Starfield: Building an outpost Starfield guide, tips

Building an outpost in Starfield may seem complicated at first, as the game does not explain in detail the issues involved. On this page of the guide you will find advice on building and developing your own base.

Last update: 24 October 2023

Below we have explained the most important issues concerning the construction and development of an outpost in Starfield. We have listed the skills useful in the process, explained the operation of extractors and power supply, and the process of linking objects.

• Why should you build an outpost?
• Useful skills
• Where to build an outpost?
• Basics
• Extractors
• Power supply
• Connecting warehouses and outposts
• Defending the outpost
• Plants and creatures in the outpost
• Decorating

Why should you build an outpost?

Building an outpost in Starfield is completely optional - you can complete the game without any base. However, owning an outpost comes with many benefits, namely:

1. constant access to resources - in the outpost, you can build appropriate facilities that will extract minerals from the planet;
2. additional space for storing items - you can store things in, e.g. crates;
3. the ability to edit and build a ship from most of the components available in the game - if you have an outpost you do not have to fly to technicians in distant systems to get various ship parts;
4. access to a base, to which you can return and assign crew members;

Useful skills

Before you start expanding your outpost, unlock some essential skills. Without them, it will be hard for you to expand your base. Below we have listed the most useful skills.

1. Outpost Engineering - enables you to research and craft better outpost modules. It's worth investing in the maximum skill rank, as it will help you to build new facilities.
2. Research Methods - thanks to the skill, the amount of resources needed to craft items and implement research projects will be lower. The fourth tier of ability means that sudden breakthroughs (causing a reduction in the required raw materials for research) happen more often.
3. Planetary Habitation - enables you to build outposts in more extreme conditions.
4. Astrophysics - this ability enables you to scan planets and moons in a system you are not in. Useful in the phase of searching for the perfect place for an outpost where you want to extract specific resources.
5. Zoology - thanks to this skill, you will be able to scan creatures on a given planet faster. Useful when you want to breed animals in outposts.
6. Botany - enables you to scan plants on planets faster and grow them in outposts.

Where to build an outpost?

You may be wondering which planet to choose for your outpost. It depends on what you want to do with it. There is practically no perfect planet in Starfield, so as the first outpost and your character grow, you can build additional ones in other places.

1. If you mainly want to obtain resources from your outpost, scan a few planets and look for one that has the resources you are interested in. The deposits will light up in colors after selecting the "Show Resources" option. We recommend choosing a planet that has deposits of iron, titanium, or copper.
2. You can build an outpost on planets with nice landscapes. You will most often find many species of plants and animals on them. We recommend setting up an outpost in such a place for people who are particularly interested in running a garden and keeping animals.
3. Regardless of what planet you want to build your outpost on, you should first find an area that is as flat as possible, with as few plants or rocks as possible. Thanks to this, you will avoid potential complications when setting up new facilities in the outpost.

Basics

If you are undertaking the construction of your own outpost, it is worth knowing about a few basic issues related to the base.

1. You can build an outpost by pulling out the scanner and then pressing "R" on your keyboard or the "X" button on the controller.
2. You will have to place the outpost's transmitter in a location of your choice. You will appear next to it after choosing fast travel to the base.
3. The transmitter also determines the area of the outpost. So think carefully about where you will place it - check the table in the upper left corner of the screen to see what resources you will have access to when you place the transmitter in a specific location.

1. The most important facility during the establishment of the outpost is the research laboratory. That's where you can unlock blueprints for new items that will become available for construction in the base.
2. In the "Outpost development" menu, select the projects that interest you. You will craft them after assigning all the required materials. Some research may be blocked - if this is the case, you need a higher skill rank in Outpost Engineering.
3. When you create a project in the research laboratory, you will be able to place a new object in the outpost. To do this, open the scanner and the outpost menu, then select the building mode. You will see the list of available items on the right side of the screen.

1. To research projects and build facilities in your outpost, you need a specific number of resources, and often also other materials.
2. You can collect minerals while exploring or buy them from vendors (e.g. in the Neon Mining League) or extracted using a cutter (after finding deposits on the planet's surface).
3. You can also buy special materials such as Zero Wire or Adaptive Frame from vendors. Moreover, it is possible to craft them, for example, at an industrial workbench - you can find it, for example, in the Lodge.

1. We recommend that you first build habs in the outpost, where you can keep all the necessary workshops and stations. To enter the constructed room, you have to connect it with the airlock of the outpost.
2. In the habs, you can set up crew stations. Thanks to them, you will be able to assign your companions to the outpost. To do this, you need to open the ship's menu, select the crew list ("C" on the keyboard/"Y" on the controller), and assign a specific member to a certain position.

1. It's worth setting up a landing pad at the outpost where your ship will land. A landing pad with a shipbuilder that allows you to build and edit them is very useful. This object provides access to most parts, so having it in the outpost is very convenient and saves flying between systems to search for ship service technicians who only have some components.

Extractors

Extractors are objects used to extract resources within an outpost. There are several types, and each one can extract something different.

1. Extractors for liquids are marked with a drop icon.
2. Objects for gas have a cloud icon.
3. Extractors for products are marked with a box icon.

You can only build a certain type of extractor in a place where there is a deposit of the appropriate resource. So, look for the area marked with the appropriate color and place the extractor on it.

All resource extraction facilities require power to operate - you will learn more about this in the next section.

You can also build fabricators at the outpost. These objects produce specific items, such as batteries or drills. In addition to power, they also need specific materials to work. So you have to connect the fabricator with the warehouse, where the necessary items are. This is done in the outpost editing mode.

Power supply

The facility requires power to work. The required amount of power is displayed at the bottom of the screen and is marked as "Required". The amount of power your outpost has available is displayed next to the word "Total".

There are three types of power sources.

1. Solar panels work best on sunlit planets.
2. Wind turbines are virtually useless on planets without thick atmospheres and wind, such as moons.
3. Fuel generator is a universal power source. However, it requires helium-3 to work.

You don't need to connect power sources with other objects, as the power will be transferred to objects located throughout the entire outpost.

Connecting warehouses and outposts

1. When you have many working extractors, it's worth designing one place in the outpost for all warehouses.
2. You need to connect the warehouses with the extractors so that the resources are redirected to them. To do this, open the outpost's modify mode, move the cursor over the extractor, click the right mouse button/"RT" on the controller, and connect the object to the warehouse using the "E" key/"A" button.
3. Remember that resources from the extractor will only be transferred to the same type of storage. So you cannot connect a water-producing object to the gas storage.
4. At the outpost, you can create a transfer container that you can connect to warehouses. You will have access to items stored in the facility directly from the ship's hold if it is located on the outpost's landing pad - which must be built first.

1. If you have more than one outpost, you can create a cargo link between them. Thanks to this, you will be able to transport resources from one outpost to another.
2. A regular cargo link allows for items to be transferred between outposts that are in the same system.
3. The inter-system cargo link requires helium-3 to work. This means an output connection should be created between the object and the item where the fuel is stored.
4. Approach the control console at the link landing pad to set up transportation between the outposts.
5. The sender container should be connected to the resource storage object. In this way, the resources will be transported to the receiving container in another outpost.

Defending the outpost

It may happen that your outpost will be attacked. So it's worth protecting against it.

1. You can build various types of turrets on the outpost to deal damage to enemies. These objects are found in the "Armament" category.
2. There are also robots that are involved in protecting the outpost. Moreover, some of them provide bonuses for resource production. You will find them in the "Robots" category.

Plants and creatures in the outpost

1. You can build greenhouses in the outpost. They are used to store plants that you have previously fully scanned on a planet. To set up a greenhouse, you need a skill called Botany.
2. In animal breeding facilities, you can store creatures that you have fully scanned. To set up the object, Zoology skill is required.

Decorating

1. You can freely decorate your facility. Various types of furniture can be placed in the habs. In the building facility menu, under the "Decorations" tab, you will find such cosmetic items as paintings, monitors, storage crates, potted plants, or coffee machines.
2. In the "Power" tab you will find various lanterns that will illuminate your outpost.
3. The "Displays" include cabinets used to store helmets or weapons.