starfield sniper build
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ByArzyeL

Starfield Sniper Build

The Best Sniper Build for Starfield, that is focusing on dealing massive damage and killing enemies from distance! The goal of the Build is to kill all hostiles from as far as possible, without risking taking damage. To achieve this we are focusing on using powerful ranged weapons and unlocking appropriate skills!

Table of Contents

Best Background for Sniper 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 Sniper Build is Soldier!

Soldier Background

The Background gives access to the following skills:

  • Fitness
  • Ballistics
  • Boost Pack Training

Soldier is a powerful background for a Sniper Build, since it gives access to some great skills early in the game. Ballistics is a core skill for the Build that allows us to use powerful Rifles more effectively. Fitness increases our Oxygen pool, which allows us to hold breath for longer when sniping. Boost Pack Training is not an important skill for the Build but can be helpful when we need to reach higher ground faster. A few other good Backgrounds you can use are:

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  • Beast Hunter

If you wish to play a more Stealthy Sniper Build, then you can use the Cyber Runner background!

Best Traits for Sniper Build in Starfield

For our Traits we will focus on those that increase Oxygen, so we can hold our breath for longer! The Best Traits you can pick for your Sniper Build are:

  • Alien DNA
  • Introvert
  • Terra Firma or Spaced
  • Wanted
  • Faction and Religious

Alien DNA boosts Health and Oxygen but reduces the effectiveness of healing and food items. Introvert boosts Oxygen when adventuring alone. Terra Firma will boost your Health and Oxygen on the ground but reduce them in space while Spaced will do the opposite. The obvious choice here is Terra Firma, since most of Sniping will happen on the surface of planets. Wanted offers a boost to damage when you are low on health but because of the nature of the build you will not trigger it often. Unless you stay low on Health on purpose so you can have the damage bonus active while sniping.

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.

Sniper Certification Skill

Best Skills for Sniper Build in Starfield

Skills are the core of our Sniper 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

  • Ballistics
  • Isolation
  • Sniper Certification
  • Sharpshooting

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

Physical Skills

Fitness increases Oxygen, which allows to hold breath for longer when sniping. Weight Lifting will help with carrying more items while Wellness increases Health. Pain Tolerance and Cellular Regeneration will reduce damage and protect from injuries. Rejuvenation will assist with getting you back to action in no time if you are injured or low on health. Cellular Regeneration and Rejuvenation are not a priority so you can take them later in your playthrough.

Ballistics Skill

Social Skills

Commerce is a great skill for making credits in Starfield! With Commerce you can buy items cheap and sell them more expensive for a higher profit. Isolation is a core skill of the Build that boosts Weapon Damage but also Damage Resistance when you are alone! This skill is also the main reason why we are not using a Companion with the Build.

Combat Skills

You should focus heavily on Combat skills for your Sniper Build to be truly effective! Ballistics will boost the damage of all Ballistic based weapons, while Rifle Certification will allow you to use Rifles more efficiently. Marksmanship increases the critical hit chance of your non automatic ranged weapons. Sniper Certification and Sharpshooting will boost your damage and efficiency with Scoped Weapons and shooting from range! 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.

Science Skills

Medicine boosts the effectiveness of Med Packs 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.

Rifle Certification Skill

Tech Skills

Boost Pack Training is available from the Soldier Background but can be a helpful skill. No other skill from the Tech line is necessary for the Sniper Build but you can unlock and use any other skill in the game to enrich the build and make it more personal to you!

Best Weapon for Sniper Build in Starfield

Long range Ballistic Rifles are obviously the best for a Sniper Build in Starfield. Thanks to the Sniper Certification skill we can make good use of any Ballistic based scoped weapon, so there is a variety of weapons to choose from. Early in the game you can use any Ballistic Rifle you drop, like Grendel or Maelstrom. Add an Optic Weapon Mod to make them more appropriate for Sniping. Always upgrade them with better rifles you find like Drum Beat, Beowulf, AA-99, Magshear. When you find the Old Earth Hunting Rifle, you can use it as your main Sniper Weapon. Keep your other rifle as secondary weapon with a Short or Medium Scope Mod to deal with enemies that might get closer to you. Hard Target and Magsniper Rifle are the best weapons for the Sniper Build. They have great range and deal massive damage.

Hard Target Weapon Mods:

SlotComponent
BarrelBull/Fluted Barrel
LaserRecon Laser Sight
OpticLong Scope
MuzzleMuzzle Brake
Grip and StockTactical grip
Magazine and BatteryPenetrator Rounds
InternalHigh Powered

Magsniper Weapon Mods:

SlotComponent
BarrelLong Barrel
LaserRecon Laser Sight
OpticLong Scope
MuzzleMuzzle Break
Magazine and BatteryPenetrator Rounds
InternalHigh Powered

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

Best Power for Sniper 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 Sniper Build is Sense Star Stuff! This power allows you to locate every Human, Alien or Starborn in an area and see where they are, even behind walls! A few more powers you can use are:

  • Phased Time
  • Void Form
  • Parallel Self
  • Reactive Shield

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

Best Companion for Sniper 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. We are not using any Companion with the Build so we can take advantage of the Isolation Skill. However if you prefer to bring a Companion along, then the Best Companion for the Sniper Build is Simeon Bankowski, a fellow Sniper that can assist with killing enemies from a distance! 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!

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