by theygamesWhat is the best Starfield background? As you create your character in this massive space game, your origin story is one of the many options you have to pick. Each background has a short bio detailing what kind of person you are and three starting Starfield skills to set you on your way.
As the Starfield release date approaches, so does the chance to play Starfield on Xbox Game Pass. To ensure you’re fully prepared for Starfield character creation, let’s dive into all of the currently revealed Starfield backgrounds and bio entries, as well as which starting Starfield skills each of them has.
All Starfield backgrounds
Here is every Starfield background we’ve seen so far:
- Beast Hunter
- Bouncer
- Bounty Hunter
- Chef
- Combat Medic
- Cyber Runner
- Cyberneticist
- Diplomat
- Explorer
- Gangster
- Homesteader
- Industrialist
- Long Hauler
- Pilgrim
- Professor
- Ronin
Your Starfield background affects how NPCs see you, from your Starfield companions to each of the many Starfield factions across the star system in this massive open-world game. Some may act friendly towards you or be reassured that a mission will be successful because of your past, while others may be more hostile if they learn about the company you used to keep.
According to game director Todd Howard, there are 20 backgrounds in total. Out of the 16 Starfield backgrounds shown by Bethesda so far, we know the finer details of six, leaving plenty to discover as we take our first steps in the Settled Systems.
Chef
While the unrefined masses scarfed down Chunks by the shipload, you catered to those with a more… discerning palate. In your kitchen, countless alien species became true culinary masterpieces.
Starting skills
- Gastronomy – Access to brand new worlds means access to brand new ingredients, and there is almost no limit to the delicious Starfield food and drinks a talented chef can prepare.
- Dueling – Considered by many to be a lost art, close attacks with a melee weapon can often be deadlier than ranged combat when carried out by a skilled practitioner.
- Scavenging – There are those who can find just about anything, and their success is usually dependent on knowing how, and where, to look.
Combat Medic
Leave it to human beings to fight over something as infinite as outer space. That’s where you come in. You’ve never been afraid to take on the enemy… but you’d much rather take care of your friends.
Starting skills
- Pistol Certification – Considering the popularity of the personal sidearm in the Settled Systems, familiarity with such weapons is often considered essential.
- Medicine – Only through advancements in medical training and technology has humanity been able to withstand the galaxy’s many dangers.
- Wellness – By embracing an active lifestyle and good nutrition habits, one may improve their overall sense of health, and even gain prolonged life expectancy.
Cyber Runner
From Neon to New Atlantis, the megacorps stand as monuments to power, prestige, and profit. You’ve worked both for and against them, on the inside and out, often sacrificing conscience for credits.
Starting skills
- Stealth – For a combatant who values discretion above all else, the ability to approach a target while undetected and kill with a silenced weapon is as terrifying as it is effective.
- Security – While the standardized digital locking mechanism is renowned for its security, any code can be broken with the proper training.
- Theft – While not entirely honorable, and certainly not legal, it is nonetheless occasionally necessary to discreetly remove property from someone’s person.
Cyberneticist
Robots? Mere toys. Neuroamps? Good for parlor tricks. The Colony War may have made implants and upgrades available to veterans, but you once saw a greater future. Humans and machines, as one.
Starting skills
- Medicine – Only through advancements in medical training and technology has humanity been able to withstand the galaxy’s many dangers.
- Security – While the standardized digital locking mechanism is renowned for its security, any code can be broken with the proper training.
- Lasers – Personal laser weapons are in widespread use across the Settled Systems, and specialized training can greatly increase their effectiveness.
Diplomat
The wars are over. Peace now reigns the Settled Systems. But only because there are those quietly fighting to keep it. Because of you, agreements were signed, words were heeded… lives were spared.
Starting skills
- Persuasion – In the Settled Systems, the nuanced ability to listen and discuss can often accomplish far more than simply shooting first and asking questions later.
- Commerce – In the Settled Systems’ free market economy, almost anyone with the right skill set can open and run a successful business.
- Wellness – By embracing an active lifestyle and good nutrition habits, one may improve their overall sense of health, and even gain prolonged life expectancy.
Explorer
They said exploration is a lost art. You didn’t listen. As the major factions argued over the space they desperately tried to control, you were busy uncovering the wonders of the Settled Systems.
Starting skills
- Lasers – Personal laser weapons are in widespread use across the Settled Systems, and specialized training can greatly increase their effectiveness.
- Astrodynamics – Advanced technology is one thing, but it takes skill patience, and a little bit of love to coax even more capability out of a ship’s grav drive.
- Surveying – Humanity now has access to untold alien worlds, and the ability to decipher all that data while on the ground has become an essential skill set.
What are the best Starfield backgrounds?
Because it’s an RPG, you can really go in any direction you like when it comes to creating your character. For those who want to specialize in a specific act, however, there are some skills that are more useful than others.
- Combat Medic: If you’re looking to get into a fight, then you’ll have to take some precautions so you don’t end up in a puddle of your own blood in the arse-end of nowhere. The Combat Medic background will see you right at the beginning of your adventure, with Pistol Certification, Wellness, and Medicine giving you a well-rounded approach to eliminating your enemies, and then patching yourself up afterward.
- Ronin: If you work better alone, can’t stand the sight, or sound, of others, and just really want to experience the emptiness of space alone, a solo build might be the one for you. We assume the Ronin build will allow you to wander the vast unknown alone, powered up, and ready to help whoever might need it.
- Chef: Not only do you like caring for others, supplying delicious meals to you and yours on your ship, but you also know how to handle yourself in a close-quarters combat situation. The Chef background is perfect for those who want to specialize in melee combat – and those who want to make an absolutely banging sandwich.
How Starfield backgrounds work
Once you choose your Starfield background, there is no way to change it. It’s a part of your character’s origin story and a good indicator of the person you were before the start of the game. In addition to giving you three skills, there are times when your background affects how a character will interact with you.
One example we saw at the recent Starfield Direct deep dive was a Starfield mission featuring an NPC looking for help to track down a Starfield creature. Beast Hunter is one of the Starfield backgrounds, opening up a unique dialogue option that gives you the chance to earn double the amount of cash if you complete the quest.
And there you have it – everything we know about each Starfield background revealed so far. They’re not the only way you can customize your character, though. You can also pick up to three Starfield traits to give your adventurer unique abilities that may have crucial drawbacks. One thing we hope is that Starfield mods will allow creators to add even more backgrounds and maybe even Starfield guns, taking inspiration from the very best Skyrim mods and Fallout 4 mods the community has to offer.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.