Starfield Combat Skill Tree, explained: All skills and ranks

Starfield, the latest open-world (or open space) adventure RPG from Bethesda studios entered early access on Aug. 31. The game will publicly release on Sept. 6, so whether you got your hands on the Premium Edition or not, it might be time to start brainstorming for your intergalactic adventures.

There is a TON that can be done in Starfield. Bethesda followed its tried and tested formula of making a game that is simply massive and relies on exploration and customization as its primary selling points. Starfield has tons of both—more than any other Bethesda game to date. Included in the vast array of choices is the decision of how you want your character to grow in strength as you play the game. There are many paths that can be forged, but if you want a classic combat build, there is a skill tree dedicated to exactly that.

Starfield Combat skill tree, explained

There are five different skill trees in Starfield: Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech. Each tree will affect the way your character feels and plays, and you can combine trees in any manner you wish, provided you have the skill points available. Each tree has four tiers: Basic, Advanced, Expert, and Master. There are three to five skills per tier and four ranks per skill.

Before a skill point can be used to unlock the second rank of a given skill, you must complete an associated challenge. For example, the Combat skill Ballistics grants 10 percent added damage with Ballistic weapons. Before you can purchase rank two for an additional 10 percent, you must kill 20 enemies with a ballistic weapon.

To start putting points into a new tier (Advanced, for example) you must spend four points in the previous tier. This can be one point in four different skills, four points in one single skill, or anything in between. The options are endless.

So what does the Combat skill tree specifically do? You guessed it, friend. Combat! This tree increases all weapon damage. You can specialize in a damage type (energy, ballistic, EM, explosives) as well as a weapon type (pistols, shotguns, rifles, etc.). If you’ve got a favorite gun, you can get VERY specific to upgrade your skill with that gun specifically.

The Combat tree increases damage with ranged weapons specifically—if you want to use melee weapons, have a look at the Physical skill tree.

Starfield Combat skills and ranks, explained

There are 17 different skills that can be acquired in this tree, making it tied with Tech for being the biggest tree in Starfield. The early tiers will be more focused on powering up specific weapon types, while later tiers will make you more deadly all around.

Basic Combat skills

This is where you’ll be able to focus on a damage type and start getting into some weapon types to power up. There is one single skill that can increase melee damage, but if you’d like to really go the melee route, you’ll find plenty in the Physical tree.

• Ballistics: Grants 10 percent additional damage with ballistic weapons. This increases to 20 percent at the second rank, 30 percent at the third, and the fourth rank grants 30 percent added range to all ballistic weapons. Ballistic refers to any weapon that fires traditional bullets. Before you can purchase rank two, you must kill 20 foes with ballistic weapons.
• Dueling: Rank one of dueling grants 25 percent additional melee weapon damage, and 10 percent damage reduction while you have a melee weapon equipped. Rank two grants a 20 percent speed boost for 10 seconds after killing an enemy with a melee weapon. At rank three, melee weapons deal 50 percent increased damage, and you take 15 percent less damage while wielding a melee weapon. At rank four, melee kills restore 10 percent of your health. Before you can rank up in this skill, you must kill 20 enemies with a melee weapon.
• Lasers: Laser weapons deal 10 percent additional damage. This increases to 20 percent at rank two and 30 percent at rank three. The fourth rank grants laser weapons a 5 percent chance to ignite targets. Kill 20 enemies with a laser weapon to unlock rank two of Lasers.
• Pistol Certification: Grants 10 percent increased damage with pistols. Rank two increases to 25 percent, and rank three grants 50 percent. At rank four, killing an enemy with a pistol grants 1 25 percent bonus to critical hit chance for 5 seconds. You must kill 20 enemies with a pistol to advance ranks.
• Shotgun Certification: Grants 10 percent increased damage with shotguns. Increases to 20 percent at the second rank, and 30 percent at the third rank. At rank four, shotgun kills grant a temporary chance to stun enemies with shotgun attacks. You must kill 20 enemies using a shotgun to unlock rank two.

Advanced Combat skills

This tier is mostly where you’ll get to start really amping up damage types and deciding if you’re an explosives type of person, a nonlethal type of person, or a Jack of All Trades. Additionally, the Rifle Certification skill is now available.

• Demolitions: Grants a trajectory arc indicator for grenades and a 25 percent larger blast radius for all explosives. Rank two increases explosives damage by 25 percent, and rank three reduces damage taken from explosives by 25 percent. At rank four, all other bonuses are doubled. You must kill 20 enemies with explosives before you can purchase rank two.
• Heavy Weapons Certifications: Grants a 10 percent damage increase with heavy weapons. At rank two this increases to 20 percent, and 30 percent at rank three. Rank four grants 25 percent physical damage resistance while aiming down sights with a heavy weapon. Killing 20 enemies with a heavy weapon will unlock the option to purchase rank two.
• Incapacitation: At rank one, EM weapons deal 5 percent bonus damage. Increases to 10 percent at rank two and 15 percent at rank three. The fourth rank gives EM weapons a 15 percent chance on each hit to deal triple damage. You must deal 400 EM damage before you are able to rank up in this skill.
• Particle Beams: At rank one, particle beam weapons deal 10 percent more damage. The bonus increases to 20 percent at rank two and 30 percent at rank three. At rank four, particle weapons have a 5 percent added crit chance. You must kill 20 enemies with a particle beam weapon before you can rank up.
• Rifle Certification—Rifles deal 10 percent more damage. Rank two grants 20 percent added damage and rank three grants 30 percent. At rank four, rifle reload speed increases by 30 percent while you’re standing still. Kill 20 enemies with a rifle to unlock rank two for purchase.

Expert Combat skills

At this tier, you can start deciding whether you’re a marksman or a running gun (or both) by focusing on hipfiring or focusing on scopes. Rapid Reloading is a phenomenal skill no matter what weapon type you’ve focused on, as its bonuses apply to any and all guns.

• Marksmanship: At rank one, non-automatic weapons gain a 3 percent bonus to critical hit chance. Rank two increases this bonus to eight percent, and rank three grants 15 percent. At rank four, critical hits with a non-scoped, non-automatic weapon deal double damage, and critical hits with a scoped weapon knock enemies down on the next shot. You must deal 10 ranged critical hits before you can purchase rank two.
• Rapid Reloading: At rank one, ballistic weapons reload 25 percent faster. At rank two, Energy and EM weapons do as well. Rank three adds Particle Beam weapons and a 50 percent chance of avoiding interruption from damage while reloading. At rank four, hitting an enemy has a chance to increase all reload speed by 50 percent for 15 seconds. You must reload an empty magazine 30 times before you can unlock rank two.
• Sniper Certification: Scopes become significantly steadier. At rank two, breath holding duration with scoped weapons is increased. At rank three, headshots with scoped weapons have a 25 percent increased crit chance, and at rank four scoped weapons deal 50 percent more damage. You must kill 50 enemies using a scoped weapon before you can rank up.
• Targeting: Increases accuracy and range when hipfiring, and marks an enemy within 25 meters who has damaged you. Rank two significantly improves hipfire accuracy and marks two enemies within 50 meters who have damaged you. Rank three further improves accuracy and increases to three marked enemies within 75 meters. At rank four, hipfiring has a 10 percent chance to disarm targets, and four enemies within 100 meters will be marked. You must kill 50 enemies while hipfiring to rank up.

Master Combat skills

No matter which of the three options you choose, you’re going to become a menace. You’ve devoted all of your hard-earned skill points to combat prowess, and now you’ll truly reap the rewards. Crippling is especially versatile, but there is no wrong choice here.

• Armor Penetration: Grants 15 percent armor penetration. This bonus increases to 30 percent at rank two and 50 percent at rank three. At rank four, critical hits reduce armor by 25 percent for six seconds. You must kill 20 enemies with a non-automatic weapon before you can unlock rank two.
• Crippling: Increases your chance to down human enemies by 30 percent. Rank two causes human enemies to be 50 percent less likely to recover from being downed, and rank three reduces the total damage needed for an enemy to be downed. At rank four, all previous bonuses now apply to every type of enemy, and damage against downed foes is doubled.
• Sharpshooting: Increases critical hit damage from headshots by 50 percent. Rank two grants a 50 percent crit damage bonus to enemies’ legs, and rank three increases all critical hit damage by an additional 50 percent. At rank four, critical hit kills increase your critical hit chance by 25 percent for 20 seconds. All bonuses apply to ranged weapons only. You must score 50 critical hits before you can advance ranks.

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