In any RPG, skills play a crucial role, and Starfield is no exception. Your character’s proficiency in various skills is a crucial aspect of the game. You can shift your character’s abilities in different areas based on what you choose to focus on.
By developing the necessary skills, you can steer your character in various directions. This can involve specializing in particular areas or having a broad range of abilities. It’s beneficial to be proficient in all the skills available in Starfield, allowing you to create a character that meets your desired play style.
Before delving into the world of Starfield, it is important to determine whether you want to create a character that focuses on a specific skill set or one that goes with the flow. Regardless, here you will find a detailed list of all the skills in Starfield.
All skills in Starfield
Combat
Proficiency in combat revolves around your ability to work with various weapons. By developing these skills, you can use weapons more effectively and inflict harm on your enemies.
- Marksmanship – Increases critical hit chance with non-automatic ranged weapons
- Rifle Certification – Rifles do more damage
- Particle Beams – Particle beam weapons do more damage
- Ballistics – Ballistic weapons do more damage
- Heavy Weapons Certification – Heavy weapons do more damage
- Dueling – Melee weapons do more damage. Take less damage while wielding a melee weapon
- Lasers – Laser weapons do more damage
- Demolitions – Throwing grenades now shows a trajectory arc. Explosions have a larger radius. Reduce damage taken from explosives. Explosives do more damage.
- Targeting – Increased accuracy and range when shooting without aiming. Marks up to one enemy within 25m that damages you.
- Rapid Reloading – Reload ballistic weapons faster
- Sniper Certification – Scoped weapons are steadier and have less sway. You can hold your breath longer with scoped weapons. Headshots while aiming with a scoped weapon have a bonus 25% critical hit chance. Scoped weapons to more damage while using the scope.
- Shotgun Certification – Shotguns do more damage
- Pistol Certification – Pistols do more damage
- Incapacitation – EM weapons do more damage
- Armor Penetration – Attacks ignore a percentage of target’s armor
- Crippling – Human enemies have a percentage chance to enter a downed state after taking enough damage.
- Sharpshooting – Increase critical damage to different body parts
Tech
In the game, your technological skills govern your interactions with various elements such as piloting, ship development, robotics, and security system manipulation.
- Security – You can attempt to hack locks and gain auto-unlock attempts.
- Boost Pack Training – You can utilize your boost packs. Using a boost pack expends less fuel. Boost pack fuel regenerates more quickly.
Starship Engineering – All ship systems are repaired faster. Ship systems have increased damage mitigation. - Payloads – Ship cargo holds have more capacity.
- Piloting – You can utilize ship thrusters. Increased ship turning rate and maneuverability. Unlock the ability to pilot class B and class C ships.
- Robotics – You deal more damage to robots and turrets. You can force a target robot to stop fighting for a limited time.
- Ballistic Weapons Systems – Ballistic ship weapons have increased damage and cost less to use in targeting mode.
- Targeting Control Systems – Unlocks ship targeting functionality. Time to lock onto enemy ships is reduced. Target-locked ships fire lower at you.
- Energy Weapons Systems – Energy ship weapons have increased damage and cost less to use in targeting mode.
- Engine Systems – Your ship’s top speed is increased. Ship boosts last longer and the cooldown is shorter.
- Shield Systems – Your ship has increased shield capacity.
- Missile Weapons Systems – Ship missile weapons do more damage and their targeting mode cost is reduced.
- Particle Beams Weapons Systems – Ship particle beam weapons do more damage and targeting mode cost is reduced.
- Starship Design – Allows the installation of improved, superior, cutting-edge, and experimental ship modules.
- Automated Weapons Systems – Automated ship weapons do more damage and reduce all targeting mode costs.
- Boost Assault Training – Nearby enemies take damage when you boost and have a chance to catch fire. Chance to knock down nearby enemies when you boost. Aiming down sights while boosting will let you hover in place. While hovering, time slows down and the world moves slower.
- EM Weapons Systems – EM ship weapons have increased damage and cost less to use in targeting mode
Social
Your ability to communicate effectively with others is influenced by your social skills. These skills are crucial in barter transactions, crew leadership, and NPC persuasion and intimidation.
- Intimidation – You can force a target NPC at or below your level to flee for a limited time.
- Xenosociology – You can force a target alien creature up to 10 levels higher than you to stop fighting for a limited time. You can force them to flee and attack their allies.
- Persuasion – Increased chances of success when persuading someone.
- Theft – Unlock the ability to pickpocket targets. Greater chance to successfully pickpocket.
- Instigation – You can force a target NPC at or below your level to attack their allies for a limited time.
- Leadership – Companions gain affinity faster. Companions have more health and more carrying capacity. Companions will occasionally heal you when you get low health.
- Outpost Management – Additional cargo links can be placed at outposts. Outpost extractors produce twice as fast.
- Scavenging – There’s a chance you’ll find extra credits, ammo, and aid items when searching containers.
- Gastronomy – You can craft specialty food and drinks, and research additional recipes at a research lab.
- Deception – Ships stronger will automatically surrender to piracy demands. Enemy contraband scans are less effective.
- Diplomacy – You can force a target NPC at or below your level to stop fighting for a while.
- Isolation – Do more weapon damage and gain damage resistance for each spacesuit and helmet equipped when you don’t have a companion or any crew.
- Negotiation – You now have access to bribery in speech challenges. Bribery cost is reduced.
- Manipulation – You can force a target NPC at or below your level to obey commands for a limited time.
- Ship Command – You can have more active crew members.
Science
Science skills such as medicine formulation, outpost construction, and astrophysics play a crucial role in crafting mechanisms and accumulating resources in the game.
- Botany – Get more common and uncommon organic resources from plants, learn additional info about them from the scanner, and allow some plants to be cultivated at your outpost.
- Geology – Get more common and uncommon inorganic resources from surface objects.
- Astrophysics – You can scan the moons of your current planet. You have a chance to discover a trait when scanning.
- Chemistry – You can create improved chems, and research additional chems at a research lab.
- Surveying – Adds an optional zoom to the hand scanner, and the scan distance is increased.
- Medicine – Med Packs, Trauma Packs, and Emergency Kits restore additional health faster.
- Astrodynamics – Increase grav jump range of jump drives.
- Outpost Engineering – You can construct improved outpost modules and research additional modules at a research lab.
- Research Methods – Resources required to craft items and complete projects are reduced.
- Scanning – You can detect different inorganic resources on planet and moon surfaces and more information about ships in space.
- Spacesuit Design – You can craft different types of spacesuits, helmets, and pack mods, and research additional mods at a research lab.
- Weapon Engineering – You can craft improved weapon mods at a weapon workbench and research additional weapon mods at a research lab.
- Zoology – Get more organic resources from creatures and harvest from them without harming them. Learn additional info about them from the scanner which allows you to produce animal resources at outposts.
- Aneutronic Fusion – Ships reactors produce extra units of power.
- Planetary Habitation – You can build outposts on planets with extreme temperatures. Increases the maximum number of outposts you can build.
- Special Projects – You can research projects at a research lab.
Physical
In Starfield, your character’s abilities are heavily influenced by their physical skills. The skills vary greatly, from physical strength and good health to sneaky movements and culinary abilities.
- Rejuvenation – Slowly regenerate health outside of combat.
- Decontamination – Increased chance to recover from infections naturally.
- Wellness – Increases your maximum health.
- Concealment – You no longer set off enemy mines. Ranged sneak attacks do more damage and your melee sneak attacks do more damage.
- Martial Arts – Increased chance to crit with a melee or unarmed strike. Take less damage while unarmed or holding a melee weapon.
- Stealth – Adds a stealth meter. You are more difficult to detect when sneaking. Suppressed weapons to additional sneak attack damage.
- Neurostrikes – Chance to stun an NPC with an unarmed attack.
- Weight Lifting – Increases your total carrying capacity.
- Boxing – Unarmed attacks to more damage. Less O2 is used with power attacks.
- Fitness – You have more oxygen available.
- Energy Weapon Dissipation – Energy damage is reduced.
- Environmental Conditioning – Gain resistance to airborne, thermal, corrosive, and radiation environmental damage.
- Gymnastics – Unlock the ability to combat slide. Take less fall damage.
- Nutrition – Food and drinks are more effective.
- Pain Tolerance – Physical damage is reduced.
- Cellular Regeneration – Increased chance to recover from injuries naturally