Best skills to upgrade first in Starfield

Starfield is a massive game that overwhelms you with everything it offers. Between completing missions, exploring distant worlds, and customizing your trusty spaceship, it’s easy to forget you also have a complex skill tree to progress through. It works a little differently from the skill trees of most games, making it a little harder to make headway. Nevertheless, once you start unlocking the good skills, combat and exploration become far more fun.

Follow this guide to learn the basics of Starfield‘s skill tree and discover which skills you should grab first.

Starfield’s skill tree

As you complete activities, you’ll earn points which will eventually allow you to level up. Every time you level up, you’ll gain a Skill Point. You’re given a vast skill tree covering five categories: Physical, Social, Combat, Science, and Tech. After spending your Skill Point to unlock a skill, your work isn’t done yet. Each skill has four ranks that are unlocked by completing challenges. These challenges are usually related to the skill being gained. After the challenge has been completed, you’ll be able to rank up by spending one of your Skill Points.

Unlocking and fully upgrading a skill is a lengthy process, so you should carefully select which skills you focus on during the early hours of the game. Which skills appeal to you will depend on what your aims are. Do you want to explore the farthest reaches of the cosmos? Or are you interested in becoming a gunslinging space cowboy? Select skills that will complement your chosen path.

Best Starfield skills to start with

Regardless of what kind of character you’re trying to create, there are two skills you should grab as soon as possible. The first is the Weight Lifting skill from the Physical category. With this skill, you’ll increase your carrying capacity by 10%.

As you’ll notice quickly, it’s exceedingly easy to overfill your inventory. This leaves you encumbered which causes you to consume more oxygen. With an increased carrying capacity, you’ll be able to continue looting rare items without overloading yourself. When you’ve unlocked rank 4, your carrying capacity will have increased by 220lbs (100kg), and you’ll gain 50% resistance to stagger.

Secondly, grab the Boost Pack Training skill from the Tech category. With this skill, you’ll unlock your ability to use your boost pack. You’ll find this exceedingly useful if you wish to remain nimble in combat situations. It’ll also help you get to hard-to-reach places during exploration. Every time you rank up, your boost pack will use less fuel.

Once you have these two skills, these are the best skills to grab first from every category:

• Physical – Grab the Wellness skill first. It grants you increased health, which is useful regardless of whether you’re aiming for stealth or strength builds.
• Social – You’ll find the Persuasion skill extremely helpful. Several times, you’ll have the opportunity to avoid combat altogether if you say the right thing. This skill will help you become more persuasive.
• Combat – The Lasers skill is the best one to grab first. The first weapon you’ll receive is a Cutter and it’s a useful tool to keep on you, as you won’t have to worry about finding ammo for it. By increasing the strength of laser weapons, you ensure you’ll always have a deadly firearm ready to go.
• Science – The Medicine skill should not be neglected. It increases the health regained from Med Packs, Trauma Packs, and Emergency Kits, and decreases how long it takes to recover.
• Tech – On numerous occasions, you’ll find yourself thwarted by locks. With the Security skill, you’ll become more proficient at getting past this obstacle.

Once you’ve got some good headway with your skills, locate the various temples, as you’ll gain amazing powers to play around with. Also pick your companions carefully, as they can help you in a pinch whether you need extra firepower or your load lightened.