You’ll be using spaceships a lot during your playthrough of Starfield. The only problem is that they are some of the most expensive items you can purchase in the game, which makes it hard to acquire them. Fortunately, there are a few ways to get ships for free, as long as you’re willing to break a couple of laws.
Read this guide to learn how to score some free spaceships in Starfield.
How to earn free spaceships in Starfield
You’ll get your first free ship during the first few minutes of the game after Barrett hands off the Frontier to you. It’s a relatively good spaceship with adequate cargo space to get you through the early hours of the game. However, you’ll have to upgrade it as you stock up on more goods.
There are a couple of other missions throughout the game that will land you a free ship. The most interesting is the “Secret Outpost” mission which tells the story of a forgotten group of humans who fled Earth and have lived in a generational ship for years.
If you’ve been looting pirates, you’ll probably already have the slate to start the quest in your inventory. If not, try completing quests that have you going up against the Crimson Fleet, then looting the fallen foes. After following a series of clues, you’ll eventually find the Razorleaf spaceship, which is far better than the Frontier. You can also net yourself a free ship from these missions:
- Overdesigned – Work with Walter Stroud’s company, and you’ll receive a Class-C Kepler-R.
- The Hammer Falls – You can score a luxurious Star Eagle ship by completing the Freestar Rangers questline.
- Echoes of the Past – This mission is activated after joining the Crimson Fleet. The Echoes of the Past mission will have you escaping prison, and you can keep the spaceship you use to make your escape.
There is another ship you can get for free when you start New Game+, though discussing it would dip heavily into spoiler territory, so don’t worry about it too much during your first playthrough.
How to steal spaceships in Starfield
If you’re willing to break the law, you can also steal ships from Spacers, the Crimson Fleet, and various factions. You’ll notice these ships when you’re out exploring distant planets and see other ships land. To steal them, you’ll have to battle it out with the crew. Once they’ve been eliminated, you’ll be able to commandeer the ship. Take it to a spaceport to register it, allowing you to sell the ship if you wish.
Ships in space can also be stolen, though you’ll need to engage in a space dogfight to overpower the craft. Usually, blasting your missiles at your foes will turn their vehicle into wreckage. However, if you unlock Rank 1 of the Targeting Control Systems skill in the Tech section of your skill tree, you can aim for the engines, leaving the ship disabled.
Get close enough to the ship, and you’ll be able to dock and enter it. From here, it’s just a matter of eliminating everyone in the ship for you to undock and grav jump somewhere you can land and repair or sell the ship.
Throughout the game, you’ll find some pretty good ships for free, but you’ll probably want to upgrade them to carry more cargo and hide contraband. To do this, visit a spaceport and speak to a technician to see what modifications are available.
