The Only Starfield Pirate Build You Need
Whenever a new space adventure game comes out, it’s always interesting to see what builds you can play as. I’ve done some research and have crafted this Starfield Pirate build. First, we will choose a background, then look at the perks.
Background
Backgrounds provide you with three perks plus some extra dialog options when conversing in certain situations. Out of the options available, I would recommend one of four backgrounds:
- Bounty Hunter: Piloting, Targeting Control Systems, and Boost Pack Training
- Industrialist: Persuasion, security, and Research methods
- Long Hauler: Weightlifting, piloting, ballistic weapon systems
- Space Scoundrel: Pistol certification, piloting, persuasion
We want a background that boosts your piloting skills at a minimum, but the industrialist does provide persuasion and security, which are the other two perks that we would want to pick up. My best choice of background would be the Space Scoundrel since this gives you persuasion and piloting skills, plus you can specialize in handgun weapons. Next up are the Starfield skills.
Starfield Pirate Build Skills
The focus of this build will be ship-based, with supporting perks in pistols and a few other options. Here is the list of skills you should pick up:
Science Skill Tree
| Skill | Tier | Effects/Comments |
| Aneutronic Fusion | 4 | Ship reactors produce 1 extra unit of power, useful for outfitting your ship with more powerful armaments. |
Social Skill Tree
| Skill | Tier | Effects/Comments |
| Commerce | 1 | Get better prices for the loot you sell |
| Deception | 2 | Contraband scans are 10% less successful. Ships that are 10% stronger than you will automatically surrender. |
| Negotiation | 2 | Unlocks bribery, useful for escaping the arm of the law. |
| Persuasion | 1 | Can convince your prey to give up their loot without a fight. |
Tech Skill Tree
| Skill | Tier | Effects/Comments |
| Automated Weapons Systems | 4 | Once you have access to automated weapons, this perk will boost their damage as well as reduce targeting mod prices by 20%. |
| Ballistic Weapon System | 1 | Boosts your ship’s ballistic weapon damage. |
| EM Weapon Systems | 4 | EM ship weapons will cause 10% more damage and cost 15% less to use in targeting mode. |
| Engine Systems | 2 | Ship speed is increased by 10%, making it perfect to either hunt or flee potential targets. |
| Energy Weapon Systems | 2 | Ship energy weapons cause 10% more damage. |
| Missile Weapon Systems | 3 | Increases ship missile damage, which is useful for taking down other ships. |
| Particle Beam Weapon Systems | 3 | Increase ship Particle Beam DMG |
| Payloads | 2 | One of the first skills you should pick up, so you can store more plunder. |
| Piloting | 1 | Faster ship speeds |
| Shield systems | 2 | 20% increased shield capacity |
| Targeting Control Systems | 1 | Can target different subsystems of ships, to incapacitate them |
Unlike many other RPGs, Starfield does not have a level cap. So after picking up all of these skills you can then pivot to some of the ship building perks such as Starship Design and Starship Engineer.
Playstyle
Now let the fun begin. At the start of the game, it won’t be advisable to start Pirating until you have a decent starship. I would recommend this guide: https://www.radiotimes.com/technology/gaming/starfield-ships-designs-build/ on how to get the best starships Once acquired, make sure you have the Targeting Control Systems Skill so that you can disable your prey’s ships. Then use your weapon of choice when boarding.
The Aneutronic Fusion skill will be difficult to acquire since we haven’t picked any other skills from the Science Skill Tree. You need a total of 12 points in that skill tree to unlock the skill. For level 1, I would recommend Astrodynamics to boost your ship’s grav drive. And 1 point in Research Methods. Next, max out scanning. Level 3 should unlock, so put 3 points into Astrophysics. This will unlock the final tier.
Starfield Pirate Build
I hope this guide helped. You should now be free to cause as much mischief as you want. Just be careful that you don’t overdo it and have the whole UNC fleet after you. For other guides check out my collection