How to get your first ship in Starfield, and then how to get a better one
Here’s how to get your very first ship in Starfield, and then get a new one later on
Want to know how to get a shiny new ship in Starfield? Bethesda's new open world RPG is all about being an intrepid space traveler, discovering new planets and treasures. Of course, in order to do that you'll need a ship first.
Starfield rewards you with a ship pretty early on, luckily, and with a little work you'll be able to get plenty more. Here's how to get your first ship in Starfield, and then how to get a better one.
How to get your first ship in Starfield
Your first ship in Starfield is given to you automatically, very early on in the story. After creating your character you'll be introduced to Supervisor Lin on Vectera, and be taken through a series of tutorials. Just follow the story and objective markers and eventually, the settlement will be attacked by pirates. After fighting them off a ship will land and you'll be introduced to Barrett, a member of an organization called Constellation.
Barrett will give you his ship, the Frontier, and tell you to travel to Constellation headquarters in New Atlantis. Head into the ship and fire it up to go to space. You'll have a few tutorials to complete on how to travel around the galaxy, but after that, you're free to take your ship wherever your heart pleases.
How to get a new ship in Starfield
The Frontier will serve your purposes for a good while, but eventually you'll need to upgrade to a new ship, whether it's for more firepower or a bigger cargo hold. There are two main ways of getting a new ship in Starfield:
- You can forcefully take a ship from someone.
- You can purchase a new ship at a starport.
While you're out exploring you might occasionally see another ship land somewhere. If you head to a landed ship, and it's not important to the main story, you'll get an optional objective to kill all enemies aboard and take it over. If you do so, and pilot the ship to space, you'll get a notice saying the next time you land it somewhere it'll become your main ship. But be aware that if it's a B or C class ship, you'll need the necessary rank in the Piloting skill.
Alternatively, all of the major cities like New Atlantis, Akila, and Neon will have a Ship Service Technician at their starports. Talk to the technician and you'll see an option to see what ships they have on sale. These will typically run anywhere from 70,000-300,000 credits, so if you're looking for a big upgrade you'll need to save up for a while. Once you've purchased a ship you'll need to set it as your main ship, which you can do by talking to the technician and then asking to "upgrade your ship", which is also how you can purchase new individual parts. On the upgrade menu, you can also reassign any crew members between your various ships and outposts.
That's everything you need to know about getting for first ship and getting a new ship in Starfield. For more help with your ship, check out our guides on Starfield ship storage, how to dock your ship and how to rename your ship. If you need more help exploring Starfield, make sure to check out our guide on the best Starfield builds, or find out how to change your appearance and how to fast travel.