How to place items in cargo and upgrade cargo size in Starfield
Image Source: Bethesda Game Studios

How to Put Items in Cargo & Increase Ship Cargo Size in Starfield

Lighten the load.

An unlikely foe you’ll be consistently battling with in Bethesda Game Studios’ cosmic RPG is a simple one: space. I mean, who knew there was so little space… in space. (I’ll get my coat.) To combat this, players can always place items into the cargo hold aboard their spaceship to free up some storage in their own inventory. So, if you’re wondering how to put items in cargo and increase ship cargo size in Starfield, we’ll clue you in down below.

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How to Put Items into Cargo Hold

To place items into the cargo hold aboard your spaceship, you’ll first need to locate it. They appear in-game like a small rectangular keypad with a turquoise/ green display. In yellow text, it says “CARGO HOLD” at the top of it. Honestly, that may sound really obvious, but while you’re playing, it’s actually quite easy to miss.

Image Source: Bethesda via Twinfinite

Where the cargo hold is situated depends on your spacecraft’s design. However, we largely found cargo holds just behind the cockpit. Once you’re looking directly at it, you can press X to transfer items to and from the cargo hold. This brings up the typical inventory menu that you see when you open your own inventory. In this menu, however, you’ll be able to manage your cargo’s inventory instead of your own.

When you’re looking directly at the cargo hold, you can select items by pressing Up and Down on the D-pad and you can also take items by pressing the A button. This moves them from your ship’s cargo hold to your own inventory.

How to Increase Ship Cargo Size

If you’re interested in increasing your spaceship’s cargo size, there’s a particular Skill called Payloads that is dedicated to just that. It can be found in the Tech skill tree, though it’s a Tier 2 skill, meaning you’ll have to invest at least four skill points into the Tier 1 Tech skills before you can unlock it.

Here’s a breakdown of what each rank Payloads has to offer:

  • Rank 1 – Ship cargo holds have 10% more capacity.
  • Rank 2 – Ship cargo holds have 20% more capacity.
  • Rank 3 – Ship cargo holds have 30% more capacity.
  • Rank 4 – Ship cargo holds have 50% more capacity.

Regardless, your spaceship boasts the biggest inventory space to carry loot in Starfield. Boosting it with the Payloads Skill is a no-brainer as the cargo hold is a critical part of transporting all your loot from A to B. In other words, it’s undoubtedly a great skill to invest in, especially in the early game where storage space is limited.

And, there you have it. We hope this guide helped to shed some light on how to put items in cargo and increase ship cargo size in Starfield. For more, why not explore our related links below? And as always, for more tips, tricks, and guides, keep it locked here at Twinfinite.


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Author
Dylan Chaundy
Dylan is a Senior Writer at Twinfinite and has been with the site for over two years, and in the games media industry for over a decade. He typically covers horror, RPGs, shooters, Roblox, indie titles and movies, and loves reading, pizza and skateboarding; ideally, at the same time. He has a degree in English Literature from Aberystwyth University, Wales. He thinks FTL may be the most perfect game ever created.