Starfield backgrounds

The role of Starfield backgrounds is to provide your Spacefarer with a set of starting skills for their journey, and to add some unique dialog options as you explore the Settled Systems. Choosing the best Starfield background can make it easier to advance through the Starfield main quest, earn Credits, and even convince criminals to leave you alone.

So, whether you see yourself as a futuristic Bouncer or a cosmic Chef, you can bet there’s a background ready for you to select.

Unlike Starfield traits, backgrounds don’t come with negative side effects and won’t align you with any Starfield factions, but your chosen background will be reflected in certain NPC interactions. Backgrounds are important if you’re trying to create specific Starfield builds, so choose carefully.

What’s the best Starfield background?

The best overall Starfield background is the Combat Medic. The starting skills for this background include Wellness and Medicine, which will help you breeze through early combat encounters and patch yourself up when wounded. You’ll also have Pistol Certification to boost your damage output with the handguns that you pick up during the early game.

However, there are other options for brilliant backgrounds depending on your style of play. Those who prefer to sneak in the shadows can benefit from the Cyber Runner background, which confers the Stealth, Security, and Theft skills. Or, if you’re more concerned with dogfighting in the depths of space, the Long Hauler background might be a better pick, providing you with skills in Piloting, Ballistic Weapon Systems, and Weight Lifting.

Don’t want to be a Combat Medic? We’ve got the full list of Starfield backgrounds here below. Or, if you keep scrolling you find our list of the best Starfield backgrounds ranked, as well as advice on which to opt for when creating particular builds.

Every Starfield background and their skills:

	Beast Hunter skills Fitness, Ballistics, Gastronomy summary You’re a dab hand with ballistic weapons – and with a frying pan.
	Bouncer skills Boxing, Security, Fitness summary You’re just as skilled with your fists as you are with a digipick.
	Bounty Hunter skills Piloting, Targeting Control Systems, Boost Pack Training summary You’re an expert in ship-to-ship combat as well as boost packs.
	Chef skills Gastronomy, Dueling, Scavenging summary You boast expert knife skills and are capable of cooking up a storm.
	Combat Medic skills Pistol Certification, Medicine, Wellness summary You’re a crack shot with a pistol, and can heal more with a Med Pack.
	Cyber Runner skills Stealth, Security, Theft summary You’re sneaky, light-fingered, and skilled with a digipick.
	Cyberneticist skills Medicine, Security, Lasers summary Your implants and upgrades buff your healing, lockpicking, and more.
	Diplomat skills Persuasion, Commerce, Wellness summary You’re naturally persuasive, which is handy with NPCs and vendors alike.
	Explorer skills Lasers, Astrodynamics, Surveying summary You jump further, survey new worlds, and shoot lasers.
	File Not Found skills Wellness, Ballistics, Piloting summary You’re a mystery. An enigma. A walking question mark. Oh, and a bit of an all-rounder.
	Gangster skills Shotgun Certification, Boxing, Theft summary If you can’t steal what you need, your fists and a shotgun are a fine backup.
	Homesteader skills Geology, Surveying, Weight Lifting summary Hostile world? No problem. Your strength and rock-smarts will see you through.
	Industrialist skills Security, Persuasion, Research Methods summary Your gifts for conversation and innovation are a boon in the Settled Systems.
	Long Hauler skills Weight Lifting, Piloting, Ballistic Weapon Systems summary Space truckers are physically strong, gifted pilots, and can handle themselves in a dogfight.
	Pilgrim skills Gastronomy, Scavenging, Surveying summary As a wanderer, you’re used to eating on the road and making more with less.
	Professor skills Astrodynamics, Geology, Research Methods summary Booksmarts certainly come in handy when you’re a galctic explorer.
	Ronin skills Dueling, Stealth, Scavenging summary You’re a wandering samurai, striking from the shadows with a lethal blade.
	Sculptor skills Medicine, Geology, Persuasion summary You’re used to seeing the untapped value in mud and rocks.
	Soldier skills Fitness, Ballistics, Boost Pack Training summary Your enemies can’t outmatch your pace, manoeuvrability, or firepower.
	Space Scoundrel skills Pistol Certification, Piloting, Persuasion summary You might as well just call you character Han.
	Xenobiologist skills Lasers, Surveying, Fitness summary Whether you’re holding a scanner or an Equinox, you’re happy.

The best Starfield backgrounds ranked

If you’re still having a tough time deciding on which of the 21 options to opt for, we’ve ranked all the available backgrounds. These are based on our impressions of the game and testing different skillsets, so if you disagree, head over to our Starfield forum to let us know what you think.

• S tier – Combat Medic, File Not Found, Diplomat, Cyber Runner, Long Hauler
• A tier –  Ronin, Industrialist, Cyberneticist, Space Scoundrel, Bounty Hunter
• B tier – Xenobiologist, Sculptor, Beast Hunter
• C tier – Soldier, Bouncer, Gangster, Homesteader
• D tier – Chef, Pilgrim, Professor

What are the best Starfield backgrounds for my build?

If you’re trying to achieve a specific build, you need to start from the minute the game asks you to select your background. So, we’ve put together this list of a few of the builds we’ve created and what backgrounds work best with them.

Stealth builds – The obvious option for stealth builds is the Cyber Runner background, with all the skills we mentioned in the opening of this article. However, there are some alternatives. The Gangster background includes the Theft skill, with the addition of Boxing if pickpocketing goes amiss. Or there’s the Ronin route, which is the only alternative background to Cyber Runner that includes the Stealth skill.

Social builds – There is a clear favorite for the best Starfield background when it comes to social builds, and it’s the Diplomat. Equipped with Persuasion, Commerce, and Wellness skills, this option is ideal for making your way around the galaxy without ever pulling a trigger or launching yourself at someone with a Rescue Axe in hand.

Melee builds – Melee builds benefit from backgrounds like Chef, which has the Dueling skill, or the brawling Bounceroption, which comes with the Boxingskill.

Samurai build – If you’re aiming to become a space samurai, the only real option is the Ronin background. This background comes with the Stealth, Dueling, and Scavenging skills, providing the basis for your future as a science-fiction swordsman.

That’s our guide to Starfield backgrounds. For more assistance making your way through Bethesda’s latest epic RPG, check out our Starfield map hub, including interactive versions of the Akila City Map, Neon map, Cydonia map, and more on the way.