Starfield combat guide: Weapon types, stats, modding, and more

Bethesda’s latest mainline title, Starfield, has been making waves ever since its initial announcement way back during E3 2018. This epic space action-adventure RPG features a first-person perspective but plays primarily as a shooter. As such, multiple weapons come into play during combat, each having its own perks and upgrade paths.

A comprehensive weapon combat guide will be detailed below for easy reference.

Note: Minor gameplay spoilers for Starfield will follow. Viewer discretion is advised.

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All types of weapons in Starfield, explored

Players exploring the vast expanse of Starfield may often find themselves facing dangerous creatures and hostile pirates. As such, carrying a weapon is absolutely essential for survival. A total of 14 weapon types are found within the game, and they are as follows:

• Ballistic (Pistol/Rifle/Shotgun)
• Laser (Pistol/Rifle)
• Particle Beam (Pistol/Rifle/Shotgun)
• Electromagnetic (Rifle)
• Ballistic Heavy Weapon (Chainguns and more)
• Energy Heavy Weapon (Welders and Cutters)
• Melee Weapon (Knives, Axes, and more)
• Ballistic Explosives (Impact bombs such as Grenades)
• Energy Explosives (Mines and Pylons)

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How to aim down the sight (ADS) with weapons in Starfield

ADS in Starfield (Image via Bethesda)

Aiming down sights can be rather difficult to configure, but thankfully, developer Bethesda Game Studios has provided plenty of options to adjust sensitivity settings from the in-game menu. This is especially useful for players using a controller to aim down sights, the process of which will be explained below:

• Using ADS: To use the ADS, simply press the right-mouse button. For Xbox Series X/S players, hold down the Right Trigger on the Xbox controller to do the same.
• Adjusting ADS: Hit Pause, enter the Settings menu, and move into the Controls section. Adjust the Aim Sensitivity (H and V) options as necessary.

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Weapon mods explained

Using a weapon with mods (Image via Bethesda)

Weapon mods are basically attachments for your firearms. These modifications allow for some unique perks and damage bonuses when equipped and are generally quite useful to have. Mods range from simple additions such as a Laser Sight or a larger magazine to more complex ones such as explosive rounds and suppressors.

Each weapon possesses a limited number of mod slots.

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Ammunition types

In addition to various firearms, players can choose the type of ammunition deployed for each battle. These ammo types range from armor-piercing rounds and exploding bullets to even more exotic variants. Information regarding ammunition types is rather limited at this time, but further resources are expected to be made available as players progress through the game.

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Starfield is a brand-new open-world action-adventure RPG from Bethesda Game Studios. The game is scheduled to be released worldwide on September 6, 2023, for the PC and Xbox Series X/S. Those with access to the Premium Edition can play the game five days earlier as a part of its Early Access program.