Starfield: Things to do in early game

❘ Published: 2023-09-19T15:23:46

Bethesda

Starfield’s sheer size can make it a daunting adventure for new players to undertake. There’s plenty to see and do in the game, and we’re here to help you from getting overwhelmed. Here are the things to do in Starfield when you’re in the early game.

Starfield is a massive RPG that, like most Bethesda games, can be quite overwhelming at first. The sci-fi title features deep skill trees, a plethora of quests, various character backgrounds, and much more. It’s very easy to get pulled away from the main quest and get immersed into one of the many side activities.

Players can even join factions, build outposts, and customize ships right after they’re done with the opening mission.

With this in mind, here are the things you should do during the early game in Starfield.

What to do first in Starfield

What to do first in Starfield

Starfield has multiple backgrounds and traits to choose from when starting out.

The first thing you should do in Starfield is plan out your character before going on the character creator. You could try out a build planner for this or just keep note of the various backgrounds and skills the game gives you.

Advance the main quests

The first set of missions you do in Starfield are the main quests. You don’t have to finish the campaign in one sitting, but you should ideally advance to a certain point in the main quest. We recommend playing until Unearthed in Starfield’s main story.

The reasons behind our suggestion are multiple. Not only are you introduced to the game’s major cities, companions, and primary antagonist. Players also acquire their first Power by advancing till this point of the main story.

Starfield’s main quest takes players to all the major cities in the game.

Join a faction

There are various minor factions in Starfield and four main players. All four factions can be joined by completing their separate questlines. The factions are:

United Colonies – An interstellar government and the largest military faction in Starfield.
Crimson Fleet – A group of space pirates who are one of the major antagonists in the game.
Freestar Collective – Another interstellar government who are focused on personal freedom.
Ryujin Industries – A Neon-based megacorporation that has considerable influence.

While players are free to join any faction after completing the first few main quests, we suggest starting off with Ryuijin Industries. Joining Neon’s corporate overlords is an easy way to reap plenty of credits. The other rewards players earn along the way, including an effective social skill, also make this quest line worth it.

For early-game players, the value of credits cannot be understated, and out of all the faction questlines, this one’s probably the most low-level friendly.

Level up Piloting skill

There are countless ships in Starfield, divided into different classes.

Ships play a central role in Starfield as they’re essential for engaging in space combat, jumping to other systems, and landing on planets. Players will be eager to purchase the best ships the game has to offer. However, they won’t be able to pilot them immediately.

Ships in Starfield are divided into various classes, and players will have to upgrade their Piloting skill in order to fly higher-quality vessels. The challenge of upgrading the skill can be a real hassle to complete. Fortunately, there’s an easier way to go about this.

Once the skill is upgraded, players can freely pilot all stolen ships, and purchase ships from different classes.

Visit nearby star systems

You never know what quest you might stumble upon.

The majority of Starfield’s early game takes place in and around three major cities — New Atlantis, Akila City, and Neon. While there are plenty of things to do in each of the three cities, if you go off course a bit, you may find some fascinating quests.

For instance, you can find HopeTown on Polvo, a planet in the Valo system that offers some interesting quests. Meanwhile, if you head off to Nesoi in the Olympus system, you’ll find the Almagest space station, where you can get rich pretty quickly.

Complete the Mantis quest

The ‘Mantis’ quest in Starfield is easily one of the most fascinating and rewarding quests the game has to offer. It begins after finding the ‘Secret Outpost!’ note from a Spacer’s body. The note drops randomly, although most players acquire it pretty early into their playthrough.

The quest begins after reading the note and ends with the player becoming Space Batman. You’ll be met by some high-level enemies along the way, but they can be dispatched with a bit of elbow grease. Fortunately, the rewards upon completion are absolutely worth the effort.

Completing the quest will earn players a sleek new ship, a wacky new spacesuit, some powerful weapons, and the mantle of the Mantis.

That wraps up everything you need to know about the early game stage of Starfield. If you wish to learn more about the game, check these out: