Starfield stealth

Starfield Stealth is a great way to sneak around enemies if you want to play a bit more passively. You can easily unlock the Starfield stealth ability with one of the starting Starfield backgrounds, or by spending a few skill points. Depending on the version of Starfield you are playing on – Xbox or PC – you can crouch and enter stealth by pressing the B button on your Starfield controller, or by pressing Ctrl if using a keyboard and mouse.

What is Starfield stealth?

Stealth is a mechanic which allows you to sneak by your enemies by crouching. While crouched, enemies will have a harder time detecting your presence, preventing them from attacking you, and allowing you to attack them or sneak by.

Stealth can be incredibly useful, this is because sometimes you might not want to fight a difficult opponent, or you want to gain an advantageous position to prepare a big ambush. Alternatively, you might fancy yourself a thief, and just want to collect an item you need without gunning down a horde of Spacers.

Two Starfield skills massively boost your ability to sneak: Stealth, and Concealment.

The Stealth skill is one of the beginner skills in the Physical skill tree and only costs 1 skill point to unlock. Stealth has 4 ranks which provide increasingly greater bonuses to your ability to sneak, as well as deal damage while undetected by enemies. Each rank costs 1 skill point to unlock, and enables the Stealth Meter. Note that if you do not take the Stealth skill, you won’t be able to see the Stealth Meter even if you crouch.

Concealment on the other hand is a tier 4 skill, so you won’t be able to unlock it until later in the game. While you might not get the skill immediately, working your way towards it is a must for any Starfield stealth builds. The Concealment skill grants significant damage buffs to ranged and melee weapons when your character is undetected. It also grants a chameleon-like ability at rank 3, making you invisible when standing still.

Being in stealth also prevents NPCs from witnessing your pickpocketing, hacking (digipicking), and other Starfield crimes. As a result, you won’t accrue a bounty or draw the attention of security forces.

Your companions might still notice and judge you for what you do while sneaking, but at least they won’t alert enemies to your presence… most of the time.

Best strategies to become more stealthy in Starfield 2024

There are lots of ways you can make yourself more sneaky by altering the way you play:

• Move slowly – If you move slower you will create less sound, therefore enemies are less likely to detect your presence. So, stay low and slow.
• Using silenced weapons or melee weapons – If you’re using a missile launcher and you’re confused as to why you are being detected then you are probably not cut out for the stealthy approach… The best strategy for stealth is to use weapons that have a Suppressor on them, or by using a melee weapon.
• Wearing specific armor – Some types of armor actually come with perks to make you less detectable. The Operative Suit makes you 25% less likely to be detected, and there are several Starfield armor mods that can achieve similar effects.
• Aid items – There are plenty of items you can find to become more stealthy, one of which is the Reconstim. This gives you -30% movement noise for 10 minutes, giving you greater opportunity to sneak past enemies without being caught.

If you’re pursuing the life of a thief, smuggler, or ninja, you might want to consider designing your Starfield ship to suit your sneaky persona. Of course, smuggling Starfield contraband requires a certain amount of stealth and savvy on your part, so make sure you buy the right Starfield ship components to avoid contraband scans.