Starfield: 10 BEST Backgrounds [Expert’s Opinion]

There are 21 backgrounds in Starfield you can choose from, but one might wonder which is the Best Background Starfield currently has. As of now, File Not Found is considered the best one that players can choose. However, it’s worth discussing the top 10 best ones so players can choose based on their preferences. 

Here’s a detailed video covering the best traits and backgrounds to start your Starfield journey with:

The Top 10 Best Backgrounds In Starfield

Following are the ten backgrounds players can choose, along with their skills:

1. File Not Found

File Not Found is arguably the best background Starfield has to offer. It will help you greatly in the early games. This background comes with three of the most useful skills in Starfield, and among those two, Wellness and Piloting are two skills that you will eventually want. You are getting the benefit of getting these skills early on, which would be a great help. On top of that, you will also be getting Ballistics, which would let you do more damage. 

• This is a background that many players can select regardless of their preference, as it is that good.
• With the skills it provides you with early on, you will be able to utilize a variety of tactics.
• So, this is the Best Background, as it is nearly impossible to go wrong with this background option.
• Also, it is a mysterious background as there is no information about it. 

The following are the three skills File Not Found comes with:

• Wellness: Increases your maximum health by 10%.
• Piloting: You will be able to utilize ship thrusters.
• Ballistics: Ballistic weapons will do an additional 10% damage.

2. Bounty Hunter

Bounty Hunter is the choice for the players who want to use the first spaceship in the early game. You will get skills that will be quite useful for this purpose. With Piloting, you will be able to access the ship Thursters early, and another skill allows you to target and disable some areas of your enemy’s ship. You will also be able to use the jetpack from day one, which is kind of a cool thing.

So, it is arguably a contender for the best choice, but I would still think that File Not Found is the best one. However, you can feel free to pick any based on your preference.

The following are the three skills Bounty Hunter comes with:

• Piloting: You will be able to utilize ship thrusters.
• Boost Pack Training: You can now utilize boost packs.
• Targeting Control Systems: Unlocks ship targeting functionality, which lets you target and disable some areas of the enemy’s ship.

3. Xenobiologist

If you love laser weapons, then Xenobiologist is the ideal background for you. This will help you in combat, and it has one skill that will increase your maximum oxygen, which is pretty important in Starfield. Every character would benefit from this ability, and this is why Xenobiologist is ranked so highly on my list. This background also comes with a useful skill known as surveying.

It will help you with exploring various places in Starfield as your hand scanner will get extra range. So, it is a great background you can choose.

The following are the three skills Xenobiologist comes with:

• Lasers: Laser weapons do 10% more damage.
• Fitness: You have 10% more oxygen available.
• Surveying: Adds an optional zoom to the hand scanner. +20 meter scan distance will be added to your scanner.

4. Cyber Runner

If you want a background that includes Stealth and Pickpocketing in Starfield, then I highly recommend you choose Cyber Runner. This background will let you sneak on to others with stealth, and you will be able to steal from them. There is another background that comes with Stealth, but it is not as good as Cyber Runner, so it becomes the ideal choice for such type of gameplay.

With two core skills, you will also be getting Security, which is also quite helpful in Starfield. So, overall, the background is quite good, which will let you have fun. 

The following are the three skills Cyber Runner in Starfield comes with:

• Theft: It will unlock the ability to pickpocket targets.
• Security: You can attempt to hack Advanced locks, and 2 auto attempts can be banked.
• Stealth: This skill will add a Stealth Meter. You are 25% more difficult to detect when sneaking. Suppressed weapons do an additional 5% sneak attack damage.

5. Soldier

If you want a little more benefit in combat, then Soldiers is one of the best choices in Starfield. It comes with great skills that help you perform well in combat, and one of them even increases your overall oxygen. So, Soldiers will help you in so many situations, and you will be able to perform more stamina-consuming actions.

• You will come across some Ballistic weapons early in Starfield, so make sure to obtain them and use them with this background for some extra damage.
• The skills it has makes Soldier one of the best picks for early fights in Starfield.
• So, if you think you need a little edge in combat early, then go with this background. 

The following are the three skills Soldier in Starfield comes with:

• Fitness: You have 10% more oxygen available.
• Ballistics: Ballistic weapons do 10% more damage.
• Boost Pack Training: You can now utilize boost packs.

6. Diplomat

Diplomat is for those players who want to take their time to play Starfield. This background’s official description has a really cool vibe to it, and it matches the character. Diplomat will give a boost to your Persuasion. Boosting the persuasion means that you are likely to succeed during the speech challenges. Not only that but with another unique, you will be able to buy for less and sell for more, which would be helpful.

If that doesn’t make you think it is a good choice to pick as a background in Starfield, it also comes with a skill that increases your overall health. So, it is a great choice as a background, at least for some players.

The following are the three skills Diplomat in Starfield comes with:

• Commerce: You will be able to buy for 5% less and sell for 10% more.
• Wellness: Your maximum health will be increased by 10%.
• Persuasion: There is a 10% increased chance of success when persuading someone.

7. Space Scoundrel

Space Scoundrel is a good background option in Starfield to pick right now, but it is not an ideal one. It has one ability that I don’t think is worth having at all. Piloting and Persuasion are both great abilities as one lets you utilize the ship thrusters, and the other increases the chances of you persuading someone. So, these two are pretty useful ones. However, the third skill just increases the damage of the pistols in Starfield.

• You won’t rely much on the pistols, so this is the reason Space Scoundrel isn’t in the upper section of the list.
• You are getting a nice package with two useful skills, so it can be a good choice as a background.
• Also, if you like using pistols in Starfield, you might as well choose it.

The following are the three skills Space Scoundrel in Starfield comes with:

• Piloting: You will be able to utilize the ship thrusters.
• Pistol Certification: All the Pistols in Starfield will do 10% more damage.
• Persuasion: There is a 10% increased chance of success when persuading someone.

8. Sculptor

Sculptor comes with some great skills in Starfield, but they won’t help you on an extreme level. The main purpose of this background is to give you a good start so you can choose which direction you want to take your character. Persuasion, as said before, is a useful skill as you will be able to pursue NPCs to do what you like. Moreover, the Medicine skills are also helpful as you get a boost in heals.

• Along with that, you also get a benefit in getting the resources from minerals and ores.
• So, Sculptor is a pretty decent background to use in-game.

The following are the three skills Sculptor in Starfield comes with:

• Medicine: Med Packs, Trauma Packs, and Emergency Kits restore +10% Health 10% faster.
• Geology: You will get more common and uncommon inorganic resources from surface objects.
• Persuasion: There is a 10% increased chance of success when persuading someone.

9. Professor

A background named Professor sounds boring, and it probably is boring. Only choose a professor if you want to obtain minerals and other materials easily in Starfield. This background will also make it easier for you to craft. The materials you will get can be used in crafting and research projects, so the cost of these things will be reduced. Along with that, you will get the advantage of increased grav jump range on your ship.

• Professor seems like a good and peaceful background to some people, but many might not like it.
• Still, it comes with a good set of skills, and it is good enough to make it in my top 10 best Starfield Backgrounds.

The following are the three skills Professor comes with:

• Astrodynamics: Increase the grav jump range of jump drives by 15%.
• Geology: Get more common and uncommon inorganic resources from surface objects.
• Research Methods: 10% fewer resources are required to craft items and complete research projects.

10. Beast Hunter

Fitness and ballistics are two useful skills in the early game that make Beast Hunter a contender for the top 10 Backgrounds in Starfield. These two are great skills as one of them increases the maximum oxygen of the player, and the other increases the damage health by ballistic weapons.

• I don’t understand how Gastronomy can be useful in Beast Hunter Background, as it is the only skill that makes me choose other backgrounds.
• It could have been one of the top 3 if it had a better third skill.
• Regardless, it is a pretty good background, so if you like it, you can choose it.

The following are the three skills Beast Hunter comes with:

• Fitness: You have 10% more oxygen available.
• Ballistics: Ballistic weapons do 10% more damage.
• Gastronomy: You can craft specialty food and drinks and research additional recipes at a Research Lab.

What Is Background In Starfield?

As said before, there are 21 backgrounds, and all of them will determine your character’s abilities and backstory. Every single background in Starfield will give you three starting skills that you use in-game. These skills will determine the way you play, so you have to be careful when choosing the background of your character. You can, of course, evolve your character while you make progress, but the background will influence most of it.

That’s almost everything you would want to know about the Best Background and other relative entries in-game. All backgrounds are ranked according to their worth in Starfield. This means if you choose any from the Top 3, you are almost sure to have a good time. However, you can choose any background according to your preference, as this guide is based on my experience and playthrough thus far.

The best background in Starfield, in my opinion, is File Not Found. Every background provides the player with unique skills from the start. They can take advantage of a background with the best skills and dominate the early game. After that, players can take the character in whatever direction they want. With that said, if you are looking to access, increase, or even upgrade your Ship Storage in Starfield, then make sure to read the guide on it to learn about it in detail.

Read Next:

• Starfield: How To Lockpick 
• Starfield: FOV Console Command 
• Starfield: All Difficulty Settings & Changes
• Starfield: How To Use Boost Packs & Jetpacks
• Starfield: How To Install DLSS Mod

Image Credits: (DPJ)