Starfield offers players unparalleled freedom in ship customization, allowing you to design and build spacecraft tailored to your exact specifications. Understanding the various ship components and their impact on your vessel’s performance is crucial for creating a ship that not only looks impressive but also functions effectively in the vast expanse of space. This guide breaks down the essential modules in Starfield ship building, providing insights into their functionalities and key considerations for your design process.
Essential Ship Components Explained
Bays (Docking Bays)
Bays serve a purely aesthetic purpose in Starfield ship design. You are required to include one bay in your ship, but its impact on ship stats is negligible. The primary choice revolves around aesthetics and entry style. Bays come in fore, aft, and even side entry variations, with manufacturers like Stroud-Eklund offering unique side-entry options.
When selecting a bay, inspect its interior during ship building. Some bays feature boarding ladders, while others provide a direct hatchway into the ship’s interior. Ensuring a clear, walkable path from your chosen bay through your hab modules to the cockpit is essential for functional ship layout.
Cargo Holds
Cargo holds are straightforward: they dictate your ship’s storage capacity. A cargo score of 245 translates to a capacity of 245 mass units. If you’ve invested in the “Payloads” skill, this capacity is further multiplied, enhancing your hauling capabilities.
However, cargo holds are among the heaviest ship components. Adding substantial cargo capacity can significantly reduce your ship’s “Mobility” stat. Larger cargo holds can decrease mobility by 10-20% each. Carefully balance cargo needs with desired ship agility.
For those involved in less-than-legal activities, shielded cargo holds are available at locations like The Key, The Den, and Red Mile. These holds offer reduced capacity per mass compared to standard holds but provide crucial protection for contraband, increasing the chance of evading planetary scans. Contraband items not stored in your personal inventory are automatically placed in shielded holds when present on your ship.
Cockpits
A cockpit is mandatory for any Starfield ship. While primarily an aesthetic choice, cockpits do contribute a small amount to your ship’s cargo capacity. This cargo bonus is minor in larger vessels but can be noticeable in early or smaller ship builds, potentially adding 200-300 cargo units.
Most cockpits offer 5 hull points and accommodate 2 crew stations. Some larger cockpit models increase crew capacity to 4 stations, offering more crew assignment flexibility. The selection often comes down to visual preference and desired crew capacity.
Dockers
Every ship requires a docker for space station and ship docking. Dockers have minimal stats and similar costs, making the choice largely dependent on ship design and docking orientation preference.
A crucial rule is that the docker must connect to the cockpit via hab modules and must be placed on the “outside” edge of your ship. While “outside” is generally the outermost edge, some structural components placed beyond the docker might not invalidate your ship build.
Dockers are available in dorsal (top), fore (frontal), and port (left) orientations. Port dockers can be mirrored to starboard, but fore dockers are fixed and cannot be reversed for aft docking. Most dorsal dockers are also fixed, but the Deimos Slim Docker, exclusive to Deimos staryard, can be flipped to ventral (bottom), offering design flexibility. Combined with a bay that uses a hatch rather than a ladder, you can consolidate your entry and docking points in the same area.
The Nova docker uniquely incorporates a built-in 1×1 hab module, which can be either advantageous or restrictive depending on your planned ship layout and internal hab arrangement.
Engines
Engines are where ship building becomes more complex. Each ship has a mass value, and your chosen engines must provide sufficient thrust to effectively move that mass. Engines are categorized by class: A (lowest), B, and C (highest). Your ship’s reactor class dictates the maximum engine class you can use, but you can always opt for lower class engines. Interestingly, some high-end Class B engines can outperform certain Class C engines in specific aspects.
“Max Power” is a key engine stat, but higher is not always better. Max Power indicates the reactor power bars needed to fully power the engine. A higher Max Power engine demands more power allocation, and the total engine power draw is capped at 12. Exceeding 12 total Max Power across all engines will invalidate your ship design. With most engines having a Max Power of 3, this often limits you to four engines. Mixing engines with different Max Power values (e.g., two Max Power 3 engines and three Max Power 2 engines) is a viable strategy.
Engine Thrust translates directly to your ship’s top speed. While higher top speed is generally desirable, in practice, ship mobility is often more critical in combat and general navigation.
Maneuvering Thrust is arguably the most important engine stat. It directly influences your ship’s mobility. Max Power 2 engines typically peak at just over 3000 Maneuvering Thrust. The Class C Supernova engine boasts a high 6450 Maneuvering Thrust, but its significant mass can sometimes lead to lower overall mobility compared to lighter, high-performance Class B engines like the SAE-5330 (4830 Maneuvering Thrust). The SA-4220 is an excellent Class A, Max Power 2 engine, offering a good balance for smaller, agile ships.
Engine Health represents engine hit points. While more is better, it’s generally less critical than other engine stats. Your ship’s hull is likely to fail before you lose all engines in most combat scenarios.
Equipment (Pirate Gear)
Specialized ship equipment, often pirate-themed and available at The Key, can provide unique advantages:
- Comspike: (Requires Crimson Fleet mission progress) Reduces weapon lock-on time by 25% and weapon fire cost in Target Mode by 20%, enhancing offensive capabilities.
- Conduction Grid: (Requires Crimson Fleet mission progress) Increases shield regeneration rate by 25% and reduces incoming EM damage by 50%, boosting survivability.
- Scan Jammer: Increases the chance of evading scans (up to 50%) when carrying shielded cargo, crucial for smuggling operations.
Fuel Tanks
Fuel tanks, surprisingly, feel like a less impactful mechanic in Starfield. Ships automatically refuel after each grav jump, minimizing fuel management concerns. Fuel tanks do add mass to your ship, though not as much as cargo holds or engines. Around 200 fuel units is generally sufficient, and you can likely manage with even less (around 125) without significant gameplay limitations. Prioritize other components over excessive fuel capacity.
Landing Gear
Landing gear requirements are calculated based on ship size and mass, determined by “lander thrust” points. Smaller ships might require only 3-4 lander thrust points, while larger builds can demand 12 or more. Each landing gear module provides a specific amount of lander thrust, ranging from 1 to 4 points.
Landing gear offers significant cosmetic variety. Stroud-Eklund landing gear is particularly versatile, available in port, starboard, and center configurations, easily switchable using the ‘Z’ key for mirrored placement, making them adaptable to diverse ship designs.
Grav Drives
A grav drive is essential for interstellar travel in Starfield. They can be placed virtually anywhere on your ship without specific location constraints. Grav drive stats appear less critical in practice. Even with minimal power allocation (1 bar), grav jumps are consistently quick (around 8 seconds). Grav drives do contribute to ship mass, making them a component where minimizing size and mass can be beneficial. Focus on selecting a grav drive that meets the class requirements of your reactor without over-sizing.
By understanding these core ship components and their attributes, you can make informed decisions during ship building in Starfield, crafting vessels that are both visually striking and strategically optimized for your spacefaring adventures. Experiment with different combinations and manufacturers to discover the perfect ship for your playstyle.
