Like in most RPGs, persuasion plays a crucial role in accomplishing a great many things in the game including pursuing a non-lethal approach to completing quests. It is therefore prudent to learn the nuances of the new Starfield Persuasion system.
Persuasion is one of the more intricate mechanics in Starfield that is not explained in as much detail. While it is part of your basic dialogue option, Bethesda has added some neat elements to make it more engaging and challenging.
How to use the new Starfield persuasion system
The persuasion system in Starfield works more like a mini-game than just a speech check. While the dialogue option leading to the persuasion check is pretty straightforward, as soon as the mechanic is engaged, a few additional indicators appear next to the screen. There are several numbers to take note of here.
The first is the one next to each dialogue option usually accompanied by a ‘+’ sign. This denotes the number of levels of the persuasion check that the dialogue fills. The persuasion bar can be found right beneath the dialogue box. The levels of the persuasion checks denoted by the boxes can vary depending on the difficulty of the check.
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In this case, it is a level 4 persuasion check. Next to the persuasion bar is the number of turns remaining in the conversation to fill it. You also need to pay attention to color-coded lines next to the dialogue numbers. From +1 to +5, each color associated with the dialogue options represents the difficulty. +5 here is the highest level of difficulty check. This also denotes that there is a higher chance of failing this dialogue check.
So, to pass a perception check, you will need to fill the perception bar by succeeding in each dialogue and filing the bar within the number of turns i.e., dialogue chances. So far the +1 dialogue checks have been fairly easy with a 100% pass rate, while level 5 has been almost impossible. This again depends on your level in the skill tree.
Tips to improve persuasion chances in Starfield
As innovative as this mechanic is, passing the checks is fairly difficult and you’ll need something extra at times to pass within the given number of turns. Ideally investing in the Persuasion skill is the best way to improve your chances. Each rank of the persuasion skill offers an additional 10% chance of succeeding in each dialogue check. Once you reach the highest level of the persuasion skill tree which is 4, you will have a +50% chance of succeeding in each dialogue check.
Some of the chems like Hippolyta and Paramour can offer an additional boost of +20 and +25% respectively to your persuasion chances. Using Paramour with your character on maxed-out persuasion can yield a total of a +75% chance of succeeding in each dialogue check. However, this still puts the +5 dialogue checks at great odds of succeeding.
In fact, the only way the +5 checks seem to succeed is with critical success which is completely random. Although unreliable at this point, there could be chances of improving the critical chance rate as seen in previous Bethesda games using clothing and other items as you progress through the game.
There are other items of clothing though such as the Neocity Corpwear which can improve the normal chances of success with the persuasion check. The Neocity outfit grants a +5% to persuasion which can take your chances up to 80%.
Leveling the right skills for Starfield persuasion checks
Persuasion checks also seem to correlate with a lot of other skills and factors in the game that can be exploited. While faction and religion-based impact of checks are quite useful given the condition, you need to invest in other major skill trees to make the best out of each dialogue check. Leveling up your social skill tree can unlock additional dialogue options.
Deception, negotiation, and intimidation seem to unlock additional dialogue to make the checks easier. This includes the option to bribe NPCs into offering up what you want or achieving the same by threatening.
