Starfield ship combat, explained

One of the most interesting features in Starfield is the ability to travel between worlds at light speed. Not every journey is that simple, though, and on many occasions, enemies will try to stop you in your path.

Starfield’s flight sim-like gameplay can makes battles tricky to navigate, especially for those unfamiliar with the genre. Here’s everything you need to know to become a master blaster. 

Starfield flying and ship combat guide

Be creative with movement

Movement is a core part of any dogfight. Learning how to weave out of enemy fire and sneak up on targets will help you destroy foes with ease. Starfield ships move within a 3D space—going upside down and looping around enemies are often viable strategies. There are acres of open space to practice flying before you start facing enemies.

One thing that’s hard to practice in safe areas is speed management. Successful maneuvers require your ship to slow down at particular intervals to manage bearings. Learning this key skill allows you to sneak up on foes as they zoom past your ship. 

Make good use of your ship meters in Starfield

Various ship functions in Starfield are powered up, in real-time, using power points. There is a deliberate shortage of these points that adds challenge through management and prioritization. There is a ton of other ships to encounter, each with various strengths and weaknesses, and you can use clever point allocations to exploit these weaknesses. 

The main functions of every ship include:

• Engine (ENG) – Each point makes the ship move faster. This is useful for weaving out of enemy fire and catching up to ships in combat.
• Shield (SHD) – Each point increases a ship’s shield, its primary point of defense.
• Gravity Drive (GRV) – Useful for escaping conflict, the gravity drive powers a hyperjump to a safe orbit, allocated in the star map. Each point helps to make your escape faster.

To the left of the above functions are your weapons, each of which takes up individual power slots. Various weapon types are available for purchase and can be attached to your ship. Some require you to lock on to your enemy for a certain duration, while others are a simple point-and-shoot affair. Adding points to these slots increases weapon damage.

Destroyed ships have resources ready to plunder, floating around in the vast depths of space. They are highlighted on your HUD and are surprisingly accessible once you have the movement down. 

Understand your enemy

Another way to approach combat is by boarding enemy ships, which requires you to destroy their engines so they can’t move. The ability to target enemy ship parts is unlockable in the tech portion of the skills menu, aptly named “targeting control systems.” 

Once boarded, combat returns to a typical first-person perspective. Opposing crew members put up quite a fight to protect themselves, so be sure to have a stacked arsenal at the ready. 

Abandoned ships are free to control and acquire. When no enemies are left on a working spacecraft, you can add it to your garage. This service is available at one of the space ports located on every planet.