Starfield outposts are one of the most important features to get to grips with, letting you build a base and home among the stars. Though, how do you make an outpost in Starfield? Well, we’ve got you covered with everything you need to know about Starfield outposts, including how to build an outpost, all the structures, and why it’s important.
Starfield outpost building works similarly to settlements in Fallout 4, offering a great way to relax as you indulge in base building among the stars. However, with such a huge universe to explore, complete with over 1,000 Starfield planets, outposts will also come in very handy, as we’ve experienced in our Starfield review playthrough. While there are several bustling Starfield cities to explore, the universe can be a lonely place, so stick your feet up in your very own outpost among the stars.
Starfield outposts explained
The Starfield outposts system lets you build bases almost anywhere in the universe using a variety of components that can serve as homes and resource production facilities. By assigning crew members to an outpost, you can change how they function and even create a network of outposts between planets.
These bases will come in very handy if you need extra storage, a home, or a steady stream of resources, though we’ll go over this more later. Given you can have multiple outposts established on different planets, you can passively harvest the natural resources of a variety of planets. This will certainly be useful when it comes to Starfield ship customization and Starfield weapons upgrades as these can end up costing you lots of credits and resources. By having a network of bases, you’ll always have what you need.
Beware though, the Starfield New Game Plus mode will wipe your outposts. That’s right, entering NG+ will permanently delete all of your constructed outposts. As such, you’ll have to build them all over again from scratch. No doubt this alone with deter many players from entering NG+, or at least cause players to delay getting really deep into base building if they intend on trying the mode out.
Described as a system that’s designed to be experienced over a long period of time by Todd Howard in an interview by Kinda Funny Games, outposts themselves can also be a costly venture. As a deep system involving lots of resources to build all the options available, outposts and base building is intended to be a long-term goal for the player. If you’ve got stuck in with the feature yourself, then you’ll no doubt have realized this.
For example, you’ll need some of the best Starfield skills – Outpost Engineering and Outpost Management – to be able to get everything out of this system. Naturally, these are mid-game skills, so it will take you quite a bit of time to unlock these. Without them, you won’t have access to all the structures and features of Starfield outposts, so it’s a good idea to get these skills if you’re looking to get more invested.
How to build an outpost in Starfield
To build an outpost in Starfield, open the scanner and select to place an Outpost Beacon, designating the area as a base that you can begin building on.
Interacting with the Outpost Beacon in an established settlement will let you enter build mode to add, move, or modify parts of your base. From here, you’ll be able to spend resources harvested on planets to build a variety of structures and habitats, or Habs, that provide new features and mechanics for you, such as crafting and researching.
In Starfield, there is a new fly-cam mode that allows you to build your outpost from a top-down perspective. While the first-person construction of Fallout 4 is still available, this new perspective makes base building much more convenient in Starfield.
Is there a build limit in Starfield outposts?
Yes, your Starfield outpost will have a build limit that restricts how many structures and objects you can place in any given base. The good news, however, is that the limit has been increased from Fallout 4. This means you can build bigger and more complex bases than you could in the debut of this feature in Fallout 4.
Additionally, there is also a maximum number of outposts you can build. By default, you can build a maximum of eight outposts. However, you can increase the max number of outposts with the Planetary Habitation skill in the Science tree to have up to 48 outposts in total.
Starfield outpost stats
These are the six Starfield outlast stats you will need to manage:
- Build limit – building budget remaining
- Cargo – storage space
- Crew – the number of active crew members
- Needed PWR (power) – electricity deficit
- Total PWR (power) – total electricity produced
- Production – resources generated per minute
If you want to have a successful outpost, then you’ll need to effectively manage these stats. These are similar to the Fallout 4 settlement stats, requiring you to keep up with energy demands. However, unlike Fallout 4, you don’t have to manage the happiness of your settlers.
This may be bad news to many, the removal of settlers means you only have to keep an eye on the power and production stats. Instead of settlers, you have Starfield crew members. These can be assigned to your outposts and will simply provide bonuses to your bases.
Starfield outpost build list
The Starfield outpost buildings and structures are:
- Outpost Beacon
- Solar Array
- Solar Dome
- Wind Turbine
- Wind Turbine – Advanced
- Fuelled Generator
- Reactor
- Powered Switch
- Industrial Light Post
- Light Post
- Industrial Wall Light
- Extractor – Solid
- Extractor – Liquid
- Extractor – Gas
- Transfer Container
- Storage – Solid
- Storage – Liquid
- Storage – Gas
- Warehouse
- Simple Fabricator
- Compound Fabricator
- Multiplex Fabricator
- Industrial Workbench
- Cooking Station
- Pharmaceutical Lab
- Weapon Workbench
- Spacesuit Workbench
- Research Lab
- Scan Booster
- Cargo Link
- Crew Station
- Mission Board
- Self-Service Bounty Clearance
- Airlock
- Four Wall Hab
- Four Wall Hab – Double
- Hydroponic Hab
- Science Hab
- Military Hab
- Hab Round
- Hex Hab
- Hallway
- Watchtower
- Landing Pad
- Ballistic Turret
- Tick Turret
- Laser Turret
- Sanitation Mini Bot
- Garden Mini Bot
- Engineering Robot
- Logistics Robot
- Power Management Robot
Every one of the base building structures and components will require resources to construct, including Aluminium, Lead, Titanium, Sealant, and more. Similar to Fallout 4, you’ll want to stock up on these materials as much as you can so you don’t run out when you need them most.
With the more advanced Starfield outposts system, however, you won’t have to scavenge by hand like in Fallout 4. While you will find many when exploring, you can buy most of the resources from cities like Starfield New Atlantis.
This is a great way to get started building your first outpost, though it’s not very feasible as you look to expand with more outposts and more advanced buildings. That’s where the best Starfield outpost locations come in, as these areas offer great opportunities to extract resources with small mining outposts.
Here’s an overview of the most important types of structures you can build in your Starfield outposts.
Habs
Habs are the most important structures in outposts as they provide several valuable functions. For example, the Hydroponic Hab is used to grow plants. On the other hand, standard habs are used to provide structure to your base, with hallways and a variety of other rooms that make a house a home.
You’ll want to build at least a few of these specialized outpost Habs so you can easily access important functions like Starfield Research Projects. What’s more, the Starfield companions and crew members you’ve assigned to an outpost will impact these facilities.
You can even build Starfield Mission Boards and Self-Clearance Bounty Terminals to save yourself a trip to other locations.
Extractors
Extractors are another essential outpost structure since they passively harvest the resources of the planet they are placed on. This will be a huge time-saver, especially as you can have multiple outposts to harvest the different resources of each planet. The acquired resources will come in handy when you want to expand your outpost even further, customize your ship, or upgrade equipment.
Power Generators
Outposts need electricity to function. That’s where power generators like wind turbines and solar panels come in. These can cost quite a lot of resources, especially if you need multiple to power your extractors and other systems. Luckily, no one will die if you don’t have enough power, your extractors and other tech will just turn off until you increase your power generation.
Storage
If you’re looking to build a flourishing outpost, then you’ll need to manage your storage. As extractors mine minerals, their inventories will fill up. Once full, they won’t extract more material. So, you’ll want to build storage and link the extractor to a storage container to have more room. This is also handy if you’re looking to setup a Cargo Link with another outpost.
Be aware that each type of extractor requires a matching storage container. For example, a Gas Extractor needs a Gas Storage item, while a Liquid Extractor needs a Liquid Storage box.
How to create Starfield outpost cargo links
To create Starfield outpost cargo links, you must:
- Build a Cargo Link system at outposts you want to connect
- Interact with the Cargo Link terminal you want to send resources from
- Select the outpost you want to link together
- Confirm the link using the Cargo Link button
However, this will only establish a link between the two outposts, but will not automatically share the harvested resources.
To send resources using a Cargo Link, ensure the relevant storage or extractors output link is also tethered to the Cargo Link terminal. Now, any extracted material will also be sent to the Cargo Link, and by extension the linked outpost.
Remember, you’ll need the Outpost Management skill to increase the number of Cargo Links you can create.
Why are Starfield outposts important?
Starfield outposts are important to increase your stock of resources. These come in handy if you want to get deep into Starfield ship building, upgrading gear like the Starfield armor and weapons, or establishing a network of outposts. The amount of resources you’ll need is unfeasible to collect manually, so instead you can let the extractors do all the hard work for you.
Aside from generating resources for you, it’s also just a fun system to interact with, especially as it gives your crew and companions something to do. Whether you want to build large cities or simple mining outposts, or even cosy homes on the water, there’s a lot of potential to flex your creative muscles.
That’s everything there is to know about Starfield outposts, including how to build an outpost in Starfield, to all the stats and structures the system has to offer. Once you’ve made your base, why not play around with the Starfield photo mode to take some stellar pics of your new home before heading back out to do more Starfield missions.
Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.