At the heart of every good ship in Starfield is a powerful reactor that can handle the energy output required. The best Starfield reactors are the ones that can provide the most power to all your subsystems like weapons, shields, and engines while also keeping weight, cost, and size at a minimum. This can be subjective based on the type of ship you are trying to make but since there are so many options, some particular reactors do the job better than most.
Also read: Custom Starfield Ship Building Guide: All Parts and Shipyard Locations
So in this guide below, we will look at some of the best reactors you can use for every level of piloting rank and ship design rank your character may have.
Best Starfield Reactors for every level of Ship Skills
Starfield reactors are the beating heart of any ship. The class of every item on your ship is determined by the class of your reactor. There are 3 classes, starting from ‘A’ being the lowest, then ‘B’, and ‘C’ as the final most powerful class. This means you cannot add B-class parts for things like your engines and weapons if your reactor is an A-class reactor.
Most A-class reactors don’t require any rank in any skill but as you go higher to B-class and C-class, they can require multiple ranks in Piloting skill and or Ship Design skill in your skill tree. So, if you really want to build some powerful and big ships, you are going to require these two skills and a high rank in it as well.
Regardless, below we have curated a list of all the best Starfield reactors starting from the ones that require little to no Piloting and Ship Design skill to reactors that are incredibly powerful but require high ranks in those skills.
360T Stellarator Reactor
- Class: A
- Required Piloting Skill: None
- Required Ship Design Skill: None
- Power Generated: 20
- Crew Capacity: 1
- Cost: 17860
The 360T Stellarator Reactor from Amundunn is possibly the best reactor you can get without any Piloting or Ship Design skills. It provides the most possible power generation you can get without those skills. On top of that, it also has a 1.60 repair rate and 32 health, both of which are also the highest when it comes to reactors that don’t require skills. The only downside when compared to other reactors is that it has a mass of 32 which reduces your ship’s mobility due to its weight.
144MM Tordial Reactor
- Class: A
- Required Piloting Skill: None
- Required Ship Design Skill: Rank 2
- Power Generated: 23
- Crew Capacity: 1
- Cost: 23180
If you want a decent A-class reactor for the most bang for its buck, it has to be the 144MM Tordial Reactor. This is an overall great reactor for an A-class with a low cost to buy. It also does not require any Skills other than Ship Design rank 2 which can be acquired easily in the early game itself by focusing your points in its category.
Also read: Starfield Overdesigned Mission: How to Get Your Free Class-C Ship
Z-Machine 2020 Reactor
- Class: B
- Required Piloting Skill: Rank 3
- Required Ship Design Skill: Rank 4
- Power Generated: 16
- Crew Capacity: 2
- Cost: 16530
Starfield reactors are only good until your ship is actually functioning. Sometimes you may not require too much power generated but instead require your ship to be sturdy and resilient. This is where the Z-Machine 2020 reactor comes into play. This reactor is a unique one that gives you less power generated than most in its class but where it shines instead is in its hull because it gives your ship a whopping 1100 hull points. Now surely there are other reactors that provide 1000+ hull points but not at such a cheap price which is what makes this one of the best reactors in its own unique way.
Fusor DC401 Reactor
- Class: C
- Required Piloting Skill: Rank 4
- Required Ship Design Skill: None
- Power Generated: 29
- Crew Capacity: 3
- Cost: 49875
The Fusor CD401 Reactor is another one of those overall balanced reactors but this one is for the big boys. Despite not requiring Ship Design skills, it does require the final rank of Piloting skill and also requires a hefty amount of almost 50k creds. But, it does pay off by providing 29 power generated, higher than most reactors in the game. It also has a 4.5 hull repair rate which is more than enough for quick repairs.
SF40 Sheared Flow Reactor
- Class: C
- Required Piloting Skill: Rank 4
- Required Ship Design Skill: Rank 2
- Power Generated: 40
- Crew Capacity: 3
- Cost: 77615
If you are looking for one of the best Starfield reactors, then look no further than the SF40 Sheared Flow Reactor. This one has 40 total energy generated which is the max possible in the game. This reactor is a perfect fit for the biggest ships you can possibly design in this game. With this bad boy, you will be able to put on multiple big engines, high-power weaponry, and so on. It also has a 5.80 hull repair rate which is the second fastest in the game.
Those were all the best Starfield Reactors for every type of ship skill level. Since you are going to be building ships with these reactors, you might also want to know how many ships you can have in Starfield.
