Who would’ve guessed that a huge part of Starfield is traversing space in your very own spaceship? Of course, it is, how else would you explore the multitude of planets? By the end of the tutorial mission, you’ll have received your first ship, the Frontier. It’s compact and has all the basics for survival in the void of space. However, it probably doesn’t have everything you want in your starship, especially when you land on New Atlantis and a ship tech makes a comment suggesting that it could fall apart. So how do you get a new ship in Starfield? Well, there’s a few methods.
Purchasing a New Ship
The simplest way to get a new ship is to buy one. It is also by far the most expensive. Most ships will come in at around a hundred thousand credits, definitely not pocket change. There are plenty of places to buy ships though and it is a reasonable way to acquire one.
Just land in one of the major cities like New Atlantis, Akila, or Neon. You could also go to staryards where the ship manufacturers are set up. Once there just look for the ship services technician. They’re usually near a trade authority kiosk. Talk to them and the option to view their ships for sale will pop up. Find one you like and buy it.
The Ship Services post on Akila
Steal a Ship
If you don’t like the idea of paying for a new ship and your Starfield persona is morally flexible, you can steal a ship. There are two ways to go about this. One is that as you fly around through space, see a ship you like, and attack. Take out their engines with the ship targeting feature, board them, and dispose of the crew.
Once you sit in the cockpit, the ship is yours. And don’t worry about how much damage the ship during the combat. As long as you don’t fully destroy it, it’ll be brand new after you’ve taken your seat in the cockpit.
If you don’t like the idea of blasting a ship’s engines out before stealing it, this second method of thievery is more your speed. It does take a bit of patience though. You simply land on a planet and wait. It’s best to do this near some sort of outpost but not a full city.
Eventually, another ship will land, preferably it’s a group of spacers, ecliptics, or pirates so the crime isn’t considered so bad. Rush them, hop on the ship, and fly away. Congratulations you’ve acquired a new ship.
A ship landing in the distance
Repossess a Ship
If crime isn’t your cup of tea, there are also completely legal ways to commandeer a ship in Starfield. Around the galaxy, you’ll find mission boards. No matter what faction is asking, you’ll likely find a mission to hunt down spacers or pirates. Just make sure that whichever one you pick there is no target planet label so you know you’ll be hunting a ship.
An example of the correct mission.
Once you get the mission it operates just like stealing one that you passed in space. Take out the engines, board, remove the captain, and sit in the cockpit. The main difference is that if there were witnesses, they’d look the other way instead of applying a bounty to your head.
After that just go into the ship menu and register it. It’ll cost a few thousand to do so but that’s still a far cry from the tens of thousands for buying a new one.
The ship registration screen.
Receive a New Ship From Starfield’s Quests
Just like you can receive weapons, armor, residences, and sweet, sweet credits from quests, ships can also be quest rewards. Some of these take longer than others. Some are more fun and action-packed. All of them however give a ship.
Mantis
This mission can be discovered as early as the first quest you undertake with Sarah Morgan. After killing a spacer and getting lucky they’ll drop a slate called Secret Outpost which will give you this quest. Follow the marker to a hideout full of spacers, traps, and robots.
Once you clear the place and learn a bit more about the previous owner, the Mantis, you’ll gain access to everything they left behind. This will include an armor set and the Mantis’s ship, the Razorleaf. This is perfect for early game if you can manage to clear the hideout without too much trouble.
The Razorleaf
Overdesigned
This is the most boring of the quests to acquire a new ship. It’s also very easy and very quick though. Overdesigned is a quest you’ll receive after doing the main quest mission with Walter Shroud, All That Money Can Buy. He’ll ask you to head over to his company’s staryard and help his R&D team develop a new ship.
All you have to do is talk to them. They’ll ask for your opinions. They’ll also ask you to run some generic missions like transporting people and doing a bounty. You can do one or both. These options are important because they’ll change the final product. Once you finish the mission, Walter will give you the ship you helped design.
The version of Kepler 2 I received from Overdesigned
Freestar Ranger’s Questline
The Freestar Ranger’s quests are one of the major questlines in the game. At the end of the final quest, The Hammer Falls, you’ll be awarded a ship called the Star Eagle and some credits.
Being that this is such a major questline, I won’t say too much more to avoid spoilers. Just keep in mind if you’re trying to ditch the Frontier quick, this probably isn’t the best method. The ship is definitely worth getting though.
The Star Eagle
Overall there are a lot of ways to get new ships of all different shapes and sizes. Doing so can even get you ship components that are beyond your starship design capabilities. With any of these methods, you’ll be flying a new ship in no time. And if you need help figuring out how to modify your new ship in Starfield, don’t worry we got you covered with these tips.
