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Bethesda has now set its sights on space, having already conquered fantasy kingdoms and the post-apocalyptic wasteland. To say fans have been feverishly awaiting Starfield would be to undersell the hype. Players love Bethesda for its massive, intricate RPGs, and the arrival of a new IP couldn’t be a bigger deal. Thankfully, Starfield doesn’t disappoint. That said, there are a few things the player should know before jumping into this colossal game. The following tips will help set your expectations and even help you avoid a costly mistake or two. Here are the biggest things you should know before starting Starfield.
5. Travel Isn’t Seamless in Starfield
One of the most compelling things about sci-fi games is their scope. Jump in a spaceship, and neither the sky nor gravity limit you anymore. Starfield is a gigantic game, and travel plays a big part. Yet every sci-fi game approaches travel differently, and knowing how Starfield does it is essential. In brief, this isn’t Elite Dangerous or No Man’s Sky: travel isn’t seamless. Instead, players select a landing zone and disembark to traverse the planet’s surface. These explorable areas are enormous but limited. Run far enough, and you will eventually hit a boundary. It’s possible to land next to a major city and be unable to see it, even though you should theoretically be able to run right up to it.
4. Flight Has Its Limits
Space flight isn’t mandatory in a sci-fi game. That said, the ability to board a ship and launch into the black abyss between the stars is liberating. Starfield is a beautiful example. Ships, space flight, and interstellar combat are all major parts of the game. That doesn’t mean flight is unlimited, however. The game limits space travel to, well, space. That means no traveling too close to moons and planets, no atmospheric flight, and no direct travel between planets. Instead, the player picks their desired landing zone, and an animation plays out to transition the player from space to ground or vice versa. While some might long for the seamless transitions of No Man’s Sky, this isn’t that kind of game. That won’t significantly impact immersion for most players, but it’s worth knowing in advance.
3. You Can’t Respec
From the constellations of The Elder Scrolls to the S.P.E.C.I.A.L. system of Fallout, creating a character is a massive part of Bethesda games. The same is true in Starfield. In addition to the many choices the player will need to make during character creation, the player will also need to decide how to develop the character as they gain experience throughout the game. A word of caution before starting Starfield: you can’t respec, so choose your skills carefully. That will be no surprise to Bethesda veterans, but it’s still worth mentioning. It’s best to enter the game with a build in mind so you don’t get too off-track. Thankfully, Bethesda titles like this one boast high replayability, so if you end up regretting your build, you can always boot up a new save and start fresh.
2. Some NPCs Can’t Be Killed in Starfield
Bethesda has tried a couple of approaches to killing critical NPCs. In Morrowind, if the player murdered an NPC at the heart of a major quest, that was it. The NPC was dead, and that quest was broken. Compare that to Fallout 4, where certain NPCs are marked “essential” and can’t be killed, thus protecting quest chains from careless and bloodthirsty players. Before starting Starfield, you should know the game takes the latter approach. While that may frustrate players who dream of being a cold-blooded space pirate, it keeps the player from ruining their save with a single gunshot. If you try to kill an important NPC, your attack will knock them down for a while instead of killing them outright.
1. Dropped Items Eventually Vanish
Loot goblins, beware: dropped items don’t last forever in Starfield. Skyrim is known for being a packrat’s paradise, allowing the player to pocket anything that’s not nailed down, be it a sword or a cheese wheel. The same is true here, but the player must take care when deciding where to store their ill-gotten gains. If you use your home or a room on your ship as storage, deposited items will last quite a while. Eventually, however, they will disappear. Remember, and be careful not to lose your valuables because you left them on a random shelf for too long. It’s heartbreaking to come back to your house expecting a full treasure room and find it bare, which is why this is something you want to know before starting Starfield.
Starfield is available for the PC and Xbox Series X/S.
