To earn money quickly in Starfield, there are several ways. We have explored the best of them and present them in this guide.
Here’s the deal: In Starfield, earning money is one of the highest priorities for space explorers. Fortunately, the space role-playing game also offers some good opportunities to do so. However, only those who make use of effective “procurement measures” will get rich quickly.
This guide will not only tell you how to get money safely, but also how to do it in a particularly fruitful way to become a very wealthy space citizen early in the game. The price for this is one or two conflicts with the law, of course, but who cares about morals when even high bounties can be paid out of coffee money.
Starfield: How to Earn Money at the Speed of Light
So that you can soon burn your money laughing in the fire of the thrusters, there are 8 (noisy) methods for you. These are short plumbing, stealing ships, selling scans, pickpocketing, bounty hunting, cracking safes and selling contraband. Here are the details.
1. Loot, but be Smart
There’s something to pick up at every turn in Starfield, but not every item is worth lugging around. Your load capacity is limited and at some point even your “pack mule” will be at the end of its rope. That’s why you should not only always thoroughly examine the surroundings, but also keep an eye on how high the value of an object is in view of its weight.
Unlike other Bethesda titles, in Starfield you can allow yourself to be picky right from the start. Thus, if you spot an item that isn’t glued down and its value is below 20 credits, just ignore it. Things get really interesting when the value reaches 30 credits and the weight is significantly less than 1; you will always find quite a lot of such objects.
Likewise, among significantly more valuable finds (such as special books or weapons) there are better and worse “deals”. For example, the Grendel automatic rifle with a weight of 2.65 and a value of 1402 credits is clearly preferable to the Maelstrom. The latter also gives its seller a good 1210 credits, but its weight of 4.15 is relatively high.
As a rule, take heavy items only when it is clearly worth it. You have to keep in mind that many mission areas are quite large and your respective carrying limit will almost certainly be reached – sooner or later.
2. Acquire the Trading Skill
Once you have advanced in level, open the skills menu and navigate to the “Social” category (see image below). There you will be interested in the first menu item, “Trade”. If you activate this ability with one skill point, you will immediately buy goods from all merchants for 5 percent cheaper and sell your goods for 10 percent more expensive.
3. Take Over Space Ships and Sell Them
If pirates and other scum already make a sport out of attacking your ship in space, you might as well get into the habit of moving their ships. Admittedly, it takes some time to board enemy ships, and besides, when you sell a spaceship, you’ll have to pay a fee for its registration. However, you’ll still get a considerable amount of money for the aircraft.
Moreover, the value of a space plane does not lie exclusively in its selling price. The cargo holds contain common items, and the sometimes well-filled pockets of your dead attackers also spit out things of value. In this respect, attacks on you are not necessarily a negative thing, if you only make enough of them.
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4. Sell Planetary Scans
As part of the main mission, you’ll meet Vladimir Sall on the space station “The Eye”. The good man has several orders for you, one of which is to collect complete data about planets. You can sell these scans to Vladimir, but regular scans, the complete collection of flora and fauna, would be much too time-consuming to be a quick source of money.
That would be to approach gas giants with your ship. Gas giants are planets like our Jupiter or Saturn, which means it’s not possible to land on these spheres. So by simply scanning gas giants from orbit, you can get complete planetary scans without even setting foot on them. And Vladimir has to take that into account, so it’s relatively easy money.
5. Be a (Careful) Pickpocket
In video games, it often pays to be criminal, and Starfield is no different in this regard. Yes, pickpocketing is worthwhile, no matter who you try it on and on what occasion. Also, take a look at the screenshot below.
However, it is important to know that there are areas where a careless pickpocket will not escape jail. Especially in some cities, the law enforcers are very strong and will overpower you with ease, especially in the beginning.
6. Unlock Safes
It is almost self-explanatory that the sometimes tedious search for digidietriches will prove to be worthwhile. You can use them to open safes and almost anything else that is locked. The reason why this item is listed here, however, has to do with the fact that by successfully using digidietrichs you’ll improve your security skill – which turns out to be one of the most important in Starfield.
7. Complete Bounty and Survey Missions
Sure, by completing jobs advertised in many places, such as the Constellation HQ or the bars in the cities, you’ll earn some quick money. First of all, choose simple tasks like destroying a certain pirate ship. This won’t keep you busy for long and you’ll be able to earn considerable amounts of money within a short time.
What you should refrain from for now are missions that involve tracking down specific planets or planetary landing sites. These jobs are usually quite complex and require more time. Don’t deal with such requests until you are able to save time, for example by using a fast ship.
8. Sell Stolen Items and Contraband
Yes, Starfield is also one of those space games that rewards selling contraband with a high income. So when you investigate bases, outposts, ships or whatever, keep your eyes open for contraband. Usually it’s hidden in large crates, but it can also be found on open surfaces.
However, stolen or smuggled goods can be discovered on populated systems. So make sure you get rid of the hot stuff quickly, which can only be done by visiting the local trade authority building.
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