Exploring the space is a major part of Starfield, Bethesda Game Studios’ open-world adventure title. And it is very normal that you will encounter hostile ships while you fly your spaceship. Needless to say, learning the basics of space combat and knowing how to defeat enemies in space is going to be a lifesaver for you.
Learn Ship Functions First
The first thing that you need to know is how to fly your ship properly and then understand all the functions your ship will offer. As you take off from the ground, you’ll see six different bars at the bottom left of your screen. Each bar has a different role to play in your ship’s flying and combat. There’s a limited number of powers that you’ll be able to allocate among those six.
The left three signifies the weapons of your ship, they are Lasers, Ballistics, and Missiles (in the same order). The right three stands for Engine, Shield, and Gravity. Depending on your situation while you are in space, you will need to allocate power. For example, if you are just flying and need to fly faster, you should allocate more power to your engine, and if you are in combat with other aliens or hostile ships, then, of course, you need to allocate power to your weapons and shield.
One very important tip here is that if you want to move your ship in the other direction, you will need to take power off from the engine to slow down your ship to maneuver quickly.
Ready, Aim, Shoot
With three available weapons for your vessel, it is very important to know when to use which one for optimum damage. Laser is most useful when you want to destroy the shield of an enemy ship. The other two are good at dealing direct damage, which is great for knocking out an enemy’s hull or engines.
To aim and shoot properly, you will need to point your cursor and lock the target. However, it only works when you are close to your target. This helps in getting all your shots to deal heavy damage without any misfire. Generally, the Missile works best when you have locked on your target. Later in the game, you will be able to buy other weapons for the ship, such as automated turrets and particle beam weapons, which will do much better damage.
It is also important to know that enemy ships can also lock on to you, and when they deal damage to your ship, it is recommended that you repair your ship at the earliest. Otherwise, things might get worse, and you would need to restart from the last save.
Board and Take Over Enemy Ships
Once you destroy an enemy ship, you have the option to take over. To do that, you need to lock on to the enemy ship to disable the engine. Then you can get close and dock your ship. That will prompt you with the option to enter the enemy ship if that ship allows boarding at all. And if you can enter, you should definitely kill the remaining enemies inside and do whatever you want.
Hopefully, these basics will help you to steer your way in space combat. And if you would like to read some more Starfield guides, feel free to check out these
- Starfield Crew and Companions Guide With Complete List
- Starfield Beginners Guide: 5 Quick Tips For A Smooth Headstart
- How to get the Mark 1 Spacesuit in Starfield Early On
- Here’s Every Starfield Background and Our Recommendations
- Starfield Character Traits Guide
- Starfield PC Mods that You Should Have Installed
- There’s already a DLSS/XeSS Mod for Starfield and It’s Free
- Here’s What You’ll Need to Play Starfield on Your PC
