Best Starfield Backgrounds: Which Should You Choose?

The long-awaited science fiction RPG Starfield is finally here and brings a ton of intergalactic exploration with it. However, like all RPG games before, there’s a fair bit of character customization that goes before it. One such choice ischaracter background, which not only dictates your history but decides your starting skills that will be instrumental to your journey. There are a plethora of backgrounds in the game, but only some of them can be considered the best. Well, we are here to make your job easier, listing the best Starfield backgrounds you should pick. So, without any more delay, let’s begin.

Best Starfield Backgrounds for New Players

There are a total of 21 backgrounds in Starfield to choose from, and each has their own set of skills that come with them. For more details on each background, including their description and skills, keep reading as we dive into them all. However, our top five recommendations are as follows:

All 21 Starfield Backgrounds Explained

1. Soldier

Arguably, one of my favorite backgrounds in Starfield, the Soldier, comes from a place where violence is no stranger to them. The Settled Systems have their fair share of chaos, and this background is one of the best to pick if you want to survive and even win those fights.

Soldiers get an excellent combination of skills that help them fight and be mobile at once. While Fitness and Ballistics skills give you more stamina and damage to win fights, Boost Pack Training will give you ajetpack early on.

2. Cyber Runner

While being a Soldier is nice, this Starfield background is for those who love to be sneaky and still make a tidy profit. The Cyber Runner knows the world inside out and can leverage it without making noise. This background comes with a useful stealth skill thatmakes you harder to detect.

Furthermore, you also get security and theft skills that increase your lockpick skills and even give you more auto attempts at opening up locks for that added finesse. So, if guns aren’t your cup of tea, try Cyber Runner out.

3. Combat Medic

Health in Starfield, while decent, tends to go down quickly if you aren’t paying attention. Therefore, it’s all the more important to have one of the best Starfield backgrounds that helps you heal up faster. The Combat Medic just does that with its Medicine skill thatensuresMed, Trauma, and Emergency packs heal you fasterand more compared to other backgrounds.

Moreover, the Wellness skill increases your maximum health. However, don’t think you can’t fire back, as the Pistol Certification lets you deal more damage through pistols.

4. Bounty Hunter

Starfield is a game that relies on space travel at the end of the day. Thankfully, the Bounty Hunter is a perfect fit for that. True to its name, the hunter is adept at getting around the systems quickly and easily. While the piloting skill lets you use the ship thrusters early, the targeting control systems let you destroy specific areas of the enemy ship for faster boarding. Finally, bounty hunters also get the boost pack early on in the game for some added mobility.

5. [FILE NOT FOUND]

This is one of ourfavorite Starfield backgroundsbecause it lets you be whoever you are. With no single story behind you, you can decide your past and are an explorer in the cosmic sea. However, don’t let that make you think you don’t have the right skills. The no-past guy comes with a decent set of skills, including wellness, which gives them more health, ballistics for more weapon damage, and piloting to use the ship’s thrusters. So don’t worry about what you were and just set off.

6. Diplomat

One of the backgrounds naturally made for a peaceful resolution — the Diplomat’s skills indealing with people. This is the one choice peaceful players among you should make. Diplomats come with Persuasion, which you’ll need in future conversations. Furthermore, you also get commerce, which will give you profit while buying and selling items. While the Wellness skill is a bit odd here, it’s appreciated, as even a Diplomat might get into a hairy situation.

7. Explorer

While the bounty hunter explores for credits, the Explorer is thirsty for cosmic knowledge. With a background among the stars, you have a distinct set of skills that mix astrodynamics, surveying, and even some offense together. The explorer knows about their ships’ Grav Drive tech, making them more adept at improving it. Furthermore, yourlaser weapons deal more damagealong with a scanner with more zoom. Take the explorer to become a person out and about in the stars.

8. Space Scoundrel

Starfield, to some, reminds them of the famous Star-Lord from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Well, if you want a background like him, the Space Scoundrel is made for you. Put simply, the scoundrel listens to nobody and does whatever they want. They have a mixed sense of morality, and that comes with mirroring skills.

The space scoundrel isfamiliar with pistolsfor small combat combined with piloting to quickly escape. However, when you want to get out of situations by talking or earning credits, persuasion skills will help you fool people. Go with this background for a slightly more grey version of Peter Quill.

9. Industrialist

If you ever wanted to be a kind of CEO in space, like Musk, the Industrialist background will suit you. This background mixes in the powers of persuasion and research to give you the knowledge and insight for more tech. The added security skill is straight from the arsenal of the cyber runner, along with Research methods skill that lets you finish projects faster and craft items with fewer resources. While not the best background in Starfield, the Industrialist is a decent mix of them all.

10. Cyberneticist

The Cyberneticist in Starfield gives you a vast skillset that dabbles in self-healing, lockpicking, and even lasers. While this might seem like an odd skill set, you can get away with a lot if you play your cards right. For starters, the security skill can help youcrack advanced lockswith extra auto attempts. You also get the laser skill for added damage from your weapons. And if all else fails, the medicine skill will help you heal quickly and escape a situation.

11. Xenobiologist

While we are only a few hours into our Starfield playthrough, we have already stumbled upon a decent set of alien life that looks equal parts interesting and scary. The Xenobiologist background is made just for a person interested in breaking down planets for aliens. The surveying skill increases your scanner to make it powerful, while fitness will ensure you have more oxygen in your blood. Furthermore, you get added laser damage, so make sure to pack one.

12. Sculptor

The Sculptor, at its best, is a weird combination of talents. While the sculptor could have had a career as a surgeon, they chose art coupled with a dash of science. This Starfield background is skilled in Geology, which lets themmine more inorganic (alien) resourcesfrom surfaces. However, the times things go wrong, you also get added healing powers along with persuasion to smoothen people.

13. Long Hauler

The Long Hauler background in Starfield isn’t inherently anything special, but they can carry the load when needed. The Weight Lifting skillincreases the maximum carrying capacityto let you travel further with more stuff. However, you also get space exploration skills, including piloting your ship’s thrusters and ballistic weapon system for some added damage from your ship.

14. Bouncer

Another generic Starfield background, the Bouncer, focuses on more of the olden ways of Earth. You were a bouncer in your past life, which gives you access to Boxing, which in turn lends more physical damage to attacks and uses less oxygen. That is naturally paired with Fitness for even more oxygen. Lastly, you also get the ability to pick advanced locks for some reason if you want to go covert.

15. Homesteader

The Homesteader is a background apt for people who want tosettle down on a planet or twoand not be bothered. However, that also means your skillset won’t be on the offensive and rather quite passive. The Homesteader comes with geology for alien particles, surveying for a stronger scanner, and finally, weight lifting for added carrying capacity. Just make sure not to have a violent playthrough.

16. Ronin

Sometimes, the idea of you changes depending on who you deal with, and that’s where the Ronin shines. This Starfield background makes you a blade for hire who has gone through not one but multiple missions to hone their skills. The Ronin takes advantage of the dueling skill that gives themadded melee damage and a shiny stealth meter. You’re also better at scavenging and getting more resources. This is the perfect Starfield background when operating alone.

17. Pilgrim

The Pilgrim, on the other hand, is a Starfield background focused on survival. The scavenging skill gives you more loot, while gastronomy lets you create brand-new recipes and ingredients. To help that, the Pilgrim also uses the more powerful scanner with their surveying skill. If you’re focused on surviving, the Pilgrim is one of the best Starfield backgrounds to go for.

18. Professor

As one can tell, the Professor is focused on knowledge and not much else. You will meet some with this background, includingNoel, a gifted scientist. True to their title, the professors source inorganic materials and strongly focus on research projects with their Research Methods skill. To add to exploration, they also get added grav jump range with their Astrodynamics skill.

19. Beast Hunter

Coming in the exact opposite of academia, the Beast Hunter is a Starfield profession that puts you in the shoes of a person with a past in blood. The beast hunter, as most can tell,hunts terrifying monstrositiesacross the galaxy. Therefore, it’s only natural you’ve added Oxygen with the Fitness skill and a penchant for ballistic weapons. You can also use that meat with the Gastronomy skill to create special recipes.

20. Gangster

Whoever knew Starfield, too, would have its fair share of mobsters. The Gangster background allows folks to relive the Mafia days while transferring those skills. TheShotgun Certification skilllets you deal added damage with that weapon. However, when it is time for punches, the Boxing still is there to help. Or you can quickly steal belongings using the Theft skill. The world is your oyster with this cool background in Starfield.

21. Chef

Last and maybe least, for some, the Chef is apassive enough backgroundthat might or might not pay off, depending on how you play Starfield. For starters, the Chef comes with Gastronomy, which lets you craft unique food provided you have the ingredients. To help that, the chef can also scavenge for more loot from containers. You also get added Dueling, just like the Ronin, but you might want to stick with guns. Take the Chef only if you’re confused with everything else or you want to cook later on.

Upanishad Sharma

Combining his love for Literature and Tech, Upanishad dived into the world of technology journalism with fire. Now he writes about anything and everything while keeping a keen eye on his first love of gaming. Often found chronically walking around the office.

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