Where to find enemy ships to fight in Starfield

I have been surprised by how much I enjoy the ship combat in Starfield. The quick turns to lock on to different enemy ships, using various weapon systems, targeting specific areas of an enemy to board them, and picking up spare materials after defeating a ship have been an addicting gameplay loop so far for me.

However, in liking the ship combat so much, I have created an issue for myself: I’m constantly on the lookout for enemy ships to destroy or board, and it’s been somewhat difficult to find them in the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Starfield.

After spending a few hours fine-tuning my method, I’m ready to share my method for the best way to locate enemy ships in the galaxy.

How to find enemy ships to fight in Starfield

Unfortunately, there is no quick way that allows you to fast travel to a specific location and immediately make a dozen enemy ships spawn in. Bethesda makes you work for your chance to destroy ships in the Settled Systems.

The best method I have discovered is Grav Jumping to systems that you either have not been to before or visiting systems that are not controlled by a faction. This means no fast traveling to systems such as Alpha Centauri, Volii, or Cheyenne, as all of those systems are controlled by either the United Colonies or Freestar Collective and sport major cities. It’s very unlikely that enemy ships would spawn in these systems. On the rare chance they do, though, they are immediately taken out by the patrolling faction ships.

Instead, you want to visit free systems that don’t have any major faction. Systems such as Olympus, Gloombridge, or Pyrocyon are prime examples of where I have encountered enemy ships, such as Spacers, the Ecliptic, and Crimson Fleet pirates.

When jumping to these systems, though, don’t expect an enemy to spawn right away. You first need to float around for roughly 10 seconds. If nothing has happened by then, you are safe to travel to another section of the system or another system entirely.

I have found Grav Jumping a handful of times usually yields an enemy ship fleet to spawn on my location after a few attempts.

Farming enemy ships in Starfield

Fortunately, there is a way to guarantee that you see certain enemy ships. If you travel to the Kryx system, specifically The Key location, you will find that dozens of Crimson Fleet ships spawn and leave there every few minutes.

If you’re working for the Crimson Fleet, it might not be the best idea to attack these ships, but if you’re not a pirate yet, then you will be able to farm enemy ships here.

The only downside to this method is you need to fight several ships at the same time on some occasions. If you’re not the most experienced pilot, then you might want to wait until there aren’t too many ships nearby and then start attacking. This will minimize the number of ships you have to destroy or board.

Related: Is there a ship size limit in Starfield?

I couldn’t find another location in the Settled Systems where enemy ships would reliably spawn like they do at The Key, so you’ll have to rely on the Grav Jumping method for any other means of getting enemy ships to spawn in Starfield.

Fighting enemy ships in the Vanguard Pilot Simulator

Of course, there is another method for finding enemy ships and that is joining the United Colonies Vanguard. After you join by speaking with Commander Tuala in the lobby of the MAST building in New Atlantis, you’ll be sent on a brief tour through a miniature museum. At the end of this tour, you’ll step into a pilot simulator for the UC to judge your ability and see if you’re skilled enough to join the Vanguard ranks.

There are six waves of increasingly difficult fighting conditions in the pilot sim, and you’ll only need to pass three to join the Vanguard. More importantly, however, you can replay the pilot sim as much as you want, and each ship you defeat counts as a real defeated enemy.

This means that if you’re trying to level up your character’s Piloting Skill so you can drive Class B and Class C ships, you’ll have a guaranteed way to grind the spaceship kills you need to get without losing any of your resources or risking a game over.

The pilot sim doesn’t use your actual ship, of course, but the ship it simulates isn’t a junker by any means. In fact, it’s a very handsome craft that comes complete with a large amount of shields, lasers, ballistics, and missiles. Perfect for your simulated space battle needs!