Starfield’s New Game Plus, explained

Starfield’s adventure doesn’t have to end with the end of the main story. At the end of the final mission, you’ll have the choice to stick around and explore further, or reset the universe and start your game (mostly) fresh. Starfield doesn’t technically call this mode “New Game Plus” but Starfield also calls a jetpack a “boost pack” and a lockpick a “digipick.” Even if the game doesn’t, for clarity on this matter, we’re calling it what it is: New Game Plus.

We’ll try to explain everything in a spoiler-free way as much as we can, but bear in mind the final section of this guide will contain minor spoilers.

Our Starfield New Game Plus guide will explain when you’ll have to make the choice, and what New Game Plus (and a second New Game Plus) looks like in the Settled Systems.

How to get to New Game+ in Starfield

Starfield’s final mission, “One Giant Leap,” will ask you to make a decision: hold off on ending the game so you can explore more or complete the main story and start a New Game Plus. If you decide to delay the ending, you’ll have the option to return to it at any point. Meanwhile, you’ll be free to just continue along like you have been.

The decision is actually baked right into “One Giant Leap” because of [SPOILERS]. For similar [SPOILERS] reasons, it’s not actually called “new game plus.” You just continue along at the same XP and level, and with the same skills and Powers. You will, however, lose all of your ships, cargo, money, weapons, and inventory, though.

In new game plus, you’ll have the option to skip the main story missions, but everything else is reset. You’ll have a fresh start with all of the factions, and every side quest will be available again. Your relationships with all of the members of Constellation will be reset as well, including any romance. You can even rush through collecting the artifacts and head straight to the ending again.

From what we can tell, the enemies are not scaled up in the new game.

You’ll get a new spacesuit and ship for your trouble, though. We’ll talk about that below the spoiler warning.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

What you get with New Game+ in Starfield

For story reasons, you’ll start the new game in a new version of the universe with a Starborn Spacesuit Astra and a Starborn Guardian ship.

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

The Starborn Spacesuit Astra is probably the best suit in the game with maxed out damage resistances and environmental protections. Even better, it’s a helmet, suit, and pack all in one, so it’ll save some weight. It also comes with three perks:

• Bolstering that grants extra resistance as your health decreases
• Resource hauler to let you carry more stuff
• Sentinel, which reduces damage while you’re standing still

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

The Starborn Guardian is a respectable ship. It’s got 1,045 kg of cargo, a 30 light year jump distance, and lots of fuel. It’s got room for 5 crew and a beefy set of weapons. It’s not, however, customizable and it’s not, frankly, the best ship you can buy or build. Looks cool, though.

Starfield New Game+ Powers

Aside from getting a fresh start on all of the side missions and resetting your relationships with the factions and your companions, the main benefit to Starfield’s New Game Plus is that you get to keep collecting artifacts and Powers.

There’s only a set number of artifacts, their associated temples, and the Powers you gain there that you can pick up during the main mission on your first playthrough. When you reset the universe, though, you’ll have a new set to discover (in new locations).

Image: Bethesda Game Studios/Bethesda Softworks via Polygon

There are a total of 24 Powers you can collect, and they seem to be distributed randomly. When you come across a Power you already have, you’ll get an upgraded version of that power — like Personal Atmosphere II in the image above.

Having a new set of artifacts and temples to find increases the likelihood that you’ll pick up a better version of the Power — or, at least, help you fill in the Powers you don’t have yet.

What happens when you start a second New Game+ in New Game+?

According to some players, the world of Starfield changes with each new iteration you play. This makes sense since entering the Unity at the end of “One Giant Leap” effectively resets the universe (technically, it sends you to a different universe in the multiverse).

But it’s not just artifact locations and Powers that are randomized. After a couple trips through the Unity, the roles of NPCs start to change — specifically the leadership and makeup of Constellation.

That just means that you’ll need to complete the game several times to see everything Starfield has to offer.