Starfield Research Guide

Research is an important aspect of gameplay in Starfield, because it allows you to craft better items and mods in the game! You can Research projects by interacting with the Research Laboratory. It is possible to research a few projects early in the game but to unlock advanced projects you will have to invest skill points to the appropriate skills!

Table of Contents

• How Research Works
• How to Research a Project
• Research Skills

How Research Works in Starfield

Research in Starfield is a rather important aspect of gameplay but also one you can easily neglect. Researching projects gives you access to better items, food and mods for your Weapons or Spacesuit. Early in the game there are a few projects you can research but to unlock more advanced projects, you need to invest points to the right skills! In total there are five categories of projects you can research:

• Pharmacology
• Food and Drink
• Outpost Development
• Equipment
• Weaponry

Pharmacology unlocks Aid and Medical items you can craft. Food and Drink allows you to make better Food and Drinks! Outpost Development will unlock better Outpost modules and items you can use. Equipment will help you create better Armor Mods while Weaponry is all about Weapon Mods! So it is easy to understand that if you wish to use the best items and mods in the game, you should invest some time in Research. Starting Research early in the game is the best way to approach this gameplay aspect. Which is also easy to do, since you can find a Research Laboratory almost everywhere in Starfield. There is one in The Lodge and another one inside your Starship!

How to Research a Project in Starfield

Researching a Project is easy, as long as you have the appropriate skills and the required resources. Every project requires a number of resources to complete researching it. Place the resources to the Laboratory to complete projects. You can add resources even if you do not have the required number. Sometimes while researching a project a Sudden Development will happen. Sudden Development advances a project even if you have not added all the required resources. When this happens you get rewarded with additional resources that can advance your project automatically. Unlocking and getting the Research Methods skill to the max rank will make Sudden Development more common.

Research Skills in Starfield

Once you have researched all available projects early in the game, you will have to unlock specific skills to continue with advanced projects. For example you can research the Weaponry project Barrel Mods 1 if you have the required resources. But in order to continue with the Barrel Mods 2 project, you will have to get the Weapon Engineering Rank 1 Skill first. The same rule applies to other projects in all five categories. Without investing skill points to the appropriate skills you will not be able to research and learn how to craft better items. Some of the skills that are important for Research in Starfield are:

• Research Methods(Science)
• Special Projects(Science)
• Spacesuit Design(Science)
• Weapon Engineering(Science)
• Chemistry(Science)
• Outpost Engineering(Science)
• Gastronomy(Social)

As expected almost all important Research skills can be found in the Science Skills category! Research Methods and Special Projects reduce the resources required for Research and unlock more advanced projects. Spacesuit Design and Weapon Engineering unlock more advanced Mods for your Armor and Weapons respectively. Chemistry allows you to create better chems while Gastronomy unlocks better Food and Drinks. Finally Outpost Engineering unlocks better Outpost Modules to research and use. If you wish to focus on one particular Research category or more, then you will need to unlock the right skills as well!