The Best Combat Skills in Starfield (& How to Upgrade Them)
1 Ballistics
| Rank 1 | Ballistic weapons do 10% more damage. |
|---|---|
| Rank 2 | Ballistic weapons do 20% more damage. |
| Rank 3 | Ballistic weapons do 30% more damage. |
| Rank 4 |
Ballistic weapons range is increased by 30%. |
Many of the Combat skills in Starfield boost damage for one particular type of weapon, which can be useful for those with a firearm of choice. However, anyone who likes to mix things up a little or those who prefer to use the last high-damage weapon that they looted may prefer a skill that works across numerous weapon types, such as Ballistics or Lasers.
2 Marksmanship
| Rank 1 | Increase critical hit chance with non-automatic ranged weapons by 3%. |
|---|---|
| Rank 2 | Increase critical hit chance with non-automatic ranged weapons by 8%. |
| Rank 3 | Increase critical hit chance with non-automatic ranged weapons by 15%. |
| Rank 4 | Critical hits using a non-automatic ranged weapon without a scope do double damage and those with scopes knock down enemies on the next shot. |
Marksmanship is another Combat skill that can work across a wide variety of weapons. Once players have upgraded it to Rank 4 it can double the amount of critical hit damage dished out by scopeless non-automatic weapons, which can make a huge difference when up against some of the game's tougher enemies.
3 Sharpshooting
| Rank 1 | Increase headshot critical damage by 50% with ranged weapons. |
|---|---|
| Rank 2 | Increase critical damage to enemy legs by 50% with ranged weapons. |
| Rank 3 | Increase all critical damage to enemies by 50% with ranged weapons. |
| Rank 4 | Ranged critical hit kills increase your critical hit chance with all ranged weapons by 25% for 20 seconds. |
Whether or not Marksmanship and Sharpshooting go together quite as well as Stealth and Concealment do in the Physical skill tree is a matter for debate, but they make for a deadly combination nonetheless. Together, they massively increase the chances of landing a critical hit while also ramping up the amount of damage that each one dishes out to foes.
As is the case for anyone who is trying to increase the rank of Marksmanship, players can upgrade the Sharpshooting skill by dealing ranged critical hits. Those having trouble landing crits can use meds or food to increase their chances, but, as is often the case in Bethesda games, a few well-placed headshots will usually do the trick.
4 Rapid Reloading
Having to reload a weapon in the middle of a firefight can be incredibly frustrating, not to mention perilous to one's health. Sadly, there's nothing players can do to get around this in Starfield, but they can at least decrease the amount of time that it takes to reload their weapon with the help of the Rapid Reloading skill.
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