Starfield: How to increase carry capacity and carry more weight

Avoid being over encumbered with this skill.

A ship flying toward the surface in Starfield
Screenshot by Dot Esports

You are bound to hit your maximum carry capacity fairly early on in Starfield. The various weapons, space suites, and other miscellaneous items you find quickly add up. Learning how to carry more weight is not only more practical but becomes essential for later portions of the game.

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Most Bethesda games include some sort of encumbrance mechanic, but Starfield has added another layer of punishment for those who find themselves over-encumbered. If you are over your max carry capacity, you expend stamina with every step. This not only lowers your stamina meter but also causes damage over time to your health bar. If you are looking to avoid over-encumbrance, here’s what you need to do.

How to increase your carry capacity in Starfield

The best way to increase your maximum carry capacity and haul more weight around in Starfield is by picking up the Weight Lifting skill. This skill is part of the first tier in the Physical skill category, which means that you can pick this valuable skill up very early on.

Weight Lifting is by far the best way to increase your carry capacity early on. Screenshot by Dot Esports

Related: How long is Starfield?: Time to complete the main storyline

Players start with a maximum capacity of 135 kilograms at the beginning of Starfield. Each level of the Weight Training skill drastically increases the amount of weight you can carry, both in space and on the ground. You can see each level, below:

  • Rank 1 – Increases your total carrying capacity by 10 kilograms
  • Rank 2 – Increases your total carrying capacity by 25 kilograms
  • Rank 3 – Increases your total carrying capacity by 50 kilograms
  • Rank 4- Increases your total carrying capacity by 100 kilograms and decreases staggering effects by 50 percent

For those with more inventory than capacity, it is worth investing several points into this simple skill. Aside from this perk, you can store items in your ship’s cargo area. Though you won’t have these items on hand, you can store more in your active inventory.

Author
Image of Blaine Polhamus
Blaine Polhamus
Staff Writer for Dot Esports. Avid gamer for two decades and gaming writer for three years. I'm a lover of anything Souls-like since 2011. I cover everything from single-player RPGs to MMOs.