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In Starfield, armor rarity determines how many perks an item has: Rare gear has one, Epic has two, and Legendary has three. The perk pool depends on whether the item is a spacesuit, helmet, or pack, so there is no single list that applies to every piece. The reference below organizes known effects by benefit and identifies the slots where community databases list them.
How armor rarity and perk counts work
Bethesda Support defines equipment tiers by perk count. Basic gear is gray and has no perks; Rare gear is teal with one star and one perk; Epic gear is purple with two stars and two perks; and Legendary gear is gold with three stars and three perks. These are official tier definitions, not a guarantee that any particular perk can appear on any item.
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Bethesda’s equipment tier guide explains the labels and counts, but does not publish a complete armor-affix catalog. The effect names and slot assignments below are drawn from community references: INARA’s gear-traits database and the Riley Entertainment Starfield compendium. Both sources note limitations: INARA cautions that its information may not be entirely accurate, and Riley Entertainment says its tables may have gaps. Treat this as a practical reference to listed effects, not an official, guaranteed-complete inventory for every game version or DLC.
Damage resistance and survival perks
These effects reduce damage directly, protect against certain enemy types, or provide a chance-based defense. Slot eligibility follows the community databases.
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| Affix | Effect | Listed slot(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Ablative | Reduces incoming energy damage by 15%. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Anti-Ballistic | Reduces incoming physical damage from ranged weapons by 15%. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Armor-Plated | Reduces incoming physical, energy, and EM damage by 10%. | Pack |
| Beast Hunter | Reduces damage from alien enemies by 15%. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Bolstering | Grants up to +100 energy and physical resistance as health falls. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Combat Veteran | Reduces damage from human enemies by 15%. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Sturdy | Reduces incoming melee damage by 15%. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Technician | Reduces damage from robot enemies by 15%. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Auto-Medic | Automatically uses a Med Pack when hit below 25% health; can trigger once every 60 seconds. | Spacesuit |
| Mirrored | Has a 4% chance to reflect attacks. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Reactive | Has a 10% chance to stagger nearby attackers. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Repulsing | Has a 5% chance to disarm nearby attackers. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Sentinel | Has a 75% chance to reduce damage by 50% while standing still. | Spacesuit |
| Terrorizing | Has a small chance to frighten attackers when hit. | Mantis Mk. II spacesuit only, per INARA |
| Electrified | Attacking enemies have a chance to be electrocuted. | Full suits such as Heavy Miner Powered Rigs or Apollo Spacesuit, per INARA |
| Enigmatic | Holograms appear in combat to confuse enemies. | Not available for full suits, per INARA |
| Abyssal Release | After taking significant damage, automatically deals massive damage to an attacker. | Spacesuit; unavailable for full suits, per INARA |
| Incendiary | Has a 10% chance to ignite nearby attackers. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
Environmental protection perks
Environmental traits add resistance to a specific hazard. INARA lists these for spacesuits, helmets, and packs.
| Affix | Effect |
|---|---|
| Antiseptic | +25 airborne resistance |
| Galvanized | +25 corrosive resistance |
| Leadlined | +25 radiation resistance |
| Liquid Cooled | +25 thermal resistance |
Carry capacity, oxygen, and movement perks
These perks are useful when a build depends on carrying loot, managing oxygen, or getting more from boost movement. Their slot limits matter: several are restricted to packs or spacesuits.
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| Affix | Effect | Listed slot(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Assisted Carry | Drains 75% less oxygen while running encumbered. | Pack |
| Fastened | +20 carry capacity. | Pack |
| Mechanized | +40 carry capacity. | Spacesuit |
| Resource Hauler | Resources weigh 25% less. | Spacesuit |
| Weapon Holsters | Weapons weigh 50% less. | Spacesuit |
| O2 Boosted | +20% oxygen capacity. | Helmet, pack |
| O2 Filter | Reduces oxygen consumption by 25%. | Helmet, pack |
| Acrobat | Reduces fall damage by 50%. | Spacesuit |
| Aerial Advantage | Boost jumping briefly increases accuracy and damage resistance while draining less fuel. | Pack |
| Fast Reflexes | +15% movement speed. | Praetor suit only, per INARA |
| Speedster | At full health, running is much faster; taking damage has a chance to knock down nearby enemies. | Unavailable for full suits, per INARA |
| Grenadier | Boost jumping briefly increases explosive damage and drains less fuel. | Pack |
Stealth and combat utility perks
These effects support stealth, targeting, hacking, critical hits, and damage output. The helmet has several distinctive options, while Chameleon is listed across all three armor slots.
| Affix | Effect | Listed slot(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Chameleon | Blends with the environment while sneaking and not moving. | Spacesuit, helmet, pack |
| Analyzer | +10% damage to scanned targets. | Helmet |
| Advanced Targeting | Kills while moving increase accuracy by 15% for 20 seconds; stacks up to three times. | Helmet |
| Hacker | +2 maximum auto-attempts that can be banked while hacking. | Helmet |
| Headhunter | +25% damage on the next attack after hitting a target’s head. | Helmet |
| Mercenary | Killing three enemies within 10 seconds increases critical-hit chance by 50% for 20 seconds. | Helmet |
| Sensor Chip | +20% accuracy while firing on the move. | Helmet |
| Inspiring | Boosts you and nearby allies across damage, reload speed, movement, oxygen use, carry weight, and health regeneration outside combat. | Full suits such as Heavy Miner Powered Rigs or Apollo Spacesuit, per INARA |
| Peacemaker | Rifles do 10% more damage. | Peacemaker spacesuit only, per INARA |
How to choose among armor affixes
There is no universal best roll: the useful combination depends on your build, the item’s base stats, and what you want the gear to solve. Choose the slot first, then compare perks that can actually appear there.
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- For incoming damage: Match the threat. General or conditional defenses such as Bolstering and Sentinel serve different situations from enemy-specific traits such as Beast Hunter, Combat Veteran, and Technician.
- For exploration: Match environmental resistance to the hazard you need to handle, and compare it with oxygen effects such as O2 Boosted or O2 Filter.
- For stealth: Chameleon is the listed effect that directly supports remaining unseen while still and sneaking. Do not confuse generated rare effects with crafted workbench modifications.
- For hauling: Compare carry capacity, lighter resources or weapons, and reduced oxygen drain while encumbered; the applicable perks are spread across different slots.
- For combat style: Helmet-only options include scanned-target damage, hacking attempts, and headshot follow-up damage, while pack perks can enhance boost-jump attacks.
Armor affixes are different from workbench modifications
Rare effects are inherent to the item and cannot be crafted onto ordinary equipment, according to the Riley Entertainment compendium. Crafted modifications are a separate system: they are researched and applied at a Spacesuit Workbench, subject to the item’s mod slots. Examples in the compendium include Ballistic Shielding, Energy Shielding, Explosive Shielding, Heavy Shielding, Pocketed, and Gravitic Composites. A crafted mod should not be counted as one of the item’s Rare, Epic, or Legendary perks.
Special sets and version-specific effects
Some entries in community databases are restricted to named items or suit types rather than being ordinary interchangeable rolls. Bethesda Creations, for example, lists a Ryujin Covert armor set with special effects and states that Terran Armada DLC is required. That listing documents that specific Creation; it does not establish that every effect on it belongs to the base-game loot pool.
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