In terms of skills in Starfield, the background of your character is going to start things off, but afterward, you are free to invest in any skill that you want. You might be tempted to invest all your early skill points into ballistics to deal the most damage, but that is a commonly made mistake. In this Starfield guide, we go over the best skills that you should get first, no matter what kind of character you are going for.
Best Skills To Invest In Early On In Starfield
Skills in Starfield are not slotted; they are passive and are divided into different groups: physical, social, combat, science, and tech. Each group has sub-categories: basic, advanced, expert, and master. You will need to invest a certain number of skill points into a sub-category in order to unlock the higher tier. For example, you will need to invest 4 points into basic skills in order to unlock the advance skills.
Skills To Get ASAP
The following are some of the skills that we recommend getting as soon as possible in order to make the game much easier.
Piloting
This increases the handling of your ship, which you will need if you are just getting started. Ranking up this skill will let you pilot better ships. The ship that you get by default gets the job done, but we recommend buying a better one that has room for more cargo and can hold more crew members.
Weight Lifting
Carrying weight can get annoying very quickly. Luckily, Weight Lifting increases your carrying capacity, so you can carry more items and still be able to fast travel and not have CO2 buildup. Upgrade it to make things even better and easier, especially if you like to loot everything that you see.
Persuasion
While talking to people, you will often encounter persuasion checks. Failing these can make your life much harder. Getting this skill early on will make things much easier and can even help you diffuse situations without getting into fights.
Ballistics
This buffs the damage you deal with weapons that use ammo. You might change the weapons that you use, but chances are that the weapon you use consumes some sort of ammo. We highly recommend getting this skill early on in Starfield in order to improve the damage that you deal.
Research Methods
If you do not want to go around looking for resources and crafting materials, then this skill can save you a lot of time and effort.
Boost Pack Training
Since you do not have any vehicles other than your ship, traversal is so much easier when you have a boost pack. That is why this is one of the best skills that we recommend getting early in Starfield. Some quests even require a boost pack. So you should definitely invest in one.
Security
This allows you to use Digipicks to hack into doors and safes, which often have valuable high-tier items. Do not ignore this skill since it is very helpful and can even come in handy when exploring.
Best Physical Skills
Some of the physical skills are not worth getting since they are situational and will depend on how you plan to play the game. Some of the best physical skills that we recommend getting in Starfield are below.
Fitness
This increases the amount of oxygen that you have available. Allowing you to sprint for longer periods of time without having to rest or slow down. You can rank this up to greatly reduce the cost of sprinting.
Stealth
If you like to get sneaky and stick to the shadows, then Stealth is a great pick. You can rank it up to increase the stealth damage that you deal.
Pain Tolerance
If you are playing Starfield at higher difficulties, then we recommend getting this skill since it reduces the amount of physical damage that you receive. Making you tankier and allowing you to take a beating before you need to heal again.
Concealment
This is the master skill for stealth. If you are going for a stealth build, then this is a very good skill to have. This allows you to run without alarming enemies and deal high damage.
Best Social Skills
These skills are related to NPC interactions and quests. With that said, the following are some of the best social skills in Starfield that we can recommend.
Commerce
Chances are you will be buying and selling a lot. This skill lets you buy items for 5% less and sell them for 10% more. This will give you an edge if you want to make credits fast and want to buy expensive houses and ship.
Theft
This skill is pretty straightforward and lets you pickpocket characters in the game.
Leadership
This is one of the best social skills that you can get in Starfield, as it increases your companion affinity. You can rank this up to increase the carry capacity of your companions as well.
Outpost Management
If you are interested in starting outposts, then this is the skill that you need.
Ship Command
Allows you to have up to 8 active crew members. If you are interested in building the dream team and the more the merrier is your motto, then this is the skill you want to get.
Best Combat Skills
We have already recommended ballistics, but if you want to specialize in specific weapons, then there are plenty of options in this skill tree. The following are the best Starfield combat skills that we can recommend.
Marksmanship
This skill increases the critical hit chance of non-automatic weapons. Some guns that I use are not automatic and need to be modded, so this is a great skill to use with such weapons.
Rapid Reloading
Some weapons can take a while to reload, and you do not want to wait in the middle of combat. That is where this skill comes in since it allows you to reload your weapons faster.
Sharpshooting
This is the master combat skill and increases the critical damage for body parts and is ideal if you use ranged weapons.
Best Science Skills
Science skills cover a variety of aspects of the game that are important. Science skills not only make the game easier but can also open up new opportunities for you. The following are some of the best Starfield science skills that we can recommend.
Scanning
You should get this skill early on since it increases your scanning capabilities, which can save you a lot of time.
Spacesuit Design
This is ideal if you are interested in optimizing your build and modding your armor.
Weapon Engineering
This is the skill you need if you want to optimize your weapons.
Astrophysics
If you are a completionist or just like exploring planets, then this is going to come in handy since it allows you to scan planets from far far away.
Special Projects
This is a master skill that unlocks the ability to research unique and experimental things. This will help you get deeper into the crafting system later on in the game.
Best Tech Skills
Tech skills are related to robotics and your ship. These impact how you play the game, so you should invest in these early on. The following are some of the best Starfield tech skills that we can recommend.
Payloads
This increases the carrying capacity of your ship. This can be very helpful, especially if you like to hoard resources.
Starship Design
This allows you to customize your ship with modules, which is what you want if you like to optimize your ship.
Starship Engineering
This helps repair your ship. You can rank it up to increase the defenses of your ship by 25%. If you like piloting and taking on enemy ships, then you will want this skill.
These are some of the best skills that you should get early on in Starfield. If you are interested in learning more, then you can check out our guide on the best weapons that you can get early on. For more content, check out our Starfield guides hub.