Persuasion Checks can play a large role in certain quests and relationships in Starfield. They are essentially dialogue options that you can use to convince a character to do something that’s in your or someone else’s favor.
When a Persuasion Check pops up, it will sometimes be accompanied by another dialogue option that makes you attack the character you’re speaking with. If you want to avoid attacking the character, or perhaps want to pay a lower price for an object or convince the character to do something for you, it will require you to pass a Persuasion Check. These work a little differently in Starfield than in other RPGs, so allow me to explain how the system works.
Passing Persuasion Checks in Starfield
When the “[Persuade]” option appears next to a line of dialogue in a conversation, you want to ensure you click that line. Then, the character you’re speaking with will say something along the lines of “I’m not sure if I want to go along with what you’re saying.”
Related: Starfield: How to complete the Mantis Quest and solve the Password Puzzle
After the character says their line, you will see several new lines of dialogue appear on the screen, all with a different number next to them, along with a color and a plus sign. At the bottom of the dialogue box, you will see some horizontal lines next to the number of Turns you have remaining. This can be confusing when you first look at it, so I’ll break down what everything on the screen means.
- When you enter into a Persuasion Check, you need to use the lines of dialogue on your screen to convince them of whatever you’re trying to get them to do.
- You want to select the dialogue lines that make the most sense for the situation. The number next to each line represents how many points you will earn if that line succeeds in passing the Persuasion Check.
- You need to fill up the meter at the bottom of the screen with the required number of points. So, if a Persuasion Check requires five points to pass, you need to successfully use enough dialogue lines so that they total five points. As an example, if you successfully use a +2 dialogue option and a +3 dialogue option, that equals five points, and you will pass the Persuasion Check.
- You have a set number of turns to accomplish this goal, which is indicated by the number next to the “Turns” box at the bottom of the screen.
- The colors next to each dialogue option indicate how hard it will be to use successfully. Green means it will very likely succeed, yellow is 50/50, and red is very difficult. You want to try and use a mixture of green and yellow options, as these will usually give you enough points to pass the Persuasion Check.
If you want to ensure that you have the best chance of succeeding a Persuasion Check in Starfield, you can acquire and rank up the “Persuasion” ability in the Social skill tree. The more you rank this ability up, the higher your chances are of passing Persuasion Checks.
