Building outposts is one of the biggest features in Starfield. Players can explore the game's plethora of planets and stake a claim in any of them by building anything from a cozy home to a trading post or even a full-blown research base. Of course, there are some things to consider when choosing a place to settle, and not every planet is as good a spot as some others.
The best places to build outposts on in Starfield aren't exactly set in stone. Since procedural generation plays a big part in the game, every player's experience will be different from others, so there may not be a particular outpost location that's better than everywhere else. Instead of pinning specific spots, this guide will cover how to find the best planets to build on.
Where to Build Outposts in Starfield
There are simply way too many planets and too much randomness involved in Starfield, which means the perfect spot to build an outpost will have to depend on what players want or need. The following is a general guideline on what to look for when searching for a place to build on.
Resources
When planning an outpost, the first thing players need to consider is resource availability. Automated resource gathering is one of the main appeals of outpost building, and there's no reason not to build a base over literally any mineral deposit on a planet. On top of this, the actual act of building will consume a lot of raw materials. With that said consider finding a planet with one (or several) of the following commonly-used building materials:
Always scan a planet first before landing on it to see which regions have what resources. Then, place a custom marker on the planet to create a landing zone that contains all the minerals shown on the map within its vicinity.
Also, take the native flora and fauna into consideration when looking for a planet. Plants and animals can be harvested for raw materials that can be used for crafting and research.
Environmental Conditions
Some planets are much more hostile than others, and players won't be able to settle on them until they spend Skill Points into the Planetary Habitation skill. Avoid locations with conditions like toxic atmospheres or extreme gravity.
Don't completely rule these out, however, as some of these planets may have generous rare resource deposits that players may have trouble finding everywhere else.
Planet Location
It may be best to build an outpost in a star system that's close to one of the major cities in Starfield. Building somewhere that's too far away might limit fast travel capabilities since ships have limited grav drive fuel. This isn't much of a problem since there's no need to purchase ship fuel, but it will make jumping between locations longer.
Also, make sure to check all the planets within a solar system and see if they have the resources and conditions needed to make the best outpost possible. Having a network of outposts that are close to each other can be a very convenient way of managing the flow of trade and logistics.
Starfield is available now on PC and Xbox Series X/S.