Character skills
The skills in Starfield are divided into five categories: Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech. Each category has four tiers, namely Novice, Advanced, Expert, and Master, which can be accessed by investing skill points in the corresponding skill tree. Skill points are acquired through leveling up.
Initially, all skills start at rank 1 and can be progressed to rank 4 by successfully completing related challenges. Each higher skill tier requires 4 points spent on lower tier skills of the same category. So for example, to unlock tier 2 skills you need to spend 4 skill points in the category, for tier 3 skills 8 points, and so on.
Please note that companion skills function differently than your skills, typically providing passive bonuses rather than active ones. You can see more details on the respective skill page or companion skills page.
Initially, all skills start at rank 1 and can be progressed to rank 4 by successfully completing related challenges. Each higher skill tier requires 4 points spent on lower tier skills of the same category. So for example, to unlock tier 2 skills you need to spend 4 skill points in the category, for tier 3 skills 8 points, and so on.
Please note that companion skills function differently than your skills, typically providing passive bonuses rather than active ones. You can see more details on the respective skill page or companion skills page.
Physical
| Skill | Tier | Brief description |
|---|---|---|
| Boxing | 1 | Improved unarmed attacks. |
| Fitness | 1 | Increased oxygen capacity. |
| Stealth | 1 | Improved stealth and sneak attack damage. |
| Weight Lifting | 1 | Increased carrying capacity. |
| Wellness | 1 | Increased maximum health. |
| Energy Weapon Dissipation | 2 | Reduced incoming energy damage. |
| Environmental Conditioning | 2 | Increased resistances. |
| Gymnastics | 2 | Improved movement. |
| Nutrition | 2 | Improved food and drink effectiveness. |
| Pain Tolerance | 2 | Reduced physical damage. |
| Cellular Regeneration | 3 | Recover from injuries. |
| Decontamination | 3 | Increased chance to recover from infections. |
| Martial Arts | 3 | Improved melee and unarmed attacks. |
| Concealment | 4 | Improved stealth and sneak attack damage. |
| Neurostrikes | 4 | Added stun to unarmed attacks. |
| Rejuvenation | 4 | Health regeneration. |
Social
| Skill | Tier | Brief description |
|---|---|---|
| Commerce | 1 | Buy for less and sell for more. |
| Gastronomy | 1 | Crafting and research of food and drinks. |
| Persuasion | 1 | Increased chance of success when persuading someone. |
| Scavenging | 1 | Improved loot of credits, ammo and aid items. |
| Theft | 1 | Improved pickpocketing. |
| Deception | 2 | Improved piracy and smuggling. |
| Diplomacy | 2 | Force a target NPC to stop fighting for a while. |
| Intimidaton | 2 | Force a target NPC to flee. |
| Isolation | 2 | Increased weapon damage and resistance without companions. |
| Negotiation | 2 | Improved bribery. |
| Instigation | 3 | Force a target NPC to attack their allies. |
| Leadership | 3 | Bonuses for companions. |
| Outpost Management | 3 | Bonuses for outposts. |
| Manipulation | 4 | Force a target NPC to obey commands for a limited time. |
| Ship Command | 4 | More active crew members. |
| Xenosociology | 4 | Force a target alien creature to flee, attack their allies or obey commands. |
Combat
| Skill | Tier | Brief description |
|---|---|---|
| Ballistics | 1 | Increased damage with ballistic weapons. |
| Dueling | 1 | Increased melee damage and get bonuses with melee weapons. |
| Lasers | 1 | Increased damage with laser weapons. |
| Pistol Certification | 1 | Increased damage with pistols. |
| Shotgun Certification | 1 | Increased damage with shotguns. |
| Demolitions | 2 | Increased explosive damage and radius. |
| Heavy Weapons Certification | 2 | Increased damage with heavy weapons. |
| Incapacitation | 2 | Increased damage with EM weapons. |
| Particle Beams | 2 | Increased damage with particle beam weapons. |
| Rifle Certification | 2 | Increased damage with rifles. |
| Marksmanship | 3 | Increased critical hits with non-automatic ranged weapons. |
| Rapid Reloading | 3 | Faster weapons reloading. |
| Sniper Certification | 3 | Improved aiming and damage for scoped weapons. |
| Targeting | 3 | Increased accuracy and range without aiming. |
| Armor Penetration | 4 | Attacks ignore a target's armor. |
| Crippling | 4 | Enemies have an increased chance to enter a downed state. |
| Sharpshooting | 4 | Increased critical damage with ranged weapons. |
Science
| Skill | Tier | Brief description |
|---|---|---|
| Astrodynamics | 1 | Improved jump drives. |
| Geology | 1 | Improved inorganic resources harvesting. |
| Medicine | 1 | Improved healing. |
| Research Methods | 1 | Improved crafting and research. |
| Surveying | 1 | Improved hand scanner. |
| Botany | 2 | Improved organic resources harvesting. |
| Scanning | 2 | Detect inorganic resources on planets and get information on ships. |
| Spacesuit Design | 2 | Improved spacesuit/mods crafting and research. |
| Weapon Engineering | 2 | Improved weapons/mods crafting and research. |
| Zoology | 2 | Improved organic resources harvesting from creatures and additional information about them. |
| Astrophysics | 3 | Improved planets and moons scanning. |
| Chemistry | 3 | Improved chems crafting and research. |
| Outpost Engineering | 3 | Improved outpost modules building and research. |
| Aneutronic Fusion | 4 | Ship reactors produce extra power. |
| Planetary Habitation | 4 | Allows to build outposts on planets with extreme conditions and increases outposts limit. |
| Special Projects | 4 | Research experimental projects and craft manufactured components. |
Tech
| Skill | Tier | Brief description |
|---|---|---|
| Ballistic Weapon Systems | 1 | Increased damage of ballistic ship weapons. |
| Boost Pack Training | 1 | Improved boost pack. |
| Piloting | 1 | Improved ship piloting. |
| Security | 1 | Improved locks hacking. |
| Targeting Control Systems | 1 | Improved ship targeting mode. |
| Energy Weapon Systems | 2 | Increased damage of energy ship weapons. |
| Engine Systems | 2 | Increased ship speed and boost. |
| Payloads | 2 | Increased ship cargo hold capacity. |
| Shield Systems | 2 | Increased ship shield capacity. |
| Missile Weapon Systems | 3 | Increased damage and targeting of ship missile weapons. |
| Particle Beam Weapon Systems | 3 | Increased damage of ship particle beam weapons. |
| Robotics | 3 | Increased damage to robots and turrets. |
| Starship Design | 3 | Allows the installation of better ship modules. |
| Starship Engineering | 3 | Improved ship repair and damage mitigation. |
| Automated Weapon Systems | 4 | Increased damage of automated ship weapons. |
| Boost Assault Training | 4 | Bonuses for combat with boost pack. |
| EM Weapon Systems | 4 | Increased damage of EM ship weapons. |