Inventory
To manage your Starfield inventory, store large or heavy items in your ship’s cargo hold to free up personal carrying capacity, as you can transfer them later to sell or craft. You can also give excess items to companions or upgrade your carry weight with the Weightlifting skill. Use quick slots for your most-used items, like weapons and med packs, and utilize the sort and search functions to find what you need faster.
What are the items marked with an exclamation mark?
In Starfield, an exclamation mark next to an item in your inventory indicates it is a newly picked-up item and has not been previously viewed or interacted with. It’s a temporary marker that disappears after you examine the item.
- New items: The exclamation mark is a simple indicator to help you keep track of what you’ve recently added to your inventory, whether it’s a weapon, armor, a consumable, or a piece of miscellaneous loot.
- How to clear it: Simply navigating to the item and viewing its details will clear the exclamation mark.
- Other inventory symbols: Other symbols in Starfield include a red mark for stolen items, a yellow mark for contraband, a blue magnifying glass for searched items, and a heart for favorited items.
Should I collect all items in Starfield?
No, you should not collect all items in Starfield; it’s more efficient to be selective to avoid inventory management headaches. Focus on collecting valuable items like weapons, armor, ammo, and medical supplies, while storing or discarding less valuable “junk” items. Use the unlimited storage at The Lodge as a central hub for resources, craftables, and gear you don’t need to carry.
What to prioritize collecting
- Weapons and armor: Focus on higher-value weapons (e.g., those over
300030003000 credits) and advanced gear, as they are significant sources of income and power.
- Crafting and research items: Pick up resources needed for crafting or research, but consider using the “store all resources” button for bulk storage at The Lodge instead of carrying them.
- Ammunition and medical supplies: Always grab ammo and medkits, as they are essential for combat and have no weight.
- High-value miscellaneous items: Some miscellaneous items, like cigarettes, can have a good value-to-weight ratio. Grab these and sell them.
- Contraband: This can be very profitable but requires shielded cargo holds to smuggle and sell at specific vendors.
This video explains what items to collect in Starfield:
What to leave behind
- Low-value junk items: These items clutter your inventory and have very little value. Sell them when possible.
- Excess resources: You can get most resources by purchasing them later or finding them as needed. Use The Lodge’s unlimited storage to save up on common resources for crafting and research.
- Food items: While some food may be needed for research, most items can be sold.
- Items that are just for decoration: Avoid picking up items that have no value or function beyond being a prop in the world.
Inventory management tips
- Store items: Use the unlimited storage at The Lodge to store excess resources, craftables, and high-value weapons/armor you aren’t currently using.
- Sell items: Sell high-value items regularly to merchants, and consider selling contraband at a specific vendor without a scanner to avoid penalties.
- Equip companions: Use companions as pack mules to carry some of your loot (Talk to them and select the “Let’s trade gear” option. Then, transfer weapons, spacesuits, and apparel from your inventory to theirs), but remember this can be tedious.
- Upgrade your ship: Invest in a ship with a large cargo hold to carry more items.
This video provides tips on managing your inventory in Starfield:
How do I manage weapons and ammunition?
To manage weapons and ammo in Starfield, equip your favorite weapons by selecting them in the inventory and adding them to a quick-select slot (1-4 on PC). Collect ammo by looting enemies, buying from vendors, or finding it in the environment. Store excess weapons and ammo in ship cargo or dedicated storage containers, and manage inventory weight by selling unwanted items.
Equip and manage weapons
- Access your inventory: Open your inventory to find your weapons.
- Favorite weapons: Select a weapon and press the “favorite” button to add it to your quick-select list.
- Assign to quick-select: Open the favorites menu and assign the weapon to a specific number slot (1-4 are commonly used for weapons).
- Swap weapons: Press the corresponding number key on your keyboard to instantly swap between your favorited weapons.
This video demonstrates how to equip and swap weapons in Starfield:
Find and manage ammo
- Loot enemies: You’ll find ammo on defeated enemies.
- Purchase from vendors: Buy ammo from general stores and gun shops on planets and at space stations. Vendors at places like The Den and The Red Mile often have a large supply.
- Search containers: Look for ammo in boxes and other containers in abandoned facilities and on the ground.
- Mine for ammo: Using your mining laser on enemies can be an alternative to using traditional ammo for some creatures.
Store and organize gear
- Use ship storage: Store excess weapons and ammo in your ship’s cargo hold. This is the safest and most practical place for long-term storage.
- Utilize containers: Place containers at your outposts to help organize your supplies.
- Manage weight: Since ammo is weightless, it’s a good item to stock up on, but weapons have weight. Regularly sell or store weapons you don’t use to avoid becoming over-encumbered.
- Sell unwanted gear: When you have too many weapons, take them to a vendor. You can also make a lot of credits by selling contraband, but be sure to carry it in shielded cargo to avoid detection.