Starfield Sniper Build

Welcome to my Sniper Build for Starfield. A powerful Build that is focusing on dealing massive damage and killing enemies from distance! The goal of this 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 the appropriate skills!

Table of Contents

• Sniper Build Background
• Sniper Build Traits
• Sniper Build Skills
• Sniper Build Weapon
• Sniper Build Armor
• Sniper Build Power
• Sniper Build Companion
• How to Play the Build

Best Background for Sniper Build in Starfield

The Best Background for the Sniper Build is Soldier! 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 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:

• File Not Found
• 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.

Best Skills for Sniper Build in Starfield

Below you can see the core skills of the 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(Novice)
• Weight Lifting(Novice)
• Wellness(Novice)
• Pain Tolerance(Advanced)
• Cellular Regeneration(Expert)
• Rejuvenation(Master)

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.

Social Skills

• Commerce(Novice)
• Isolation(Advanced)

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

• Ballistics(Novice)
• Rifle Certification(Advanced)
• Marksmanship(Expert)
• Rapid Reloading(Expert)
• Sniper Certification(Expert)
• Sharpshooting(Master)
• Armor Penetration(Master)
• Crippling(Master)

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(Novice)
• Weapon Engineering(Advanced)
• Spacesuit Design(Advanced)
• Chemistry(Expert)

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.

Tech Skills

• Boost Pack Training(Novice)

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 Weapons 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:

Slot	Component
Barrel	Bull/Fluted Barrel
Laser	Recon Laser Sight
Optic	Long Scope
Muzzle	Muzzle Brake
Grip and Stock	Tactical grip
Magazine and Battery	Penetrator Rounds
Internal	High Powered

Magsniper Weapon Mods:

Slot	Component
Barrel	Long Barrel
Laser	Recon Laser Sight
Optic	Long Scope
Muzzle	Muzzle Break
Magazine and Battery	Penetrator Rounds
Internal	High Powered

Best Armor for Sniper Build

The goal of the Build is to kill as many enemies as possible from distance! To achieve this you should stay undetected before firing your first shot. The Best Armor for the Sniper Build in Starfield is the Mantis Spacesuit and Helmet! Wearing the Mantis Helmet allows you to blend with the environment while sneaking and not moving thanks to its Chameleon Perk. Which makes it a lot easier to remain undetected and can help you play a more Stealthy Build overall. To maximize its efficiency with Mods you can add the following:

• First Slot – Shielding of your choice
• Second Slot – Sensor Array(increases the range for enemy detection on the compass)
• Third Slot – Heavy Shielding(increases all damage resistance)
• Fourth Slot – Gravitic Composites(reduces detection from enemies)

For the Body I also recommend the Sentinel’s Mantis Spacesuit thanks to its Sturdy Perk, that reduces incoming melee damage but also its Sentinel Perk that reduces damage when standing still. To maximize its efficiency with Mods you can add the following:

• First Slot – Shielding of your choice
• Second Slot – Explosive Shielding(reduces damage from explosives). Optimized Servos can work as well.
• Third Slot – Heavy Shielding(increases all damage resistance)
• Fourth Slot – Gravitic Composites(reduces detection from enemies)

Best Power for Sniper Build in Starfield

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

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 Sniper Build in Starfield

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 distance! Other good Companions you can use with the Build are:

• Andreja
• Sam Coe
• Sarah Morgan
• Amelia Earhart

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 Sniper Build in Starfield

The Build is very simple to play! Detect enemies, stay undetected and attack with your sniper Rifle from as far as possible! A more efficient Build for large open areas where you have clear line of sight to the enemies and can attack them one by one. The Build will struggle if you fight enemies inside buildings and smaller areas, which is why you should bring a secondary weapon with you for this type of combat. The Mantis Armor is a great tool to blend with the environment and avoid detection before you start your attack!