Learn about the best seven backgrounds you can start in Starfield.
Starfield is here, and it is ready to rewrite your life with 21 choices. These 21 choices are labeled as different backgrounds, and each of these backgrounds has three starting skills to start with. These starting skills will affect how you play and how well you do in different situations. However, choosing can be quite difficult from this pool of backgrounds.
You can choose from Xenobiologist, Gangster, Homesteader, or even anything else to give your character a background and specialized skills. Moreover, later in the game, you can even act out different roles and choose the skills you fancy the most. Well, that is indeed a lot of choices to make, and here I am today to assist you with that. So without further ado, let’s jump right into it to have an overview of the best 7 backgrounds that I think you should look into before starting Starfield.
Read More: How To Enable DLSS in Starfield
Top 7 Best Backgrounds in Starfield
07. Ronin
Starting Skills
- Stealth: Adds a Stealth Meter. You are 25% more difficult to detect when sneaking. Suppressed weapons do an additional 5% sneak attack damage.
- Scavenging: There’s a chance you’ll find extra credits when searching containers.
- Dueling: Melee weapons do 25% more damage. Take 10% less damage while wielding a melee weapon.
Starting off with Ronin. This background in Starfield is quite a good choice for players who want to play in stealth mode from the very beginning. With the stealth skill turned on, this background gives a good mix of stealth skills, more money from looting, and a big boost to the power of melee weapons. The Ronin background also adds to the skills of sneaky crooks, while dueling may be a more difficult choice. However, in Starfield, you need extra skills to make a sneaky, melee-focused assassin.
06. Bouncer
Starting Skills:
- Boxing: Unarmed attacks do 25% more damage. Power attacks use 25% less O2.
- Security: You can attempt to hack Advanced locks, and 2 auto attempts can be banked.
- Fitness: You have 10% more oxygen available.
Next, we have the Bouncer backgrounds in Starfield. This one is particularly known for unarmed hits with 25% more damage due to the Boxing skill. It provides players with added stamina from Fitness and the ability to break into Advanced locks. However, the real question is whether Boxing aligns with the player’s gameplay style or if it is a waste of skill points. The background package also includes fitness and security skills, which are essential for opening locks and fighting without weapons.
05. Soldier
Starting Skills:
- Fitness: You have 10% more oxygen available.
- Ballistics: Ballistic weapons do 10% more damage.
- Boost Pack Training: You can now utilize boost packs.
The Soldier background comes with the Boost Pack Training and Fitness skills, which give players an edge in early-game fighting. These skills let you do things that use up energy without needing time to recover. They include a jetpack and a higher maximum oxygen level. You can find ballistic guns early on, so it’s a good choice for early fights. However, the Boost Pack Training and Ballistics are important for players who aren’t sure how they want to play, but it’s a must-have for those who want to focus on fighting.
04. Cyber Runner
Starting Skills:
- Stealth: Adds a Stealth Meter. You are 25% more difficult to detect when sneaking. Suppressed weapons do an additional 5% sneak attack damage.
- Theft: Unlock the ability to pickpocket targets.
- Security: You can attempt to hack Advanced locks, and 2 auto attempts can be banked.
The Cyber Runner background in Starfield gives players the chance to play stealthily like the Ronin background, but much better. You will have an additional Stealth Meter, the ability to pickpocket, and the ability to break Advanced locks. This is the perfect background for players who want to focus more on sneaking around and less on firing guns all the time. Now, both the Stealth and Pickpocketing are important skills for scavengers and fighters to have. Last but not least, Security is a very useful skill that is highly encouraged to have along with their other core skills.
03. Space Scoundrel
Starting Skills:
- Persuasion: 10% increased chance of success when persuading someone.
- Pistol Certification: Pistols do 10% more damage.
- Piloting: You can now utilize ship thrusters.
The Han Solo-inspired Space Scoundrel background lets players earn more points in Piloting, Pistol Certification, and Persuasion. From Ship thrusters to Roguish charm, these side skills let you deal with challenging situations and level up quickly. Both Piloting and Persuasion are for players who spend a lot of time controlling their ship. However, This package is a great choice for travelers who want to be able to focus on both their talks and their flight at the same time.
02. Bounty Hunter
Starting Skills:
- Piloting: You can now utilize ship thrusters.
- Targeting Control Systems: Unlocks ship targeting functionality.
- Boost Pack Training: You can now utilize boost packs.
The Bounty Hunter is one of the best backgrounds to start with in Starfield. The starting skills make it possible for players to get on enemy ships and take their loot with them. Moreover, a Bounty Hunter background also gives you access to the famous jetpack in Starfield. And the Targeting Control is less useful, but it can help in fights between ships. Overall, the Bounty Hunter background is a must-have for pilots if you are on the verge of becoming a hunter for bounty.
01. Diplomat
Starting Skills:
- Wellness: Increase your maximum health by 10%.
- Persuasion: 10% increased chance of success when persuading someone.
- Commerce: Buy for 5% less and sell for 10% more.
And here we have the best one, in my opinion. As a diplomat with a diplomatic background in Starfield, you are already better at speaking jobs than players with other classes because you have a higher Wellness point, a better trading bang, and a higher Persuasion. However, the reason why Diplomats tend to be healthier than most others is still a secret. Well, I guess Wellness covers that up as being a great choice from the very beginning of the game because of its general buff that makes your health go up. When making appealing characters, as a Diplomat, both Persuasion and Commerce are good places to start, and having a point in both can help them get past long-term challenges.
