starfield pirate build
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ByArzyeL

Starfield Pirate Build

The Best Pirate Build for Starfield, that allows you to live a life of crime in Space, by stealing and smuggling items! The Build is focusing on stealing items from others in space and smuggling. To become an efficient Space Pirate it is important to own a powerful and agile Ship. This is why we are focusing on increasing the capabilities of our Starship with the appropriate skills. Combat and Persuasion skills are important for the build as well.

Table of Contents

Best Background for Pirate Build in Starfield

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 Best Background for the Pirate Build is Space Scoundrel!

Space Scoundrel Background

The Background gives access to the following skills:

  • Pistol Certification
  • Piloting
  • Persuasion

Piloting is a vital skill for the Build, because it allows us to fly better ships and increases our efficiency when flying them. Persuasion is another important skill for Pirates! If you convince your targets to surrender, you will earn a better profit. Destroying other ships in order to loot the remains, reduces the amount of Credits you can earn from them. Finally Pistol Certification offers a nice boost to damage with Pistols early in the game. Some good alternative Backgrounds you can use are:

  • Bounty Hunter
  • File Not Found
  • Long Hauler

Best Traits for Pirate Build in Starfield

The focus of the Build is Ship combat and in general fighting in Space. Traits that will improve our combat prowess while in Space are the best to pick! The Best Traits for the Pirate Build are:

  • Alien DNA
  • Introvert or Extrovert
  • Spaced
  • Taskmaster
  • 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. Introvert boosts Oxygen when adventuring alone while Extrovert boosts Oxygen when adventuring with Companions. Spaced will boost your Health and Oxygen while in Space. Taskmaster is a great Trait if you wish to save credits from ship repairs! 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.

Piloting Skill

Best Skills for Pirate Build in Starfield

Skills are the core of our Pirate 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:

  • Isolation or Leadership
  • Ballistics
  • Shotgun Certification
  • Crippling
  • Persuasion
  • Negotiation
  • Scanning
  • Aneutronic Fusion
  • Piloting
  • Targeting Control Systems
  • Engine Systems
  • Shield Systems
  • Starship Design
  • Starship Engineering
  • EM Weapon Systems

These are all the skills you should take for a powerful Pirate Build in Starfield!

Physical Skills

Fitness offers more Oxygen which allows you to take more actions. Weight Lifting helps with carrying more items while Wellness will increase your Health. Gymnastics is a nice skill to have when moving and fighting in zero-g environments! Pain Tolerance will reduce Physical Damage taken. Finally Cellular Regeneration and Rejuvenation will help you get back into the action fast but they are not a top priority for the Build. You can take them later.

Deception Skill

Social Skills

Commerce will help you make credits in Starfield by selling all the items you are looting! Persuasion is important to convince others while Negotiation will allow you to bribe NPC. Both important skills for the Pirate Build. Deception is a must-have skill, if you wish to become a successful Smuggler. Pick Isolation or Leadership to further boost your capabilities, depending on whether or not you have Companions with you. Ship Command will allow you to have more crew members, hence more benefits in your ships.

Shotgun Certification Skill

Combat Skills

Ballistics will boost the damage of all Ballistic based weapons. Shotgun Certification allows you to use Shotguns effectively. While Shotguns might be more effective for combat inside ships, you can still use any other weapon of your choice, like Rifles! Rapid Reloading assists with reloading and being faster when fighting. Targeting is a great skill to have when using Shotguns because it boosts accuracy and range when you are not aiming! Armor Penetration makes your weapon to ignore enemy armor. Finally Crippling increases the chance to put enemies in a downed state.

Science Skills

Astrodynamics will allow you to travel farther away while consuming less fuel. Medicine boosts the effectiveness of Med Packs. Scanning is a vital skill if you are interested in Smuggling and Piracy. Spacesuit Design and Weapon Engineering will help you create better Suit and Weapon mods. Chemistry allows you to create chems to further boost your character. Aneutronic Fusion is another very important skill for the Build! It creates extra units of power for your ship.

EM Weapon Systems Skill

Tech Skills

  • Ballistic Weapon Systems(Novice)
  • Piloting(Novice)
  • Targeting Control Systems(Novice)
  • Energy Weapon Systems(Advanced)
  • Engine Systems(Advanced)
  • Shield Systems(Advanced)
  • Payloads(Advanced)
  • Missile Weapon Systems(Expert)
  • Particle Beam Weapon Systems(Expert)
  • Starship Design(Expert)
  • Starship Engineering(Expert)
  • EM Weapon Systems(Master)

Almost every skill in this category is important for the Pirate Build! If you wish to become the best in ship combat, then you will have to invest heavily in the Tech Skills Line! Piloting and Targeting Control Systems are important for space and ship combat, so you should focus on ranking them up first. Engine Systems and Shield Systems are rather important as well. Payloads will increase the cargo you can carry but will also make it more difficult for the authorities to detect any contraband. Starship Design and Starship Engineering will allow you to improve and upgrade your Ship! As for ship weapons you can focus on the type you prefer the most. Ballistic, Energy, Missiles or Particle Beam. Unlocking the EM Weapon Systems skill though will allow you to disable the engine of enemy ships and make it easier to board and capture them!

Best Weapon for Pirate Build in Starfield

The Best Weapon for the Pirate Build depends on your personal preference! Shotguns will be more effective when fighting inside Starships while EM Weapons will help you incapacitate enemies faster. Rifles and Scoped weapons in general will be better when fighting in open fields.

For a Shotgun focused Build you can use early in the game the Coachman or Pacifier. Upgrade them with their better versions when you are lucky to find them. Later you can use better weapons like Old Earth Shotgun and Breach.

Breach Weapon Mods:

SlotComponent
BarrelLong Barrel
LaserRecon Laser Sight
OpticReflex Sight
MuzzleChoke
Grip and StockTactical Stock
Magazine and BatterySlug Shots/Flechette Rounds
InternalHigh Powered
ReceiverSemi-Automatic

Keep a Ballistic Rifle as a secondary weapon. Grendel or Maelstrom will be enough early in the game. You can later upgrade to Drum Beat, Tombstone and AA-99. If you wish to learn more about Weapons, you can read my Starfield Weapons Guide!

As for Ship weapons, Energy based weapons can take down ship shields faster while EM weapons can disable engines and allow you to capture them easier. Ballistics, Missiles and Particle Beams are more useful when you try to destroy your targets.

Best Power for Pirate Build in Starfield

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. The Best Power for the Pirate Build is Phased Time! This power slows down time, allowing you to deal with enemies with ease. A few more powers you can use are:

  • Parallel Self
  • Grav Dash
  • Reactive Shield
  • Solar Flare

If you wish to learn more about Powers, you can read my Starfield Powers Guide!

Best Companion for Pirate Build in Starfield

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. The Best Companion for the Pirate Build is Lyle Brewer. A skilled Shotgun focused Companion that can assist in close quarters combat. Other good Companions you can use with the Build are:

If you wish to learn more details about all available Companions, you can read my Starfield Companions Guide!

More Starfield Builds

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