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You’ll definitely enjoy space combat when you’re able to board and capture ships in Starfield. After all, it’s not enough to just blow up a vessel to smithereens. It’s always a good idea to loot everything first before turning something into forgotten debris. Our guide discusses how you can perform ship boarding actions in the game for additional loot and XP.
How to board and capture ships in Starfield
To board and take over ships in Starfield, you’ll need to do the following:
Unlock the Targeting Control Systems skill.Destroy a ship’s engines.Dock and board the vessel.Kill all enemies inside.Have the required Piloting skill if the spacecraft is of a higher class.
The Targeting Control Systems skill
Targeting Control System is one of the best skills in the game simply because of its function. Although there are four ranks, you’ll only need the first rank to unlock the mechanic. Additional ranks simply lower the lock-on time and increase pinpoint damage dealt, but it’s entirely up to you if you want to level it up further.
Disable a ship’s engines
Before you can board and capture a ship in Starfield, you must first disable its engines. To do this, enter targeting mode by locking onto an enemy vessel and pressing the corresponding button (i.e. X button on an Xbox gamepad). Ships are usually shielded, so you have to use the d-pad to select the shields. Bring the shields down by using lasers and missiles.
Once the shields have been depleted, press left on the d-pad to switch to the engines. You can use your ballistics weapons and missiles until all the pips are gone. Just try to be careful since you might fully deplete the ship’s hull strength, which causes it to get destroyed.
Boarding a vessel and eliminating hostiles
Once a ship’s engines are disabled, you’ll see a button prompt (i.e. X on an Xbox gamepad), which allows you to dock. Be forewarned, however, that this can only be done when all other hostile ships have been eliminated (i.e. the last remaining enemy vessel in an area is the only one that you can board).
Inside the ship, you’ll have to take out all the hostiles. The number of enemy soldiers will depend on a few factors, including the ship’s level and size/class. This is a great way to earn XP to level up.
Moreover, mercenary and pirate ships tend to carry contraband, which can be sold for a lot of cash. Barring contraband, you can still find loot from containers, the cargo hold/captain’s terminal, and the corpses of your foes.
The Piloting skill and selling captured ships
Likewise, you can decide to make the ship your own by interacting with the pilot’s seat. However, depending on the ship’s class, you might need to level up your Piloting skill further. More often than not, though, you’ll encounter Class-A ships, which don’t have a Piloting skill requirement, but subsequent classes like B and C, will demand a higher Piloting skill tier.
Lastly, if you fast travel to another star system, your captured vessel will be considered your home ship, at least temporarily. You can then go to any docking area (i.e. New Atlantis) and sell the spacecraft. You do need to pay a registration fee before you can sell the ship, so the profits are lower compared to the actual value.
In any case, that’s all you need to know about how to board and take over ships in Starfield. This is just one of the methods to obtain free ships in the game.
Starfield is a massive game with numerous planets to explore. For other tips and tactics, you can visit our guides hub.
