Bethesda’s hugely anticipated Starfield amassed such excitement prior to its release because of the wealth of things to do, places to explore and situations to overcome. But given the developer’s propensity for incarcerating its players to ensure they don’t immediately start looting and killing everything in sight, the question has emerged among its prospective players: Can you go to jail in Starfield?
Can You Be Imprisoned In Starfield?
Yes, it’s possible to go to jail in Starfield. There are a number of crimes players can commit and, if caught, they’ll be taken to the slammer by the relevant authorities.
The list of crimes we know players can commit is below. Bear in mind it’s not exhaustive, so don’t be surprised if you’ve committed a misdemeanor elsewhere and some Faction picks you up on it:
- Harming or killing innocent people
- Theft
- Smuggling
- Trespassing
- Hacking
Typically, being arrested involves a Faction enforcer approaching the Spacefarer and being informed of the crime you’ve committed. This then gives way to a number of options, in which players can agree to pay a fine (generally in the thousands of Credits), agree to go with the enforcers or refuse and fight back.
If you do get arrested and jailed in Starfield, it’s a case of losing the items related to your crime (like Contraband you shouldn’t have had) and losing XP too.
Your ship will be nearby on your release, letting you get back to exploring once you’ve served your time.
Avoiding Jail in Starfield
The best way to get away with crimes in Starfield – and therefore lessen the risk of going to prison – is to upgrade your ship to make it harder for authorities to identify your Contraband as stolen.
This involves upgrading your ship to include the Scan Jammer, or using a Shielded Cargo area. Both inhibit authorities from identifying stolen and smuggled goods on your ship and make facing the consequences far less likely.
Persuasion skills, acquired via traits and upgrades, also lessen the likelihood of going to jail. You can talk authorities into being more lenient and accepting a lower fine. Any items related to your crime will still be confiscated.
That’s everything we have on going to jail and avoiding it in Starfield! Because of the risks, it’s probably best to just try and avoid being caught (obviously), but don’t let us stop you from going on an epic and interstellar crime spree. For info on other aspects of the game, check out our related articles down below.
