With around twenty-one backgrounds to choose from, you may feel bewildered, and rightly so. Each Background offers unique starting skills and different dialogues for your character. It’s important to note that not all 21 backgrounds will necessarily be the best fit; therefore, the player should carefully consider their options.
With so much riding on this decision, it’s crucial to make the right choice and choose the most fitting background. Continue reading to learn about the best Backgrounds in Starfield that are promising for the long run.
Key Takeaways
- There are a total of twenty-one backgrounds in Starfield.
- Each Background offers three starting skills. They can help your flight experience, improve your damage output, persuade people easily, and so on.
- Each Background also comes with different dialogues in the playthrough.
- Some Backgrounds sit on the top of the list for having better starting skills; they include Bounty Hunter, Space Scoundrel, [File Not Found], Diplomat, and Cyber Runner.
- Backgrounds do not impact the playthrough significantly, so players can choose any of them if they’d like.
Starfield Backgrounds Tier List
Tier | Background | Starting Skills |
---|---|---|
S-Tier | Bounty Hunter | Piloting Targeting Control Systems Boost Pack Training |
S-Tier | Space Scoundrel | Pistol Certification Piloting Persuasion |
S-Tier | [File Not Found] | Wellness Ballistics Piloting |
S-Tier | Diplomat | Persuasion Commerce Wellness |
S-Tier | Cyber Runner | Stealth Security Theft |
A-Tier | Soldier | Fitness Ballistics Boost Pack Training |
A-Tier | Combat Medic | Pistol Certification Medicine Wellness |
A-Tier | Industrialist | Persuasion Security Research Methods |
A-Tier | Cyberneticist | Medicine Security Lasers |
A-Tier | Ronin | Dueling Stealth Scavenging |
B-Tier | Beast Hunter | Fitness Ballistics Gastronomy |
B-Tier | Long Hauler | Weight Lifting Piloting Ballistic Weapon Systems |
B-Tier | Xenobiologist | Lasers Surveying Fitness |
B-Tier | Gangster | Shotgun Certification Boxing Theft |
C-Tier | Professor | Astrodynamics Geology Research Methods |
C-Tier | Sculptor | Medicine Geology Persuasion |
C-Tier | Homesteader | Geology Surveying Weight Lifting |
C-Tier | Chef | Gastronomy Dueling Scavenging |
C-Tier | Explorer | Lasers Astrodynamics Surveying |
C-Tier | Pilgrim | Scavenging Surveying Gastronomy |
C-Tier | Bouncer | Boxing Security Fitness |
Without a doubt, some starting skills offer greater benefits than others. So without further ado, let’s discuss the best Backgrounds in Starfield.
Bounty Hunter

- In-game Description: Wherever there are wanted individuals, there are those who profit from their capture. And your quarry knows that in the vastness of space, they can run… but they can’t hide.
Starting Skills
- Piloting: As more people journey into space, the number of those certified to effectively pilot various types of spacecraft has increased dramatically.
- Targeting Control System: Missile weapons are favored because they can lock onto an enemy ship, but an intimate knowledge of tracking systems can make them even more effective.
- Boost Pack Training: Specialized training and innovations in personal mobility systems have allowed for unfettered exploration on alien worlds.
Playstyle
Bounty Hunter is a perfect class for beginners. Not only do you obtain a Boost Pack (Jetpack) for better and safer exploration of various planets, but you also earn piloting and space combat skills early on. Both of them will prove their worth in an instant, especially in higher-difficulty settings. Even if you’re new to the entire RPG genre, these starting skills will make a difference in your playthrough.
Space Scoundrel

- In-game Description: Good? Bad? Whose right is it to say? If there’s anything you’ve learned while traipsing through the galaxy, it’s this: space may look black, but it’s really one big shade of grey.
Starting Skills
- Pistol Certification: Considering the popularity of the personal sidearm in the Settled Systems, familiarity with such weapons is often considered essential.
- Piloting: As more people journey into space, the number of those certified to effectively pilot various types of spacecraft has increased dramatically.
- 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.
Playstyle
For players who want to focus on having a better grip over their spacecraft along with convincing NPCs much easier for a greater benefit. Pistol Certification is another perk that’ll come in handy in mid-later gameplay. These three abilities are considered some of the strongest on their own, so if you’re confused or don’t have any specific playstyle in mind, choose Space Scoundrel.
[File Not Found]

- In-game Description: Oddly, there is no information on file about your past life. Clerical oversight? Deletion by some powerful unknown faction? Or was there just nothing of note to mention? Whatever the reason, your past is known only to you. What’s important is the here and now< and the path you’re about to forge…
Starting Skills
- Wellness: By embracing an active lifestyle and good nutrition habits, one may improve their overall sense of health and even gain prolonged life expectancy.
- Ballistics: Centuries of conflicts have proven that when it comes to threat elimination, few things stack up to the reliable power of high-speed projectiles.
- Piloting: As more people journey into space, the number of those certified to effectively pilot various types of spacecraft has increased dramatically.
Playstyle
This Background carries some of the most helpful starting skills, such as Wellness and Ballistics. Piloting is another incredible skill, but it’s quite common if we consider other 20 Backgrounds. Increase your maximum HP and Ballistics weapons damage output since the start. A perfect set of skills for players considering a combat-focused play style.
Diplomat

- In-game Description: 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 headed… 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.
Playstyle
With Diplomat as your Background, you mainly focus on improved and favorable conversations throughout the planets with different NPCs. Persuade others and enjoy benefits from it, whether it’s a part of your side quest or not. Other skills, such as Commerce and Wellness, will push you further toward quick advancement.
The Diplomat background is one of the best if your primary focus is to earn cash faster from the beginning. You’ll sell anything double the amount you purchased it in. Lastly, the Wellness skill will increase your maximum HP.
Cyber Runner

- In-game Description: 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 proper training.
- Theft: While not entirely honorable and certainly not legal, it is nonetheless occasionally necessary to discreetly remove property from someone’s person.
Playstyle
If you prefer sneaking around pickpocketing NPCs for useless resources, then Cyber Runner is the exact Background you should go for. Though not much ethical, it’ll still help in many missions and side quests without being detected or locked behind a door.
Stealth will assist players in sneaking behind enemies and taking opponents down in a safer, undetectable way. With Theft, you can, of course, steal others’ belongings off of them. Quite a handy skill to carry in Starfield that goes perfectly well with its fellow skill, Stealth. Lastly, Security allows players to unlock any advanced locks without much hassle.
Though some people may suggest that Backgrounds don’t make any significant difference on your overall playthrough (they’re correct to an extent), the starting skills you obtain may seem highly significant, especially if you’re playing at a higher difficulty. If your main focus is to enjoy the game’s storyline, then your character’s backgrounds may not be as important to your overall experience.
Regardless, starting any game with a solid set of skills doesn’t sound so bad. So buckle up and have a fun space journey, gamers!
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Shoaib Rashid is a passionate Gamer and an experienced writer who has been covering the Gaming Industry for over 3 Years. He started his career as a freelance journalist, writing reviews, previews, news, guides, and features for various industries. He joined VA Gaming as a Writer in 2022 and was promoted to Content Editor in 2023, where he oversees the editorial tasks and ensures the quality and accuracy of the content.
Shoaib loves to play all kinds of games, from Competitive shooters to the latest AAA releases, you name it, and he got them all covered; a PC Enthusiast who loves to stay upgraded with the latest hardware, and he enjoys sharing his insights and opinions with the Gaming Community.
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