Starfield encourages experimentation with various game systems, items, traits, and skills to create versatile builds. While your playstyle might not evolve as you progress through the RPG, your build needs to, otherwise you’ll be outmatched by every enemy in the game. So, here are the 5 best Starfield builds suited to every playstyle.
1. Silent Sniper Build
Credits: Bethesda Softworks
Credits: Bethesda Softworks
Credits: Bethesda Softworks
Credits: Bethesda Softworks
Credits: Bethesda Softworks
The Silent Sniper build in Starfield is for those players who prefer silently taking out enemies from a distance before they even know what hit them. It’s safe, stealthy, yet deadly enough to take down any type of enemy with a single shot. If this playstyle sounds like your cup of tea, then here’s what you’ll need to create this build in Starfield:
Background: For this build, choose the Cyber Runner background, which comes with Stealth, Security, and Theft as its starting skills. Stealth makes you difficult to detect while increasing sneak attack damage from suppressed weapons, Security enhances hacking and lockpicking capabilities, and Theft unlocks and improves the Pickpocket ability.
Traits:
Introvert: Exerting yourself uses less oxygen when travelling alone, but more when travelling with human companions.
Wanted: Armed mercenaries will occasionally show up to kill you, but you receive a damage bonus at low health.
Alien DNA: As a result of a controversial experiment that combined alien and human DNA, your health and oxygen are increased, but the effectiveness of healing and food times is reduced.
Skills:
Sniper Certification: Increases the steadiness of scoped weapons and reduces sway. At higher levels, scoped weapons do more damage when using a scope, so make sure that you always have a scope attached.
Marksmanship: Improves the damage and critical hit chance of non-automatic ranged weapons.
Isolation: Provides damage buffs and resistances when there are no companions in your party.
Weapon Engineering: Allows you to research and craft improved weapon mods.
Armor Penetration: Increases armor penetration, ignoring a part of the target’s partner, useful for Sniper Rifles.
Boost Pack Training: Allows you to utilize and attach boost packs in multiple ways.
Weapons: Suppressed weapons work the best with this Starfield build. When it comes to long-range Sniper Rifles, look no further than the Magsniper and the Hard Target. Instigating is the Trait you should be searching for in weapons, as it allows you to deal double damage to enemies with full health.
Apparel: Wear the Operative Suit for this build, as you not only become 25% harder to detect, but it also looks stylish.
Chem: Panopticon combines the perks of Reconstim and Infantry Alpha and offers +40% Ranged Damage, +35% Weapon Accuracy while lowering Movement Noise by 50% for 3 minutes. It’s the perfect chem for a stealth build like this one.
Starborn Power: Phased Time and Void Form will be your Starborn Powers for this build, allowing you to slow down time and become invisible for a duration, respectively.
2. Bounty Hunter Build
Become a lone, wandering warrior! | Credits: Bethesda Softworks
The Bounty Hunter build in Starfield is incredibly versatile, dividing focus between combat, spaceship management and fights, and crafting, with Social skills taking a step back. It’s a high-octane build that utilizes Boost Packs and Ballistic Weapons to take down any target unfortunate enough to cross your path, so with that said, here’s everything you’ll need for this build in Starfield:
Background: There’s no better background for this build than the Bounty Hunter background itself, which comes with Piloting, Targeting Control Systems, and Boost Pack Training as its starting skills. Piloting improves ship maneuverability, Targeting Control Systems allows you to target specific parts of an enemy’s ship and disable systems, and Boost Pack Training attaches a boost pack to your spacesuit for better movement in Starfield.
Traits:
Wanted: Armed mercenaries will occasionally show up to kill you, but it offers an edge, granting bonus damage at lower health.
Introvert: Exerting yourself uses less oxygen when travelling alone, but more when travelling with human companions, so as a bounty hunter, your journey will be lonely.
Hero Worshipped: The Adoring Fan will randomly show up and annoy you, but he’ll join your ship’s crew and offer you useful gifts.
Skills:
Ballistics: Increases damage dealt by Ballistic weapons.
Demolitions: Increases the damage and blast radius of your explosives.
Gymnastics: Increases maneuverability in ground combat, allowing you to perform combat slides and take less fall damage.
Rapid Reloading: Increases Reload Speed of Ballistic Weapons (Rank 1) for more effective shooting.
Wellness: Increases maximum health for more survivability.
Weight Lifting: Increases total inventory carrying capacity.
Medicine: Improves the effectiveness of Med Packs, Trauma Packs, and Emergency Kits.
Weapons: Ballistic Pistols and Rifles are the best weapons for this Starfield build. Any weapons with traits such as Instigating, Hitman, and Anti-Personnel work.
Spacesuit and Helmet: You can style yourself however you want as a bounty hunter, but look for sets that increase carry capacity and reduce ranged damage.
Chem: Amp increases Movement Speed and Jump Height for 2 minutes, while Frostwolf increases damage and Movement Speed and lowers Movement Noise.
Starborn Power: Phased Time and Void Form are the best Starborn Powers for this Starfield build, as you can slow down time and become invisible with them, respectively.
3. Unarmed Build
Why use weapons when you have fists? | Credits: Bethesda Softworks
Ever wanted to run a melee-focused build in Starfield? This Unarmed build will make you a formidable combatant without using guns. No ammo or weapons are required, as your fists will do the talking (and damage). Utilizing unarmed Basic Attacks, Power Attacks, and Blocks is the bread and butter of this build, so let’s take a look at the specifics:
Background: The Bouncer background is recommended for this build, and its starting skills are Boxing, Security, and Fitness. Boxing increases unarmed-attack damage, Security improves hacking and lockpicking capabilities, and Fitness increases maximum oxygen.
Traits:
Alien DNA: You’re the result of a controversial experiment combining alien and human DNA, and thanks to that, your health and oxygen are increased, but the effectiveness of healing and food items is lowered.
Introvert / Extrovert: Exerting yourself uses less oxygen when travelling alone, but more when travelling with human companions. Depending on playstyle, choose Extrovert for the opposite effects.
Wanted: Sometimes, armed mercenaries will show up to kill you, but your damage increases at low health.
Skills:
Martial Arts: Improves the effectiveness of unarmed in various ways, including increasing critical hit chance and a chance to disarm enemies with an unarmed Power Attack.
Neurostrikes: Increases unarmed attack damage, offering them a chance to stun enemies.
Gymnastics: Increases maneuverability in ground combat, allowing you to perform combat slides and take less fall damage.
Boost Pack Training: Allows you to utilize boost packs in various ways.
Spacesuit Design: Allows you to craft better spacesuits, helmets, and pack mods.
Weapons: The Unarmed build in Starfield naturally doesn’t require any weapons. However, you can carry a sidearm in case things get out of hand and unarmed combat is no longer an option.
Spacesuit: The best Spacesuit is the one that has the Fast Reflexes trait, increasing Movement Speed to close gaps.
Chem: Amp increases Movement Speed and Jump Height for 2 minutes, which you can utilize to get closer to targets. Frostwolf is a terrific choice, as it increases damage and Movement Speed and lowers Movement Noise.
Starborn Power: For this build, choose Reactive Shield and Void Form as your go-to Starborn Powers, as they allow you to temporarily reflect projectiles, increasing damage resistance, and become invisible, respectively.
4. Gunslinger Build
This build oozes style and damage! | Credits: Bethesda Softworks
The Gunslinger build in Starfield highlights fluid gunplay, high damage, and smooth-talking as its core pillars. It’s a combat-focused build that’ll help you dominate the cosmos with your trusty Pistol. For players who prefer blasting their way out of enemy Outposts without flinching, this build is for you. If you ever wanted to be a Space Cowboy, then here’s what you’ll need to create this build in Starfield:
Background: The Combat Medic background is optimal for this build, thanks to its starting skills, including Pistol Certification, Medicine, and Wellness. Pistol Certification increases your sidearm’s damage and critical hit chance, Medicine boosts the effectiveness of Med Packs, Trauma Packs and Emergency Kits, and Wellness improves survivability.
Traits:
Alien DNA: You’re the product of a controversial experiment combining alien and human DNA, as a result of which, your health and oxygen are increased, but the effectiveness of healing and food items is reduced. This can be countered with the Medicine starting skill.
Introvert: Exerting yourself uses less oxygen when travelling alone, but more when travelling with human companions. If you don’t want to be a lone Gunslinger, use the Extrovert trait, which has the opposite effect in Starfield.
Wanted: Armed mercenaries will occasionally show up to kill you, but being cornered offers an edge in combat. When your health is low, you do extra damage.
Skills:
Ballistics: Increases damage dealt by Ballistic weapons.
Rapid Reloading: Increases Reload Speed of Ballistic Weapons.
Marksmanship: Improves the damage and critical hit chance of non-automatic ranged weapons, synergising perfectly with Ballistic Pistols.
Sharpshooting: Massively increases critical damage dealt with all ranged weapons.
Crippling: Increases the chance of enemies entering downed state after taking enough damage, crippling movement.
Fitness: Increases maximum oxygen, allowing you to perform more actions and movement.
Pain Tolerance: Increases durability against physical attacks, and you get a chance to ignore physical damage at low health at Rank 4.
Isolation / Leadership: If you want to play solo, Isolation will provide damage buffs and resistances when there are no companions in your party. Players with companions should choose Leadership, as it improves companions.
Weapons: While any Pistol works, Ballistic Pistols should be your go-to for this Starfield build. The Deadeye Pistol is perfect as it deals double damage to targets with full HP, elemental damage, and bleed effects.
Spacesuit and Helmet: You can choose any Spacesuit and Helmet as long as they reduce Oxygen consumption and reflect attacks from enemies.
Chem: Amp will increase your Movement Speed and Jump Height for 2 minutes, while Infantry Alpha will increase Ranged Damage and Weapon Accuracy for 25% for 2 minutes.
Starborn Power: Phased Time allows you to manipulate and slow down time, opening windows for accurate headshots.
5. Diplomat Build
The tongue is mightier than the gun! | Credits: Bethesda Softworks
As you can tell from the name itself, the Diplomat build in Starfield is all about persuasion and the art of talking your way out. Leading companions to take down enemies, focusing on Outpost logistics, ship building, and controlling NPCs using speech is what the Diplomat build brings to the table, not combat. Here’s everything you’ll need to create the Diplomat build in Starfield:
Background: Starfield already features a Diplomat background, so this choice is a no-brainer. With this background, you’ll receive Persuasion, Commerce, and Wellness as your starting skills. Persuasion helps you talk your way out of encounters, Commerce will make you an accomplished businessperson, and Wellness will improve your health.
Traits:
Empath: Performing actions your companion likes increases combat effectiveness temporarily, but the opposite happens if you perform actions that your companion doesn’t like.
Extrovert: Exerting yourself uses less oxygen when travelling with human companions, but more if you’re travelling alone.
Taskmaster: If you have crew trained in a certain ship system, that system will automatically repair itself to full health whenever it is damaged below 50%, occasionally. But all crew costs twice as much to hire.
Skills:
Persuasion: Increases your ability to pass speech checks during dialogue, persuade NPCs, and avoid combat as a result.
Diplomacy: Temporarily forces a hostile NPC at or below your level to stop fighting.
Manipulation: Allows you to manipulate NPCs and enemies to obey commands. If you want to do it for creatures, use the Xenosociology skill.
Instigation: Forces enemies to be hostile towards each other, perfect for inevitable combat encounters.
Intimidation: Forces target NPCs to flee temporarily, removing combat encounters.
Leadership: Improves companions, buffing their health and skills. At higher ranks, companions can heal you, too.
Piloting: Allows you to control ships better and pilot more ships in Starfield.
Weapons: Any weapon that can be modified with an EM attachment works. Otherwise, use the Novablast Disruptor for the best non-lethal firepower.
Apparel: The Fitted Business Suit is the best for this build as it offers a 10% Persuasion chance.
Chem: The Paramour chem offers 25% Persuasion Chance for 10 minutes, allowing you to turn the odds in your favor during dialogues.
Starborn Power: Creator’s Peace is what you should go for, as this Starborn Power pacifies enemies around you and disarms them temporarily.
All of these builds were curated by YouTuber Hack The Minotaur, and you can check out his video for more information on them.
GameStarfieldDeveloperBethesda Game StudiosRelease DateSeptember 6, 2023PlatformsPS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
1. Is the Stealth Archer build still viable in Starfield?
Yes, but this time it’s called the Silent Sniper build.
2. Which is the best build to make the game easier?
The Diplomat build should be your way to go in that case, as it makes Speech checks a breeze. Elder Scrolls players know how OP Speech is.
3. What is the most fun build in Starfield?
While everything is subjective, we think the Unarmed build should be the most fun.
So, which build suits your playstyle the best in Starfield? Let us know in the comments section below.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
