To build a ship in Starfield, follow these key steps:
1. Find a Ship Technician
- Ship technicians are NPCs usually found near landing pads in populated areas.
- They allow you to buy and sell ship parts, repair ships, and buy or sell whole ships.
- Note: You cannot build a ship entirely from scratch; you must start with a ship you already own and modify it
2. Understand Ship Building Basics
- You modify ships by adding or removing modules that attach at specific points on the ship.
- Modules include components like reactors, shields, engines, cargo holds, weapons, landing bays, and interiors.
- You can only use parts compatible with your ship’s current reactor rating.
- Your Starship Design skill level affects which components you can access.
- Adding parts affects your ship’s weight, speed, maneuverability, and hull strength.
- Essential components such as one reactor and one shield must be attached for the ship to function
3. Start Building Your Ship
- Choose a base ship you own to start customizing.
- Add a reactor first, as it powers all other modules.
- Attach a landing bay module to allow your ship to land on planets.
- Build the cockpit or bridge module to control the ship.
- Add cargo holds for storage capacity.
- Install weapons and shield generators for offense and defense.
- Attach engines to improve speed and maneuverability.
- Interior modules like crew quarters, science labs, and workshops can be added for utility and aesthetics
4. Assemble and Arrange Modules
- Modules snap together on a grid; arrange them logically for functionality and appearance.
- Balance your ship’s stats by adjusting module types and placements.
- Use structural parts to connect modules cleanly.
- Pay attention to module orientation, especially for engines and weapons.
- Avoid leaving unmatched modules floating unattached to prevent errors
5. Finalize and Test Your Ship
- Once assembled, apply any modifications or upgrades.
- Test your ship’s performance in speed, defense, and capacity.
- Adjust parts as needed to optimize your build for your preferred playstyle
For detailed step-by-step visual guides, there are comprehensive YouTube tutorials and community guides that walk through building specific ship designs, including advanced endgame ships with optimized stats and interiors
. In summary, building a ship in Starfield involves starting from an existing ship, then customizing it by adding compatible modules such as reactors, landing bays, cockpits, cargo holds, weapons, shields, and engines, carefully arranging them for optimal performance and aesthetics through the ship technician interface
