Wiki Guide: Building and Customizing Ships in Starfield

Welcome to the ultimate guide for building and customizing ships in Starfield. If you’ve just started playing and you’re eager to create those amazing ships you’ve seen or heard about, you’re in the right place.

In this comprehensive Building and Customizing Ships in Starfield guide, we’ll take you through the ship-building process, manufacturer styles, ship components, and provide useful tips and tricks.

By the end, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a master shipwright in the Starfield universe.

Requirements

Before diving into ship construction, there are some essential prerequisites to consider:

• Sufficient Credits: Ship construction and upgrades are mid-to-late game activities, so ensure you have around 100,000 to 200,000 credits before starting.
• Skill Points: Invest skill points in the tech tree to unlock better ship components. At least one point in the ship certification skill and a couple in the social tree for selling items are recommended.

Best Ways to Start

Once you’re prepared with the necessary skills and credits, consider one of these three starting options:

1. Cannibalize the Frontier: You can dismantle the Frontier ship from the first mission if you like Nova Galactic’s style. However, if you prefer another style, this may not be the best choice as the Frontier has unique components.
2. Purchase a Ship: Buying a ship can be expensive, but it allows you to acquire high-quality parts. This option is viable if you find a ship with components you love.
3. The Borrowing Option (Legal or Illegal): This is a fun and versatile choice. You can take a pirate kill mission, disable a pirate ship, and claim it as your own. Ensure you search the ship for Contraband and jettison it to avoid getting a crime stat if you plan to play legally.

Manufacturers and Styles

Starfield offers various ship design styles associated with different manufacturers. Understanding these styles can help you choose the perfect look for your ship:

Stroud Eclin

• Sleek, futuristic exteriors with two cockpit options.
• Smooth, angular, and pristine interiors with orange highlights.

Hope Tech

• Bare bones and industrial style with functional components.
• Minimal aesthetic choices but versatile.

Nova Galactic

• An aged, NASA-inspired design.
• Multiple cockpit options and light-colored, worn interiors with a nostalgic feel.

Deimos

• Angular and aggressive design, often used for UC battleships.
• Two cockpit options and angular, dark interiors resembling battleships.

Tayo

• Japanese heritage brand with smooth, rounded exteriors.
• Single cockpit design, half-round ribbed interiors, and light monochrome colors.

Where to Buy Parts

Different locations in the Starfield universe offer various ship parts and components. Here’s a list of some major ship manufacturer yards and their locations:

• Stroud Eclin: Narian System.
• Hope Tech: Valo on Polvo.
• Nova Galactic (Large Modules): New Homestead in Seoul, Titan.
• Deimos Star Yards: Seoul, Mars Orbit.
• Nova Galactic and Deimos: Sedonia on Mars.
• Nova and Deimos: Garden City on Gagarin.
• Various Manufacturers: Crimson Fleet Base (Note: Access is restricted).
• Various Manufacturers and Smuggler/Pirate Equipment: The Red Mile in Perima.
• Hope Tech, Stroud, Tayo: Aquila City in Cheyenne.
• Hope Tech, Stroud, Tayo: Neon in the Volley system.
• Hope Tech, Nova Galactic, Tayo: Paradiso in the Prima system.
• Hope Tech, Stroud, Tayo: Elio’s Retreat in the Excel system.
• Hope Tech, Stroud, Tayo: New Atlantis in the Alpha Centauri system.

Starting to Build

With all the prerequisites in place and your desired manufacturer style in mind, you’re ready to start building your ship:

Naming Your Ship

Before or after building, you can rename your ship using specific key combinations (Ctrl+G and Z for PC, Y and Y for Xbox).

Laying Out Components

Every ship requires several essential components like a reactor, gravity drive, fuel tank, shield, engine thruster, landing gear, landing bay, cockpit, docking ring, hab module, and weapons.

Components and Balance

Balancing your ship’s components is crucial for its performance. Consider the following factors:

• Mass: The ship’s mass affects maneuverability, jump range, and top speed. Balancing this is essential.
• Jump Range: Larger jump drives and fuel tanks allow for greater jump range but may affect maneuverability.
• Cargo: Even combat-oriented ships need some cargo space (between 500 to 1000 units). Haulers and exploration ships can have more.
• Protection: Shields with varying recharge rates are vital. High recharge rates (around 10%) are suitable for fighters, while lower rates are better for haulers.
• Weapons: Consider the type of weapons you want, such as missiles, energy, ballistic, or electromagnetic, based on your ship’s role.
• Hab and Bridge Modules: These modules add crew positions, passenger room, workshops, labs, and more. Choose them according to your ship’s intended purpose.

Tips & Tricks

Here are some useful tips and tricks to streamline your ship-building process:

• Duplication Key: Use Ctrl+G and Z (or Y and Y on Xbox) to duplicate and flip components for quicker assembly.
• Coloring: Use J (PC) or the left stick (Xbox) to color components. Note that colors may vary slightly due to underlying component color.
• Hab and Bridge Configuration: Unfortunately, there’s no preview for interiors, so trial and error is the way to achieve the desired look.
• Error Resolution: If you encounter red exclamation marks indicating issues, check your components, docking collars, and landing bay entrances. Sometimes, disassembling and reassembling components can fix errors.
• Weapon Assignments: Configure your weapons in the ship settings (C on PC, menu button and bumpers on Xbox) for effective combat.
• Interior Placement: To place items intentionally inside your ship, drop an item outside the ship, hold E (PC), or the corresponding buttons on Xbox to pick it up, and use the mouse or controller buttons to rotate and position it inside.

Congratulations! You’ve now completed your ship-building journey in Starfield. Keep in mind that this isn’t the end; you can always tweak, upgrade, or build new ships as you explore the vast universe. If you have questions, issues, or more tips to share, feel free to comment below. Enjoy your adventures in the Starfield universe!