Starfield Pistol Build
The Best Pistol Build for Starfield! A Pistols Expert Build in Starfield that is dealing massive damage with the Pistol of your choice. Ballistic, Laser or Particle Beams Pistols can assist you against a variety of enemies and help you progress in Starfield! While Ballistic Pistols are easier to find, you can pick any category of Pistols along with the appropriate Combat skills.
Table of Contents
- Pistol Build Background
- Pistol Build Traits
- Pistol Build Skills
- Pistol Build Weapon
- Pistol Build Power
- Pistol Build Companion
- More Builds
Best Background for Pistol 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 Pistol Build is the Combat Medic!
The Background gives access to the following skills:
- Pistol Certification
- Medicine
- Wellness
Combat Medic is a great option for the Build since it gives you immediately access to Pistol Certification! It also offers Medicine and Wellness, which are very important for combat. Wellness increases your overall Health while Medicine makes Med Packs more effective. Another good Background that can give access to Pistol Certification is Space Scoundrel. A few more backgrounds with access to combat skills you can use include:
- Beast Hunter
- Cyberneticist
- Explorer
- Soldier
- Xenobiologist
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Best Traits for Pistol Build in Starfield
Increasing Health and oxygen is our number one priority for the Build! The Best Traits for the Pistol 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 Pistol Build in Starfield
Skills are the core of our Pistol 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
- Pistol Certification
- Rapid Reloading
- Crippling
- Fitness
- Isolation or Leadership
These are all the skills you should take for a powerful Pistol Build in Starfield!
Physical Skills
- Fitness(Novice)
- Weight Lifting(Novice)
- Wellness(Novice)
- Gymnastics(Advanced)
- Pain Tolerance(Advanced)
- Cellular Regeneration(Expert)
- Rejuvenation(Master)
Fitness offers more Oxygen which allows you to take more actions. Weight Lifting is an important skill that will allow you to carry more items while Wellness increases your maximum Health. Gymnastics offers better mobility and Pain Tolerance reduces Physical Damage taken. Cellular Regeneration and Rejuvenation will assist with getting you back to action in no time if you are injured or low on health but they are not a Build priority. You can take those two later.
Social Skills
- Commerce(Novice)
- Isolation(Advanced) or Leadership(Expert)
Commerce will help you make credits in Starfield by selling all the items you are looting! Pick Isolation or Leadership to further boost your capabilities, depending on whether or not you have Companions with you.
Combat Skills
- Pistol Certification(Novice)
- Ballistics(Novice) or Lasers(Novice) or Particle Beams(Advanced)
- Rapid Reloading(Expert)
- Targeting(Expert)
- Armor Penetration(Master)
- Crippling(Master)
Pistol Certification is a core skill for the build, that allows you to deal massive damage and be effective when using Pistols! Depending on the type of Pistols you want to use, you can unlock and rank up Ballistics, Laser or Particle Beams as well. You can eventually unlock all three if you wish to be a Pistols Expert! Armor Penetration will make your weapons to ignore enemy armor while Crippling will bring down enemies faster. Rapid Reloading reduces the time it takes to reload your weapon and increases your combat efficiency, while Targeting makes you more efficient when you are not aiming!
Science Skills
- Medicine(Novice)
- Weapon Engineering(Advanced)
- Spacesuit Design(Advanced)
- Chemistry(Expert)
Medicine boosts the effectiveness of Med Packs and other aid items and will keep you alive. Weapon Engineering will help you create better Weapon mods to add to your weapons! Spacesuit Design will do the same for your Spacesuit. Chemistry allows you to create chems to further boost your character.
Tech Skills
- Boost Pack Training(Novice)
Boost Pack Training is a helpful and fun skill to use in combat but is not necessary for an effective Pistol Build. You can get it later. You can unlock and use any other skill in the game to enrich the build and make it more personal!
Best Weapon for Pistol Build in Starfield
Ballistic Pistols are more and easier to find in Starfield. You can start with Eon, upgrade to Sidestar when possible and eventually get a powerful Magshot! You can also find several Unique Ballistic Pistols in the game, like the Keelhauler! Laser Pistols are easy to get early in the game in the form of Solstice but you will have to find the Unique Short Circuit in order to upgrade. Finally Particle Beams Pistols are deadly to use and can help you defeat every enemy. Start using the Novalight and when you can, upgrade to The Spacer Unique or the Va’Ruun Starshard if you are lucky to get it later in the game.
Magshot Weapon Mods:
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Barrel | Magnetic Rails |
| Laser | Recon Laser Sight |
| Muzzle | Muzzle Brake |
| Magazine and Battery | Depleted Uranium Rounds |
| Internal | High Velocity |
| Receiver | Semi Automatic |
Solstice Weapon Mods:
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Barrel | Long Barrel with Laser Sight |
| Optic | Holographic Sight |
| Muzzle | Focus Nozzle |
| Grip and Stock | Ergonomic Grip |
| Magazine and Battery | Ignition Beams |
| Internal | Amplifier |
| Receiver | Semi Automatic |
Novalight Weapon Mods:
| Slot | Component |
|---|---|
| Barrel | Long Barrel |
| Laser | Recon Laser Sight |
| Optic | Reflex/Glow Sight |
| Muzzle | Focus Nozzle |
| Magazine and Battery | Annihilator Rounds |
| Internal | Amplifier |
| Receiver | Semi Automatic/Burst Fire |
If you wish to learn more about Weapons, you can read my Starfield Weapons Guide!
Best Power for Pistol 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 Pistol Build is Parallel Self! This power creates a clone of you with the same gear that deals massive damage. A few more powers you can use are:
- Phased Time
- Grav Dash
- Reactive Shield
- Solar Flare
If you wish to learn more about Powers, you can read my Starfield Powers Guide!
Best Companion for Pistol 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 Pistol Build is Autumn MacMillan. Autumn is a fellow Pistols user that can assist in combat and complement your Build well. It is possible to give her a different type of Pistols than the one you are using and deal more types of damage against enemies! 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
- Beast Hunter Build
- Bounty Hunter Build
- Diplomat Build
- Explorer Build
- Heavy Weapons Build
- Laser Weapons Build
- Melee Brawler Build
- Particle Beams Build
- Pirate Build
- Shotgun Build
- Sniper Build
- Soldier Build
- Stealth Assassin Build
- Stealth Sniper Build
- Thief Build
- Unarmed Build
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