There are a lot of passive skills in Starfield, and the player isn't the only one who has them. Every member of Constellation, as well as the hirable crewmates found in bars and space stations, also have unique Crew Skills that can drastically affect the entire expedition team's odds of survival.
Crew skills are very easy to overlook, but the value they provide to the overall Starfield experience can't be crossed out so easily. In order to make the most out of their helping hands, players will need to understand how this mechanic works and how to best make use of it.
How Do Crew Skills Work in Starfield?
Basically, Crew Skills are passive effects that are unique to the character they're attached to. These are much like the skills that players themselves have, and they only affect the crew members themselves. However, things get a little confusing past this point.
Players will be able to indirectly enjoy a Crew Skill's bonus if it affects their ship. Crewmates will buff a ship's stats based on the skills they have, and the majority of such are identical to the ones in the player's skill tree. The caveat here is that while crew skills and player skills may be similar, some of them are the same only in name.
For example, the Piloting skill would normally allow the use of lateral thrusters, improve ship maneuverability, and unlock B and C-class ship parts for customization. Instead of providing any of the bonuses above, the crewmate version of the Piloting skill pushes the top speed of a ship beyond the normal capabilities of its engines. Most other bonuses are one-to-one reflections of the player's skills.
Resource-related skills like Geology, Gastronomy, and Botany work completely differently when a crewmate has them. Crew versions of these instead make crew members gift skill-related items to the player (ores, food, and plants, respectively).
Outside of ships, Crew Skills only affect the crewmates themselves. A follower who is proficient in Ballistics will deal more damage if they're using traditional firearms. This damage bonus does not apply to the player, whose damage values are dictated by their own Ballistics skill.
Crew Skills cannot be changed or improved, so it's best to find a potential crewmate who has a high base level for the skill players are looking for. Hirelings with strong ship-related skills tend to be the most valuable, as the bonuses they provide are the most apparent.
Starfield is available now on PC and Xbox Series X/S.