Highlights
- The most important installment for a ship in Starfield is a good Engine, specifically one with high maneuvering thrust for combat.
- Players can add multiple Engines to their ship, with up to 12 max power, and will likely use from three to six Engines.
- There are various Engines available at different levels, with the highest recommended Engine being the SAL-6330, which provides the highest thrust when used in multiples, but requires a Class C reactor and Rank 4 Starship Design.
Without a doubt, the most important installment players can add to their ship is a good Engine in Starfield. Engines aren’t only responsible for the ship’s speed, but they have a more crucial task, which is maneuvering the ship during combat. When picking an Engine, players must mostly focus on the Engine’s maneuvering thrust stat. Having a higher thrust means the ship can move faster away from enemies’ line of fire.
Additionally, players can add multiple Engines up until the ship reaches 12 max power. Since each Engine grants up to four powers, players will most likely use from three to six Engines on each ship in Starfield.
6 Ares DT60 Engine
Class | Max Power | Engine Thrust | Maneuvering Thrust |
|---|---|---|---|
A | 2 | 14000 | 2600 |
Mass | Requirements | Locations | |
85 | Rank 3 Starship Design | New Atlantis, Stroud-Eklund Staryard, Cydonia, Gagarin Landing, The Den, Deimos Staryard, New Homestead, Neon | |
Unfortunately, players won’t come across a decent Engine until they hit level 35, which will unlock the Ares DT60 Engine in Starfield. It’s a decent Engine that occupies only two powers of the 12 max powers with an Engine thrust of 14000 and a maneuvering thrust of 2600. Having less max power than most Engines is actually good since it opens more room to install more Engines and get more thrust power.
5 SA-4330 Engine
Class | Max Power | Engine Thrust | Maneuvering Thrust |
|---|---|---|---|
A | 2 | 15240 | 3220 |
Mass | Requirements | Locations | |
85 | Rank 4 Starship Design | Akila City, Stroud-Eklund Staryard, Hopetown, Red Mile, Neon | |
There are very few areas where players can find the SA-4330 Engine. Additionally, the Starfield Engine won’t appear in markets until players hit level 45. As a Class A Engine, the SA-4330 is very similar to the Ares DT60 Engine and still offers more thrust power with a relatively lower Mass than most other Engines. While it doesn’t require any special Reactor to install the SA-4330 Engine, players still need to reach Rank 4 of the Starship Design Skill to be able to install it.
4 Dunn-71 Engine
Class | Max Power | Engine Thrust | Maneuvering Thrust |
|---|---|---|---|
B | 3 | 26580 | 5250 |
Mass | Requirements | Locations | |
144 | Rank 4 Starship Design, Class B Reactor | New Atlantis, Akila City, Stroud-Eklund Staryard, Cydonia, Gagarin Landing, Hopetown, Red Mile, The Den, Deimos Staryard, New Homestead | |
Players unlock the Dunn-71 Engine at level 57. At this stage of the game, it’s not recommended to equip a Class B Engine since more capable Class C Engines would be up in the market.
Among all the Class B Engines, the Dunn-71 Engine has the best performance with a total of 26.5k Engine thrust alongside decent maneuvering power.
3 Poseidon DT230 Engine
Class | Max Power | Engine Thrust | Maneuvering Thrust |
|---|---|---|---|
C | 4 | 34520 | 11600 |
Mass | Requirements | Locations | |
334 | Rank 4 Starship Design, Class C Reactor | New Atlantis, Stroud-Eklund Staryard, Cydonia, Gagarin Landing, The Den, Deimos Staryard, New Homestead, Neon | |
A great example why a Class B Engines aren’t recommended at this point in the game. At level 57, players also unlock the Poseidon DT230 Engine which has more than double the maneuvering thrust of the Dunn-71 Engine. The Poseidon DT230 is a fantastic choice to consider when picking an end-game Engine. While the Poseidon DT230 Engine holds a massive amount of stats, it does perform slightly lower than the next Engines in this list.
2 Amun Dunn X-300 Engine
Class | Max Power | Engine Thrust | Maneuvering Thrust |
|---|---|---|---|
C | 3 | 25890 | 8400 |
Mass | Requirements | Locations | |
336 | Rank 4 Starship Design, Class C Reactor | New Atlantis, Akila City, Stroud-Eklund Staryard, Cydonia, Gagarin Landing, Hopetown, Red Mile, The Den, Deimos Staryard, New Homestead | |
At level 60, players unlock both the Amun Dunn X-300 and the SAL-6330 Engines. While both are the best Engines in Starfield, they both perform differently based on players’ needs.
The Amun Dunn X-300 Engine has fewer Engine and maneuvering thrust power, yet noticeably lower weight than the SAL-6330 Engine. Not to mention, Amun Dunn X-300 is definitely the more popular option since players can find it at almost any technician in Starfield.
1 SAL-6330 Engine
Class | Max Power | Engine Thrust | Maneuvering Thrust |
|---|---|---|---|
C | 2 | 18000 | 7800 |
Mass | Requirements | Locations | |
340 | Rank 4 Starship Design, Class C Reactor | Akila City, Stroud-Eklund Staryard, Hopetown, Red Mile, Neon | |
If players aren’t having any weight issues when building their ship, using SAL-6330 Engines is definitely recommended. Players can build up to 6 Engines and each grants the ship a whopping 18k Engine thrust alongside 7800 maneuvering thrust. Building all SAL-6330 Engines into one ship will generate the highest thrust a ship can have in Starfield.
Of course, the SAL-6330 is not a popular Engine since there are merely a handful of merchants who sell it when players reach level 60. Not only that, but players will want to build their ship with a Class C reactor to operate and handle the multiple SAL-6330 Engines.
Starfield is available now on Xbox Series X/S and PC.