Starfield system levels are crucial if you don’t want to get vaporized

The Starfield Direct showcase provided a “deep-dive” on just about every aspect of the upcoming video game Starfield, shedding further light on numerous Starfield star systems and their associated ‘system levels’. As a result, we now have a clearer picture about ‘system levels’ and what this could mean for your exploration of the universe at large.

‘System levels’ appear to be player-level recommendations, meaning that a level 5 star system is recommended for a level 5 player, while a level 45 system is best suited for similarly experienced players.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t travel to a system that has a higher level than you, it just means that you will face more difficulty in doing so. For example, you could, though we wouldn’t recommend it, travel to a level 30 system like Porrima while your character is only level 1.

The level of the system denotes the difficulty of the planets and locations within that system, meaning more powerful enemies and creatures, more hazardous environments, and more perilous starship battles. So, if you do travel to the Porrima system while you’re level 1, you might get vaporized very quickly by any passing pirates.

However, greater difficulty means better loot, and locations where you might find some of the best weapons in the game.

The consequences of running into a system with too high a level: a lot of enemy ships.

After analyzing the Starfield Direct footage, and with the help of Redditors like OneTrickHS, we now have all of the known system levels compiled into one list, with the original list as compiled by Redditor OneTrickHS:

• Alpha Centauri – Level 1
• Narion – Level 1
• Sol – Level 1
• Volii – Level 5
• Porrima – Level 30
• Linnaeus – Level 45

However, numerous Redditors pointed out that the system levels we’ve seen may not be entirely straightforward. The opening gameplay from the Starfield Direct event showed Todd Howard’s character playing on Porrima IV-c – a moon inside a level 30 system. However, Todd’s character was only level 11, and the Spacer enemies he fought at the Abandoned Mine were between levels 8 and 14. That’s more than half the overall system level.

So what does this mean?

It could be Starfield’s level scaling at work – a game mechanic that makes enemies weaker or stronger depending on the player’s own level so as not to stifle exploration or make interesting areas too powerful.

Alternatively, Todd may have been using really powerful weapons, armor, or even using cheats in a developer mode so that they could show off a location easily during a gaming event. If so, this would mean that your own visit to Porrima IV-c could be much more difficult than Todd’s.

For now, we shall have to wait for the Starfield Early Access and release date to get clarification. Until then, be sure to check out our newly updated systems, planets, and locations databases so you can start charting your adventure in the Settled Systems.