Your first step in Starfield isn’t choosing a weapon or a spaceship-it’s picking your past. With 21 distinct backgrounds, each offering unique skills and story flavor, your choice can shape your early adventures, open up special dialogue, and give you a head start on your chosen playstyle-whether you want to be a silver-tongued diplomat, a cunning space scoundrel, or a battle-hardened soldier. But with so many options, which background truly fits the explorer you want to become? Let’s break down how to pick the perfect origin for your journey among the stars.
How important are backgrounds? They will have some sway on dialogue options that randomly become available to you, but based on our experiences, that’s rare enough that you don’t need to base your choice on it. In choosing the best background for you, you should really focus on the three skills you want to start Starfield with.
The best background in Starfield for you
Starfield offers a diverse range of 21 backgrounds, each providing three starting skills that shape your early gameplay experience and unlock unique dialogue options tied to your character’s origin. While your background doesn’t lock you into a fixed playstyle-since all skills can be acquired later-it influences what you can do at the start and adds flavor to your interactions. Choosing the best background depends on your preferred approach: for combat-focused players, options like Bounty Hunter or Soldier provide strong early advantages; stealth enthusiasts may prefer Cyber Runner; social players might lean toward Diplomat; and those seeking versatility could opt for Industrialist or Explorer. Ultimately, the best background is the one that aligns with how you want to explore and engage with Starfield’s vast universe.
Our list of the best skills can elaborate on what background to choose if you’re uncertain which one you should prioritize. Based on our experiences with various skills in Starfield, though, these are the five best backgrounds for the early game:
- Industrialist
- Bounty Hunter
- Soldier
- Diplomat
- Cyber Runner
At the end of the day, the best background is whichever one suits your desired playstyle; you should pick whichever skills you value the most. But based on our collective playtime, here’s why we think these are the five best backgrounds to choose in Starfield.
Industrialist
Starting the game with a point each in Security (which helps you pick locks) and Persuasion (which helps you talk your way out of firefights) goes a long way toward playing the early game without conflict. Playing as an Industrialist also opens up helpful dialogue options during UC Vanguard faction quests.
Bounty Hunter
Play as a Bounty Hunter and you’ll start out with a skill point in Piloting, which means you’re one step closer to being able to captain B- and C-class ships without having to invest in the skill. Boost Pack Training lets you get more use out of your boostpack. Targeting Control Systems makes ship combat a bit easier – not mandatory for the long haul but helpful in the early game, as you’re getting used to dogfights.
Soldier
Starfield often devolves into combat, especially in the early hours. The Fitness and Ballistics skills give anyone playing as a Soldier an edge – granting more oxygen and increasing gun damage respectively – while Boost Pack Training is just plain fun.
Diplomat
As mentioned, the power of Persuasion cannot be overstated in Starfield, but the Diplomat comes with an additional skill: Commerce, which allows you to buy items for less and sell items for more. The raw percentage amount isn’t huge, per se, but as you’re getting your feet under you, every credit counts!
Cyber Runner
Cyber Runner is the closest thing to a stealthy loadout you can get at the start of Starfield. Theft grants you the ability to pickpocket targets, while Stealth (the skill, not the general practice) makes you 25% harder to detect, and adds a detection meter to your HUD. These skills are paramount if you plan on aligning yourself with the Ryujin Industries faction.
Starfield backgrounds list
Starfield offers 21 unique backgrounds, each granting your character three starting skills that reflect their previous life experience and provide an early gameplay boost. These backgrounds range from combat-focused roles like Combat Medic and Soldier to more specialized paths such as Bounty Hunter, Industrialist, and Diplomat. While backgrounds do not lock you into a specific playstyle-since all skills can be learned later-they do unlock unique dialogue options and can influence your early game strategy. Choosing the right background depends on your preferred approach, whether it’s stealth, combat, exploration, or social interaction, making it an important but flexible choice for shaping your journey in the Settled Systems.
Below, we’ve listed out all the backgrounds you can choose in Starfield, and the various skills associated with them.
Starfield backgrounds and skills
Starfield backgrounds are a key part of character creation, each representing your character’s history and granting three starting skills that shape your early gameplay experience. These initial skills can provide immediate advantages-such as improved combat abilities, better ship piloting, or enhanced persuasion-depending on the background you select. While backgrounds also unlock unique dialogue options and flavor interactions with NPCs, they do not permanently restrict your character’s development; you can learn any skill as you progress. Choosing a background is mainly about giving yourself a useful head start in your preferred playstyle, whether that’s combat, exploration, diplomacy, or crafting, and setting the tone for your adventure in the Settled Systems.
Background |
Skill 1 |
Skill 2 |
Skill 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beast Hunter | Fitness | Ballistics | Gastronomy |
| Bouncer | Boxing | Security | Fitness |
| Bounty Hunter | Piloting | Targeting control systems | Boost pack training |
| Chef | Gastronomy | Dueling | Scavenging |
| Combat Medic | Pistol certification | Medicine | Wellness |
| Cyber Runner | Stealth | Security | Theft |
| Cyberneticist | Medicine | Security | Lasers |
| Diplomat | Persuasion | Commerce | Wellness |
| Explorer | Lasers | Astrodynamics | Surveying |
| Gangster | Shotgun certification | Boxing | Theft |
| Homesteader | Geology | Surveying | Weight lifting |
| Industrialist | Persuasion | Security | Research methods |
| Long Hauler | Weight lifting | Piloting | Ballistic weapons systems |
| Pilgrim | Scavenging | Surveying | Gastronomy |
| Professor | Astrodynamics | Geology | Research methods |
| Ronin | Dueling | Stealth | Scavenging |
| Sculptor | Medicine | Geology | Persuasion |
| Soldier | Fitness | Ballistics | Boost pack training |
| Space Scoundrel | Pistol certification | Piloting | Persuasion |
| Xenobiologist | Lasers | Surveying | Fitness |
| [FILE NOT FOUND] | Wellness | Ballistics | Piloting |
How can choosing the right background enhance my early gameplay in Starfield
Choosing the right background in Starfield can significantly enhance your early gameplay by granting you three starting skills tailored to your preferred playstyle. These initial skills give you immediate advantages-such as piloting better ships, using boost packs, picking locks, or persuading NPCs-without having to spend your early skill points. This head start allows you to access certain gameplay features, unlock special dialogue options, and handle early challenges more efficiently, whether you favor combat, stealth, social interaction, or exploration. While you can eventually unlock any skill as you progress, your background choice shapes your early experience and can make your first hours in the Settled Systems smoother and more enjoyable.
How does starting with ship piloting skills affect my early space battles in Starfield
Starting with ship piloting skills in Starfield gives you a major tactical advantage in early space battles. With just the first rank of the Piloting skill, you unlock thruster control, allowing your ship to strafe in four directions. This enhanced maneuverability makes it much easier to dodge enemy fire while keeping your weapons trained on targets, especially during intense head-to-head encounters.
Early access to thrusters lets you reposition quickly, escape dangerous situations, and maintain optimal speed for tight turns, making you far more nimble than opponents without this skill. This mobility not only helps you survive but also enables you to take down enemy ships more efficiently, giving you a clear edge in the opening hours of your spacefaring adventure.
