Though it is certainly possible to stay mostly on the good side of the law in Starfield, players will find out early that the criminal underworld is thriving throughout the settled systems. Space pirates attack players for seemingly no other reason than they can, making it very hard to not be tempted into doing the exact same thing. Making it even harder, an extremely valuable resource known as Contraband appears very early, tempting the player into bending the law during the credit-scarce early game.

The Contraband system in Starfield is actually fairly complex, with a set list of criteria the player must meet before even having a chance to smuggle it into a possible merchant. On top of that, simply finding an unscrupulous merchant who will buy it is a tricky task. However, as the player makes their way through the galaxy, the secrets to smuggling Contraband successfully will reveal themselves.

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Starfield: Contraband Explained

When deciding where to sell contraband and where to hide contraband, Starfield does not make things very clear. The player can acquire contraband in multiple ways, including looting and through story-related situations. Once in the player's possession, the question of what to do with it is where things become tricky. Players will no doubt notice that whenever a ship enters a settled system, it is scanned for illegal goods, specifically contraband.

At the point of scanning, a complex system of mechanics will come into play that will determine whether the contraband is detected by the scan. There are several steps the player will have to take to ensure the precious cargo remains in their possession.

Once the player has successfully avoided detection, they must find a merchant willing to purchase Contraband items, which can be something of a mission in itself. In fact, it is possible that some vendors may require the player to complete a small mission to prove they can be trusted.

Where to Sell Contraband in Starfield

There are many options when deciding what to do with contraband in Starfield, Once players have made it onto the planet safely, they will then have to decide where to sell the extremely valuable items. In the early stages of the game, there may only be a single option: The Trade Authority. As the game progresses, players will eventually gain access to a Crimson Fleet space station known as the Key. As previously mentioned, the player will have to proceed through the 'Deep Cover' mission.

Players will likely know that there are Trade Authority kiosks found in most spaceports throughout Starfield. Unfortunately, these are worthless when it comes to contraband. Instead, players must find the human representative of the Trade Authority in the region they are in. In New Atlantis, the representative is Zoe, who is found in the Wells. The Trade Authority can be found in all the main cities, though how many outposts there are in the systems, is yet to be determined.

Unfortunately, both the Trade Authority and Crimson Fleet will not offer the best prices on contraband. The game states that there are less reputable sources to sell to in the systems, though at the moment these appear to be random encounters or through specific missions found in the game's many Mission Boards.

Where to Sell Contraband in Starfield Without Being Scanned:

There are two safe locations in Starfield to sell contraband without fear of being scanned upon entry. This will allow players without shielded cargo to enter the system and sell their contraband. The first location is The Red Mile, which is shown earlier in the section on purchasing rare parts.

The next location is a space station in the Wolf system called The Den. Players will find the Trade Authority representative at a small window, just past Ship Services and to the left.

How to Hide Contraband in Starfield

When learning how to hide contraband in Starfield, it is important to understand tyhe mechanics. The main factor that determines whether a ship will be able to slip by a scanner undetected is the cargo hold. Starfield's beginner ship, The Frontier, has standard cargo holds, and therefore has no chance of passing a scan. There are several ways to acquire either shielded cargo holds, or entire ships that already have them. Consider the following options:

• Purchase from rare parts dealers: Players can purchase shielded cargo holds and scan jammers from the Crimson Fleet, and The Red Mile. The latter should be the first choice, as the Red Mile can be accessed without joining the Crimson Fleet.
  • The Red Mile is found on Porimma III, in the Porimma System. There is no scan when entering, so it is good for selling as well. Look for Lon Anderssen in Ship Services as soon as the player enters the Red Mile.
  • Once players have joined the Crimson Fleet through "Deep Cover," they will have access to Jasmine, their Ship Services Technician.

• Commandeer a ship through Piracy: Ships can be boarded by using the Targeting Systems skill to disable its engines. Once this happens, it will become possible to commandeer the ship.
  • In the Ship Overview, it is possible to tell if a ship has shielded cargo space by checking directly beneath the total cargo capacity gauge.

• Receive through quests: Some quests will reward the player with free ships. It is possible to get the Razorleaf, a ship with a Shielded Capacity of 160, by completing the "Mantis" side quest.
  • "Mantis" can be initiated by reading the "Secret Outpost!" slate, which was found on Spacers during the "Groundpounder" side-quest. This quest involves breaching the lair of a secret superhero hideout on Denebola I-b, a moon of Denebola I in the Denebola system.

Once a ship with a shielded cargo hold has been acquired, make sure to place the contraband inside before attempting to jump to a settled system. It is the planets with major cities that will pose the greatest risk, such as Jemison, with New Atlantis, and Akila, with Akila City.

With the contraband in a shielded hold, the chances of passing a scan will be displayed in the HUD. With a basic shielded hold, and a very small amount of contraband, the game displays a 59% chance of success. Use the following methods to increase the chances of success:

• Scan Jammer: Like the shielded cargo holds, this item is extremely rare. Starfield's Help section states that the player is far more likely to find and commandeer a ship with this already installed. The chances of finding them for sale is extremely low.
• Payloads Skill: According to the game, the Payloads skill increases the chance of evading detection.

Starfield is available now for PC and Xbox Series X/S.