Here is a thorough Starfield guide on becoming the ultimate Space Pirate, and how you can destroy, loot and plunder your way to immeasurable riches
In Starfield, you can live out your space pirate fantasies by embracing a rogue’s life, stealing, plundering, and striking fear into the hearts of fellow travelers. This guide is your ticket to becoming a legendary space pirate, providing all the essential information you need for your thrilling adventure.
How Does Piracy Work?
Piracy is quite a fun route on your Starfield journey, as it yields high rewards at high risks.
Hailing Other Ships
To kickstart your journey into piracy, you’ll need to interact with other ships in the game. Point your camera at the ship you wish to target, and you’ll be prompted to “Hail” that ship, initiating a conversation with its crew. During this conversation, you’ll find the option to engage in piracy. The success of your piracy attempt largely depends on the relative levels of your ship and the target ship.
- Lower-Level Ships: If the ship you’re targeting is of lower level than yours, they are likely to surrender peacefully. While you’ll receive their cargo, it may consist of less valuable loot.
- Higher-Level Ships: When confronting a ship that outclasses yours, be prepared for a dogfight to the death. Engaging in combat with these ships is risky but can yield significantly better rewards if you emerge victorious.
The Dogfight: Destroy or Board
In these high-stakes dogfights, you have two options upon defeating an enemy ship:
- Total Destruction: You can choose to obliterate the enemy ship, causing its remains to float in space. You can then salvage any remaining contents from these debris fields.
- Boarding: For a more daring approach, consider boarding the ship. To do this, you’ll need to unlock the “Targeting Control Systems” skill. During the dogfight, focus your fire on the enemy ship’s engines, rendering it vulnerable. Once the engines are disabled, you can approach, dock with the ship, and attempt to take control.
Be prepared for resistance from the ship’s crew, as they are unlikely to relinquish their vessel without a fight.
Smuggling Contraband
Piracy isn’t limited to ship-to-ship combat. You can also establish trade networks for smuggling illegal substances and contraband into cities and outposts. Here’s how it works:
- Establish Outposts across the galaxy and utilize their trade lines to create smuggling routes for these illicit goods.
- Acquire illegal contraband, such as Aurora, which is illegal in most systems except Neon.
- Trade Authority kiosks in cities and settlements will buy your contraband without asking questions, so profit from selling these illegal goods.
Pro Tip: The Den in the Wolf System is an ideal location for selling illegal goods, as your ship won’t be scanned when entering the system. This allows you to dock safely and make a significant profit.
Join the Crimson Fleet
For those looking to dive deeper into piracy, consider joining the Crimson Fleet, a faction of space pirates in Starfield. They specialize in taking what they want from others, and by aligning with them, you gain access to various piracy-related activities. Once you’ve become a member of the Crimson Fleet, The Key becomes your base of operations. Here, you’ll find numerous opportunities for space piracy, including smuggling and missions to steal from other ships.
Building the Best Space Pirate Character
To excel as a space pirate, it’s essential to create the perfect character build. Here’s a breakdown of the skills, traits, and backgrounds that will make you an efficient space pirate in Starfield.
Background: Space Scoundrel
Start your pirate journey with the “Space Scoundrel” background. It provides access to essential skills:
- Pistol Certification: Boosts your proficiency with pistols, a favored weapon of pirates.
- Piloting: Enhances ship maneuverability, crucial for successful space piracy.
- Persuasion: Helps convince others to surrender or cooperate in illegal activities.
Best Skills
These are our suggestions on the best skills you can level to become a space pirate.
- Physical Skills:
- Fitness and Wellness: Boost health and oxygen levels.
- Stealth and Gymnastics: Gain stealth and combat slide abilities.
- Martial Arts: Improve unarmed and melee combat skills.
- Nutrition: Enhance role-playing aspects related to food and drinks.
- Social Skills:
- Persuasion, Deception, Negotiation, and Theft: Perfect for taking advantage of others.
- Scavenging and Commerce: Maximize loot and its value.
- Combat Skills:
- Ballistics, Pistol Certification, Dueling: Proficiency in firearms.
- Shotgun Certification and Demolition: Alternative weapon skills.
- Marksmanship, Targeting, Sharpshooting: Boost damage, critical strike chance, and reloading speed.
- Science Skills:
- Astrodynamics and Aneutronic Fusion: Essential for space exploration and combat.
- Surveying, Spacesuit Design, Weapon Engineering: Improve character equipment.
- Tech Skills:
- Targeting Control Systems, Engine Systems, Starship Design, Starship Engineering: Upgrade your ship.
- Piloting and Security: Enhance ship hijacking and looting.
- Boost Pack Training and Boost Assault Training: Improve mobility in and out of combat.
Best Traits
Select traits that enhance your space pirate persona.
- Extrovert: Increases oxygen when traveling with companions.
- Wanted: Boosts damage when low on health.
- Spaced: Enhances health and oxygen in space.
- Empath: Improves companion effectiveness if they like you.
- Faction and Religious Traits: Strengthen relationships with specific groups.
Space Pirate’s Preferred Weapons
Equip yourself with powerful weapons and ships perfectly suited for your pirate life.
- Pistols: Pistols are the preferred weapons of space pirates, valued for their versatility with excellent accuracy and fast firing rates. They ensure quick reactions in ship defense and boarding actions.
- Shotguns: Space pirates favor shotguns, renowned for their ability to unleash devastating damage at point-blank range. Whether it’s dealing with hostile boarders or breaching enemy ships, shotguns offer unmatched stopping power.
- Melee Weapons: Sneak up on your adversaries, delivering precise strikes without raising alarms. Remember, melee weapons excel in confined spaces but have limited reach, making them less effective in open areas.
- Unarmed Combat: You can use this fighting style to stop enemies without killing them, which can come in handy sometimes.
- Explosives: Explosives bring a destructive punch to close combat situations. Just be careful, as explosives can harm your surroundings and allies if not handled with caution.
- EM Weapons: Useful for disabling enemy ship engines during boarding.
Pirate Ship Upgrades
Outfit your ship with shielded cargo holds and scan blockers to dodge contraband checks. Invest in a top-notch grav drive for speedy getaways and jumps. Maintain a balance in your cargo capacity with the “Payloads” skill in the Tech tree, especially for smuggling operations.
Space Pirate’s Special Powers
Unlock unique powers through the main questline to complement your space pirate playstyle. “Phased Time” is a valuable power, slowing down time during encounters to gain the upper hand.
Choosing the Right Companion
Select companions with skills that complement your space pirate role. Lyle Brewer, a skilled shotgun user, is a great choice for close-quarters combat. Other suitable companions include Marika Boros, Sam Coe, Vasco, Barrett, Ezekiel, Gideon Aker, Moara Otero, and Omari Hassan.
The Ultimate Looting Space Pirate
In Starfield, piracy is not just a dream; it’s a thrilling reality waiting for you to explore. This guide equips you with the knowledge needed to become the most feared space pirate in the Settled Systems. Embrace the freedom of the cosmos, defy the law, and seize your destiny among the stars. So, set sail (or rather, set your course) and live your life without limits in the vastness of space!