Starfield Melee Brawler Build
Welcome to my Melee Build for Starfield! A Brawler Build that is focusing on pure melee damage to defeat opponents and progress in the game! A close quarters, melee based build that does not rely on Stealth to approach and kill enemies! The goal of the Build is to charge your targets and overwhelm them with massive melee damage!
Table of Contents
- Melee Build Background
- Melee Build Traits
- Melee Build Skills
- Melee Build Weapon
- Melee Build Armor
- Melee Build Power
- Melee Build Companion
- How to Play the Build
Best Background for Melee Build in Starfield
The Best Background for the Melee Build is the Chef or Ronin Backgrounds! Backgrounds are basically starter classes in Starfield, that offer access to a set of three novice skills. Picking the right background for your build will help you become more efficient at your role early in the game.
The Chef Background gives access to the following skills:
- Gastronomy
- Dueling
- Scavenging
Dueling is the most important skill for a melee focused Build in Starfield. Scavenging is a helpful skill that can help you with finding Credits and items. Finally Gastronomy will allow us to craft better food and drinks.
The Ronin Background also offers access to Dueling and Scavenging, which makes it a great alternative for the Build. Its third skill though is Stealth, which is very helpful if you wish to approach undetected your targets. Ronin is a great option for a Stealth Assassin Build in Starfield or in general if you prefer a more stealthy gameplay.
Best Traits for Melee Build in Starfield
Increasing Health and oxygen is our number one priority for the Build! This is important because oxygen is required to perform Power Attacks and having more Health will help us stay alive more. The Best Traits for the Melee Brawler Build are:
- Alien DNA
- Terra Firma or Spaced
- Introvert or Extrovert
- Wanted
- Empath(if you bring Companions along)
- Faction and Religious
Alien DNA boosts Health and Oxygen but reduces the effectiveness of healing and food items. Terra Firma will boost your Health and Oxygen when on the ground while Spaced will boost your Health and Oxygen while in Space. Introvert boosts Oxygen when adventuring alone while Extrovert boosts Oxygen when adventuring with Companions. Wanted offers a boost to damage when you are low on health, which can be helpful when fighting outnumbered or dealing with a stronger enemy. Empath will increase the fighting performance of your Companions, if they like you. If they do not like you they will not be as effective though.
Finally you can pick any Faction specific or Religious specific Trait, if you wish to build up your relationship with one of their corresponding groups. You can only have one of those Social focused Traits in the game active. One for Factions and one for Religions.
Best Skills for Melee Build in Starfield
Below you can see the core skills of the Melee Brawler Build in Starfield! Starfield Skills offer all kind of benefits and can make or break your Build. While we do get access to three Novice Skills with our background, there are a few more we can take to make it truly efficient and powerful. The Core skills of the Build are
- Dueling
- Martial Arts
- Fitness
- Isolation or Leadership
These are all the skills you should take for a powerful Melee Build in Starfield!
Physical Skills
- Fitness(Novice)
- Weight Lifting(Novice)
- Wellness(Novice)
- Gymnastics(Advanced)
- Pain Tolerance(Advanced)
- Martial Arts(Expert)
- Rejuvenation(Master)
Physical skills are rather important for the Build because of its nature! Fitness will increase our Oxygen and allow us to perform more actions. Weight Lifting will help with carrying more items and loot while Wellness will give us a nice boost to Health. Gymnastics is another great skill to have for a more mobile gameplay. Pain Tolerance and Rejuvenation are focusing on survivability while Martial Arts is a core skill for the Build! Martial Arts offers great additional effects to our character when using a melee weapon!
Social Skills
- Commerce(Novice)
- Gastronomy(Novice)
- Scavenging(Novice)
- Isolation(Advanced) or Leadership(Expert)
Commerce will help you make credits in Starfield by selling all the items you are looting! We are getting Gastronomy and Scavenging from our Background. They are both nice support skills to have. Finally pick Isolation or Leadership to further boost your capabilities, depending on whether or not you have Companions with you.
Combat Skills
- Dueling(Novice)
- Crippling(Master)
- Armor Penetration(Master)
Dueling is a vital skill for the build since it boosts melee damage. Crippling will help you down enemies faster while Armor Penetration makes your attacks to ignore enemy Armor. Both Crippling and Armor Penetration skills are Master Tier skills in Combat. Which means that you have to assign eight points to Advanced and Expert Skills before you can assign any point to them. No combat skill in these two tiers is important for the build so pick a couple of your choice to unlock the Master Tier.
Science Skills
- Medicine(Novice)
- Spacesuit Design(Advanced)
- Chemistry(Expert)
Medicine will boost the healing capabilities of Med packs and other aid items! Spacesuit Design will allow you to craft better mods for your Spacesuit and increase your defenses! Chemistry is important if you wish to create chems and boost further your character.
Tech Skills
- None necessary
You do not need to pick any skill from this category but the Boost Pack Training skill can be quite helpful when fighting enemies! You can unlock and use any other skill in the game to enrich the build and make it more personal!
Best Weapon for Melee Brawler Build in Starfield
Melee Weapons are obviously the best for the Build in Starfield. Knives, Axes, Swords, any melee weapon with high damage that can help you kill your enemies. Early in the game you can use any melee weapon you find. Once you get access to UC Naval Cutlass use this one for an upgrade to damage. Later try to get one of the highest damage melee weapons, Wakizashi, Tanto and Va’ruun Painblade.
Wakizashi Weapon Mods:
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Blade | High Carbon Steel Blade |
| Handle | Force-Extruded Handle |
Va’Ruun Painblade Weapon Mods:
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Blade | High Carbon Steel Blade |
| Handle | Force-Extruded Handle |
Best Armor for Melee Build in Starfield
The Best Armor for the Melee Build in Starfield is the Mirrored Shokctroop Spacesuit! An amazing Armor that reduces incoming Physical damage from ranged Weapons and has a chance to reflect attacks! These perks make it an excellent choice for fighting with a melee Build close to your enemies. To boost its efficiency you can add the following mods:
- First Slot – Shielding of your choice
- Second Slot – Optimized Servos(reduced Oxygen cost for sprinting) or Explosive Shielding(reduces damage from explosives)
- Third Slot – Exo Servos(increases melee damage)
- Fourth Slot – Pocketed(increases carrying capacity)
Best Power for Melee Brawler Build in Starfield
The Best Power for the Melee Brawler Build is Grav Dash! This power allows you to dash forward and increases your damage. A few more powers you can use are:
- Phased Time
- Reactive Shield
- Personal Atmosphere
Powers are unique abilities you can unlock by advancing the main quest line and completing the “Into the Unknown” main mission. Powers offer unique effects to your character and can complement your Build. If you wish to learn more about Powers, you can read my Starfield Powers Guide!
Best Companion for Melee Brawler Build in Starfield
The Best Companion for the Melee Brawler Build is Lyle Brewer. Lyle can assist in close quarters combat thanks to his Shotgun skill. Other good Companions you can use with the Build are:
Companions in Starfield come with their own unique skills that can assist your character and further complement your Build! Not all Companions are good for every role and type of gameplay. Picking the right Companion with the right skills will help you achieve your goals faster and more efficiently. If you wish to learn more details about all available Companions, you can read my Starfield Companions Guide!
How to Play the Melee Build in Starfield
The Build is simple and a lot of fun to play! Sprint toward your targets and smack them with your Melee weapons. A Hack and Slash combat Build in Starfield that relies on speed to reach enemies before they can gun you down. When fighting multiple enemies, focus on moving from cover to cover in order to avoid getting shot. Flank your enemies and take care of them one by one.
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