Starfield Best Skills [Trial & Tested 2024]

Upgrading Skills is an essential part of Starfield, as you need to make your character better as you level up. Starfield offers Skills to improve every aspect of gameplay, including combat, exploration, conversation, and much more. This guide mentions the Best Skills you must upgrade to improve your builds.

Related: Starfield Best Starting Skills

Skills Explained

There are five Skill trees in Starfield; three of them have 16 nodes, while the other two come with 17 nodes. A Skill tree is divided into four sub-divisions: Basic, Advanced, Expert, and Master. Furthermore, they are also separated by colors.

Each Skill has four ranks, which unlock linearly. This means that you must unlock the previous one before reaching the next rank. Upgrading the skills requires you to have Skill points. At each level-up instant, you will receive one Skill Point to invest in these categories.

By performing calculations, I conclude that you require 328 skill points to unlock all Skills. Note that Starfield does not have a level cap, which means you can go as high as you want. Getting to level 328 is a long road, but it will make your character powerful and unstoppable in combat.

Every Skill rank has a certain task you must perform before you unlock it. This differs for each category, as they are for different purposes, such as Combat and Tech. Furthermore, these tasks are simple, and you will not waste much time completing them. I will mention the best skills in each division so they are valid for different build choices.

Physical

Best Skills For Character Physique

Physical Skills are related to your physique that will work to help you explore the planets and improve your stealth. They help you clear enemy areas by eliminating unaware enemies. Moreover, you will receive resistance against multiple damage types to help you survive for a longer period.

Skill Name	Division	Description	Ranks
Fitness	Basic (Tier 1)	Increases Oxygen Levels in your tank. Will help you sprint for longer period.	10% Oxygen Added to your tank. Add 20% Oxygen. Additional 30% Oxygen given. If you run, you will use less oxygen from tank.
Stealth	Basic (Tier 1)	Makes it easier for you to crawl behind enemies without them noticing. Moreover, weapons with equipped silencer deal extra damage during Stealth mode.	5% damage increase for Silenced Weapons. Stealth is 25% easier. 10% damage increase for Silenced Weapons. Stealth is 50% easier. 15% damage increase for Silenced Weapons. Stealth is 75% easier. 20% damage increase for Silenced Weapons. Stealth is 100% easier.
Pain Tolerance	Advance (Tier 2)	Reduction in Physical Damage. This type of damage is received from melee attacks, rifles, or grenades.	5% reduction. 10% reduction. 15% reduction. When your health bar is below 30%, there is a fair chance you won’t receive physical damage.
Concealment	Master (Tier 4)	Stealth becomes easier, as you will not explode mines placed discreetly. Stealth and Melee attacks deal additional damage.	Mines will not trigger. Unaware enemies receive 2.5x more damage. Melee weapons will give 4x additional damage. Unaware enemies receive 3x more damage. Melee weapons will give 6x additional damage. Unaware enemies receive 3.5x more damage. Melee weapons will give 8x additional damage. Unaware enemies receive 4x more damage. Melee weapons will give 10x additional damage.

Social

Best Skills For Conversation

Social Skills will help your character converse with other companions and NPCs. They are used to improve your Negotiation and Bribery skills, so you can impress your companions. In most cases, Negotiation is necessary to convince others to your liking. Moreover, Bribery comes into action when you want to lower the amount of any item.

Skill Name	Division	Description	Ranks
Commerce	Basic (Tier 1)	This skill is utilized when negotiating with shop owners to agree on price changes.	You can purchase items for 5% lower value and sell them for 10% higher value. Purchase items for 10% lower value and sell them for 15% higher value. Players can purchase items for 15% lower value and sell them for 20% higher value. Purchase items for 20% lower value and sell them for 25% higher value.
Theft	Basic (Tier 1)	Polish your Pickpocket skills to grab rare loot from enemies.	Unlock to allow your character to participate in pick pocketing. 10% higher probability of pick pocketing. 30% higher probability of pick pocketing. 50% higher probability of pick pocketing with the ability to steal weapons.
Negotiation	Advance (Tier 2)	Bribery is made easier, so the target companions agree easily on your demands.	Bribery unlocked. 25% cost reduction. 50% cost reduction. Pay no money through successful Bribery.
Leadership	Expert (Tier 3)	This Skill allows companions to support each other.	25% gain in affinity to your Companions. Your fellows will have +50 Health points and can carry 50kg extra mass. Your teammates will provide healing in case you are low on HP. Knocked down companions can revive themselves in extreme cases.
Ship Command	Master (Tier 4)	Players will assign Crew members for themselves that will have a certain skillset.	Four Crew Members. Five Crew Members. Six Crew Members. Eight Crew Members.

Combat

Best Skills For Fighting

Combat skills are more open to players as they focus on specific gun types. Each player has a different weapon preference. Therefore, I advise you to go through all the weapon-specific Skills and choose them according to your needs.

Skill Name	Division	Description	Ranks
Ballistics	Basic (Tier 1)	Weapons that specialize in dealing physical damage will experience buffs.	10% Damage increase. 20% Damage increase. 30% Damage increase. 30% Range increase.
Rifle Certification	Advanced (Tier 2)	This Skill focuses only on the Rifles to improve their stats by increasing damage and reload speed.	10% Damage increase. 20% Damage increase. 30% Damage increase. Reload Speed improved by 30%.
Marksmanship	Expert (Tier 3)	Semi-auto or single shot weapons get stat buffs by investing in Marksmanship Skill.	3% higher probability of landing a critical hit with semi-auto weapons. 8% higher probability of landing a critical hit with semi-auto weapons. 15% higher probability of landing a critical hit with semi-auto weapons. Semi-auto weapons will land a critical hit from hip fire shots.
Sharpshooting	Master (Tier 4)	All weapons with long range experience high damage to clear area full of enemies without engaging with them.	Critical Damage to head enhanced by 50%. Critical Damage below half improved by 50%. 50% increase in chance to land a Critical hit. For the initial 20 second window, long-range weapons receive additional 25% critical hit chance.

Science

Best Skills For Character Optimization

The science Skill tree primarily focuses on character optimization and exploration. You might require more boosts to go faster. Moreover, bigger jumps for reaching elevated areas, and nitro for spacecraft to travel quickly in space.

Skill Name	Division	Description	Ranks
Medicine	Basic (Tier 1)	Healing items will regenerate more health in less time. Players can use it during intense combat situations.	Trauma Packs, Med Packs, and Emergency Kits recover 10% extra health. Med Packs, Emergency Kits, and Trauma Packs regenerate 20% Extra Health Trauma Packs, Emergency Kits, and Med Packs will regain 30% more health. Trauma Packs, Med Packs, and Emergency Kits recover 50% extra health.
Spacesuit Design	Advanced (Tier 2)	This skill relates to Research Lab, where you can craft multiple items, including your Spacesuit.	Create powerful Spacesuits, helmets, and other accessories at a Research Lab. Research for Spacesuits and helmets at Labs. Create more powerful and advanced Spacesuits, helmets, and other accessories at a Research Lab. Crafting and Designing Spacesuits and helmets will not use any resources you have.
Astrophysics	Expert (Tier 3)	Astrophysics Skill will mainly increase your Scan range to scan and identify planets and other objects from larger range.	10% Higher probability of identifying a Trait when you are scanning the planet you are on. 20% Higher probability of identifying a Trait when scanning. 30% Higher probability of identifying a Trait. The scanning range was enhanced to 16 Light Years. 50% Higher probability of identifying a Trait. The scanning range was enhanced to 30 Light Years.
Special Projects	Master (Tier 4)	Conducting research at a lab will grant you unique items.	You are allowed to research something inside a Lab. Interacting with a workbench will give you rare components. Use workbench to craft extremely rare items. Interacting with a workbench will give you unique components.

Tech

Best Skills For Gameplay Improvement

Tech Skills are available to work on improving your Spaceship and other gameplay features, such as lock-picking. Some Skills from this tree are essential for your build, as progressing to higher levels without them can be tedious work.

Skill Name	Division	Description	Ranks
Piloting	Basic (Tier 1)	This will work to improve your spacecraft control skills by improving handling and other attributes.	Ship Thrusters are unlocked and activated. Spacecraft can make quick turns to change direction. Players can drive Class B ships. You can handle and drive Class C spacecrafts.
Payloads	Advanced (Tier 2)	The ship storage will be increased, so you can collect more items while exploring space.	10% enhancement in Ship Cargo. 20% increase in Ship storage. Your ship can hold 30% more cargo than before. Massive 50% increase in Ship storage.
Starship Design	Expert (Tier 3)	Players can customize their Spaceships by combining advanced components for firing and better handling.	Your spacecraft will have better parts attached to it. Players will have access to powerful ship attachments. Attach rare components to your spacecraft. The best space components are available for usage.
Automated Weapon Systems	Master (Tier 4)	This skill will work to improve weapon system of your spacecraft for combat in space.	Weapons will deal 10% more damage. 20% damage boost from ship weaponry. 30% increase in damage from weapon attachments. Automatic weaponry of your spaceship will deal an additional 40% damage.

Personal Opinion On The Best Skills

The skills mentioned under each category are tested in gameplay, as they have better outcomes than others. Ensure you level up and invest your Skill points in the mentioned list to have a better gameplay experience. Note that skills from all trees are meaningful and you must invest in them to keep your gameplay balanced and smooth. Moreover, I advise you to filter through all the mentioned skills to have a better understanding before you select them. This way, you would know where that specific skill has the most effect in your gameplay.

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