Recommended Free Tools
This Starfield complete guide and walkthrough starts with the first mission, “One Small Step,” then explains how to follow objectives, develop a character, enter faction storylines, operate a ship, explore, craft, fight and build outposts. The guidance below draws on Bethesda Support’s new-player and systems guides; current content availability is identified separately from general gameplay advice.
Start with “One Small Step”
Bethesda says the first main mission begins automatically when you start a new game. Its opening walkthrough takes you through character creation, an initial pirate encounter, the ship tutorial, a visit to Kreet and arrival at the Lodge. The early sequence introduces the basic rhythm: talk to characters, follow mission objectives, fight when necessary and learn how your ship works.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Starfield: Standard Edition - Xbox Series X | $49.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
![Starfield (Standard Edition) [Xbox Series X]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51H0Hjwc50L._SL160_.jpg)
|
Starfield (Standard Edition) [Xbox Series X] | $59.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
|
Starfield | Premium Upgrade | Xbox Series X|S & Windows Digital | $34.99 | Buy on Amazon |
During the opening encounter, you can persuade the Crimson Fleet captain or fight. This is an early choice, not a requirement to commit to a faction storyline. If you are new to the game, take the ship tutorial rather than using its optional skip. It teaches system management before you have to rely on it in space.
Track objectives or explore freely
To pursue a specific task, open the Missions menu, select the objective you want, then set a course. This makes the selected mission your navigation target. You can also ignore the active objective and explore; the mission tracker is a guide, not a lock on where you can go.
#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.
Once you have discovered a planetary location, the tutorial explains that you can fast-travel to it. Fast travel is therefore useful for returning to known places, while reaching an undiscovered destination still involves navigating there. Button inputs vary by platform and control configuration, so use the control mapping for your edition rather than relying on a universal button instruction.
Choose a character direction
Your background sets your starting skills, and character creation lets you select up to three traits. These choices give you an initial emphasis, but they do not prevent you from developing in other directions as you level.
Each level grants a skill point. To rank up a skill, you must both complete its listed challenge and spend a skill point. Completing the challenge alone does not improve the skill. Check the challenge before investing so you know what behavior or task will unlock the next rank.
- Prioritize personal skills if you want your character to handle more situations directly. This can support approaches such as combat, persuasion or practical fieldwork, depending on the skills you choose.
- Prioritize ship capability if piloting, ship systems or upgrading your vessel is central to how you want to play. The tradeoff is that points spent here are not available for other skills at that moment.
- Mix areas gradually if you want flexibility. There is no single universally best build established by the official guides; choose around the activities you actually want to use.
Branch into faction storylines
Faction missions are optional routes alongside the main story. Bethesda’s new-player guide identifies introductory paths for the United Colonies Vanguard, Freestar Collective, Crimson Fleet and Ryujin Industries.
Free tools Windows power users keep installed
One-click scans. No signup required.
- United Colonies Vanguard: The guide points to an early opportunity to learn about the Vanguard while pursuing a main-story mission. Consider this route if you want a faction thread without abandoning the main quest.
- Freestar Collective: “Job Gone Wrong” is part of the main mission “The Empty Nest,” providing an entry point to Freestar-related events during the main-story path.
- Crimson Fleet: The opening mission presents an offer connected to the Fleet. If you reject it, Bethesda says you can pursue infiltration later; declining at the start does not close that route.
- Ryujin Industries: The application begins at a kiosk in Neon. This is a distinct way to enter a faction storyline rather than a continuation of the opening encounter.
For a first run, follow whichever route sounds interesting rather than trying to clear every faction immediately. The main quest provides orientation, while faction detours offer separate story paths; switching between them is a matter of preference, not a required order.
Make the ship work for you
Your ship is more than transport. Bethesda’s guides cover piloting, ship systems, combat, cargo, crew, modification, docking and boarding. The introductory walkthrough recommends learning the ship tutorial instead of skipping it by powering every system at once.
Rank #2
- 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
Flight and ship systems
During flight, power is divided among ship systems. The tutorial’s purpose is to show how managing those systems differs from simply assigning power everywhere. Learn the controls and system roles in the tutorial before a difficult encounter; exact inputs depend on platform.
Combat, docking and boarding
Ship combat is a separate layer from fighting on foot. Bethesda describes dogfights, docking and the ability to commandeer enemy ships. Treat boarding as a deliberate transition: you may move from a ship encounter into close-quarters combat, so be ready for both kinds of play.
Crashes, No Sound, or Screen Glitches?
Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePC Slower Than It Used to Be?
A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11Cargo, crew and modification
Ships support cargo management, crew assignment and modification. Crew can provide bonuses, while changes to the ship let you shape its capabilities. These choices compete with other priorities: a player focused on exploration may value a different balance of cargo capacity and systems than one who wants to emphasize ship combat.
Ship registration is also part of the ship-management loop. Consult the in-game ship services and current platform guide for the steps and costs applicable to your situation; the sources summarized here do not establish a universal registration price.
Explore and build with purpose
The official PlayStation game page describes exploration across more than 1,000 planets. That breadth makes scanning useful before committing to a landing or outpost site: it can help you identify whether a location suits the resource or exploration goal you have in mind.
Scan before choosing a site
Bethesda recommends scanning a planet before selecting an outpost location. If you need a particular resource, use scanning to guide where you look rather than placing an outpost at random. Exploration and resource extraction serve different goals: roam and scan to learn about a place, then build where the available resources and conditions fit your plans.
What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
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.
Use outposts as resource infrastructure
Outposts can gather and stockpile resources used for improvements to weapons, spacesuits, ships and other outposts. Storage, crew and workbenches can extend an outpost’s usefulness, turning it into a support point for longer-term crafting and development rather than a destination with no purpose.
Building on worlds with extreme environments requires the Outpost Engineering skill, according to Bethesda. Factor that requirement into your skill choices if establishing outposts in those conditions is a priority.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Craft, fight and recover
Crafting is divided across different needs rather than one universal workbench. Bethesda’s guide distinguishes cooking, pharmaceuticals, weapon modifications, spacesuit improvements and industrial crafting. Collect materials with a goal in mind: crafting convenience means less need to stop and search later, while carrying or gathering everything without a plan can distract from exploration and missions.
Combat also offers more than one response. Bethesda’s new-player guide points to help for character combat, starship combat, healing, fleeing, ship repair and difficulty settings. When a fight goes badly, recovery can mean healing, repairing the ship, changing how you approach the encounter or adjusting difficulty—not necessarily forcing the same strategy again.
- Direct combat: Engage threats when you want to resolve an encounter through fighting.
- Avoidance or retreat: Leaving a difficult situation can be more useful than spending resources on a fight you do not need to take.
- Stealth or persuasion: Where the mission and your character options allow them, these can provide alternatives to attacking. They are situational approaches, not guaranteed replacements for combat.
Current content and platform note
The official PlayStation page currently presents Free Lanes, Terran Armada and Shattered Space. It describes Free Lanes as an update affecting exploration, customization, combat and more, and identifies Terran Armada as story DLC. The page also lists the game for PS5. These listings are specific to the PlayStation page; check the store listing and in-game information for your platform and edition before assuming that content availability or update behavior is identical elsewhere.
Quick Recap
Official guides and references
- Bethesda Support: Getting Started – New Player Guide – Starfield
- Bethesda Support: Tutorial – Tips & Tricks – Starfield
- Bethesda Support: Outposts – Getting Started – Starfield
- Bethesda Support: One Small Step – Main Mission – Starfield
- PlayStation: Starfield – PS5 Games
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
