Starfield: Should you take the Neon Street Rat trait?

You have the option to select one of three different background traits when you’re at the character creator screen in Starfield.

One of these traits is called Neon Street Rat, and it poses that you grew up in the city of Neon, learning to fend for yourself in the mean streets of the cyberpunk-inspired city.

If you choose to use one of your three trait slots on Neon Street Rat, then you will gain special dialogue with characters in the city and earn better rewards from doing missions on Neon. In addition to that, your bounty from other factions is increased, meaning if you commit crimes in another system, you will have an ever bigger price on your head.

Benefits of the Neon Street Rat trait in Starfield

First, let’s go over the benefits of taking this trait. The most obvious benefit is you will be able to access dialogue options with characters that otherwise would not have been there had you selected a different trait, such as United Colonies Native.

These dialogue options can lead to some interesting conversations with characters on Neon or others in the galaxy who also grew up in the city.

The next benefit is your mission rewards will be increased when you complete a quest on Neon. In my experience, though, this just amounts to a few hundred extra credits and maybe a unique weapon or two from time to time. You will also have to deal with a higher bounty in other systems, which can be a pain if you choose to lead a life of crime by smuggling contraband.

Aside from those benefits, there really isn’t anything else worth mentioning when it comes to the Neon Street Rat trait.

Of course, if you’re taking the RPG aspect of Starfield seriously and want your character to grow up at a certain place, then there’s that factor to consider too.

Should you take the Neon Street Rat trait?

In my opinion, the Neon Street Rat trait, or any of the other background traits, is not worth it in Starfield. There are far better traits you can select that will have a much bigger impact on your gameplay and story.

Related: The Starfield Traits to take during character creation

The only reason I could see someone taking the Neon Street Rat trait is if they truly wanted to roleplay through their character and give them a concrete background to work off. In this case, gaining access to new dialogue options on Neon can be worth it, as you’ll get to truly live vicariously through your character in Starfield.