Starfield what to do first

February 3, 2024

We’re getting close to blast off for the huge new Bethsda game, Starfield, so here’s our take on what to do first when you fire up the game. We’ve scoured the internet for every scrap of information that we can find to give you some pointers on what you might want to think about when you first head out.

It’s set to be one of the biggest games ever created with more than 1,000 planets and moons to land on and explore. With so much space to move around in you might need a few pointers in terms of what to do early on and what you can leave until later.

You might also be worried about missing out on things, so we’ll cover that as much as we can in the sections below. We’ll be updating things when the game’s available on early access from September 1st, so don’t forget to check back here to find more tips on what to do first.

The standard edition will go on to release on September 6th, so by the time that comes around we should have a pretty comprehensive outline of factors to consider when playing Starfield for the first time. However, if you’ve got any pointers of your own you can always drop us a comment over on Twitter or Facebook.

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to see more on the latest video games releases, and you can see extra details on Starfield with the official Bethesda Twitter page at https://twitter.com/bethesda.

Top ten things to do first in Starfield

Build out your character

Pretty much the first thing you’ll be expected to do in Starfield is to choose your character and start the process of building who you’re going to be in the game. There are 40 presets to choose from initially, but then you can customize them to the extreme with both body and facial alterations.

Apart from the fun of the visual build, the most important elements to look at are the Backgrounds and the Traits. The former is the back story for your character, ranging from chef or bouncer to cyber runner or Ronin and they each come with three base skills.

The good news is that you’ll be able to build out your skills when you start in the game by leveling up, so you can always change things up a little later on. You’ll level up by getting Exp for activity in the game like defeating enemies, exploring planets and systems, completing missions and winning space dogfights.

However, each Background will also have less obvious perks, like missions being easier to pick up because you used to be a Beast Hunter or you have a scholarly background as a Professor. It’s probably best to choose based on the skills and how you want to play as your first port of call.

For example, if you want to kick things off stealthily then you might want to choose the Cyber Runner, but if you’re all about melee then the bouncer might be a good call. However, if you want to be able to avoid conflict and combat then the Diplomat is the one to go for.

In addition to Background you can also choose up to three optional Traits. These add more personal history to your character and range from Neon Street rat, which gives you extra rewards for Neon City missions, to Kid Stuff, which gives you a set of parents to visit (although, you’ll need to send them 2% of your credits home every week, so only go for this one if it’s an experience you never really had in your own life).

The good news, though, is that there will be a way to remove Traits in Starfield, so you if you get sick of the Hero Worship kid you went for to begin with, you can send him packing. We’re not too sure how far into the game you need to get to do this, but as soon as we get to it, we’ll update the details here.

Visit spaceports to build out your ship

As Starfield is a space exploration sci-fi RPG, you’re definitely going to need a good ship from the get go. To get these and to upgrade, alter and add to your fleet you’re going to need to visit spaceports.

We’re pretty sure that you’ll be directed to one of these during the first few main missions, but we know you get a base ship, so it might be worth spending some time on this to ave you from getting stuck on a space battle later on. You’ll need resources for all of this, which will tie into the exploration, extraction and build loop of the game, but if you get your base in operation then you’ll have more automation to help you.

Build your first base camp

Apart from looking really cool and giving you some fun base-building options, Starfield’s base camp system will also come in handy early on, so you definitely want to get one up and running as one of your first priorities. Here you can add crafting and research stations to be able to use the resources that you find to improve your build, whether it’s for your weapons, jetpack or spacesuit.

You can find out more about these in the section below, but without a base camp you won’t be able to tap into the full compliment of upgrade options. You can also hire crew to get the resources for you and as you get more outposts you can set up cargo links to bring the wealth to you.

You also get a top down builder, similar to the way things work in sims like Jurassic World Evolution and its sequel. This will make it a whole lot easier to move things around and snap them in place in the right way, so make sure you try that out when you start on your first outpost.

Choose your first faction

You’ve no doubt seen that there are a variety of Factions in Starfield, and with all of the rewards on offer, you’re going to want to choose one to start with first. However, you don’t need to worry too much about missing anything, because you’ll be able to play through all of the Faction arcs as you progress in the game.

However, as we get through them we’ll add in more detail if there are cool special rewards that come in handy early. There might be unique weapons, ships, jet packs and space suits to pick up, so we’ll give you some notes if they’re easy to get and come in handy in the first five hours of play.

Make progress through the main Constellation quest line

In addition to the factions and the dynamic encounter system, you’ll also get the core Constellation story quest to follow. You probably want to get a good mix of all three to begin with to help you to level up better before you get too far into the main story, but it’s still a good idea to make some good progress with Constellation.

As it’s the main quest arc, it will give you the majority of the tutorials and introduce you to the various systems, so it’s a good idea to get into it at least a little early on. It’s probably going to have the biggest Exp rewards too, so a good way to get Skill points initially.

Find out what happened to earth

Part of the early section of the Constellation story will see you heading back to our soar system, where you’ll be able to find out what happened to earth. You can also visit Mars with its huge mining facility and industrial city, Cydonia, so if that’s on your bucket list, you can tick it off digitally pretty early in Starfield.

Heading back to where we call home will help to ground you in the galaxy that Bethesda has created, making everything feel so much more realistic and relatable. We’re not expecting it to be a happy story for the fate of the Earth, but maybe it will remind us all to do a little more to save it in the real world.

Work on your weapons, jet pack and spacesuit armor

In addition to the point above about building your Outpost with crafting and research sections, you’re also going to want to spend some time checking out any mods to improve things along the way. Picking up a suppressor is a must for any stealth fans and it’s a similar story for scopes and sniper fans.

Choose your game style

One of the first choices you’re going to have in Starfield is how you want to play the game. You can take things on in first person or third person, so you might want to give both of these a go to decide which one works the best for you.

You might decide that you want to use first person for combat and third person for explorations or any combination of this with different styles for different scenarios. As such, it’s a smart move to test out toggling between the two on a regular basis when you first start the game to get a good feel for the way it works.

Exploration and photo mode mania

Finally, one of our first jobs when we get into Starfield will be just to head out and explore to find some great photo mode spots. What happens if you fly too close to a sun, what’s on the dark side of the moon, what’s the best photo spot on the red planet… all of these and more will be early options.

However, it’s worth bearing in mind the sheer size of the game. With more than a thousands planets and moons to explore it’s going to take a lot of time to 100%.

If you spend just ten minutes on each planet you’ll need to do 22 8-hour days to visit them all and that doesn’t include any of the travel time or random space battles you’re bound to encounter along the way. You’ll also need to upgrade your hyperdive to be able to reach the furthest reaches of the galaxy, so buckle up for a big ride.

We’ll update you with more details on the first things to do in Starfield once we get our hands on the game. You can also check out our computer games section to keep tabs on other releases. Visit the Starfield Bethsda website at https://bethesda.net/en/game/starfield for more details.