With the new DLCs Fast Lane and Terran Armada out, many players, old and new, are getting back into Starfield. If you are one of them, then no time is better than now to start experimenting with different builds. If you are a returning player, I recommend avoiding going for the same experience to try out something new. Starfield always has a variety of builds that can drastically change the gameplay, creating a fresh experience over again. Here we will take a look at four builds with a brief, detailed examination to give you what you can expect from a build for you to try out in-game.
Each build will be different from the last, with the main focus being to offer a new, unique experience for the returning players.
- Diplomat Build
- Bounty Hunter Build
- Sniper Build
- Unarmed Build
Starfield Diplomat Build
If you don’t want blood on your hands and let everyone else deal with the combat while you speak your way out of rough situations, then look no further than playing as a Diplomat build. Just like the title of the build, you will be doing a lot of talking instead of engaging in every combat scenario. When the situation becomes dire, you will let your companions handle the action aspect, while you will stay in the back in the politician mode.
A fan-favorite build for role-playing experience, and a perfect new start for any players who have finished the game in the violent mode. Here are all the skills, weapons, and other details about the diplomat build.
Diplomat Stats:
| Background | Diplomat (Persuasion/ Commerce/ Wellness) |
| Traits | Empath or Taskmaster |
| Weapon Choice | Novablast Disruptor |
| Armor Choice | Focus on Resistance, and wear the Fitted Business Suit for the Persuasion Increase of 10% |
| Best Skills | * Leadership * Intimidation * Persuasion * Manipulation * Instigation |
Traits for Diplomat Build
Empath vs Taskmaster
Empath is a favorite, but it comes with a fair share of risks. It allows your companion to gain an increase in combat, but it lasts temporarily. But if you go against your companion, then they will also have a temporary negative effect. So, you must act in the best interest of your companion to make Empath work.
Taskmaster allows your ship system to repair to full health once it is below 50% hp. This trait works when the crew has been trained in a certain ship system. One thing to note is that the cost of the crew will increase twofold.
Weapon for Diplomat Build
The reason why I decided to roll with Novablast is its stun probability. Since our character will not focus on combat too much, Novablast will provide enough offensive capabilities to stun enemies. So you can focus on your enemies when your companions are doing the dirty work.
Our focus here is on a non-lethal approach, but carry a backup just in case scenarios. So when you are picking up a gun, focus on the EM attachment for stun capability.
Armor for Diplomat Build
Focus on resistance without sacrificing mobility, since you are built to run, not to last in combat. If things go south, which they will, you need to flee the scene as quickly as possible. So, any thoughts of sacrificing mobility should be out of the room.
Skills for Diplomat Build
- Leadership: Since we are going to be companion reliant, Leadership will allow them to get back up after getting downed in combat. Putting more levels to Leadership will allow the companions to even give you a heal.
- Intimidation: Allows you to make an NPC flee from the scene. Since we are planning to avoid unnecessary combat as much as possible, intimidation will allow us to achieve success in combat a bit diplomatically.
- Persuasion: The key skill in our Diplomat build helps you with dialogue exchanges with characters. The idea is to pursue someone from combat and do things our way.
- Manipulation: You can charm enemies into helping you in combat, but only for a limited time. If things do go out of hand, Manipulation will help you get a breathing room by allowing the enemy to fight on your side with your companions, tipping the scales in your favor.
- Instigation: Works like Manipulation, it will allow enemies to attack their allies for a short while. Relying on Manipulation and Instigation will help you, even if you ever get into combat scenarios.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Effective in persuading in dialogues
- Avoid Combat
- Great role-playing experience.
- Companion relevant in combat scenarios
Cons:
- Weak in combat
- Low Damage
- Focusing on Stunning to get by rather than killing them.
- It can be challenging if you are stuck in a combat scenario for the progression of a quest.
Bounty Hunter Build
Now we move to Bounty Hunting. If Diplomat doesn’t rock your boat, then it’s time to strap on the badge of bounty hunting on your bloodied coat. Here, we will be using both a pistol and a rifle for tackling combat at a close range and keeping the fight going from a distance. In short, we will be building towards a strong pistol-led, combat-focused build to do what our occupation suggests, bounty hunting.
Bounty Hunter Stats:
| Background | Bounty Hunter (Piloting/ Targeting Control System/ Boost Pack Training) |
| Traits | Wanted |
| Weapon Choice | Razorback |
| Armor Choice | Mantis Set |
| Best Skills | * Ballistics * Demolitions * Rapid Reloading * Wellness * Medicine |
Traits for Bounty Hunter Build
Wanted:
The reason why I went with Wanted is solely for the experience. Once you have this trait on, mercenaries will make an appearance to take you down. In a way, you are never alone; you will always be fending off enemies even if you catch a decent break. Wanted is a perfect trait for people who want to make bounty hunting more engaging.
Weapon for Bounty Hunter Build
Razorback is perfect, but you can choose other guns, but make sure to narrow the focus to Ballistic Weapons. Making improvements to these weapons is easier with the Ballistic Skill. Don’t rely on one specific gun; if you run out of ammo, then in space, no one will hear your scream. Always experiment and bring two guns with you to handle most scenarios.
Armor for Bounty Hunter Build
Look no further than the Mantis set; besides offering good defence, it makes your weapon weight 50% less and raises your Carry capacity. If you don’t have it yet, follow our detailed guide on how to get the Mantis set in Starfield.
Skills for Bounty Hunter Build
- Ballistics: The most primary skill for our Bounty Hunting build, as it helps with Pistols, Rifles, Shotgun, improving their damage potential. Since we are going to be using guns a lot, don’t leave Ballistic Skill.
- Demolitions: As you might have guessed, it’s for our grenades; this skill will make the explosion more devastating and effective in combat.
- Wellness: It will add passive HP to your overall health. Think of it as a layer of defence when you are going gun blazing into a combat scenario. A layer of protection never hurts for a bounty hunter.
- Medicine: It will make your Med Packs, Trauma Packs, and Kits heal more, but most importantly, faster. The latter one is more important; you will be able to heal yourself from the kits faster, making Medicine Skill a rather important skill that you shouldn’t avoid.
Pros/ Cons
Pros
- Mobility in the combat arena
- Survivability
- Role Playing Experience
Cons
- Losing all social-related skill checks
- Little to no stealth
- In some cases, companions are needed.
Sniper Build
If close-combat is not your cup of tea, then maybe holding a large sniper in your hand and clearing the camp from a distance might feed the hunger for a new playthrough. Sniper build can also be seen as a stealth build, as you want to stay undetected from the enemy’s POV and deal damage from a distance with precise strikes.
Sniper Build Stats:
| Background | Soldier (Fitness/ Ballistics/ Boost Pack Training) |
| Traits | Terra Firma |
| Weapon Choice | MagSniper |
| Armor Choice | Mantis Set |
| Best Skills | * Stealth * Isolation * Sniper Certification * Sharpshooting * Armor Penetration * Marksmanship |
Traits for Sniper Build
Since most of the sniping will occur while on the ground on a planet, Terra Firma is a perfect addition, as it offers a bonus to damage and oxygen while we are standing on the planet’s surface. If you are looking for an alternative, you can switch up to Introvert or Alien DNA.
Weapon for Sniper Build
While MagSniper is a solid option for a sniper build, early on, you just rely on the hunting rifles to carry you through the early sections. Another fan favorite here is the Hard Target sniper rifle, perfect for the mid-game portion of the game. And in the end, you can settle with MagSniper, for its serious damage with accuracy.
Armor for Sniper Build
Here, I will highly recommend Mantis for its traits. Chameleon will give you invisibility while not moving, Headhunter will raise your damage by 25% after landing a headshot, and lastly Sentinel lowers damage while standing still in the same location. Once you obtain a Mantis set, you can roll these traits to make your sniper build even more proper.
Skills for Sniper Build
- Stealth: Generally makes your character harder to detect by the enemy. You will also enjoy the classic sneak damage against enemies who are unaware of your location.
- Isolation: If you don’t have any companions besides you, going into the battlefield with the mentality of snipers working alone, you will get a boost to the damage capabilities and resistance.
- Sniper Certification: It boosts the sniper-related actions, as you will be able to hold your breath for longer, scope steadier, 25% critical chance, and a 50% extra bonus damage.
- Sharpshooting: Takes care of the critical damage from ranged weapons on head and leg shots. When you land a critical hit kill, for 20 seconds, range weapon damage increases by 25%. If you are landing nothing but precise shots, then this skill is a godsend.
- Armor Penetration: Attacks will ignore armor, making it perfect for boss encounters or any tanky enemies you come across in a combat zone.
Pros and Cons
Pros:
- Range Shots
- Stealth friendly
- Pure damage
Cons:
- Close range
- Time to get used to sniping.
- Less aggressive gameplay.
Unarmed Build
Don’t want anything to do with ammo conservation and gun handling or any other weapon-related details? Then make a switch to an Unarmed build with nothing but your fists doing most of the talking. Range is out of the question; close range will be your bread and butter, as the build will gear towards high-speed, close-combat attacks to knock out enemies. It is one of the builds that grows with time, meaning that as you level up, you will feel more power in your punches. Without further ado, let’s take a look at the Unarmed build.
Unarmed Build Stats:
| Background | Bouncer (Boxing/ Security/ Fitness) |
| Traits | Alien DNA |
| Weapon Choice | Any |
| Armor Choice | Mirrored Shocktroop Spacesuit |
| Best Skills | * Martial Arts * Neurostrikes * Gymnastics * Spacesuit Design |
Traits for Unarmed Build
Here you have plenty of choices, but each one comes with its fair share of downsides. For example, you can roll with Alien DNA, which offers oxygen and health, but on the downside, it lowers the healing received from sources. Another helpful alternative would be an Introvert if you are planning to do the game solo without having a companion on your back. When you are doing an Unarmed build, you will need to keep oxygen and health in mind.
Weapon for Unarmed Build
While your arms will be the go-to weapon, I will recommend carrying a backup weapon for the flying monsters. Range creatures will get the best of you, so have a common pistol or sniper as a backup to take the range enemies out before they rush at you.
Armor for Unarmed Build
So why did I decide on a Mirrored Shocktroop Spacesuit? The answer is quite simple because of the fast reflexes to increase your maximum speed and range damage mitigation. One of the major weaknesses, if not the major weakness, for the Unarmed build will be the range damage. Where your build is about CQC, focus on armor that lowers the range damage and enables a good movement speed.
Skills for Unarmed Build
- Martial Arts: It raises your critical hit chance. Take it to level 2, and you will be able to disarm enemies with the power attack.
- Neurostrikes: Any unarmed attack will leave enemies with a stun status. You can guess how handy this skill will be in combat.
- Gymnastics: It’s about mobility; it allows for quick slides and low fall damage.
- Spacesuit Design: Allows you to improve your suit to meet your requirements.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- No Guns
- No Ammo Management
- Close Combat frineldy
- Great mobility
Cons
- Weak against range
- A bit difficult in the early sections
That’s it, now you can jump back into Starfield with a fresh character to experience the new DLCs.
