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Players will spend a significant portion of their time inStarfieldflying spaceships, and that’s often a job best meant for a crew. Sure, crewing a small spaceship solo is possible, but it’snot as fun. After all, who wants to fly through the cold reaches of space alone? But, to man every station, including engines, shields, and weapon systems, players mustearn some credits fastand invest skill points intoShip Command.
Related:Starfield: All Free Ships, Ranked
The Ship Command skill, while rather deep down theSocial skill tree, is an extremely useful buff for anyone who fancies themselves a ship captain. To rank it up, players will need to invest some time and energy, which is where this guide comes in!
Updated by Jeff Brooks on June 20, 2025:This guide has been updated to include new related links and more in-text links throughout to help guide readers to relevant and valuable content to enhance their Starfield experience.
How To Level Ship Command
The way skills work in Starfield is a bit more involved than in, say,Fallout 4, where players could invest skill points in any skill so long as their S.P.E.C.I.A.L. attributes were high enough.In Starfield, players have to complete various challenges to unlock the second rank, and so forth.To unlock the first rank, invest a skill point in thedesired skill— in this case, Ship Command — and it will become available.
Challenges To Level Ship Command
As players can see, leveling Ship Command is an exceptional grind. For those playing as aspace pirate build, it’s a little easier. They’ll spend more time acting like fiends andboarding shipsfor the plunder, seeing Ship Command level up extremely fast.
Ship Command Perks
Related:Starfield: Should You Choose Crimson Fleet Or UC SysDef?
Why You Need Ship Command In Starfield
As previously mentioned, the higher that players can bolster the Ship Command skill in Starfield, the more crew they can hire and activate on their starships. While players do not necessarily require any crew members if they choose to fly solo,the help is welcome. A crew member can staff a specific position in the ship, repairing damage and improving each system.For instance, a crew member with shield-based skills will ensure the player’s ship shields regenerate faster. The more crew available, the more buffs the ship receives.
However, it’s important to note that the starting ship, The Frontier, can only hold two active crew alongside the player and their companion. To take full advantage of Ship Command and a larger crew size, players will want to invest credits ina larger shipor complete quests to unlock legendary ships likeThe Mantis.
