How to steal ships in Starfield
Time to put your pirate hat on.
Stealing a ship in Starfield is no easy feat, but it can be incredibly worthwhile, giving you a shortcut to acquiring a new starship that doesn’t require you breaking the bank to purchase one outright.
We’ll walk you through not only how to steal a ship in Starfield, but how to secure the ship for your own personal collection whenever you want to access it and take it out into space at any point in the future.
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You can read up on our Starfield guide, tips and tricks page if you’re after any further help with your adventures in the stars.
How to steal ships in Starfield
First thing’s first, you’ll need to acquire a target for theft in the vast reaches of space. If you want to keep your bounty down, and also keep your companions happy in Starfield, we’d recommend only stealing enemy ships in Starfield. These include ships like bounty hunters that can come after you and Crimson Fleet ships, which will attack you on sight.
When you’re engaged in combat, it’s paramount that you disable an enemy ship’s engines if you want to steal it. Head over to our guide on how to target engines in Starfield for a complete breakdown of how you can disable an enemy ship’s engines and leave them vulnerable.
With their engines disabled, an enemy ship is ripe for boarding. Approach the vessel slowly, making sure to stay away from the front of the ship if their weapons systems are still active, and you’ll be given the option to 'Dock' with the ship by holding the 'X' button down if you’re playing with a controller or 'R' if on PC. Keep in mind that you can only dock with another ship if you’re not in combat, so make sure to take out any other enemy ships in the vicinity first.
Once docked, you can hold the 'X' / 'R' button again to board the enemy ship. Holding this button will put you in the body of your own ship, so head over to the latch, and use the latch to be transported to within the other ship.
Now, it’s time to clean house. You need to eliminate every person on board the other ship if you want to steal it, by whatever means possible. This is why we recommended only stealing ships that are natural enemies in Starfield, like the Crimson Fleet, because every person slain won’t accumulate a bounty on your head.
With the crew down, the ship is now yours. Head over to the cockpit, and sit at the controls. You can now hold 'Y' / 'Space' to disengage with your original ship, and the stolen ship is now yours to keep.
Unfortunately, there’s a slight catch to all this. Some ships might be designated as Class B or Class C ships, and if they are, you’ll need the corresponding level of the Piloting Skill unlocked to actually fly them. Class B ships require three Skill Points in the Piloting Skill, while Class C ships require four total Skill Points put into the ability.
How to keep stolen ships in Starfield
But what if you want to hold onto this stolen ship in Starfield for good? For that, you need to fly the ship, by grav jumping or otherwise, to any spaceport in the galaxy. The nearer the better, obviously, but if you’re lost for a spaceport, just simply head to New Atlantis in Alpha Centauri for reliability.
Land at the space port, and disembark from your stolen vessel. Head over to a spaceport technician, and ask to view your ships. You can now register the stolen ship to your fleet, making it yours to keep and take out for a spin whenever you want, for a small Credits fee of course.
Oh, and don’t worry about the original ship that you left back in the vast reaches of space. That ship somehow gets teleported back into your collection, and can be accessed from any spaceport technician at any point in Starfield.
With that all said, happy hunting around the galaxy for new ships!