Starfield credits and how to make money

Starfield credits are going to be a cornerstone of Bethesda Game Studios’ upcoming space-adventure RPG. Like septims and bottlecaps in games before them, credits are crucial for navigating the Settled Systems and making purchases or paying off debts.

We’ll go over how Starfield credits work, and the best ways to earn more of them. By the end, you’ll be better prepared than ever to explore the 1000+ Starfield planets like an intrepid explorer of the Starfield Constellation faction.

What are credits in Starfield?

Credits are the primary in-game currency in Starfield. You’ll need credits for a variety of things in-game, including:

• Buying new weapons or armour.
• Buying upgrades and mods for your gear.
• Buying resources and materials.
• Buying new starships or starship components.
• Eating and drinking at different establishments.
• Hiring Starfield crew members.
• Repairing equipment and starships.
• Paying off debts, e.g your mortgage if you chose the Dream Home trait in the Starfield character creator.
• Bribery (This one isn’t confirmed as a feature, but all previous Bethesda RPGs have it).

This isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list either. We may find there are even more uses for credits as we get closer to the Starfield release date. All things considered, if you want to succeed in the Settled Systems and beyond, you’re going to want to make a lot of money.

How to make money in starfield

We don’t yet have a full picture of all the different ways you’ll be able to make money, but there are some obvious ones that stand out. Here are the best ways to earn Starfield credits:

• Completing missions and quests
• Selling resources and equipment
• Smuggling
• Stealing supplies
• Pickpocketing NPCs
• Piracy
• Using outposts

Once again, this isn’t necessarily an exhaustive list, but these are likely some of the best ways to get that number in your bank account growing. Let’s go through them one-by-one.

Completing missions and side quests

This is probably the most obvious one, but completing missions is going to be a straightforward way to make money. Missions almost always offer a reward upon completion, and while some missions will surely offer rare loot or special materials as prizes, the majority, going by the studio’s previous RPGs, will almost certainly offer at least some monetary compensation.

This likely won’t be the most effective way to get Starfield credits though. Expect the odd mission with a great payout, but plenty more with only modest sums. However, it is possible that missions from certain Starfield factions will offer better rewards.

We know of two megacorporations in-game so far, the Starfield Ryujin Industries faction and the Starfield Xenofresh Corporation faction. Both of these companies will be joinable. By completing work for these profit-driven organisations, players might find their flow of credits start to expand faster than it otherwise would.

Lastly, there’s the possibility that we might see bounty-type missions make an appearance. These missions will typically be repeatable quests that have you hunt down individuals or groups and eliminate or detain them. Given the dangerous nature of the tasks, it seems reasonable to assume that bounties might reward more credits than your standard fetch-quest.

Selling resources and equipment

This one is nothing new either, but you’ll likely find plenty of vendors across the galaxy willing to take things off your hands. As you progress through the game, selling old or weaker weapons and armour you loot from fallen foes can be a good way to turn a quick profit. It’s also possible that there will be items in Starfield specifically designed to be sold, similarly to ornaments and gemstones in Skyrim. We don’t know this for certain yet though. If you’re going to be selling your items, starting off with a Starfield background like Diplomat will give you starting skills like Commerce that will help you make even more money.

Smuggling

We’ve seen briefly from the Starfield Direct showcase that at certain planets, like Jemison, your ship will be scanned for contraband. Although we don’t know the full extent of this system yet, or whether it might even just be tied to a mission or two, getting valuable illegal goods onto a planet and selling them on is likely going to be an excellent way to generate huge amounts of money – as long as you don’t get caught.

Stealing supplies

The bucket-over-the-shopkeeper’s-head approach is an ancient tradition and practice, and hopefully it makes a return in Starfield, too. Though it obviously comes with risk, stealing credits from shops, taverns, or homes, or stealing gear and then selling it, is certain to be an easy way to make a little bit of coin. Since it’s easy to repeat once you’ve got the hang of it, you could easily loot a whole host of locales in one night.

Pickpocketing NPCs

Consider this a more refined version of stealing supplies. We know that pickpocketing will be making a return in Starfield, allowing you to swipe valuables and Starfield credits right off of unsuspecting victims, as long as you’re skillful and sneaky enough. Upgrading stealth skills and focusing on stealth-related traits will be a great way to make this one easier.

Piracy

This is another speculative one, as we don’t know for certain that we’re going to see this system in-game. However, from the fact that you can join space-pirates like the Starfield Crimson Fleet faction, it seems probable that attacking starships or convoys and raiding them in deep space will be a money-making option available to you.

This is likely going to be the most dangerous kind of way to make money. While it has the potential for big payoffs, there are no guarantees. It’s also likely to rapidly destroy your standing with different factions. You might even find a bounty on your own head soon enough.

Using outposts

We don’t know much about this one yet, but it looks like Starfield outposts will be a slower, long-term method of making an income in-game. Outposts are player-made bases that can extract resources from planets, and it’s likely you’ll be able to either sell these resources, or use them to make even more valuable materials that you can sell. We also know that you’re going to be able to establish trade routes between outposts, which might also help you to generate cash. Without the specifics we can’t say much more with certainty, but it does seem like outposts are going to be geared towards a long-term, late-game method for generating large sums of credits.

That’s everything we have on Starfield credits and how to make money fast in-game. While credits might not be crucial to play the main Starfield story, or to befriend new Starfield companions, just about everything else in the game will be easier once you’re rolling in coin.