Leveling and Using Skills in Starfield

Using and leveling Skills in Starfield is not always obvious, so I have written down below the Skills that seem important to me, how to use those Skills and how to level them. Starfield Maps, Walkthrough & Guide.

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Using and leveling Skills in Starfield is not always obvious, so I have written down below the Skills that seem important to me, how to use those Skills and how to level them.

When you level up, you will gain Skill Points. Skill Points can be used to purchase Skills. The number of Skill Points is limited, so consider how you use them. In each skill tree, skills are divided into 4 Tiers, opening each skill Tier in each Skill tree costs a certain amount of Skill Points.

Tier 1: Free
Tier 2: 4 Skill Points to unlock
Tier 3: 8 Skill Points to unlock
Tier 4: 12 Skill Points to unlock

For the above reason, it is worth at least activating the skills at lower tiers (for the initial benefit) rather than pushing for the selected Skill at Tier 4.

Everyone will have their own gameplay strategy, so don't rely on my choice. If I can suggest something to you, below you will find a list of the most important Skills in my opinion.

The most important Skills in Starfield:

Security (Tech Skill) - to unlock locks;
Boost Pack Training (Tech Skill) for open unlock jetpacks;
Persuasion (Social Skill) to open Persuasion option in dialogs;
Fitness (Physical Skill) makes gameplay faster becouse of more O2;
Piloting (Tech Skill) to unlock better ships;
Payloads (Tech Skill) increases the size of your spaceship's cargo hold;
Weight Lifting (Physical Skill) for increased total carrying capacity;
Stealth (Physical Skill) for Stealth Meter;
Scanning (Science Skill) for ability to detect rare resources;
Astrophysics (Science Skill) for betetr planets and moons scanning;
Astrodynamics (Science Skill) for upgrades ship's grav drive
Concealment (Physical Skill) Tier 4 Skill, so later, for improve Stealts.
Rejuvenation (Physical Skill) Tier 4 Skill, so it will be later, but regenerates your health.

I described Skills that seemed not entirely obvious to me in Leveling and Using, I omitted those that are self-explanatory. You can find a list of all Character Skills with descriptions on Starfield Character Skills

Leveling Physical Skills

Leveling Physical Skills can bolster your health/02, improve your sneaking ability, and increase the damage you deal in melee combat.

Fitness

Fitness Skill is very helpful because it increases your oxygen resources and reduces its consumption.

Leveling Fitness Skill: When you are on the planet's surface, run forward until you run out of Oxygen and CO2 completely fills your suit. This challenge is completed when you can no longer run and your Oxygen starts to increase again.

Stealth

Important skill, adds a Stealth Meter, makes you more difficult to detect, additional sneak attack damage, doors you interact with while in stealth no longer alert enemies.

Leveling Stealth Skill: You have to perform stealth attacks.

Weight Lifting

Important skill, Increase total carrying capacity, gain resistance to stagger.

Leveling Weight Lifting Skill: Sprint with 75% of your maximum load capacity.

Wellness

Wellness is an important skill because it increases your maximum health.

Leveling Wellness Skill: It's easy to level up, you just have to heal when you're hurt.

Environmental Conditioning

Environmental Conditioning is useful on planets and moons with extreme climatic conditions as it increases your immunity and reduces the chance of negative Status Effects.

Leveling Environmental Conditioning Skill: Find a planet with e.g. Ambient Cold Extreme Environment, leave the ship and take off your helmet (unselect it in inventory). When your health gets low, put your helmet back on and return to the ship and heal. Sometimes it may turn out that you need the help of a doctor.

Gymnastics

Gymnastics Skill is important because it helps you in combat through slide ability, less fall damage, move faster in Zero-G, increased jump height.

Leveling Gymnastics Skill: The beginning of leveling Gymnastics is simple, find a building that is not too high (so as not to kill yourself if you fall), e.g. in New Atlantis and jump from it, dealing damage to yourself. The next stages are more difficult, read the description of Gymnastics Challenge next to the skill description.

Cellular Regeneration

Cellular Regeneration Skill increased chance to recover from injuries, it is not particularly important.

Leveling Cellular Regeneration Skill: You need to recover from injuries either with Aids or by visiting a Doctor.

Decontamination

Decontamination Skill protects you against infections, it is not particularly important.

Leveling Decontamination Skill: You need to treat the infection either with Aids or by visiting a Doctor.

Martial Arts

Martial Arts is an important Skill for melee characters. Increased chance to crit with a melee or unarmed attack, chance to disarm an opponent, take less damage, reflect damage back.

Leveling Martial Arts Skill: Simple to develop, you need to deal damage with melee or unarmed attacks. The next steps are different, but basically they boil down to dealing damage using Melee or unarmed attacks.

Concealment

Concealment is a very important skill for characters fighting in Stealth. Ranged and Melee sneak attacks do more damage, increases stealth ability, you are invisible to traps.

Leveling Concealment Skill: At least at the beginning, it is difficult to develop because you have to attack the opponent with Melee / Unarmed while in Sneak.

Rejuvenation

The Rejuvenation Skill is very useful because it regenerates your health when you are out of combat and, at Tier 4, also during combat.

Leveling Rejuvenation Skill: To complete the Challenge, your health must drop below 25% and then return to 100%. You have to heal from Aids or wait for your health to regenerate itself.

Find a planet with e.g. Ambient Cold Extreme Environment, leave the ship, take off your helmet, wait until your health drops below 25%, return to the ship, wait until the health bar stops being yellow and becomes white. Then you can wait until your health regenerates itself or you can heal yourself.

Leveling Social Skills

Leveling Social kills will help managing crew and companions, completing speech minigames, and getting more bang for your buck at vendors.

Commerce

Commerce is not an important skill, it improves the profitability of trading.

Leveling Commerce Skill: You need to buy or sell unique items, i.e. items that you have not traded before.

Gastronomy

The Gastronomy Skill is only applicable to characters who intend to create drinks and food.

Leveling Gastronomy Skill: You need to create more Gastronomy products.

Persuasion

Persuasion Skill is not very important, but sometimes it can be very useful during dialogues (it can only be used outside of combat). Increased chance of success when persuading someone.

Leveling Persuasion Skill: You have to win Speech Challenges.

Scavenging

Scavenging is a very useful Skill for every character.

Leveling Scavenging Skill: It's easy, you just have to open more containers.

Theft

Theft is not a very useful skill if you don't intend to rob others, and a very important skill if pickpocketing is what your character wants to do.

Leveling Theft Skill: You need to carry out successful pickpockets.

Deception

Deception is a Skill only useful for Space Pirates.

Leveling Deception Skill: You have to force your opponents' spaceships to surrender.

Diplomacy

Diplomacy is a Skill you use before or during a fight. It is intended to discourage the opponent from fighting.

To use Diplomacy, you must enter scanner mode and options will appear on the right side. The skill is only useful for those characters who adopt this tactic of interacting with opponents.

Leveling Diplomacy Skill: You must succesfully use Diplomacy a certain number of times on different opponents.

Intimidation

Intimidation is a Skill you use before or during a fight. Ability to strike fear into an opponent, causing them to flee.

To use Intimidation, you must enter scanner mode and options will appear on the right side. The skill is only useful for those characters who adopt this tactic of interacting with opponents.

Leveling Intimidation Skill: You must succesfully use Intimidation a certain number of times on different opponents.

Isolation

Isolation Skill is only useful for characters fighting alone, without Companions. Bonus Damage and Resistance when you don't have a companion.

Leveling Isolation Skill: You must kill enemies on your own without a Companion traveling with you.

Negotiation

Negotiation Skill adds a bribery option to Persuasion Speech Challenges (out of combat).

Leveling Negotiation Skill: You must bribe NPCs while using Persuasion.

Instigation

Instigation is a Skill you use before or during a fight. Force a target NPC to attack their allies.

To use Instigation, you must enter scanner mode and options will appear on the right side. The skill is only useful for those characters who adopt this tactic of interacting with opponents.

Leveling Instigation Skill: You must succesfully use Instigate a certain number of times on different opponents.

Leadership

The Leadership Skill is useful for the development of Companions.

Leveling Leadership Skill: It's simple, you have to Sprint as much as possible with one of your Companions.

Manipulation

Manipulation is a Skill you use before or during a fight. Force a target NPC to obey commands.

To use Manipulation, you must enter scanner mode and options will appear on the right side. The skill is only useful for those characters who adopt this tactic of interacting with opponents.

Leveling Manipulation Skill: You must succesfully use Manipulate a certain number of times on different opponents.

Xenosociology

Xenosociology is a Skill you use before or during a fight. Force alien creature to obey commands.

To use Xenosociology, you must enter scanner mode and options will appear on the right side. The skill is only useful for those characters who adopt this tactic of interacting with opponents.

Leveling Xenosociology Skill: You must succesfully use Pacify a certain number of times on different aliens.

Leveling Combat Skills

Leveling Combat Skills make you more adept at wielding weapons and explosives.

Leveling Combat Skills involves effectively using a specific type of weapon and dealing damage to opponents.

You need to see what weapons you are good at fighting with and improve those Skills. Due to the limited number of Skill Points, it will be rather difficult to develop all available Combat Skills.

Leveling Science Skills

Leveling Science will aid in planetary exploration, scanning, building Outposts, and crafting.

Astrodynamics

Astrodynamics Skill is one of the most important skills for every character. Upgrades ship's grav drive, range and reduced fuel cost.

Leveling Astrodynamics Skill: It raises itself as you jump between star systems.

Scanning

The Scanning Skill is especially important when you are looking for rare raw materials on the surface of planets and moons. Ability to detect uncommon, rare, exotic and unique resources on planets and moons surface and give info about ships nearby.

Leveling Scanning Skill: It raises itself as you scan planets and moons.

Astrophysics

Astrophysics Skill is another important skill after Scanning that is needed to discover and study planets. Improves scanning ability and scanning range.

Leveling Astrophysics Skill: It raises itself as you scan planets and moons.

Leveling Tech Skills

Leveling Technology Skills will increase the effectiveness of high-tech weapons, and also aid in ship building and ship combat.

Boost Pack Training

Boost Pack Training is an underestimated but very important Skill later in the game. Can use boost packs, less fuel and faster regeneration.

Leveling Boost Pack Training Skill: You must remember to use the Boost Pack during combat, even if it is not necessary, because this is how you level up this Skill.

Piloting

The Piloting Skill is perhaps the most important skill in Starfield, as at higher Ranks it allows you to pilot larger Class B and Class C Spaceships. Unlock higher tier ships and ship thrusters, increased ship maneuverability.

Leveling Piloting Skill: You have to destroy enemy ships in combat.

Security

Security Skill alow you to unlock higher tier locks and eliminate keys. This is a very useful Skill, so try to unlock all locks you find, especially the easy ones.

Leveling Security Skill: You have to unlock locks.

Targeting Control Systems

Targeting Control Systems Skill is very helpful when fighting enemy spaceships, it improves time to lock onto enemy ships so you can to use missles asap.

Leveling Targeting Control Systems Skill: You have destroy enemy ships, but you have to be in Targeting Mode.

Payloads

The Payloads Skill is very important because it increases the size of your spaceship's cargo hold.

Leveling Payloads Skill: All you need to do is perform grav jumps as usual, but for the Challenge to count, your hold must be at least 75% full during the jump.