Starfield: How To Dock Ships? [Nova Galactic Staryard]

Venturing the vast expanse of Starfield, players often find themselves in need of connecting with space stations, planets, or even enemy ships. Learning how to dock is a nuanced but essential skill, that allows a seamless transition between your ship and other space entities.

Whether you’re aiming for the grandeur of the Nova Galactic Staryard or taking risks with hostile vessels, this guide lists the information related to aligning, approaching, and securing your ship in Starfield’s universe.

How To Dock In Starfield?

In Starfield, docking is the act of aligning and attaching your spaceship to other ships or space stations. Docking allows players to transition between their ship and another ship or space station. Follow my step-by-step guide on how-to-dock provided below:

• Targeting:
  • Use the LB button on your controller to choose a ship or space station to dock.
  • You can press ‘A‘ on the controller ‘E‘ on the PC to start the docking process.
• Docking Distance:
  • You need to be close, within 500 meters, to your target to dock successfully. This distance is important for your ship’s docking to work properly.
• Docking Prompt:
  • Keep an eye on the instructions on your screen as you approach your docking target.
  • If you’re playing on a PC, press ‘R’, and if you’re using a console controller, hold ‘X’ to start the docking cutscene, which confirms your successful connection.
• After Docking:
  • Once the docking cutscene is over, you can explore the ship or space station you’ve docked with.

Learning how to dock is important to have a great time exploring space and interacting with different objects in the game.

Limitations While Docked

However, while the galaxy may be at your fingertips, there are certain limitations and restrictions you should be aware of, especially when docked with another vessel. Let’s deep dive into the intricacies of fast travel and how docking affects it.

Restrictions on Fast Travel When Docked: When your ship is attached to another spaceship or space station in Starfield, you can’t use fast travel. This means you can’t instantly jump to different places. It’s all about making the game feel more real and immersive, unlike games where you can teleport anywhere instantly.

Fortunately, the fast travel restriction isn’t permanent. To get your fast travel options back online, follow the steps I’ve provided below:

1. Access the Airlock.
2. Undock from the Vessel.
3. Return to the Pilot’s Seat.
4. Initiate Fast Travel.

How To Dock With Enemy Ships In Starfield

From my experience, some ships you’ll find won’t welcome you with open arms; instead, they’ll greet you with hostile intent. But for those intrepid explorers with a penchant for risk and potential rewards, docking with enemy ships presents a thrilling challenge. I’ve provided a closer look at how to master this daring feat:

1. Crippling Enemy Ships For Docking

Before you can consider docking with an adversarial ship, you’ll need to ensure it’s sufficiently subdued. Simply put, it’s about leveling the playing field.

2. Disabling Engines

• Targeting the Thrusters: Your primary means of disabling an enemy ship in Starfield lies in its thrusters. Direct your weapons towards these propulsion systems, hindering their mobility and making them vulnerable.
• The Red “ENG” Indicator: A successful attack on the thrusters will manifest as a red “ENG” symbol by the ship’s health bar in Starfield. This is your visual cue that the ship’s engines are compromised, and docking is now feasible.

3. Docking Procedure

Docking with an enemy ship follows much of the same procedures as docking in general – I suggest making sure you’re within the 500-metre range, Use the ‘A’ button (or ‘E’ key on PC) to target. Finally, wait for the docking prompt and initiate with the ‘X’ button (or ‘R’ key on PC).

However, from my experience, unlike docking with neutral or friendly entities, the sequence here might not be as smooth, given the ship’s likely attempts at evasive maneuvers.

4. Enemy Ship’s Crew

While the thrill of learning how to dock onto an enemy ship might be enticing, I suggest that you be aware of the potential danger that is waiting after the airlock.

• More often than not, you’ll be met with the ship’s crew, and they won’t be pleased about your uninvited presence.
• I advise you to make sure that you’re equipped for combat and ready for a skirmish.
• Every docked enemy vessel is a potential battleground, filled with both risks and rewards.

To sum it up, the vast cosmos necessitates that you master how to dock in Starfield, bridging the gap between solitude and engagement. Whether approaching the grand Nova Galactic Staryard or confronting hostile entities, this guide offers a roadmap to seamless space interactions. As you journey, remember: that precision, patience, and practice make for a perfect docking experience. Safe travels, explorer!

Next:

• Starfield: Lock pick
• Starfield: Difficulty settings
• Starfield: Boost packs
• Starfield: DLSS mod