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At the beginning of , you'll rapidly find yourself the effective captain of Constellation's flagship, the Frontier. Right from the jump, you're technically understaffed aboard the Frontier, as it has room for two crew members who can actively bring their skills, advancing the ship's capabilities.
But you'll only have VASCO, Barrett's robot companion, with you for the ride to New Atlantis. The good news is that, while Starfield won't point you straight there, you can start recruiting people right here in the UC capital. Here's how to recruit crew members, and eventually outpost staff, to bring your space game to the next level of immersion.
Why Hire Crew In Starfield?
You can technically get by OK aboard the Frontier (and future ships that may come into your possession) without formally assigning anybody. The same is - again, technically - true regarding outposts. You may even be tricked into thinking you've got a 'real' crew since fellow members of Constellation will sometimes come aboard during missions, but if you haven't accessed the 'Ship' screen in the menu, and manually assigned someone, they aren't actually contributing to the ship.
Constellation personnel have special skills that will contribute to ships and/or outposts so long as they're actively assigned. But you won't be able to fully staff more than a ship or two, let alone further ships and outposts, if you attempt to rely upon Constellation alone. Furthermore, there are recruitable characters who offer significantly more bang for their buck. You've just got to find them.
Whether it's improving the performance of lasers, ballistics, and other weaponry, adding bonuses to engine speed or hull integrity, boosting research capability or improving outpost mining production speed, it's easy to see why crew is valuable in Starfield.
Where To Find Crew For Ships And Outposts
As we mentioned previously, you can start finding Starfield crew as soon as New Atlantis. Head to the bar in the docking district (where the Frontier lands), ahead past the security checkpoint and among the buildings forward from the entrance.
You'll soon notice several named characters lounging about here, nearly all of whom are waiting to be recruited. They'll each have their little explanations for why they want to help out.
Talk to them to learn more about their skills, and if you like what you see, negotiate a better recruitment price if you'd like. Their fees, near as we can tell, are one-time affairs, so the somewhat high asking prices make sense. You won't have the credits to your name from the get-go, but they'll come in due time.
Bars and other gathering spots across the Settled Systems may feature recruitable crew, especially in the larger cities like Akila and Neon. Beyond hiring folks who are standing about waiting for a captain with a coinpurse, you'll also find a fair few potential crew members just through playing the main quests. An example would be Lin and Heller, who are your buds for all of ten minutes at Starfield's beginning segment before factoring in again briefly a little later on.
As we continue to explore the Starfield - in Starfield - we'll be on the lookout for more ways to find people willing to pitch in aboard your burgeoning little empire.