The way that getting new skills functions in Starfield is a little unorthodox when compared to similar RPGs. Skill points are still a major factor, but that’s certainly not all there is to it. If you want to maximize your chosen build loadout early on, ranking up skills might hamper your progress a little.
Ranking Up Starfield Skills Explained
The first rank of any skill in Starfield can be gained at any time with a single skill point. You only need to navigate to your skill tree, select the skill you want, and then press the Unlock button.
However, once you have a single rank in a skill, you now have to jump through some hoops. Even if you have the skill points required for the next rank, it is unavailable until you complete a related challenge to unlock it. Case in point: For the Medicine skill, that challenge is to “use healing items 20 times while wounded.”
This is the case for every skill. The skills you started with for your background begin at rank one, so you can start doing the challenges for those immediately.
The challenges themselves don’t change, but each subsequent one requires you to do more to complete it. The rank two challenge for the Weight Lifting skill was “sprint for 1000 meters while at 75% or more of your maximum load capacity.” The rank three challenge then raised that to 2,500 meters. The benefit is that every skill only costs one point, so completing challenges always feels rewarding.
While this might seem like a punishment, it also means you are getting the most out of your skills at all times. Considering that Starfield doesn’t have a level cap, it’s clear the developers needed a little speedbump to stop players from maxing out too quickly.
This method of ranking up skills will take more time to fill out a skill tree, but it will only make you better at the game. For more Starfield guides for equipment and skills, check out our links below.
