Starfield is a behemoth-sized, space adventure that you’ll likely spend hours upon hours of your life enjoying. The sheer amount of customization within the first few stages of the game took me a whole day to churn through, purely because I was indecisive and couldn’t determine whether I wanted face scars or not.
I’ve spent enough time rummaging through what Starfield and what it has to offer, and I can safely say, I know what you need to do once you start. This will get you off to the right start, and you can keep all the customizations you like.
These aren’t rules you have to live by, but they’ll keep you on the right track. Once you think you’ve gone beyond my tips, the universe is your oyster.
10 things to do first in Starfield
Before you get into the nitty-gritty, there are some simple things you have to do first.
10) Customisation and Traits
This might seem like a given, but I’m really referring to the fact that you can change things significantly down the line. You’ll be able to adjust all your facial features, hair, and even some of your traits as you progress.
Don’t stress if you’re already annoyed with things like the Kids Stuff trait, you’ll be able to shake off your parents later down the line. So pick the ones you think you like off the bat, and you can change them later.
9) Pick up everything in the first mission
To get yourself off the ground running or bouncing, picking up everything is a good idea. Once you’ve spawned on the mining colony and have eventually received your first ship, you’ll be on your way to Jemison.
The first stage has plenty of random SELLABLE items for you to steal. You won’t get in any trouble, just steal all the stuff you can from things like bodies, desks, and chests. The reason is you’ll be able to store everything in your ship if you’re too heavy, and once you land on Jemison, you’ll be able to sell everything at the kiosk next to the ramp.
8) Complete some of the main story missions
While it may be enticing to roam around straight away, there are some important things you need to do in the main story missions. Without getting into spoilers, complete all the main story missions until you’ve finished Into the Unknown.
This mission is essential to the Starfield journey, so don’t miss out on it just because you are wandering around a planet with no life.
7) Join a faction
This will open up a ton of different quests for you to complete. The easiest one to join will come as you complete the first few missions alongside Sarah. Join the Vanguard Faction early on, and don’t stress about not being able to join the others; you’ll be able to join them later.
6) Get the best armor
Bethesda employees can stop reading here. This tip will get you the best armor possible early on and is something you can do for almost all glass-enclosed items from now on.
Save yourself the time and struggle of lock picking the master locks. Complete this glitch and you’ll be able to get the Mark I gear easily. I’ve progressed relatively far, and this stolen armor still easily eclipsed my gear.
5) Steal everything
Stealing is an obvious no-no in the grand scheme of things. However, in Starfield, steal everything you can, all the time. There will be percentages next to the items you want to steal if they’re on someone’s body.
Steal it, trust me. You can get heaps of credits, and also skip steps in missions.
Getting caught in Starfield and going to jail is nothing. You’ll lose all your stolen items, but you can get some of these back easily. If you’ve been caught by the United Colonies, head to Jemison and go into one of the first UC buildings as you land. Enter the building go looking for the stolen items chest, and loot your stuff back. It’s that simple.
4) Quicksave constantly
This tip goes hand in hand with the one prior. You’ll probably want to save every time you’re about to steal or do a story beat. This means you’ll have to do it a lot, but it saves you a lot of time in the long run.
Plus, you could make a mistake, and quicksaving is your safety net.
3) Remember where to sell stolen items
There are various vendors who dabble in inspecting a stolen item. These guys are your saviors if you take on board my advice. You’ll be able to go to certain planets and stores where people don’t want anything to do with stolen goods.
This is where heading to the Den Space Station in the Wolf System. I sell all my stolen items there, and it’s super easy to just fast-travel there when need be.
However, there are easier places to sell, I just like that spot in particular.
2) Get a new ship
Level up your Piloting Skill tree and you’ll be able to tackle some of the more difficult ships in the game. The last thing you want is to have saved all your credits up like a wise investor, only to not be able to fly the ship in the first place. Getting a new ship and customizing it can be a lot of fun, and I’d say this should be a very high priority for you after you’ve got some cash to your name, and you’ve progressed through the story enough.
1) Roam around all the planets and cities
Now you’ve completed certain story beats, you’ll be well-equipped to tackle anything Starfield has to throw at you. By simply running by some guard talking to themselves, you can somehow get roped into doing a side quest.
Some of these people you don’t have to interact with; they will talk to you without a prompt. Also, heading to different planets in Starfield is the best part.
Check out the wildlife and all the resources floating around. You won’t regret it.
