How to Sneak – Starfield

Sneaking can be helpful in any game — from letting you get through an area or killing enemies without being seen or attacked, to pickpocketing people. Starfield is no exception. However, it’s not as easy to utilize initially as it is in most games. In this guide, we will go over how to unlock the ability to properly sneak with your character, and how to take advantage of it after.

A more detailed explanation can be found below, but here is a quick explanation of how to sneak in Starfield:

• Put a point in Stealth, or start with the Ronin or Cyber Runner background.
• Press Left Control / B / Circle to crouch.
• Pay attention to the bar at the top of your screen, which will go from HIDDEN, to DETECTED, to CAUTION, then DANGER, depending on how close being attacked you are.

Unlocking Stealth

In most cases, you will not begin the game with the ability to see any kind of stealth meter while sneaking. In order to unlock it, you must use one of your skill points in the Stealth skill. This skill is found in the skill menu’s Physical tree, so you’ll need to open the data menu with [Tab] / / , then open the skills menu in the upper right with / / . Once Stealth is learned, you will see a meter at the top of your screen which will tell you whether you’re hidden or spotted.

If you make your character’s background either Ronin or Cyber Runner, you will start with the Stealth skill. Choosing one of these backgrounds is the only way to have this skill from the start of the game.

How to Utilize Stealth

To begin sneaking, you simply have to crouch (which is accomplished with Left CTRL / / ). If no one sees you, the bar at the top will be white and say “HIDDEN”. If you are seen by anyone that is friendly, the bar will fill in green and say “DETECTED”. Once you get spotted by an enemy, the bar starts filling in orange and says “CAUTION”, finally turning red and saying “DANGER” once they start attacking you.

Using Stealth Effectively

One of the main benefits of successfully sneaking around is the ability to land sneak attacks. These attacks will do increased damage, giving you a huge advantage — you can combine this with silenced weapons to prevent alerting other enemies in the area. Another use for sneaking is being able to pickpocket people.

There are a few things you can do to make your Stealth better. This includes the previously mentioned silenced weapons, gear that has effects focusing on enhancing your Stealth, and items that can temporarily boost aspects of your Stealth.