Bethesda’s new space epic Starfield, much like its other RPGs, has a variety of ways to play the game. The player-created character can upgrade skills and prioritize certain types of weapons and attachments to suit their preferred playstyle, but there is one way in particular that is particularly efficient, defeating enemies in just one or two hits.
As with Bethesda’s previous RPG series, such as The Elder Scrolls or Fallout, one of these options is to create a character who relies on stealth and subterfuge to achieve their goals. Starfield seems to actively reward such an approach with some perks for sneak attacks that can make them an extremely powerful and deadly opponent for those who cross their paths, taking them down with ease before they even know they’re there.
Starfield’s Suppressors Make Solo Missions Easier
While not ideal for those who prefer to approach their missions guns-blazing, the suppressor and quiet laser attachments can make Starfield‘s solo missions a lot easier. Much as suppressors and silencers work in most games, they reduce the sound made when firing a gun and make it far harder for enemies to detect where the attack is coming from. Whereas most suppressors do reduced damage unless going for headshots, there is a good chance that characters will be able to deal increased damage to an unaware enemy via sneak attacks when using them in Starfield.
With melee weapons, this can be particularly difficult depending on the setting, as there is a better chance of being detected in large open areas than in labs and other interiors, so it’s harder to get close enough to the enemy to deliver the finishing blow, and doing so with melee attacks often alerts other enemies to that location. The suppressor attachment is a great way to deliver these sneak attacks from afar without raising much alarm afterward, and depending on where an enemy is targeted; the sneak attack bonus damage can make one shot into a heavy critical attack that neutralizes them in one move.
Suppressors can be acquired in a couple of different ways. The first is the easiest, simply buying or looting a weapon that already has a suppressor or quiet laser attachment modded on. However, with most loot being randomized, one must check most of the enemies they kill to see if they’re fortunate enough to pick a silenced weapon up.
The other option is to mod a weapon manually. This requires more work as plenty of resources are needed to carry out the research and ultimately attach it, and rank two of the Weapon Engineering skill needs to be achieved in order to research the suppressor mod in the first place. For those wanting to play Starfield stealthily, however, it is a worthwhile investment, as this will allow for some of Starfield’s best weapons to be used in a silenced mode as a result.
Stealth Can Be Challenging, But Extremely Rewarding Once Mastered
Stealth is often challenging but extremely satisfying once mastered, adding extra tension to levels as characters pick off their opponents one by one. By default, any character can crouch into stealth, and while the suppressor can make any build far stealthier, it is worth allocating at least one skill point to the Stealth category. Doing so makes a detection status appear when crouching, with a color-coded bar along the top of the screen, making it far easier to tell if they’ve been spotted while trying to perform a stealthy act.
This bar is white as default, with a “HIDDEN” message displayed when in stealth, and fills up with green if a non-hostile character is coming close to detecting the character. If the entity is hostile, it will quickly fill with orange and show a “CAUTION” message as the enemy tries to detect their last-known location. When fully exposed, the bar lights up red with a “DANGER” message, and there will likely be no option but to fight or desperately attempt to break the line of sight and hide once again.
Ronin And Cyber Runner Backgrounds Are Great For Stealth Players
Upgrading Stealth also further enables tracking the sounds characters make at Tier 2. Using the walk button on a keyboard or only slightly easing off on the left stick on a controller reduces this while moving around the area. Tier 3 works well in conjunction with suppressor mods, dealing a further +15% sneak attack damage for suppressed weapons, and Tier 4 takes this further by increasing this to +20%.
Ronin and Cyber Runner backgrounds are particularly good for stealth approaches, as they both come with Stealth as a starting skill and therefore can better observe how detected they are at any given moment. Cyber Runner’s other starter skills include Security, which is particularly useful for unlocking doors and safes, and Theft, which allows for pickpocketing from the outset.
Ronin, however, is better suited for the combat side of stealth, with its Dueling skill making close-quarters attacks far deadlier. Ronin also has the Scavenging skill from the start, making it easier to find items and resources, which can be particularly useful when planning to modify weapons with suppressors manually.
Starfield’s Companions Can Help Or Hinder Stealth
When optimizing stealth playthroughs, choosing a suitable companion out of the more than 20 available is vital, as picking the wrong one can give away the charater’s location no matter how much they’ve upgraded their Stealth traits or modified their weapons.
For example, VASCO the robot is an awful choice for stealth due to its sheer size and how loud it is when moving, whereas others, such as the mysterious Andreja, can literally turn invisible, making her the perfect companion for those who prefer to prioritize stealthy approaches, and her other traits are combat focused which can make her a good all-rounder and an asset in the field even when detected.
Alternatively, there is the option to tell a companion to wait or part ways before going into certain environments to ensure that the only target that could potentially get detected is the player themselves. Starfield‘s approach to stealth makes it a far more enticing prospect. By actually dealing more damage when undetected, it actively encourages upgrading weapons with suppressor or quiet laser modifiers to be more strategic in the approach when navigating levels and environments to deliver some satisfying one-hit takedowns.
