Want to know about the Starfield ship customization system? As the Starfield release date looms, it’s the perfect time to get clued up on everything there is to know about the highly-anticipated space RPG. A brand-new feature for Bethesda, we’ve delved into Starfield ship customization and there’s plenty to learn about what can be altered when it comes to making your space rig your very own.
Most of the Starfield ship customization intel we’ve had so far comes from Bethesda’s own head honcho, Todd Howard. Speaking during the official gameplay reveal, he says: “There are loads of different modules, ship manufacturers, and more… It’s not just how the ship looks, it’s how it performs, from engines, to shield, to weapons systems, because yes, you can fly it.” While some may find Starfield’s ship customization exhausting with how in-depth it is, the unique ship customization system is definitely a selling point for some people ahead of the Starfield release date.
Starfield ship customization explained
Starfield ship customization lets you build, deck out your ship with a crew, modify parts, and customize the look of your ship using a ship technician in a spaceport.
Confirmed parts of a ship you can customize are:
- Color
- LAS
- BAL
- MSL
- Hull
- Shield
- Cargo
- Crew
- Jump Range (Light Years)
- Mobility
- Top Speed
- Mass
- Cannons
- Cockpits
- Cowls or Cowling
- Engines
- Fuel Tanks
- Habitat Modules
- Landers
- Lasers
- Reactors
Revealed in an interview with Todd Howard by Kinda Funny Games, it was confirmed that there will be no land vehicles or mounts in Starfield, meaning your trusty spaceship is the main mode of transport. Given the importance of your ship to the intergalactic adventure, it’s a good idea to know all the ins and outs.
Firstly, to be able to customize a ship in Starfield, you’ll need to register it. This is important if you’re an aspiring space pirate stealing ships, requiring you first spend credits to register the stolen ship.
Howard then notes that ship customization and the ship building is a “deep system” that is mainly meant to be explored during the “late game”. Modifying your ships will be a costly procedure with lots of moving parts, so don’t expect to start the game and begin customizing your ship right away. While some of the Starfield ship customization options we’ll be going over will be easy to change, like the colour and upgrading certain features, others will be much more costly and complex.
Color
When it comes to customizing your ship, it’s not all about adding components but making them look pretty swish too. For now, it appears players will just be able to add color with any additional aesthetic accessories not yet revealed. But, there are several colors you can change, depending on the component.
Each color can be altered by hue, saturation, and brightness. Plus, once you’ve made a color you like, it’ll save it in your recent colors. There’s a log of 12 of your most recent designs, which aids easier application to other components on the rig.
LAS/BAL/MSL
These ship customization acronyms could stand for Lasers, Ballistics, and Missiles – referring to the weapons on board your rig and their damage output.
These can be changed and upgraded to improve your offensive capabilities in space combat. As such, you don’t want to forget about this ship upgrade.
Hull
The hull of a ship is its main body, protecting cargo, machinery, and crew. This would be the hull’s health bar. Upgrading this is likely to make your ship more resilient, a feature you don’t want to ignore in the cold, harsh vacuum of space.
Shield
Similarly, a Starfield ship would need a protective shield from enemies. The shield statistic refers to the amount of shield to protect the rig against damage.
Cargo
Judging by the hull statistic being health-related and containing cargo, it is likely this stat refers to the amount of cargo carried.
Crew
Each ship can carry a certain number of crew members onboard. Given Bethesda’s gameplay preview showing two crew, this number seemingly refers to how many members can fit on your rig. Check out our Starfield companions guide for all you need to know about the crew system.
Jump Range (Light Years)
Jump range refers to the travel capability of your rig and how far it can travel, in Light Years, between star systems.
Mobility
This is how mobile your ship is and how well it travels through space. No doubt having greater mobility will be useful when you’re going toe to toe with a hostile ship in space combat.
Top Speed
Quite simply, the top speed that your ship is capable of. This will come in handy whether you’re transporting goods, exploring the universe, and especially during intense space combat.
Mass
This refers to how heavy the ship is. Whilst mass can increase the amount of cargo and crew carried on board, it may also reduce statistics in mobility and top speed. In addition to this, on the top-left of the Bethesda preview, the ship’s reactor and equip power statistics are shown. Above which are six vertical bars, listed as:
- W0
- W1
- W2
- ENG
- SHD
- GRV
It is unclear from the gameplay reveal what these refer to, but it could mean three weapons (such as the lasers, ballistics, and missiles seen in the core stats), engine, shield, and potentially the ‘Grav-Jump’ or Gravity Drive referred to in Bethesda’s updates as a method used by ships to achieve Faster-Than-Light (FTL) travel.
Cannons
Cannons appear to add to multiple damage and shield stats onboard, especially in top six verticals adding to ENG, SHD, and CHV. In addition to the ship’s weaponry, there are also multiple Starfield weapons and guns to be carried by players, which are worth checking out in our guide. Core stats:
- Class
- Reactor power req
- Health
- Mass
Cockpits
Players sit in the cockpit of their rig to drive it. It appears with the Magellan C2 Cockpit, players are able to carry two crew members in the cockpit as well as adding additional health, cargo, and a bit of mass. Core stats:
- Cargo
- Health
- Crew Slots
- Mass
Cowls or Cowling
The core stats:
- Health
- Mass
Engines
Customizing the engine increases speed and acceleration, but the mass of the entire ship will affect performance. Core stats:
- Class
- Engine Thrust
- Manoeuvring Thrust
- Engine Health
- Health
- Mass
Fuel Tanks
Storing Helium-3 to fuel the ship’s grav drive enabling a jump. Increased fuel capacity makes further and more frequent jumps between refuels possible. Core stats:
- Grav Jump Fuel
- Health
- Mass
Habitat Modules
The core stats:
- Health
- Mass
Landers
Landers come equipped with auto-deploying landing gear making it possible to land on rougher terrain. Core stats:
- Health
- Mass
Lasers
Another onboard weapon as revealed in the ship’s core statistics. Core stats:
- Class
- Reactor Power Req
- Health
- Mass
Reactors
With most core statistics altered, a spaceship’s reactor provides power to all of the spaceship’s systems. Core stats:
- Class
- Power Generated
- Repair Rate
- Reactor Health
- Health
- Crew Rating
- Mass
That’s everything we know so far about the Starfield ship customization system. With a fully customized and upgraded ship, you’re ready to explore the Starfield planets in style.
