The best ships in Starfield

You can spend most of your time in Starfield fast traveling from one system to to the next, almost ignoring your ship entirely, but you’d be missing out on half the fun. Outer space, whether you’re flying around Alpha Centauri or you’ve made your way out to the far reaches of Bohr, has plenty to find. And to get around, you’ll want to rely to one of the best ships in Starfield.

Some of the best ships will be unattainable early on thanks to prohibitively expensive sticker prices. Bear in mind, too, that to pilot ships higher than class A, you’ll need to invest points in the Piloting skill (which requires destroying enemy ships, which itself requires a better ship).

Still, in short order, you’ll get plenty of money and skill points in Starfield, which should soon open up your options. Without further ado, these are the best ships in Starfield. And if you want to modify them to make them even better, our guide on how to use the Ship Builder can help.

Razorleaf

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Complete the “Mantis” side quest
Cost: Free

Fairly early into your playthrough, you will likely pick up a note titled “Secret Outpost!” from a dead Spacer. I found it during the mission “The Old Neighborhood,” while searching for the whereabouts of Vanguard Moara. Head to the Secret Outpost on Denebola I-b, and you’ll begin a quest titled “Mantis.”

Spoilers aside, as it is one of the best side quests in Starfield, you’re rewarded with some immensely powerful armor, along with the Razorleaf — one of the best class A ships in the game for anyone who is a fairly low level. It has a cargo hold with room for 420kg of stuff, so a slight downgrade on the 495 offered by the Frontier, but with almost triple the fuel and 100 higher hull protection, along with more powerful weapons, it’s a no-brainer. Especially since it has a shielded cargo hold with a capacity of 160, essential for smuggling contraband.

Wanderwell

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Select the Kid Stuff trait
Cost: Free

If you chose the Kid Stuff trait, your parents will be alive in the game and you can visit them, in exchange for 2% of your credits every week to support them (though that is capped at 500 each time). Give it enough time and, eventually, your dad will gift you the class A Wanderwell ship that he won while… gambling. Guess that’s what the cash you send home to help the family is going toward!

On the plus side, while it doesn’t have any Shielded Cargo like the Razorleaf, the Wanderwell does have a cargo capacity of 880, making it perfect for carrying all the resources you need to complete side missions. It only comes with two weapons by default rather than the standard three, so you’ll need to fork out a little to get it fully equipped, but with a jump range of 27LY, it’s the next best upgrade after the Razorleaf.

Shieldbreaker

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Buy from New Atlantis Ship Services Technician
Cost: 265,443 credits

This class B bad boy costs a fair whack, but if you’ve prioritized both main story and faction affiliation missions (both of which pay more than most side quests) and sold literally everything you’ve seen, you probably have enough credits in the bank for the Shieldbreaker. Once you turn your attention to side activities, such as destroying the Crimson Fleet and hauling thousands of resources across the galaxy, this ship can do it all.

With a crew size of five and a cargo capacity of 2,280 (none of it shielded though, unfortunately), there’s a lot of room here. Living up to its name, it also has relatively powerful weapons, and comes with laser that automatically target enemy ships.

Silent Runner

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Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Buy from HopeTech HQ
Cost: 390,150 credits

Want to become a full time hauler? Look no further than the Silent Runner, a class C ship that’s essentially the Shieldbreaker’s older brother. While the Shieldbreaker is pretty good in combat, the Silent Runner is all about the cargo, with a whopping 6,060 cargo space. You can upgrade it further with weaponry of course, but this is the one to go for if you want to become a space trucker.

On top of the cargo space, it can grav jump up to 29LY and has 1,164 hull, which is more than enough to hold off any Crimson Fleet or House Va’ruun members that come a-knocking. It’s also got 300 fuel capacity, which will get you almost anywhere in the charted galaxy.

Vanquisher

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Buy from Stroud-Eklund Showroom in Neon
Cost: 335,655 credits

The Vanquisher is a solid class C all-rounder, with 4,120 cargo capacity, 1,100 fuel, and 908 hull. Where it especially shines is its missiles, which do 149 damage, along with its 730 shield. It leaves room to be desired (read: upgraded) in the other weapon categories, but when your missiles are dealing that much damage, it doesn’t matter too much. It also may not be the most aesthetically pleasing ship, but at the end of the day, you’ll mainly be looking at the interior anyway.

Abyss Trekker

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Buy from Ship Services Technician in Paradiso
Cost: 347,230 credits

The Abyss Trekker is another class C ship that is by far your best bet if you plan on getting into plenty of dogfights in space. You won’t be carrying much loot with this as it only has 340 cargo capacity, but you will be able to take down any opponents you encounter thanks to the 100 missiles and 170 ballistics stats.

With a shield of 850 and hull of 1,031, it’ll take a lot to get this cyan-white ship out of the skies, but if you do need to get away, it has 950 fuel and can grav jump up to 25 LY.

Narwhal

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Buy from Taiyo Astroneering in Neon
Cost: 432,620 credits

The Narwhal is arguably the best — and certainly one of the most expensive — ship in the entire game. Setting you back more than 400,000 credits, this class C blue beast is incredibly well-rounded and can jump up to 30LY, so you can go wherever you like. It can have up to seven crew members aboard, has 560 fuel, 2,118 hull, and 1,760 cargo capacity.

As a result, it does the job for hauling lots of materials (though isn’t the best for that), but if you want one ship to do as much as possible rather than switching between ships depending on what the current task is, the Narwhal is for you. Special shout out to its 114 ballistics and 82 missiles too, as they pack a serious punch.

[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for the ending of Starfield.]

Starborn Guardian

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

How to get it: Start New Game Plus
Cost: Free

Minor spoiler warning for New Game Plus here, so if you want to go in without any knowledge at all, you’re safe to stop reading and go for one of the other ships in this guide. However, once you do finish the game, New Game Plus will reward you with the Starborn Guardian, a class A ship that cannot be bought or stolen during your first playthrough.

The Starborn Guardian is one of the fastest pre-made ships in the game, can grav jump up to 30LY away, and has two unique weapons in the Solar Flare Beam and Gravity Torpedo. With a cargo capacity of 950 and a hull of 649, it’s one of the best ships in the entire game, especially since you earn an upgraded one each time you start new game plus again. Plus it looks incredible — you can’t create anything like this in the ship builder.