Starfield has arrived, and we’re busily building characters we hope can stand up to the rigours of adventuring in space. This means choosing a few traits for your character that will affect the wider flavour of their adventure. But which ones are the best traits Starfield has to offer, and which should make sure you take?
To help you out, we’ve put together a list of all the traits in the game, what they’ll do for you (positive and negative) and a short selection of our favourites.
Best Starfield Traits
If you’d just like to know which traits we think are best and be on your way, here they are:
Empath
This trait is based on routinely pleasing your companion NPC through word and deed, which grants a buff to damage in combat. It will be especially useful if you’re big into RP — Sarah if you’re noble, Andreja if you’re a little dangerous — or you can identify a companion you believe you can easily please.
Hero Worshipped
I know he’s annoying, but hear me out: the Adoring Fan is basically a crew member you can have for free. Better still, he’ll leave you alone if you assign him a job aboard your ship. It’s free real estate!
Serpent’s Embrace:
This is a trait that sounds like a bit of a hassle at first — you have to grav jump every four hours or take a hit to your oxygen and health — but here’s the thing: four hours is a VERY long time between grav jumps, especially if you’re questing. To me, this perk is absolutely worth taking — it conveys a great buff in exchange for an action you’re already going to be performing regularly.
Taskmaster
This trait is perfect for anyone who wants to run a large ship with lots of crew members. The more systems with an assigned NPC, the more likely the trait is to proc. The space pirates are going to have a hard time bringing you down when your ship keeps fully repairing itself during the fight. One for the starship captain who wants the full Firefly experience.
Terra Firma
This, to me, is far more useful than the Spaced perk. In my personal run, I spent far more time on planets than it did in space. There’s certainly some running around in space, but the bulk of my playthrough was spent on-world. Worth it for the buffs to health and oxygen it conveys (and if you combine it with Serpent’s Embrace, you can effectively double up!).
All Starfield Traits
Alien DNA
Pros: Increased health and oxygen
Cons: Items used for healing are less effective overall
How to remove the Alien DNA trait: Visiting the medical centre on New Atlantis (or any city) and speaking to the doctor will give you the option to remove the Alien DNA for 10,000 credits. Undergoing this procedure will permanently remove the trait from your character.
Dream Home
Pros: You own a luxurious house you can customise to your liking on a habitable, peaceful world
Cons: You have a 125,000 credit mortgage, and you must make eye-wateringly large payments every week.
Empath
Pros: Doing and saying things your companion likes will grant a temporary buff to combat performance
Cons: Doing and saying things your companion does not like will impose a penalty to combat performance
Extrovert
Pros: Adventuring with a companion grants a buff to your total oxygen supply while exerting yourself (ie: sprinting)
Cons: Adventuring alone imposes a penalty to your total oxygen supply while exerting yourself
FYI: Cannot be combined with the Introvert trait
Freestar Collective Settler
Pros: Opens up Freestar Collective dialogue options in conversation and grants better rewards for completing Freestar faction quests
Cons: Crime bounties from other factions are significantly higher
FYI: Can’t be combined with any other Faction allegiance trait
Hero Worshipped
Pros: Spawns an Adoring Fan who follows you around as part of your crew and will occasionally give you gifts
Cons: The Adoring Fan will interrupt you at random for an excited conversation
FYI: You can allocate the Adoring Fan a role on your ship, which seems to keep them out of the way (and gives you an extra set of hands for free). If you want to get rid of them permanently, you can formally dismiss them or simply shoot them dead.
Introvert
Pros: Adventuring alone grants a buff to your total oxygen supply while exerting yourself (i.e.: sprinting)
Cons: Adventuring with a companion imposes a penalty to your total oxygen supply while exerting yourself
FYI: Cannot be combined with the Extrovert trait
Kid Stuff
Pros: When on New Atlantis, you can visit your parents’ home in the Pioneer Town.
Cons: 2% of your total credits are sent to parents on a weekly basis
FYI: You’ll find your school backpack stashed in your childhood bedroom, which adds an extra 10 kg of inventory capacity when worn. Provided you keep paying them, your parents will occasionally send you gifts at random. There is also a chance they will show up in The Lodge and embarrass you in front of your Constellation friends. If you’d like to permanently remove the Kid Stuff trait (and the weekly payment), you’ll need to have a hard convo with your folks and tell them you can’t afford to send them any more money.
Neon Street Rat
Pros: Opens up some extra dialogue options when dealing with characters on Neon
Cons: Crime bounty from other factions is significantly higher
FYI: Can’t be combined with any other Faction allegiance trait
Raised Enlightened
Pros: Gives you access to a special chest of items in the House of the Enlightened when on New Atlantis
Cons: Access to the Sanctum Universum chest is denied
FYI: This is a religion trait and can’t be combined with any other religious trait. Recommend picking this chest up as early in your run as possible, as it contains a number of useful healing items. If you wish to remove the Enlightened trait, speak to a preist in the House of the Enlightened and tell them you no longer believe. This will remove the trait and your access to the chest, so best to break the news you’re leaving the church after you do a bit of looting.
Raised Universal
Pros: Gives you access to a special chest of items in the Santcum Universum when on New Atlantis
Cons: Access to the House of the Englightened chest is denied
FYI: This is a religion trait and can’t be combined with any other religious trait. Like the Enlightened chest, it contains a number of healing items and other bits and bobs. Useful in the early game. As with the Enlightened trait, you can remove the Universal trait by speaking to a Universum priest and telling them you no longer believe. Again, make sure you loot the chest before you tell them you’re leaving, as you’ll permanently lose access to it once the trait is removed.
Serpent’s Embrace
Pros: Grav jumping in your ship grants a 25% buff to your total health and oxygen. Also unlocks special dialogue with members of the Va’Ruun zealot faction.
Cons: You need to grav jump regularly — once every four IRL hours. If you don’t, your total health and oxygen will be reduced.
FYI: This is a religion trait and can’t be combined with any other religious trait. Serpent’s Embrace puts a countdown timer on your screen that ticks down from four hours to zero. Complete a grav jump at any time to reset the timer to a full four hours.
Spaced
Pros: You’re accustomed to being in space, and your total health and oxygen are increased whenever you’re off-world.
Cons: Your total health and oxygen are decreased whenever you’re on a planet.
FYI: Can’t be combined with Terra Firma.
Taskmaster
Pros: If you have a crew member with training in a specific ship system, that system has a chance to repair itself to 100% health automatically when below 50% health.
Cons: All crew members now cost twice as much to hire.
Terra Firma
Pros: You’re not big on being in space, and your total health and oxygen are increased whenever you’re planetside.
Cons: Your total health and oxygen are decreased whenever you’re in space.
FYI: Can’t be combined with Spaced.
United Colonies Native
Pros: Opens conversation options whenever speaking with United Colonies faction members. Also grants better rewards when completing faction missions.
Cons: Crime bounty from other factions is significantly higher.
FYI: Cannot be combined with any other faction allegiance trait.
Wanted
Pros: You get a buff to your maximum damage when your health is low.
Cons: Someone’s put a bounty on your head, and the word is out. Armed mercs have a chance to show up at any time to blow you away.
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