Starfield Ship Mechanics, Stats & Building Full Guide

This is a guide to every mechanic of space ship building in starfield, covering what the stats mean, how to pick the best options, hidden stats for weapons, Best options in various slots and how to make things aesthetically pleasing.
DPS EXCEL SHEET:
/ ultimate_guide_to_ship...
docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Pictures of all HAB interiors/build guide:
/ all_ship_hab_interiors...
Mod for having every piece at 1 technician: www.nexusmods.com/starfield/m...
Mod for having time slow when moving power:
www.nexusmods.com/starfield/m...
Chapters:
0:00 Intro
2:10 Dont use upgrade menu
4:10 Manufacturers/Aesthetics
14:12 Connecting Objects Easily
16:00 Direct Attach Method
17:00 Mount types
19:20 Unique parts/Headquarters
21:50 Unattached Modules Error
23:20 Starting a ship build, Layout
24:40 Staircase for 2 story ship
26:18 HAB VARIANTS & HOW TO GET
31:40 FORCE DOOR SPAWNS
37:15 Crew Capacity explained
39:55 Cockpits
43:13 Landing Bays
45:45 Dockers
51:55 Functional Modules
52:50 Reactors & Class
1:00:10 Grav Drives
1:03:05 Engines
1:09:46 Shields
1:13:15 Weapons
1:15:00 Best weapon type
1:17:00 !MAGAZINE VS SINGLE FIRE WEAPONS!
1:18:16 POWER DOESNT MATTER FOR GOOD GUNS
1:23:30 Turrets
1:28:50 Best Ballistic
1:30:38 Shotgun
1:31:00 Lasers
1:33:40 Missiles
1:37:00 EM Weapons
1:40:45 Particle Beams
1:44:30 Cargo/Fuel
1:48:38 Shielded Cargo
1:50:45 Equipment
1:52:25 Mounting Plates
1:53:45 The Spice
1:54:00 Structural Pieces & Aesthetics
2:00:00 Landing Gear
2:02:25 Finishing The Build
2:07:25 Build Limit
2:08:23 Paint
2:10:55 Interior Tour
2:13:12 Crew Skills
2:19:00 Weapon Power Display

[@danielnovotny9035]

Suffering cancer, so I have to pick and choose how I allocate the time I feel well enough to try to entertain myself. You likely saved me a truckload of frustration down the road. Thanks, man.

[@bobjones3053]

Stay strong man

[@gunghokage4986]

Hope it gets better bud.

[@max1mus540]

Two-time myeloma survivor here. Hang in there. Your outlook (and nutrition) are huge parts of the process. Happy to share anything I can offline if it will help. Will be praying for your strength and recovery. Take care 💪🏾

[@mirandela777]

All the best for you, man, I wish you from my heart ! Use each hour, each moment to get a smile, a laugh and make fun of our short passage in this Universe.

[@saltyexxer8253]

Wishing you strength and lots of the good days.

[@MrKostik]

I never thought I would watch a 2.5 hours video on youtube... But I did. Excellent work!

[@ianyboo]

After countless hours of watching Isaac Arthur's amazing sci Fi KZbin videos I'm fairly used to the long form stuff, but 2 hours for a Starfield video was a super nice little discovery. Love it!

[@simonhatherall4547]

This was over two hours? Felt like 20 mins 😮

[@uruacufutsal1]

@@simonhatherall4547 fr, this is the greatest video ive seen on Starfield so far

[@backspace4353]

This video on shipbuilding is an absolute gem, delivering a level of detail that's often absent in the vast majority of purportedly ultimate or comprehensive shipbuilding guides out there. It's the video that should be on everyone's watchlist. Without question, it's the finest how-to guide I've come across for shipbuilding in Starfield. I truly wish I had stumbled upon it when I first embarked on my shipbuilding journey, as it expertly demystifies some of the seemingly perplexing builder features that are, in fact, quite straightforward to use. While I didn't personally uncover any new insights, given my experience since the game's launch, for a novice builder (and perhaps even those on their second or third attempt), it's a truly remarkable resource.

[@DamazoTha]

I was thinking the exact same thing. I am only at 36 minutes but I thoroughly enjoy this guide. It is amazing.

[@BlakeZeb]

Yeah piggybacking on this to say you’re right, and as someone just getting into the game… These are the kind of guides I love. Not the half assed 20 min videos that basically just tell you the info on screen with very little if any extra insight that isn’t on screen, cover the basics of different parts, then present you with 1-3 builds. I want something like this, where I walk away actually feeling like I learned more than I could from just reading the games menus and messing with it for 15 minutes.

[@TOW2MAN]

Bethesda should pay you for providing a master class on Starship Design. This answers so many questions!

[@adamboise3907]

Finally and absolutely fantastic video for ship building that accurately provides all of the little details missing in literally 99% of other videos out there claiming to be ultimate or complete ship building guides. This is the video everyone needs to see. Thank you!

[@jeallen10x]

You had me at reddit spreadsheet.

[@roukowalski353]

Fantastic video. I have built several ships. However, I learned by watching this, some of the data I was relying on was incomplete. Power management is so much easier now. This video is the all-inclusive source for shipbuilding in Starfield. Thank you for your time in making this, got a sub from me.

[@ANiceMarmot]

This is, without a doubt, the best How-To video I've seen for shipbuilding in starfield. I really wish I'd seen it when I first started as it covers some of the simple to use, but VERY obtuse to figure out features of the builder. I'll admit I didn't learn anything new as I've been playing since launch, but for a first time builder (or maybe even a second or third time builder) it's fantastic. Very well done! Also, I use your spreadsheets daily! Thank you for making them!

[@justinsmith3456]

Thanks for the fantastic video. I've seen a lot of videos covering ship layout. But this is the first one I found that really explained how all the stats function in the game. Thank you for the hard work! I shudder to think how much effort you put in to figure all this out.

[@edcliff4627]

Thank you for a clear detailed description of how to build Starfield's ships, how to play them and min/max them, without adverts to break our concentration. I'll watch this again.

[@wnrbassman]

You're a lifesaver. Really. Of all the guides I've seen, none of them explained them in a deep dive like this.

[@Drifterella]

Best guide ever, thx a LOT !! I am lvl 185, 690 hours in and never found such a good build guide before, hehe..

[@chevychiss]

The holy grail of Ship Building - we really appreciate the time you put into this. I have spent god knows how many credits on ships that sucked in practice. After this guide, I've made my perfect ship - thanks!

[@somfplease]

best design I've seen so far. both form and function. only ship you'd ever need. so creative.

[@hegworks]

thank you so much for this video. this is the most accurate and comprehensive video about the ship building system of Starfield. after maxing out piloting and starship design, I watched your video and made the ship I always wanted.

[@emanfaulkner6446]

Your ship is beautiful! Thank you for explaining so many of the mechanics. This was so helpful, I'll be bookmarking this for sure.

[@max1mus540]

“Thanks” doesn’t quite cover my gratitude for the time and attention to detail you put into this. This is my first Bethesda game, and it sounds like even the vets were perplexed at all the details left out of the tutorials. This is an extremely complicated set of interdependent systems (which I like), and you have unlocked/made it accessible in a way that I guarantee I’d not have been able to do. Tremendous service to me and many others, I’m sure. A million thanks for all this.

[@nickchivers9029]

This is excellent, please keep doing these if youre able or willing. I'd even like your deep dive takes on classic BGS titles. You're a natural speaker and your game knowledge so far has been top tier. Fantastic content.

[@DemainWL]

Definitely the best ship building video I've watched. Lots of good info and well put together! Now I just need to get enough credits to play around more in the ship builder lol

[@robertoblarasin1846]

Wow, incredible guide! Very very useful, especially the parts on crew capacity and how weapons work. Thanks so much 🤩🚀

[@bajsamedvargar]

Thank you for sharing this and your work on reddit as well!

[@echoprime100]

Thank you so much for doing this. I'm confident I'll be able to complete a build on my own after watching this and building along with you. I also have a cool new ship :) One thing that you might want to add because some of us are just that new - the "P" series cowling pieces are meant for the port side of the ship and when you flip them they become the "S" series (for the starboard side). Thanks again!

[@Cheepa72]

Really great explanation on everything. Well structured and informative 👍🏻👍🏻

[@mattevanst4967]

Thank you! Came back to Starfield after building a new PC & since I never dabbled in ship building on the xbox, I was looking for something as comprehensive as this! Wonderful job!!!

[@ph11p3540]

Excellent guide if you put the listening time into it. The weapons stats and concepts are a real eye opener

[@SaintInix]

Hey man, from another obsessed ship builder, great design. Really like the lines, and it looks very clean. Awesome job.

[@PiperTJW]

MOST informative ship building guide I have seen... Thank you!

[@nightrain472]

Very in depth guide. Helped me a great deal to get started with my own builds.

[@Reap3rUSA]

Thank you very much, this is the most comprehensive and detailed video I have seen so far and for some one new to this type of game, it is excellent.

[@killasmolik]

Absolutely amazing build sir. This is the video I’ve been looking for.

[@user-ip5op2zf7g]

Super informative!!! Helps with my ship building after the wonderful lesson you gave.

[@ODST_Parker]

This is absolutely amazing, and a wonderful start for my delving into the ship builder. Thank you so much for making such a comprehensive guide and throwing in so much great advice. I finally got to it today, despite spending no points in ship perks yet (definitely will now), and I'm in love already. Got myself an unfortunate Ecliptic piece of crap, took her to Deimos, and now I'm building my UC Vanguard custom fighter. Since I'm leaving the Frontier as it is for the most part, I figured I'd go all out with this one. All Deimos (or similarly UC Navy aesthetic) parts, Vanguard equipment, a functional interior, and more powerful weapons. I've decided to stick with B class, when I have it leveled up, and I'm well on my way to figuring out the aesthetic I want. I can tell I'll be spending a LONG time with this system, despite its flaws. Fighters, corvettes, destroyers, transports, explorers, I can't wait to see what I can make.

[@BeardedFisherman68]

Thank you for making this video. It took my shipbuilding to the next level!!

[@oneunknownvalente6892]

Thanks for taking the time to make and share! I subscribed and hope to see more content in the future.

[@jasonunsworth3441]

Best ship building guide out there. Thanks!

[@GamingWithDeezel]

Absolutely the very best video on ship building. Thank you!

[@raidertheanimator3912]

Thank you for all your work. I'm only 2mins into your video and I already love the indepth commitment with DPS data and stills of interiors you've gathered. Im about to build my first ship in Starfield (ive only played for a couple of days) and I am going to love every second listening to this indepth documentry while I build my first ship. Gonna experiment but I do want to one day build: - Lucky 13 (Love, Death & Robots) - Razor Crest (The Mandolorian) - Cormorant (EVE Online) - U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Veteran difficulty build (if possible): - U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-0171-D (Star Trek)

[@darkfather86]

I've been dying for this kind of break down! Thank you!

[@aesirgaming1014]

This is a great breakdown of the ship building mechanics.

[@vawlkus]

even having most of this figured out through play, there was still a LOT of good info in here. Thanks for making this.

[@TheSorrowWithinMe]

Your videos are so fantastic, really really appreciate the work you do.

[@niya3869]

Thank you so much for such a great, detailed tutorial!

[@vendetta5x11]

Very very very good and helpful video. Thank you for taking the time to make and share this.

[@jonathanmorris9174]

have to say,: great job, man! the whole vid flows easy, like a teacher

[@cdanielh128]

Fantastic guide. Very thorough! Thank you for all the hard work! Edit: Just wanted to say especially thank you on the power management. This was explained wrong and is so simple after you went over it. I needed this so badly.

[@Neosahater]

This was the aspect of the game I thought was a bit daunting but you've made it pretty simple, so thanks for this.

[@wistabookie4374]

What a brilliant tutorial. outstanding work. Keep going.

[@jamesmcfall2703]

I'm sad that it took me this long to find your video!! Thanks so much. Already used a lot of your pointers, as ship building was something I just couldn't quite understand.

[@earnestleesaddened3779]

Most informative 2 hours 22 minutes I have ever spent, thank you.

[@dannyjohnsen4027]

This is an amazing video, well done my friend....well done, I wish I ran across this sooner, but I still learned some things I didn't realize. Thank you much and great job!!!

[@landonor1]

I want to thank you. I played Starfield for weeks and loved it but I just couldn't get the hang of ship building. It was driving me nuts. I watched your video and now I've spent the last four days doing nothing but building C class starships which I must say I am fairly impressed with. I love the Ares bridge and Deimos ships are simply amazing.

[@mel-archivals4773]

Thank you. Very nicely done. I learned a lot from this video. Using this as a guide, I did make a ship that, so far, I haven't been able to match, even when trying to rebuild this one. I will be building more.

[@Bundy714]

Dude, between this EPIC video, your pictures of hab interiors, and the spreadsheets, it would be a crime not to subscribe. To Like and subscribe, is the least one could do for such a treasure trove of information. I can see hab interiors now! This is Absolutely the best, most comprehensive, how-to ship building video ever. Thank You!

[@sprc155]

Thanks for the video. Very detailed and comprehensive

[@DunderMaaka]

I seldom log in, comment, like or subscribe anymore, but I felt I had to do it now; this video really deserve it. Thank you!

[@simonhatherall4547]

Great guide, above and beyond in terms of additional info 👍

[@4dragonzzz]

I cannot thank you enough for this video and the reddit post. Really turning ship building from super annoying and frustrating into the most fun part of the game for me. ❤

[@namaikikitsune]

Thanks, this is the most comprehensive Starfield ship video I've found.

[@jonpence7264]

HEY great frickin video.....thanks for taking the time to do this i'm sure it will help lots of people out

[@paulbruneau7379]

This is a very good video that took lots of work and has excellent chaptering. Great job

[@gmyezerov]

Best ship building guide on the Tube 🙌🏼🙏🏼

[@Dagur_Johannsson]

Thank you for making this video. You are awesome! Greetings from Iceland 🇮🇸

[@blaqdaze]

Can not thank you enough for this 'class'.! I really needed it. Not sure if you are into it, but an out post tutorial would be awesome! Thanks!

[@karmachameleon326]

Fantastic video, thanks. Well worth the time to watch; I learned a ton.

[@hammypork]

To whom it may concern: For PC: Power management - instead of using D-arrows to nav and power up/down, you can hold alt + WASD for the same effect. Save you jumping around the key board.

[@IamSilverShade]

...And if you hold the button you can decrease all power a module has to 0 rather than having to press for every point it has

[@seanwarren9357]

Additionally Z, X handle system selection and I personally set C and C to increase and decrease as I've set alt to manage thrusters and mapped it to a mouse thumb button... Point is, there's a fair number of options on hand if you customize. Not perfect for me, but close enough.

[@uruacufutsal1]

you sir are a legend

[@ronaldcobb1633]

Nice detail for us squishy start-ups. Wish I'd seen this video sooner.

[@TheQuietVoice]

Thanks very comprehensive, great vid.

[@jacobyrassilon]

I never watch 2 hour long vid tutorials....but I'll be damned if I didn't watch until you said bye and I was surprised it was so quick, until I noticed what time it was, haha. Very good tutorial on ship building, especially the how to connect the pieces which I have always struggled with. Good job!

[@DerrickLeMaster]

Excellent video, thank you!!

[@Huntsmanlance]

OMG i have been pulling my hair out while dealing with all of the different quirks! This is the best damn video explaining it all i have seen. Thank you so much

[@aoenwyr]

Amazing guide. Thank you

[@codywatt7775]

Amazing video appreciate the time you took to make this.

[@AcBaLkX]

This is it. Together with your Reddit posts I declare this the best and most informative starfield content to this date. You are doing Bethesdas job actually un-tangling the ship builder net. Please share more of your ship builds in the future, I’d love to see some of your designs and approaches to the strongest all in one ships or ships for special playthroughs like smuggler or pirate.

[@Doctor_Lunatic]

You are a gem, thanks for this video!

[@SergeAyotte]

Thank you for this incredible, well explain tutorial!!!

[@CreamyFreddo]

Bro keep this up i wanna know more about these kind of things but no videos go in like this top stuff 👍🏻 Subbed

[@Endgame392]

Great video. I’ve tied watching several ship building tutorials, and always lost interest after a few minutes. Now, part of that was because I hadn’t actually tried building a ship yet, so it felt a bit confusing. Whereas now, I’ve spent some time in the builder so have a better grasp on things. That being said, I think you did a great job explaining everything. I’m looking forward to my next ship building session now.

[@thetradesman7478]

Well done video here. Good info that was not known. Thank you

[@superfed11]

Thank you for sharing your findings. Your time and effort is greatly appreciated because it has helped me with understanding ship design in this awesome game so much better. I do wish Bethesda gave us an option to "save" a design, like a work in progress. Something that can be worked on over time. Maybe they do and I just haven't discovered it yet...

[@dorianshepard2841]

Cool video. I'm gonna check out that dps spread sheet. It was the one thing I was most curious about before watching this. Also time for big boy mic

[@chrisingram5777]

This is the channel ive been looking for!

[@falcorusticolus4360]

Thanks for doing all this research. It helped me immensely. :)

[@AP-lh1bq]

This is the video that started my ship building career.

[@Sinistah665]

At first I thought…this is a long video lol, but I’m glad I watched the whole thing! I learned a lot about systems. Missiles have been holding me back . Pb is where I should be focusing. Also I do like the design of your ship. Subbed. Great informative video!

[@FluxFreeman]

Saw you on Reddit thanks for this

[@user-xu6se4cv2c]

Wow! Incredible! Thanks 🤩

[@itsdevdom]

Holy shit, what an incredible video - thank you so much for this huge amount of valuable info!

[@xarcos32]

Outstanding video. 👍🏼

[@C.E.R.B.E.R.U.S]

Excellent video!

[@mixthegamerr]

You made this so easy to understand. Im a beginner; but understood most of everything you were talking about with some light googling of the acronyms. Thanks for taking the time to break this down. I now see and hear what you were saying about other starfield ship builds around youtube 🤣😅

[@Tallenn]

I don't know if I'll be able to watch a 2 plus hour video on ship building, but I did want to comment on the ship shown in the thumbnail of the video. That is one of the coolest looking ships I've seen yet in Starfield. Well done!

[@STALVIET]

Thanks boi, and its not needed to watch all at once. I put chapters in so you can learn about whichever section you want

[@camarochip]

I bought the dragonfly 2 so it will give me a base to try out shipbuilding to make it look how I wanted but I couldn't get the look right of what I was imagining and when I seen your video today I could not believe that is exactly how I wanted my ship to look and I have a guide on how to do it and I thank you.

[@MustangTC]

Wonderful guide thank you.

[@bradhenriksen8317]

Pretty sure I'm your 1000th subscriber!!! Lol best of luck with the channel my dude.

[@socket_error1000]

Great video! *A consideration for those building long low ships. On more than a few occasions I have landed at bases that have made an area in the front inaccessible because the bridge is clipping through part of the environment. (I can't even stand under my Ares bridge with my current build.) This is not always an issue but on a few occasions I was denied entrance to a facility because it clipped through the entrance when I landed on the pad and had to go through the back entrance and run the facility backwards and then could not exit through that point main entry point for the same reason, my ships bridge was partially inside the doorway. It's a minor inconvenience but something to consider. Especially if you have not invested in Security as you will need to be able to lockpick high level locks to enter the back way. I have a long and low ship with a rear landing bay because I like to be on one level. From back to front: landing bay, 2x1 captain's quarters with docking module near the rear, Armory, Battle station, then an Ares bridge. I put two all-in-one habs above to add room for passengers and I don't have to ever go up there unless I am looking to store things on a crewmember who is up there, a rarity in my current build that has plenty of cargo. (Tip for that below**) I like the rear entrance and being on a single level mostly because when you land directly at PoIs you are not running out into enemy fire. You get to plan your assault and even leave the landing platform if you want to make a stealth approach. I have even positioned on the top of my ship and picked off every enemy I could draw out before going in. My next build will still be a rear entry but I think I will try and use a bay with a top entrance into the ship and elevate my main habs and bridge a level to avoid the issue I am having. While it is inconvenient to run around your ship, you can fast travel directly into your cockpit, so it is really not an issue. **For those struggling with cargo capacity and don't want to add a bunch to their ship or are two low level to build a decent ship with cargo yet, using crew as mules is a great option that many may be already aware of. But equipping them with the low level armor and things that buff their carry capacity like "Resource Carrier (found in helmets, packs, and armor), Holstered (weapons weight 50% less), and carry capacity bonus items found in game (although this final one needs testing because it does not show up in the total.). Utilizing the items that are too weak for you or your current companion to utilize in the field helps a lot as dumping material and weapons on them keeps it from adding to the ship. It is a bit of a pain to sell it off what you stored on them as you have to run them down and unload it all but early in game for me this worked great to store resources and weapons I was not going to sell. Also the Leadership Skill in the Social Tree (Tier 3) is great as it adds 50kg carry to them all at level 2 and it is great to utilize if you need to burn points in that tree to get to more crew members in the Ship Command skill. With so few of the skills in that section having real use, this is one place for those with smaller, low cargo capacity ships to take advantage of and can add as much as 185kg of carry space per crew member. That is 1480kg of extra cargo with 8 crew members, not including any bonuses from items you equip them with.

[@chrism104]

Only 4min into this vid and dropping a like just for the fact I love ship building.... but for many playthroughs I've wanted to use the nova double decker cockpit but it just is soooo awkward and looks sooo bad I could never make it work.... the way you've done it..... I can def work from that theme.... thank you very much!

[@Sinpsycle]

This is an awesome guide. A bit long to sit thru in one go, but soooo informative, so take it in bits. I thought I had shipbuilding down, but you pointed out some shorts in my knowledge base. Can you please do a guide for handheld weapons?

[@Germanbattle83]

Holy *****. Im tearing through this video like a tasty burger! this is just what I needed!

[@stuarthatter5584]

This is great mate

[@pace1719]

Came for the particle beam weapons at king, leaving satisfied. hehe Great video.