Which background should you pick in Starfield?

When you make your Starfield character, you’ll be prompted with picking a background, a history for your character that also grants you three predetermined unlocked skills at the start of the game. Worry not, as these won’t be the only skills you get. You’ll get many, many more as you level up and progress.

Your background will have some sway on dialogue options that randomly become available to you, but based on our experiences, they don’t seem to actually have any weight. You might be able to chime in about cooking due to your chef background, but it doesn’t really change the outcome of anything.

What background to choose in Starfield?

While this might not be the answer you’re looking for, the correct background is just whichever one suits your desired playstyle. You should pick whichever skills you value the most. If you want to throw punches and steal regularly, consider picking Gangster. Or maybe you want to be an expert duelist who cooks and scavenges? Then you should be a Chef.

Our list of the best early skills can elaborate on what background to choose if you’re uncertain which one you should prioritize. Based on our experiences with various skills in Starfield, though, the following backgrounds are the most helpful for the early game:

• Industrialist: Starting the game with a point each in Security (which helps you pick locks) and Persuasion (which helps you talk your way out of firefights) goes a long way toward playing the early game without conflict.
• Bounty Hunter: You start our with a skill in Piloting, which means you’re one step closer to being able to captain B- and C-class ships without having to invest in the skill. Boost Pack Training lets you get more use out of your boostpack.
• Soldier: Starfield often devolves into combat, especially in the early hours. The Fitness and Ballistics skills give you an edge, while Boost Pack Training is just plain fun.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks

All backgrounds in Starfield

Below, we list out all the options that you can be early on.