All Starfield Backgrounds & Their Perks

Starfield is looking to be a massively expansive game with plenty to explore and experience, but that experience is going to be shaped greatly by what background you choose during your character’s creation. Each background will come with corresponding perks that you get based on your choice, things like easier persuasion, cooking better food or dealing more damage with a certain weapon type.

How Do Backgrounds Affect Your Gameplay?

The background that you choose in Starfield will determine a couple of different things about your character right off the bat. It will be the basis to what perks you get at the start of the game, and will give you various benefits in whatever category you choose from.

While not every background in the game has been officially fleshed out by Bethesda, many of them have been glimpsed in the gameplay previews that they’ve shown off so far. Here’s the list of the different backgrounds you can choose from at the start of the game.

• Beast Hunter
• Bouncer
• Bounty Hunter
• Chef
• Combat Medic
• Cyber Runner
• Cyberneticist
• Diplomat
• Explorer
• Gangster
• Homesteader
• Industrialist
• Long-Hauler
• Pilgrim
• Professor
• Ronin

What Perks Do You Get For Each Background?

Unfortunately, we don’t have a full, detailed list of all the perks that you’ll be able to get for each background, but from the gameplay footage that’s been released, we know the perks that go with certain backgrounds. The backgrounds, their descriptions and their corresponding perks that we have information for are as follows.

Chef

The Chef background should be useful for stocking up on health to use for close-quarters combat, given that you can make more recipes that can provide you with additional health and status buffs and you get a boost to melee weapon damage.

“While the unrefined masses scarfed down Chunks by the shipload, you catered to those with a more… discerning palate. In your kitchen, countless alien species became true culinary masterpieces.”

• Gastronomy – Allows you to cook and research additional specialty recipes for yourself and your crew.
• Dueling – Melee weapons are 10% more powerful.
• Wellness – Gain 30 points of health right off the bat.

Combat Medic

The Combat Medic is focused on taking care of people and themselves, with perks that make the job of a medic on the battlefield just a little bit easier. You can carry a bit more, shoot a pistol a bit better, and you know how to get the most out of a Med Pack.

“Leave it to human beings to fight over something as infinite as outer space. That’s where you come in. You’ve never been afraid to take on the enemy… but you’d much rather take care of your friends.”

• Pistol Certification – Provides you with a 10% increase in Pistol damage.
• Medicine – Provides you with 10% more healing from Med Packs.
• Weight Lifting – Allows you to carry 10 more kilograms than the default carry capacity.

Cyber Runner

The Cyber Runner is more focused on themselves and their coin than the greater good, with perks that make everyday subterfuge look easy. Not only can you get in and out of places with more ease, but you can talk your way out if the situation goes sideways.

“From Neon to New Atlantis, the megacorps stand as monuments to power, prestige and profit. You’ve worked both for and against them, on the inside and out, often sacrificing conscience for credits.”

• Pistol Certification – Provides you with a 10% increase in Pistol damage.
• Security – Allows you to attempt to unlock Advanced Locks, while also giving you two Auto Attempts.
• Persuasion – Increases your chances of success in Speech challenges.

Cyberneticist

The Cyberneticist looks to focus heavily on technology and the integration of robotics into everyday human life. With that, your perks are based around both humans and technology, conveniently enough.

“Robots? Mere toys. Neuroamps? Good for parlor tricks. The Colony War may have made implants and upgrades available to veterans, but you once saw a greater future. Humans and machines, as one.”

• Medicine – Provides you with 10% more healing from Med Packs.
• Robotics – You get an extra 10% damage when dealing with robots and turrets.
• Lasers – You get 10% more damage when using laser weapons.

Diplomat

The diplomat is one charismatic background choice, allowing you to avoid conflict with your words, rather than needing to blast your way out of situations. You can also get use out of that charm to save a little money on the way.

“The wars are over. Peace now reigns in the Settled Systems. But only because there are those quietly fighting to keep it. Because of you, agreements were signed, words were heeded… lives were spared.”

• Persuasion – Increases your chances of success in Speech challenges.
• Diplomacy- You can use your conversational skills to talk an enemy into not fighting with you, at least for a time.
• Bargaining- You get a 5% discount on items you purchase, while earning a 10% bonus on the things that you sell.

Explorer

If finding and exploring new lands for the first time is the name of your game, then the explorer is gonna be right for you. You’ll get bonuses with using advanced technology, both for traveling through the galaxy and exploring planets with your boots on the ground.

“They said exploration is a lost art. You didn’t listen. As the major factions argued over the space they desperately tried to control, you were busy uncovering the wonders of the Settled Systems.”

• Lasers – You get 10% more damage when using laser weapons.
• Astrodynamics – You can use your scientific prowess to get the most out of the ships that you pilot.
• Surveying – You’ll be able to more easily interpret new, alien worlds and the data that they have to offer.

Those are all of the confirmed perks that have been shown in some of the pre-release gameplay that’s been shown, but as soon as more information is known about all the rest of the backgrounds and their perks, we’ll be sure to update this post with the most current details. For now, if you want to get yourself ready for Starfield‘s release, you can check out some of our other guides.