Starfield closely follows Fallout 4 in terms of its weapons, armor, and other equipment, with a wide variety of items available and a deep crafting system to modify and upgrade them. Here’s the information we’ve gathered about the various types of gear and items in Starfield.
Equippable items in Starfield come in four different levels of rarity:
Normal items, which are most common and appear in white
Rare items, which appear in light blue
Epic items, which appear in purple
Legendary items, which are the rarest and appear in gold
The rarity of an item affects the bonuses it receives. More important than rarity is the quality of the item, as indicated by the prefix in its name. An item’s quality can’t be changed through crafting or any other means, so it’s always good to look for items with the best possible prefix. If you’re close to seeing the next quality tier, you may want to hold off on modifying your current items and save your resources for better quality gear.
Here are the 5 quality tiers:
Normal or basic items don’t have any prefix
Items with the Calibrated prefix start to appear around level 10
Items with the Refined prefix start to appear around level 20
Items with the Advanced prefix start to appear around level 30
Items with the Superior prefix start to appear around level 40*
*As of the publication of this guide, Superior weapons appear to be bugged, showing the Advanced prefix despite having Superior stats. So you may not see any Superior weapons. This bug does not apply to other gear, so you should be able to find Superior spacesuits, helmets, and packs.
The inventory UI
A legendary item
Below are the categories of items as they are organized in the inventory menu. Each item in your inventory has a mass and value indicated along with other stats that are unique to its category.
Spacesuits are Starfield’s version of armor. Each spacesuit provides varying levels of protection from attacks and environmental dangers.
Spacesuits can be hidden while in settlements, allowing your character to wear civilian apparel for visual purposes while still retaining the protection provided by your suit. To do this, go to the Spacesuits section of your inventory and press / .
Damage protection provides resistance to weapons and other dangers and comes in three types:
Physical
Energy
Electromagnetic
Atmospheric protection shields the wearer from environmental hazards and comes in four types:
Thermal
Airborne
Corrosive
Radiation
Spacesuits can be modified at a Spacesuit Workbench. The Spacesuit Design skill improves the modifications you can make.
For a list of Spacesuits in the game, and details on their stats, see our Spacesuits database.
Packs include boost packs, also known as jump packs, although there are some packs that don’t have this capability, such as the Tunnel Mining Pack you start the game with. Boost packs give you a little extra push for getting around in varying levels of gravity. There’s even a skill, Boost Pack Training, to help you increase your jump distance with these packs.
Packs offer protection from damage and the elements similar to spacesuits. The protection types offered are the same.
Packs can be modified at a Spacesuit Workbench. The Spacesuit Design skill improves the modifications you can make.
For a list of Packs in the game, and details on their stats, see our Packs database.
Helmets function similarly to spacesuits, providing protection from damage and the elements.
Helmets can be hidden in breathable areas, allowing you to see your character’s face and hair while still retaining the protective benefits of your currently equipped item. To do this, go to the Helmets section of your inventory and press / .
Protection types for helmets are the same as those for spacesuits.
Helmets can be modified at a Spacesuit Workbench. The Spacesuit Design skill improves the modifications you can make.
For a list of Helmets in the game, and details on their stats, see our Helmets database.
Apparel are outfits that offer some protection similar to spacesuits, and can be worn underneath them. Many of these outfits also offer unique bonuses such as research boosts or a buff to your Health and O2. When spacesuits are hidden in settlements, your character will be seen in their currently equipped apparel.
Apparel can’t be modified at a workbench.
For a list of Apparel in the game, and details on their stats, see our Apparel database.
Weapons in Starfield deal either physical or energy damage, and have a number of other stats that appear in the item card (in addition to mass and value):
Ammo
Mag
Rounds
Fire Rate
Range
Accuracy
All weapon types have at least one Skill associated with them. There are also skills for the different ammunition types: Ballistics, Lasers, and Particle Beams. Ballistic weapons have a pushback that will affect you more in lower gravity environments, while energy weapons are more stable.
For a list of Weapons in the game, and their stats, see our Weapons database.
Weapons fall under a single category in the inventory menu, but they are an expansive category, so we’ll break them down by type. But first, we’ll go over how weapon modifications work in Starfield.
The weapon swapping interface
Weapon Modifications
Like in Fallout 4, weapons in Starfield can be modified at a Weapon Workbench to change their stats and features. A weapon that has been modified will have its name amended to reflect the modifications, e.g. Modified Grendel. You’ll also see any modifications listed in its info box.
Weapon modification is a Crafting skill, and more sophisticated weapon mods will require research to learn. Each modification will also use a certain amount of resources from your inventory. Weapon modifications can be researched at the Research Laboratory, and then crafted at a Weapon Workbench.
The weapon modification research & crafting interfaces
Now let’s look at individual weapon types.
Melee Weapons
Melee weapons are improved by the Dueling skill. They don’t require ammo to use.
Throwable items get their own category in your inventory. This category includes grenades and mines. Throwable items are made more effective with the Demolitions skill.
Throwables can’t be crafted, only found or bought.
Ammo
Your weapon ammunition gets its own category in your inventory, since ammo can be used by different weapons.
Ammo includes bullets, shells, and cartridges for laser weapons. Ammo can’t be crafted, only found or bought.
An ammo cartridge in the world
Aid
The aid category includes all different kinds of consumable items, from med packs to food. Most of these items restore health and some also restore O2 or provide other benefits. Chemical enhancements fall under this category as well.
Aid items can be created through the Pharmacology and Food and Drink Crafting systems. Pharmacology is improved with the Chemistry skill and Food and Drink with the Gastronomy skill.
Med packs and similar items are made more effective through the Medicine skill. Food and drink items are made more effective through the Nutrition skill.
Notes
The Notes category is where you can find all of the books and other readable items you’ve picked up.
You can activate a Notes item in the inventory to read it. Some have multiple pages that can be turned using the controls indicated below the text.
Resources
The Resources section is where you’ll find all of the stuff you’ve been gathering with the surveying tool as well as manufactured components.
Manufactured components can be crafted at an Industrial Workbench. More advanced components can be crafted with the Special Projects skill. Other types of organic and inorganic resources must be gathered through surveying or outpost harvesting.
Misc
There are plenty of miscellaneous items that don’t fit into any of the above categories. These items all get sorted into the Misc section.
Misc items include the junk that you find all over the place – notebooks, pens, board games, and so on. Mostly things you’ll want to sell or dump to make space for other, more valuable items. But there are a few valuable items that get sorted into this category, including Digipicks, so be careful not to sell those when you’re cleaning out this section.
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Luxrah
I love RPGs, sandboxes, survival, and sim games. Anything that lets me build and decorate or just has a really good story. I've spent hundreds of hours in Bethesda games and even more time modding them. I also play a lot of World of Warcraft.
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