What’s The Best Background in Starfield?

Making the most in-depth character creation screens is textbook Bethesda, and in Starfield, things aren’t any different. From the tons of new additions in its latest sci-fi RPG, the Starfield Background select feature will take the most of your time. Choosing a Background assigns a backstory to your character and grants three unique skills at the start of the game. While all skills are later obtainable, picking the right ones will make the beginning of the game way easier. As for the backstory, that remains the same throughout the playthrough, but since it doesn’t impact gameplay in any way, you can get what looks cool.

Regardless, seeing 21 available Backgrounds in Starfield with three skills each is sensory overload, and you’re likely to get stuck for an hour in hopes of picking the best one. If that’s the predicament you find yourself in now, this guide will help narrow those options down.

Best Starfield Backgrounds

1. [File Not Found]

Skills: Wellness – Ballistics – Piloting

It’s hard to imagine this would be the best Background in Starfield. Despite the rather mysterious premise, picking [File Not Found] is one of the best options you could possibly select at the start. The Wellness buff increases your maximum health by 10%, while Ballistics upgrades weapons of the category, in turn making them deal 10% more damage. It’s almost as if you’re a tank.

Lastly, Piloting is a great skill to start with as it enables thrusters on your ship, allowing you to fly faster, which is especially helpful during ship battles in which you have to maneuver yourself quickly.

2. Ronin

Skills: Dueling – Stealth – Scavenging

As in every other Bethesda game, there’s always a place for players who prefer stealth, and the Ronin Background is the ninja equivalent in this one. Starfield allows you to approach situations in a variety of ways, and since stealth is introduced early on, becoming a Ronin wouldn’t hurt since it offers 25% more melee weapon damage.

You’re also 25% harder to detect while sneaking, so those Skyrim tactics will carry over. The Ronin class also has the added benefit of finding a few extra credits lying around, and having more money never hurts. In a nutshell, it’s the best Background in Starfield if you dig staying out of sight.

3. Cyber Runner

Skills: Stealth – Theft – Security

Like the Ronin, the Cyber Runner also has Stealth as a perk, but where this Background differs is with its Theft and Security skills. Theft makes pickpocketing much easier, while Security lets you hack advanced locks and has a stacking bonus of two auto-attempts.

Starfield gives you plenty of opportunities to test out all three of these skills. So if being a stealthy cyberpunk hacker sounds like you, then by all means.

4. Bounty Hunter

Skills: Piloting – Targeting Control Systems – Boost Pack Training

The Bounty Hunter comes equipped with some of the best skills in Starfield. Unlike stealth or combat, the Bounty Hunter focuses more on the tech side of the Settled Colonies — literally. Piloting and Targeting Control Systems unlock two of your ship’s most important features; thrusters and targeting.

If space exploration is the first thing you’re jumping into when you grab the game, choosing Bounty Hunter would be the best bet. Additionally, the Bounty Hunter has the Boost Pack Training skill unlocked from the start. The skill is required to use the Boost Pack, Starfield’s mini-jetpack of sorts. Exploration becomes more accessible, fun, and out of this solar system. If anybody wants that kind of experience right from the get-go, this is the best Background to have.

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For more Insider Gaming guides on Starfield, you can check out our Guides page.