best Skills in Starfield:
Starfield’s skill system is far more complicated than any of Bethesda’s other titles. For instance, all skills are placed into five main categories, each responding to a specific ability. Furthermore, you must complete various skill challenges to upgrade your acquired skills and unlock better abilities or boosts. While each of these skills is unique and useful, there are certain skills that seem indispensable for almost every Starfield build.
So, the best strategy is to prioritize the skills that are suitable for your build and then unlock others with your extra skill points. Here are the top 10 best skills in Starfield that you should focus on during the course of your playthrough.
Ballistics:
Skill Tree: Combat Skills
How can you survive in a futuristic world with no weapons? Well, that’s why you need the basic skills to wield some of the most powerful weapons in Starfield. Generally, weapons in the game are either ballistic or laser-based. So, you need to pick either of these skills to increase your damage output and unlock damage boosts.
Moreover, if your weapons aren’t strong enough, you probably haven’t upgraded your skills in Ballistics. In short, it is among the critical skills for any Starfield character.
- Rank 1: Ballistic weapons deal 10% more damage.
- Rank 2: Ballistic weapons deal 20% more damage.
- Rank 3: Ballistic weapons deal 30% more damage.
- Rank 4: The range of Ballistic weapons is increased by 30%.
Weapon Certification:
Skill Tree: Combat Skills
This second skill is almost as important as Ballistics. Once you have unlocked the ability to wield Ballistic weapons, you must acquire one of the weapon skills, i.e., Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle, or Heavy Weapons Certifications. These skills will increase the damage output of your favorite weapons. However, you must choose these skills according to your character build plans.
For example, stealth builds will use silenced pistols, and Tank builds use a Shotgun or mini-gun. Even the melee builds require at least one side arm to use in difficult times. So, this skill will help polish your character for your build plans.
- Rank 1: Weapon (type) deals 10% more damage.
- Rank 2: Weapon (type) deals 20% more damage.
- Rank 3: Weapon (type) deals 30% to 50% more damage.
- Rank 4: Faster reload, critical hits or physical resistance.
Boost Pack Training:
Skill Tree: Tech Skills
Boost Pack is one of the notable features of Bethesda’s Starfield. While you can find these jetpacks in various locations, you will still need to unlock this skill to use your Boost Pack. Once you acquire Boost Pack Training, not only do you unlock the ability to fly or double jump, but you can also increase the efficiency.
At higher ranks, the Boost Pack Training reduces fuel costs and boosts the fuel regeneration rate. Moreover, this skill will come in handy even after you finish the main story quests. Therefore, unless you plan to walk entire planets, you should include this skill in your build.
- Rank 1: Unlocks the ability to use Boost Pack.
- Rank 2: Reduces the fuel cost of Boost Pack.
- Rank 3: Boost Pack fuel regenerates faster.
- Rank 4: Doubles all previous bonuses.
Persuasion:
Skill Tree: Social Skills
Aggression isn’t always the right choice to resolve your matters in Starfield. For instance, you can avoid tough fights, bribe your hunters, and even get stuff for free by completing a simple mini-game. Moreover, certain quests like “Absolute Power” and “High Price to Pay” force you to resolve matters through dialogue. Therefore, it is critical to invest at least 2 points in this skill early on in the game so that you can master the art of persuasion in Starfield.
- Rank 1: 10% higher chance of successfully persuading someone.
- Rank 2: 20% higher chance of successfully persuading someone.
- Rank 3: 30% higher chance of successfully persuading someone.
- Rank 4: 50% higher chance of successfully persuading someone.
Wellness:
Skill Tree: Physical Skills
You can never have enough HP, especially when you are fighting against heavily-armored foes. In some cases, you die right when you have almost drained your enemy’s health bar. So, the Wellness skill grants you that much-needed health boost to finish your fights. In short, this skill is undoubtedly among the must-have skills for everyone.
- Rank 1: Max HP is increased by 10%.
- Rank 2: Max HP is increased by 20%.
- Rank 3: Max HP is increased by 30%.
- Rank 4: Max HP is increased by 40%.
Weight Lifting:
Skill Tree: Physical Skills
The most annoying Status Effect in Starfield is undoubtedly the over-burdened one. You will constantly find new items while exploring the universe or get rewards for completing quests. However, once the inventory gets filled up, which happens surprisingly fast, you will lose the ability to perform tasks as simple as running. Therefore, it is crucial to invest early on in the game in Weight Lifting so that you don’t need to worry about inventory problems.
- Rank 1: Increases the maximum weight carrying capacity by 10 KG.
- Rank 2: Increases the maximum weight carrying capacity by 25 KG.
- Rank 3: Increases the maximum weight carrying capacity by 50 KG.
- Rank 4: Increases the maximum weight carrying capacity by 100 KG.
Rejuvenation:
Skill Tree: Physical Skills
Health Skills are usually no-brainers, especially when you are up against robots, aliens and whatnot. While Wellness and Medicine can help you recover from wounds, nothing even comes close to the Rejuvenation skill. This skill is as close as you can get to invincibility without cheating or using Starfield Mods.
At high ranks, Rejuvenation allows you to quickly regain HP both during and outside of combat. So, this skill alone will keep you alive for a long time without using ointments and other consumables.
- Rank 1: Unlock HP regeneration when outside combat.
- Rank 2: HP regeneration is faster, but only when outside combat.
- Rank 3: Quickly regenerate HP outside combat and unlock slow HP regeneration during combat.
- Rank 4: Quickly regenerate HP both during and outside combat.
Fitness:
Skill Tree: Physical Skill
There are no ground vehicles and mounts in Starfield. So, you will be on foot pretty much all the time when exploring planets and completing quests. As exploration is a major part of the game’s formula, it is only reasonable to increase your life support. The Fitness skill is there to keep you alive in harsh atmospheres, making it crucial for any build.
At higher ranks, Fitness increases the Oxygen supply by 40% and even reduces the cost of actions that consume oxygen. In short, if you plan to explore the vast yet empty universe, you should invest at least 2 points in Fitness.
- Rank 1: Max Oxygen is increased by 10%.
- Rank 2: Max Oxygen is increased by 20%.
- Rank 3: Max Oxygen is increased by 30%.
- Rank 4: Reduces the Oxygen cost of sprinting and power attacks.
Targeting Control Systems:
Skill Tree: Tech Skills
Targeting Control Systems is an absolutely critical skill if you wish to pirate enemy ships. This skill allows you to target specific parts of ships so that you can board them without any problem. For example, if the ship is fleeing, target its engine, massive protection? Aim for the shields; lastly, if you only need the loot, aim for the cargo hold. In short, this skill will make you the Blackbeard of outer space only if you know how to pirate ships.
- Rank 1: Unlocks the ability to target enemy ships.
- Rank 2: Reduces the targeting time by 15%, and targeted ships fire at you 25% slower.
- Rank 3: Reduces the targeting time by 30% and increases the chance of critical hits.
- Rank 4: Reduces the targeting time by 50% and increases the damage output by 20%.
Piloting Skill:
Skill Tree: Tech Skills
Space exploration and intergalactic dogfights are inevitable features of Starfield. So, not only will you need to find the best ships, but you must also gain adequate piloting skills to fly your gigantic ships. In this regard, the Piloting skill is perhaps the most important exploration skill in the game.
While you can borrow certain ship skills from your assigned crew members, it all comes down to your personal skills in the end. At higher ranks, this skill improves your ship’s maneuverability and unlocks higher-tier ships for your fleet. Therefore, it is important to unlock and upgrade this skill ASAP so that you are well-prepared when the time comes.
- Rank 1: Unlocks the ability to use ship thrusters.
- Rank 2: Increases the maneuverability and turning of your ships.
- Rank 3: You can now pilot Class-B ships.
- Rank 4: You can now pilot Class-C ships.
Conclusion:
Bethesda doesn’t force you to play as a pre-built character in Starfield. Instead, you have complete freedom to create your own character and equip it with suitable gear and abilities. For instance, you can choose from over 82 unique skills to unlock various abilities. However, each skill upgrade requires countless hours of grinding for wXP. So, the best way is to focus on must-have skills before diverting your attention. Therefore, this article provides the top 10 best skills in Starfield so that you can manage your hard-earned character points.
