Build, buy or steal – which will you choose, Space Cowboy?
Bethesda knew what we wanted from a spacefaring RPG – and it was outpost building and shipbuilding.
For the latter, we have Starfield ships explained with how to go about building them, the best designs and cool ships to steal.
The shipbuilding aspect of the game is easily one of the most interesting – and, fortunately for the tinkerers out there, the system in place is very comprehensive with many modules, weapons, engines and more to choose from.
Coupled with the character creator, it’s a wonder that any of us have actually found the time to play any of the quests.
Building a sneaky smuggling ship with Shielded Cargo will allow you to ferry contraband, too, so it feels like the possibilities are quite endless.
As well as building ships, you can recruit and assign companions to increase their stats, as well as romance them.
With that said, there’s a big spaceship-shaped hole in our hearts, so let’s get to it and see all there is to know about shipbuilding in Starfield!
How to build ships in Starfield explained
To build ships in Starfield, you need to head to a spaceport and speak with the ship technician, and then you can ask to customise a ship in your collection, register a new one, repair your ship or buy a new one outright.
Or, if you have built a large landing pad at an outpost, you can use the shipbuilding terminal to do it yourself.
I.Eat.Games on YouTube has a great guide on shipbuilding if you’d rather watch and listen.
For those who like reading, we’ll continue!
When in the ship viewer, go onto the Ship Builder by pressing X (on Xbox) or the B key (on PC).
You can move and replace the individual modules by selecting them and pressing Edit. If you make a mistake, you can undo and redo actions.
To get to different modules, you can change the level by pressing up and down on the D-pad (on Xbox) or the H and F keys (on PC).
By pressing the A button (on Xbox) or the G key (on PC) you will go on the Add menu, where you can see all the available parts.
At the bottom of the screen will be a row of your ships’ stats, and it’s wise to keep an eye on these if you want your ship to specialise in something in particular – such as transporting cargo, fighting or speed.
There are loads of ship parts to choose from, and certain vendors will have exclusive access to some of the more exotic modules – so be sure to shop around.
You can also unlock more components and types of available ships by upgrading your Ship Command and Piloting skill levels.
Once you are done customising your ship, you can confirm the changes and view your new steed on the landing pad.
Read more on Starfield:
- Starfield review – our final verdict
- Starfield missions list – how far are you?
- Starfield tips and tricks – how to get started
- Starfield romance – all potential relationships
- Starfield character creation – all your options explained
- Starfield digipick – how to lockpick
- How long is Starfield? The hours you’ll need
- Will Starfield ever come to PS5? Developer comments
- Starfield cast – all voice actors
- Starfield companions – who to recruit
- Starfield soundtrack – how to listen
- Starfield storage guide – don’t be overburdened
- Starfield FOV – change your point of view
- Starfield FPS – developers explain 3ofps
- Starfield PC requirements – specs needed
- Starfield performance – potential fixes
- Starfield factions – all possible groups
Best ship designs in Starfield so far
Of course, original ship designs in Starfield can be very cool, but it was inevitable that people would try their hand at recreating some of sci-fi’s most iconic ships – with the most famous of all arguably being the Millennium Falcon.
WiLLiSGaming on YouTube made a pretty good attempt at it, and you can see how they did it below.
Given that we write about games, it may not come as a surprise that we’re big fans of spaceships from our favourite medium. Redditor neok182 made a very impressive rendition of the Normandy SR-2 from Mass Effect, and also a nigh on perfect Firefly Class ship from Serenity.
31 hours, level 12, because too busy building ships. Normandy SR-2 and Firefly Class
by u/neok182 in Starfield
What will you try and build in Starfield? We might try our hand at making the USG Kellion from Dead Space…
Cool ships to steal in Starfield
If you can’t be bothered to build your own, don’t have the funds to buy one or just like the look of someone else’s ship, then you might just want to take one for yourself.
Some of the cooler ships in the game belong to resident space pirates The Crimson Fleet. Their ships quite often have good offensive capabilities, and have features such as Shielded Cargo that allow you to bring stolen and contraband items into the Settled Systems.
Going after ships belonging to some of the more powerful factions should be done with an understanding of the risks, as factions such as the United Colonies will fight back hard. Bounty hunters can make short work of you, too, but their ships are also quite desirable.
One particularly cool ship can be acquired by following through the Mantis quest line, an epic side mission that has already been getting some buzz on social.
We’ll have a full guide on how to get this ship soon (it’s the one we’ve used as the main picture for this article), but until then, the video below should help you get this really cool ship:
Essentially, you should find a note on a Spacer at some point that guides you to the lair of a legendary vigilante called The Mantis. Follow this quest to completion and you’ll get their armour and their epic ship, which is named the Razorleaf. Well worth a look!
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