Outposts are terrestrial bases that a player can build over a multitude of planets. Here is everything you need to know on where and how to set up outposts in Starfield.
In Starfield, the player is part of a space-exploring group tasked with the objective of finding the rarest artifacts throughout the galaxy. Navigating the vast expanse of space in search of something that is waiting to be discovered across more than 1,000 planets is guaranteed to take the player on a journey that is sure to be memorable.
Outposts in Starfield allow the player to set up a base on almost any planet of the player’s choice. Generally, you’ll visit these planets to gather resources to upgrade and build things – such as weapon mods and spaceship upgrades.
And that is where Outposts come into play. Depending on the purpose, buildings in your outpost can be small shelters or full-blown resource generators.
Where to set up Outposts

There are a few things that you need to do before finally deciding to build an outpost in Starfield. The game allows you to place 8 beacons at first to mark locations that pique your interest.
Before actually deciding to set up an outpost, we recommend you scout out a few areas to assess some critical factors that directly affect the quality of your outpost. These factors include:
- Environment
- Native Species
- Native Materials
Environment
Outposts are relatively difficult to set up on planets that inhabit extreme temperatures, gravity, or corrosive atmospheres. That is, until you put points into Planetary Habitation. If you don’t have this unlocked, you will be restricted with respect to the number of places you can set up an outpost.
Native Species
Next up on the list are the planet’s inhabitants. Many planets will have their own flora and fauna, and many won’t have any lifeforms at all. Having plenty of lifeforms around can be pretty useful as they provide many of the resources you would need to build an outpost and the structures within.
That said, you should try to avoid planets where the animals are generally aggressive, particularly if they arrive in a herd or are extremely mobile. That’s because they can make constructing buildings and other tasks much more difficult for you.
Native Resources
Finally, it would be best to scout planets for the desired resources. You can quickly scan all the common and rare non-organic resources found on each planet by going to a planet’s orbit.
However, even though it’s tempting to settle on a planet and start a mining operation just because of the presence of a rare resource, it would be of limited use until you reach a further point in the game.
Therefore, it’s best to create a home outpost and then work on setting up cargo links to send resources from various mining outposts to your home outpost.
How to set up Outposts

Once you decide on a suitable place to set up your outpost, you can set your outpost beacon to have a range of structures to build. However, before you can actually build the outpost, you need to check off a list of resources that are required to build your outpost.
This is where stocking up on enough common materials can be extremely beneficial. So, definitely make sure that you have plenty of materials like Aluminum, Iron, Copper, and Tungsten.
To elaborate, in the earlier phases of the game, you needed to collect resources by using your Cutting Laser on ore deposits. These ore deposits are found in small chucks located on rocks or cave walls. You can use your scanner to find the deposits.
Remember that the amount of resources you have and are willing to invest will dictate the size of your outpost. Which, in return, depends on what you want to have in your outpost. We recommend starting by building a power source like a Solar Array or a Wind Turbine.
Secondly, you would want an Outpost Airlock, then a Round Hab, Four Wall Hab, or a Small Hex Hab. All require resources like lead, sealant, and aluminum.
In addition, you would also want a storage system requiring resources like structural and aluminum since the resource extractor can only hold a limited number of mined resources. A proper storage system in place will prevent the container from filling up.
And finally, you should also have some kind of defense in place. This is because the outposts are susceptible to attacks from hostile entities like planet wildlife and local pirates. Turrets and stationing companions can help you out in defending your outpost.