Starfield melee builds

Looking for the best Starfield melee builds? Rather than going into every fight guns blazing or attempting to diffuse a situation with reason, show off your brawn and raw fighting spirit by speccing out your space soldier to brawl like a bear. It’s not the smartest choice, but as with all of the best Starfield builds, if you can spec yourself out with the right skills you can basically become Starfield’s version of the Hulk, bouncing back bullets and slamming pirates into walls.

Before we start the chatter, take a look at our extensive Starfield resource database to get a good idea of where to find the materials you’ll need to craft any valuable Starfield weapons. That’ll help you build up a luxury Starfield ship to travel between Starfield planets for more diplomatic missions. Like to wine and dine? Learning more about Starfield consumables while you’re at it.

Best backgrounds for Starfield melee builds

When picking your character background, you’ll want to keep the best backgrounds for most Starfield melee builds in mind. If you’re fighting with your fists, you’ll have two options. Otherwise, starting out as a Chef will sharpen your instincts, so to speak. Here’s the best melee build backgrounds and builds:

Best traits for Starfield melee builds

Here are the best Starfield traits for a Starfield melee build. These traits won’t have quite as drastic an effect on your character as your background, but you also can’t get them any other way, making them important final choices.

• Terra Firma – More health and oxygen on the ground means more power attacks, sprints, and potential damage buffs.
• Wanted – Dealing more damage at low HP plays into the whole idea of berserking around the galaxy.
• Introvert – You’ll gain plenty of benefits by going it alone. Go for Extravert instead of Introvert if you want to form a makeshift melee gang.

Best skills for Starfield melee builds

With so many styles to choose from, finding the best Starfield melee build skills can be tricky. We’ve rounded up a long list of those that work, but you’ll want to pick and choose the ones that align with your playstyle. Getting Boxing if you intend to use a weapon isn’t wise, Concealment is useless if you’re not employing stealth, and some of the defensive picks aren’t necessary if you wear the best Starfield armor.

• Martial Arts
• Concealment
• Neurostrikes
• Rejuvination
• Pain Tolerance
• Nutrition
• Gymnastics
• Energy Weapon Dissipation
• Wellness
• Stealth
• Fitness
• Boost Assault Training
• Boxing
• Weapon Engineering
• Medicine
• Crippling
• Demolitions
• Dueling
• Isolation
• Ship Command
• Theft
• Gastronomy

Best armor for Starfield melee builds

With Starfield melee builds, the best Starfield armor picks get a little hard to manage. On one hand, you need armor to survive the volley of bullets and bites you’ll no doubt face as you charge in with your melee weapons or fists. On the other, you’ll want to stay nimble, agile, and fast on your feet. Luckily, there’s a happy place inbetween where you can maximize the benefits of traits like Wanted, relying on skills to pad your defenses further.

Here are the best armor mods to look out for when choosing armor for the best Starfield melee builds:

• Oxygen Reserve – More oxygen allows for more springing power attacks.
• Optimized Servos – Reduces oxygen cost for sprinting.
• Sensor Array – Increases enemy detection range.
• Exo Servos – Increases melee damage.
• Heavy Shielding – Reduces damage from all sources.
• Gravitic Composites – Reduces enemy detection chance.
• EM Shielding – Reduces damage from EM sources.
• Hazard Protection – Reduces damage from Airborne, Thermal, Corrosive, and Radiation opening up avenues through otherwise dangerous terrain.
• Emergency Aid – Can automatically recover your HP during more hectic fights, increasing the odds of surviving with just enough HP to deal big damage.

Best weapons for Starfield melee builds

What are the best weapons for Starfield melee builds? That depends on your approach. If you’re going bare-knuckle boxing with the appropriate skill, you’ll want to skip this section entirely. If you’re set on using sharp objects, however, here are the legendary weapon mods you’ll want to look out for on the melee weapons to find, craft, and modify:

• Instigating – Deal double damage to targets with full HP.
• Cornered – You deal more damage as your health decreases.
• Furious – More damage with each hit.
• Shattering – Break armor.
• Titanium Build – Reduce carrying weight.
• Rapid – Increased attack speed.

Best powers for Starfield melee builds

Though it’ll take some time to grab them, the best Starfield powers for a melee build are well worth aiming for. When used properly, they’ll help you even the odds against ranged weapons and armored foes. Here’s the lot:

• Gravity Dash – Use this power to quickly bridge the gap between you and your opponent.
• Parallel Self – It’s tag-team time! Clone yourself (weapons included) to exert maximum beatdown.
• Reactive Shield – Sustain your HP by bouncing bullets back as you dart between targets.

How to play the best Starfield melee builds

You can play the best Starfield melee builds in a variety of ways. You can stick to bare-knuckle boxing, taking on the brutal enemies of the treacherous dark with the greatest weapon of all – yourself – by carefully choosing key skills and powers.

With weapon mods out of the question, you’ll need all the help you can get from armor and consumables.

On the other side of the coin is the idea of being some sort of intergalactic viking, throwing down with all manner of sharp objects. Knives, swords, and axes become an extension of your arms, with mods like Instigating, Furious, and Berserker rapidly increasing damage dealt. Through lighter armour and the right powers, bullets won’t matter. You’ll learn to out-manoeuvre your opponents, quickly overpowering them with raw speed and unrelenting strikes.

Too chicken to stare down the barrel of every gun in the cosmos? Try a Starfield speech and social build if you’d rather avoid combat almost entirely. Need just the right amount of risk versus reward? If you have the patience, the best Starfield stealth builds might work for you.