Starfield best Gangster build guide: Starting skills, traits, and more

Living an honest life isn’t the way things go for Starfield’s Gangster class. It’s a flexible, charismatic class that isn’t afraid to drop a few bodies when things get hectic. While it may not be the most powerful class in the game, it’s my favorite outside of the Diplomat. This background takes whatever they want - by force or by cunning. You can steal, or you can simply blast someone down with a shotgun.

When it comes to being a Gangster in Starfield you have to be ruthless and tough. We’ll go over what they start with, and what makes them really shine. From ideal skills to optional traits, here’s what you need to know about a part of this game’s seedy underworld.

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Starfield’s Gangster starting skills

This is the start of your life in the underworld (Image via Bethesda)

Starting skills

• Theft: Unlocks “pickpocket” ability and increases the chance of success.
• Shotgun Certification: Shotguns deal increased damage.
• Boxing: Unarmed attacks deal greater damage and power attacks use less Oxygen.

Gangster may not be the most powerful class in Starfield, but they’re incredibly fun to get into. If you want to roleplay as a hard-nose, take-no-prisoners character, here’s your option in Starfield. There are bound to be times when someone has something you want.

As this background, you can either sneak up on them and pickpocket their goods, or you can use the only thing some people understand: Violence. The great thing about this class is that you have default powerful melee strikes (Boxing) and weaponry (Shotgun Certification). Consider your role a “Problem Solver.”

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Best traits for Gangster class in Starfield

Live dangerously - pick Wanted (Image via Bethesda)

Trait:	Pro:	Con:
Extrovert	Use less Oxygen while with human companions.	Playing alone uses more Oxygen.
Neon Street Rat	Special dialogue options and mission rewards with Neon Street.	Other factions dislike you and bounty with them is greater.
Wanted	When low on health, you deal extra damage.	Enemies randomly pop up to fight you, looking for a bounty.

Gangster uses a trio of my favorite traits in Starfield. As always, these are optional picks in the game, but they do offer useful powers. Extrovert fits, it doesn’t hurt to run with an ally with as much fighting as you'll be doing.

Neon Street Rat is mostly for rewards, and to make the game more interesting when it comes to dialogue options. Wanted is just exciting, and it also gives you more damage when you’re critical. As a high-damage class, this only enhances things when you’re low on health.

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Best skills to unlock first for Starfield’s Gangster

There are plenty of ways to come up with free items (Image via Bethesda)

• Ballistics
• Shotgun Certification
• Wellness
• Weight LIfting
• Stealth
• Theft
• Security
• Commerce
• Boxing

What’s the point of stealing a bunch of stuff if you can’t sell it for more than it’s worth? Commerce, Theft, and Security all go together for that reason. You also want to be sturdy, so Wellness and Weightlifting are reasonable picks. Finally, you want damage - Shotgun Certification and Boxing. It’s a pretty straight forward class, to be honest.

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Best weapons for the Gangster in Starfield

There are few weapons more satisfying than a shotgun (Image via Bethesda)

This class needs two weapons: Fists and Shotguns. There are so many good shotguns too, so pick your favorite flavor, but remember - you need to get close. They aren’t accurate at long range. For this reason, you’ll also want to consider armor that defends against physical damage. It’s not likely you’ll see a lot of firefighting at close range, but it’s possible.

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This background is easily one of my favorites in the game. If you’d like to learn about some of the other classes, this guide highlights which class might be right for you depending on gameplay style.