There is no universally best Starfield background or trait combination. Choose a background for the three Rank 1 skills that will help most in your opening hours, then pick up to three traits only if their benefits suit your playstyle and their drawbacks feel manageable. You can choose no traits at all.
How backgrounds and traits shape your character
A background establishes your character’s pre-game role and grants three Rank 1 starting skills. Bethesda’s May 2026 guide lists 21 backgrounds and 17 traits; traits are optional, and you may select up to three. Backgrounds and traits can influence NPC reactions, dialogue options, and ways to handle quests and encounters. Bethesda’s character-creation guide explains the choices, while its May 29, 2026 Starfield guide describes how they can affect play.
Think of a background as an early-skill shortcut, not a permanent build. The starting skills can point you toward a style of play, but you can develop your character in other directions as you progress. Traits are more consequential tradeoffs: each brings an advantage, a drawback, or a roleplay effect, and some cannot be combined.
Which background should you choose?
Pick the combination that supports the activities you want to do early. These recommendations compare the starting skills listed by Bethesda Support’s background reference; none is a universal winner.
#1 Best Overall
- Start your journey by customizing your appearance and deciding your Background and Traits
- Venture through the stars and explore more than 1000 planets
- Pilot and command the ship of your dreams.
| If you want to… | Choose | Starting skills | Why it fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start with physical capacity and ballistic combat | Soldier | Fitness, Ballistics, Boost Pack Training | A direct match for a character focused on physical capacity, ballistic weapons, and boost-pack use. |
| Prioritize ship handling and targeting | Bounty Hunter | Piloting, Targeting Control Systems, Boost Pack Training | Combines early ship mobility and targeting with boost-pack training. |
| Blend negotiation, piloting, and combat | Space Scoundrel | Pistol Certification, Piloting, Persuasion | Bethesda’s 2026 guide calls this a well-rounded combination of social, ship, and combat options. |
| Explore and survey | Explorer | Lasers, Astrodynamics, Surveying | Choose this for immediate surveying alongside laser and space-travel skills. |
| Lean toward research and science | Professor | Astrodynamics, Geology, Research Methods | Trades Explorer’s Surveying and Lasers for Geology and Research Methods. |
| Use stealth and gain access | Cyber Runner | Stealth, Security, Theft | All three starting skills support a stealth-and-access approach. |
| Mix healing, access, and combat | Cyberneticist | Medicine, Security, Lasers | Combines a healing skill and Security with a combat option. |
| Focus on persuasion and commerce | Diplomat | Persuasion, Commerce, Wellness | Pairs negotiation and trade with a physical-capacity skill. |
| Pair persuasion with security and research | Industrialist | Persuasion, Security, Research Methods | Choose this over Diplomat if Security and Research Methods suit your plans better than Commerce and Wellness. |
| Start with melee and stealth | Ronin | Dueling, Stealth, Scavenging | Combines melee combat with stealth and scavenging. |
| Pair melee with food crafting | Chef | Gastronomy, Dueling, Scavenging | Shares Dueling and Scavenging with Ronin, but starts with Gastronomy instead of Stealth. |
| Combine physical capacity and exploration | Homesteader | Geology, Surveying, Weight Lifting | Pairs planetary exploration skills with carrying capacity. |
| Combine exploration with combat readiness | Xenobiologist | Lasers, Surveying, Fitness | Pairs Surveying with a weapon skill and Fitness. |
Other backgrounds to consider
The official list also includes Beast Hunter (Fitness, Ballistics, Gastronomy), Bouncer (Boxing, Security, Fitness), Combat Medic (Pistol Certification, Medicine, Wellness), Gangster (Shotgun Certification, Boxing, Theft), Long Hauler (Weight Lifting, Piloting, Ballistic Weapon Systems), Pilgrim (Scavenging, Surveying, Gastronomy), and Sculptor (Medicine, Geology, Persuasion). Use the same rule: choose the set whose early skills you expect to use, rather than selecting a label for its own sake.
Bethesda Support’s background page has a malformed entry after Xenobiologist: it displays “[FILE NOT FOUND]” followed by Wellness, Ballistics, and Piloting, without a usable background name. Bethesda’s May 2026 guide independently gives the total as 21 and names Homesteader and Combat Medic, so that broken final line should not be treated as a properly identified background.
Rank #2
![Starfield (Standard Edition) [Xbox Series X]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51H0Hjwc50L._SL160_.jpg)
- Includes: Starfield Standard Edition (Disc)
- Travel to the stars in this next-gen RPG from the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4
- Create a character according to your imagination and explore the endless expanses in unparalleled freedom
- The goal of this epic journey? The answer to humanity's greatest question
Which traits are worth taking?
A trait is worth taking when its benefit matches how you intend to play and its cost is acceptable. The effects below are described in Bethesda Support’s trait reference.
Traits for survivability and resources
- Alien DNA: increases starting health and oxygen, but healing and food items are less effective. Bethesda says it can be cured by visiting Reliant Medical.
- Spaced: favors health and oxygen in space but reduces them on planetary surfaces.
- Terra Firma: reverses Spaced’s tradeoff, favoring health and oxygen on planetary surfaces while reducing them in space. Spaced and Terra Firma cannot be combined.
- Serpent’s Embrace: regular grav jumping gives temporary health and oxygen boosts; if you do not keep jumping, those stats are reduced. It is a roleplay-and-routine choice, not a free bonus.
Traits for companions and crew
- Empath: actions companions like temporarily improve combat effectiveness; actions they dislike have the opposite effect. Bethesda’s trait reference names Reliant Medical as a way to remove it.
- Extrovert: uses less oxygen while exerting with human companions and more when alone.
- Introvert: reverses that pattern, favoring exertion alone rather than with human companions. Extrovert and Introvert are mutually exclusive.
- Hero Worshipped: adds the Adoring Fan to your crew and brings gifts, but the character talks to you frequently.
- Taskmaster: a crew member trained in a ship system can sometimes make that system repair itself to full health when it falls below 50%; the drawback is that hiring crew costs double.
Traits for roleplay and faction identity
- Freestar Collective Settler, Neon Street Rat, and United Colonies Native: offer relevant dialogue and better rewards from some missions tied to the chosen faction, but increase your crime bounty with other factions. You can select only one faction allegiance trait.
- Raised Enlightened and Raised Universal: give access to different chests in New Atlantis, while choosing one excludes access to the other chest.
- Kid Stuff: lets you visit your parents, while 2% of your credits are automatically sent home each week.
- Dream Home: gives you a customizable house with a 125,000-credit GalBank mortgage paid weekly.
These choices can make a run more distinctive even when their mechanical upside is not a straightforward power gain. A dialogue option, faction connection, or character story may matter more to you than optimizing combat.
Rank #3
- TELL YOUR STORY - In Starfield the most important story is the one you tell with your character. Start your journey by customizing your appearance and deciding your Background and Traits. Will you be an experienced explorer, a charming diplomat, a stealthy cyber runner, or something else entirely? The choice is yours. Decide who you will be and what you will become.
- EXPLORE OUTER SPACE - Venture through the stars and explore more than 1000 planets. Navigate bustling cities, explore dangerous bases, and traverse wild landscapes. Meet and recruit a memorable cast of characters, join in the adventures of various factions, and embark on quests across the Settled Systems. A new story or experience is always waiting to be discovered.
- CAPTAIN THE SHIP OF YOUR DREAMS - Pilot and command the ship of your dreams. Personalize the look of your ship, modify critical systems including weapons and shields, and assign crew members to provide unique bonuses. In deep space you will engage in high-stakes dogfights, encounter random missions, dock at star stations, and even board and commandeer enemy ships to add to your collection.
- DISCOVER, COLLECT, BUILD - Explore planets and discover the fauna, flora, and resources needed to craft everything from medicine and food to equipment and weapons. Build outposts and hire a crew to passively extract materials and establish cargo links to transfer resources between them. Invest these raw materials into research projects to unlock unique crafting recipes.
- LOCK AND LOAD - Space can be a dangerous place. A refined combat system gives you the tools to deal with any situation. Whether you prefer long-range rifles, laser weapons, or demolitions, each weapon type can be modified to complement your playstyle. Zero G environments add a chaotic spectacle to combat, while boost packs give players freedom to maneuver like never before.
Traits for added danger
- Wanted: armed mercenaries occasionally hunt your character; at low health, you deal more damage. Choose it if you welcome the added encounters and can accept the pressure they bring.
Can you change backgrounds or remove traits later?
Bethesda says some unwanted traits can be removed through in-game quests, and its support reference specifically names Reliant Medical for Alien DNA and Empath. Removing a trait is permanent at least until New Game+, so do not select one assuming you can freely switch it back and forth.
The official sources cited here do not establish a general in-game background respec system. Treat your background as a starting choice rather than something you can count on changing later. If you are unsure about the trait tradeoffs, taking fewer traits—or none—is a valid option.
Quick Recap
Rank #4
- Only at Amazon Limited Edition Content - The Rogue Infiltrator Character Pack includes cosmetics for Kay and Nix.
- Discover a galaxy of opportunity. Explore distinct locations with bustling cities and cantinas. Race across sprawling outdoor landscapes on your speeder. Each location brings new adventures, unique challenges, and enticing rewards if you’re willing to take the risk.
- Experience an original scoundrel story. Live the high-stakes lifestyle of an outlaw. Turn any situation to your advantage with Nix by your side: fight with your blaster, overcome enemies with stealth and gadgets, or find the right moments to distract enemies and gain the upper hand.
- Embark on high-stakes missions. Take on high-risk, high-reward missions from the galaxy’s crime syndicates. Steal valuable goods, infiltrate secret locations, and outwit enemies as one of the galaxy’s most wanted. Every choice you make influences your ever-changing reputation.
- Jump into the pilot seat. Pilot your ship, the Trailblazer, as you engage in thrilling dogfights with the Empire and other foes. Find the right opportunities to chase, evade, and attack to get the upper hand.
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