Best crew in Starfield, ranked

In Starfield, you can choose either your core companions or hired recruits to be part of your ship or outpost’s crew. Each crew member contains their own benefits that will provide buffs across a variety of different stats.

Companions primarily consist of your fellow Constellation members, including Andreja, Vasco, Sarah Morgan, Barrett, and Sam Coe. While these companions can join your ship as crew, there are other NPCs located around Starfield’s major cities that you can recruit. Oftentimes, I find these hired guns far better members for my outposts and ships.

If you are looking to recruit more hands for your ship in Starfield, here are our picks for the best crew members.

Best Crew Members in Starfield

7) Omari Hassan

• Outpost Management — ★★★
• Demolition — ★

Lin is quite literally the first face you see in Starfield. Much like Heller, she is an asset specifically to outposts but not so much to ships. Lin contains the Outpost Management skill, hence her title, which can help you build much more useful structures far faster. She also isn’t too bad to have as an active companion, as the Demolitions skill increases the radius of all your explosives by 25 percent.

I unlocked Lin after completing Back to Vectera for Constellation, as she offers to join your crew. All you need to do is agree, and you can acquire Lin as a crew member for free.

5) Autumn MacMillan

• Pistol Certification — ★★
• Sharpshooting — ★
• Botany — ★

Crew members that can hold down your Outposts are great. However, you might be looking for someone who can pull their weight in a fight as well. Autumn MacMillan is a great choice for those in search of a firefight buddy. Her Pistol Certification and Sharpshooting skills make her a powerful ally when you inevitably find yourself in a tough spot. Her Botany skill is useful, too, as it causes her to collect foliage samples while you’re exploring. If you’re going to be crafting anything in Starfield, every little resource helps.

Autumn isn’t a crewmate that you hire via payment. To have her join your crew, you’ll have to complete the entirety of the Freestar Collective questline. Once you’ve got that done, you’ll be able to find her at the Red Mile.

4) Heller

• Outpost Engineering — ★★★
• Geology — ★

You will first meet Heller during the introduction portion of Starfield, where he first shows off his mineral-gathering prowess. Once Heller became unlockable, I instantly placed him on my outposts. Heller’s Geology skill grants you a bonus on all mined common and uncommon inorganic materials. Though the crew member is almost useless on a ship, he is an incredible asset at any outpost.

Like Lin, you can unlock Heller as part of the main Constellation quest chain. After you complete the Back to Vectera mission, you can save Heller and eventually recruit him to your crew for free.

3) Sophia Grace

• Stealth — ★★★
• Lasers — ★

Sometimes, companions in Starfield can ruin your attempts at sneaking around. It doesn’t feel great to lose the element of surprise because your tagalong got caught instead of you. Enter Sophia Grace and her very impressive Stealth skill. With this, you and Sophia can be a potent combination of sneaky killers no matter where you go. So long as you give her a Laser weapon, she’ll be as deadly as can be.

To recruit Sophia, you’ll have to head to Neon on the planet Volii Alpha in the Volii system. Once you’re there, you’ll have to head outside of Neon Core into Ebbside and locate Madame Sauvage’s place. Sophia can be found near the bar inside, and talking to her will show you that she’s ready and raring to go if you can offer her 16,500 credits. You can always try to persuade her price to drop if you’re hurting for pocket change.

2) Rafael Aguerro

• Starship Engineering — ★★
• Outpost Engineering — ★
• Outpost Management — ★

Rafael Aguerro has incredibly valuable traits as it pertains to outposts. The potential crew member’s Outpost Engineering and Outpost Management can help you set up new outposts across the galaxy at breakneck speeds. Though outposts are Aguerro’s strong suit, he isn’t a bad ship crew member either. During harder space battles, I found Aguerro’s Starship Engineering trait, which decreases incoming damage by 25 percent, to be extremely valuable.

To unlock Aguerro, you will need to complete a few steps. One of the main Constellation missions, dubbed ‘Entangled,’ takes you to the Nishima Research Station on Freya III. Here, you will need to select the ending that saves Aguerro but dooms the rest of the research station. After this, you can find Aguerro in New Atlantis at the Viewport Bar, where you can recruit him for free.

1) Andromeda Kepler: The best crew member in Starfield

• Outpost Engineering — ★★
• Piloting — ★
• Aneutronic Fusion — ★

Kepler is the single best all-around crew member that I recruited in Starfield. I found her particularly useful on the ship. Kepler’s Aneutronic Fusion skill gives you ship an additional energy unit, while her Piloting skill can help you make better use of your vessel’s thrusters. She also works well as an outpost crew member. Typically, I tend to place Kepler near my newer outposts, as her Outpost Engineering skill gives access to wider research and constructions.

You can find Kepler at the Broken Spear on Cydonia, located on the planet Mars. This useful crew member comes at a steep price, costing 15,000 Credits. I recommend putting some points into persuasion, as you can negotiate down to a much more manageable 7,500 Credits.