Being a sci-fi RPG from Bethesda, Starfield is all about creating your character and venturing out to explore the vast space. But before you kickstart your journey, the game requires you to choose a background and assign traits to your character. In classic Bethesda RPG fashion, Starfield allows you to select from multiple available traits. With the game now available in early access, we have compiled a list of traits in Starfield, so you can read up on it before you jump in and start your space roleplay. Moreover, we have also penned the best Starfield traits that should be good for starter gameplay.
What Are Traits in Starfield?
As touted by game director Todd Howard during the Starfield Deep Dive, traits in this game are the most flexible they have ever been in a Bethesda title. These options add unique positive and negative modifiers to your character, changing how you experience the game.
The game allows you to select a maximum of three traits. You have the option of selecting your preferred traits or none, if that’s how you wish to play the game. Depending on your selection, your journey will ever so slightly differ from another user in terms of exploration. However, remember that you cannot select certain traits if you choose certain other ones.
For example, if you choose to be an introvert, you (obviously) cannot become an extrovert at the same time. Similarly, aligning yourself with a particular religion won’t allow you to select others.
Best Starfield Traits You Should Pick
Given there are so many options available in front of you, one might wonder which trait they should pick. After all, each trait comes with its unique pros and cons (explained in detail below). You might want to pick and create the best character you have in your mind. Traits do not affect your game in a broader sense. But they act as a flavor to your character, adding another layer of fun to the RPG. That said, we believe these are the best traits you should pick for a slight gameplay advantage:
- Empath
- Extrovert
- Terra Firma
Choosing the above three Starfield traits is a preferred option for multiple reasons. You will explore Starfield’s world with a companion on many occasions, and choosing Empath and Extrovert traits takes that into account. Extrovert decreases oxygen consumption when you are with a party, and Empath improves combat effectiveness when making favorable decisions that align with your companions. So, both traits give you a boost during gunfights and hostile encounters.
As for the third trait, you should pick Terra Firma (over the Spaced trait). Terra Firma is perfect for exploration, as it will make you use less oxygen on the surface of a planet, which is where you would spend more of your time in-game. This means that running around on a planet will require less oxygen, and it becomes an afterthought during hostile encounters.
If you wish to swap out any of these traits, we suggest picking either a faction-based or religion-based trait for roleplay. Depending on your motivation, you can pick one of the three colony-based roleplay traits or one of the three religion-based roleplay traits. While neither gives you any advantage during hostile situations, they provide additional roleplay content and free rewards.
For example, choosing to become a Street Rat, Freestar Collective Settler, or UC settler opens up numerous new dialogue options with the NPCs belonging to the faction. Sometimes, you will also receive better rewards and unique side-quests. Similarly, selecting to become an Enlightened or Universal allows you to receive some special items from the respective religion building. Hence, if you care about these things, you can select one of the RPG-lore traits.
All the 17 Traits in Starfield Explained
Here are all the confirmed traits in Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG Starfield, but you can only select three while building your character in the game:
- Alien DNA
- Dream Home
- Empath
- Extrovert
- Freestar Collective Settler
- Hero Worshipped
- Introvert
- Kid Stuff
- Neon Street Rat
- Raised Enlightened
- Raised Universal
- Serpent’s Embrace
- Spaced
- Taskmaster
- Terra Firma
- United Colonies Native
- Wanted
1. Alien DNA
- Pros: Increased health and oxygen
- Cons: Reduced recovery with healing and food items
Have you ever wanted to play a character who went through clinical trials to become a unique being? The Alien DNA perk allows you to do exactly that. As per the official description, selecting this trait will permanently increase your health and oxygen stats. However, to balance it out, you will recover less health and oxygen when consuming food and healing items.
2. Dream Home
- Pros: Own a luxurious house
- Cons: Pay a 125,000 credit mortgage weekly
Everyone wants to get themselves a fancy house in their lifetime, and well, it’s possible to realize that dream in Starfield as well. However, much like real life, housing in Starfield requires you to work your way up the ladder.
Fortunately, one of the traits, namely Dream House, allows you to own a shelter by default in Starfield. However, you have to worry about paying off the mortgage early on in the game, that too weekly.
3. Empath
- Pros: Temporarily increases combat effectiveness when performing actions favored by your companions
- Cons: Doing the opposite decreases combat effectiveness
One of the few roleplay traits, empath ensures that you treat everyone with fairness and kindness in-game. This results in you as well as your Starfield companions obtaining temporary combat effectiveness. However, if you ever do something ever so slightly sociopathic or unfavorable, your overall combat effectiveness will drop.
4. Extrovert
- Pros: Adventuring with a group will use less oxygen
- Cons: Adventuring alone uses more oxygen
- Incompatible with Introvert
Extroverts are the powerhouse of any human interaction. Naturally, they also have better stamina and energy and better lung capacity in Starfield. Extrovert adventurers will use less oxygen when adventuring with their companions. But, if you venture out alone at any point, you start using more oxygen. Maybe hyperventilation from being alone for far too long?
5. Freestar Collective Settler
- Pros: Gain access to unique dialogues and better rewards for faction missions
- Cons: Increases crime bounty towards other factions
- Incompatible with Neon Street Rat and United Colonies Native
Freestar Collective is one of the factions in Starfield that has united and occupied certain planets across space. As such, you can roleplay as a citizen from this particular faction. You’ll get unique dialogue options if you meet a fellow Freestar Collective settler. These are separate from the standard dialogue choice and give you special story bits.
You will also earn better rewards if you help out the faction with certain tasks. However, if you ever work against Freestar Collective, the bounty put on you will be much higher. This results in strong enemies coming to apprehend you.
6. Hero Worshipped
- Pros: You gain the Adoring Fan companion, who will shower you with gifts
- Cons: You gain the Adoring Fan companion
Remember the Adoring Fan from Elder Scrolls 4? Well, he has found his way into Starfield. The Adoring Fan will randomly spawn if you select the Hero Worshipped trait. He will also shower you with gifts because he is your admirer!
The only downside to this trait is that the NPC can become annoying. Also, if he is anything remotely like Elder Scrolls 4, the Adoring Fan will be completely useless during gunfights.
7. Introvert
- Pros: Adventuring alone uses less oxygen
- Cons: Adventuring with a team uses more oxygen
- Incompatible with Extrovert
While extroverts are the heart and soul of any social circle, introverts are the opposite of that. They are more laid back and prefer to be in their zone. This particular trait tries to encapsulate that feeling. In-game, introverts will use less oxygen when running around and doing their chores. However, party up, and your oxygen consumption increases.
8. Kid Stuff
- Pros: You have living parents who you can visit and interact with
- Cons: You send over 2% of your credits back at home
Normally, most RPGs force you to be a lone wanderer without a family. However, you can meet your parents in Starfield through the Kids Stuff trait. Selecting this adds your character’s parents to the game, who you can visit anytime. However, having a family means taking care of them, and if you select this perk, you send over 2% of your earnings back to your family.
9. Neon Street Rat
- Pros: Gain access to unique dialogue options and better rewards for missions on Neon
- Cons: Increases crime bounty from other factions
- Incompatible with Freestar Collective Settler and United Colonies Native
Neon is a city in one of the settled planets in Starfield, and it’s under the Freestar Collective. On a planet filled with poor and contrasting class status, you can roleplay as a street urchin, or as officially called, Neon Street Rat. Selecting this trait will allow you to gain access to unique street rat-specific dialogues. It also provides higher mission rewards, but only on Neon. However, your crime bounty from other factions increases.
10. Raised Enlightened
- Pros: Provides access to special items in the House of Enlightened at New Atlantis
- Cons: Lose access to Sanctum Universum items
- Incompatible with Raised Universal and Serpent’s Embrace
One of the two religions in Starfield, Raised Enlightened allows access to the chest located in the House of Enlightened at New Atlants in Starfield. This chest contains special items that you can use in your playthrough.
There is no real downside to selecting Raised Enlightened, apart from the fact that you lose access to the special items found in another location at New Atlantis.
11. Raised Universal
- Pros: Access to special items in the Sanctum Universum at New Atlantis
- Cons: Lose access to the House of Enlightened items
- Incompatible with Raised Enlightened and Serpent’s Embrace
Raised Universal is the second religion in this game. Selecting this trait gives you access to the chest located in the Sanctum Universum at New Atlantis in Starfield. Like the previous trait, this chest contains unique items that can be of help in your playthrough. But, selecting Raised Universal will lock you out of accessing the chest in the House of Enlightened.
12. Serpent’s Embrace
- Pros: Grav jumping provides a temporary health and oxygen boost
- Cons: Health and Oxygen get lowered unless you jump regularly
- Incompatible with Raised Enlightened and Raised Universal
Serpent’s Embrace is a cult in Starfield where you worship a snake god. As such, selecting this trait gives you certain perks. If you become a member of Serpent’s Embrace, you receive a temporary health and oxygen boost whenever you grav jump. This is extremely helpful during specific situations. However, it also makes you a jump addict, as you have to grav jump occasionally. Otherwise, your health and oxygen get lowered.
13. Spaced
- Pros: Health and Oxygen are increased when in space
- Cons: Health and Oxygen are decreased when on the surface
- Incompatible with Terra Firma.
The Spaced trait allows you to become a true star explorer in Strafield, one who has lived in outer space. As such, your lung capacity has improved, allowing you to gain increased health and oxygen in outer space. However, if you land on the surface, your health and oxygen will decrease.
14. Taskmaster
- Pros: If you have crew trained in a ship system, that system will automatically repair when damaged below 50%
- Cons: Every crew costs twice as much to hire
Starfield features several companions with their specific perks skills and traits. As such, the Taskmaster skill comes in handy if you plan to put them in specific duties. If you have a trained crew in a ship system, they will repair that particular ship system automatically, when the damage drops.
The downside to this trait is that it increases the hiring costs of companions. But remember, since Starfield is not a multiplayer or co-op game, you can only rely on your NPCs and not real-life friends.
15. Terra Firma
- Pros: Health and oxygen increase when you are on the surface
- Cons: Health and oxygen decrease when you are in space
- Incompatible with spaced
Terra Firma lets you roleplay as a novice space explorer who has lived their life on the surface. As such, landing on the surface and walking on it will increase your health and oxygen. However, if you go to space, your health and oxygen will decrease.
16. United Colonies Native
- Pros: Gain access to unique United Colonies dialogue and receive better rewards
- Cons: Crime bounty from other factions increases
- Incompatible with Freestar Collective Settler and Neon Street Rat
United Colonies are another faction looking to colonize the newly discovered planets. As such, you can roleplay as a UC native who has lived on one of their colonized planets. Selecting this trait will allow you to use unique UC-specific dialogue when you talk with your fellow colonists. However, crime bounties received from other factions will also increase.
17. Wanted
- Pros: You deal extra damage when your health is low
- Cons: Armed mercenaries will occasionally show up randomly to kill you
Finally, let’s say you want to roleplay as a ruthless space pirate in Starfield with your unique traits. And you want the entire space vying to take you down. The Wanted trait allows you to do that. It lets you become a scary individual, one who can deal more damage when your health is low. However, the downside is that mercenaries trying to claim your bounty will occasionally appear randomly.
