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Starfield traits list
During character creation, the player may select up to three Starfield traits at once (or none, if they'd prefer). So far we know about 18 traits, but there may be more to choose from in the full release of the game.Here is the full list of all Starfield traits we've seen:
- Alien DNA
- Dream Home
- Empath
- Extrovert
- Freestar Collective Settler
- Hero Worshipped
- Introvert
- Kid Stuff
- Neon Street Rat
- Raised Enlightened
- Raised Universal
- Serpent's Embrace
- Spaced
- Taskmaster
- Terra Firma
- United Colonies Native
- Unwanted Hero
- Wanted
All Starfield traits and effects
Below we've listed the exact effects of all 18 Starfield traits that we know about, breaking them down into their pros and cons.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosAlien DNA
Pros: Start with increased max health and endurance.Cons: Healing items are less effective.
Alien DNA is a great opening trait as it makes you more immediately survivable, but it may be that the trait's usefulness falls off after a while because the health and endurance boost is likely to be a flat amount rather than a percentage increase, so at later levels you'll feel the benefits far less. But even if that's the case, you can always get rid of the trait later on and replace it with another (see the section below for more details!).
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosDream Home
Pros: You own a small house on a peaceful little moon.Cons: You have a 50,000 credit mortgage with GalBank.
It's unclear as yet how either the positive or the negative effect of the Dream Home trait will manifest in-game. Owning a small house sounds nice, but presumably it offers you something more than simply a rest area, or it doesn't seem worth it. Then again, we don't know exactly how the 50k credit mortgage will affect you. Presumably you'll need to make regular timely payments or suffer... some sort of penalty? It's an intriguing trait for sure.
Image credit: Bethesda SoftworksEmpath
Pros: Performing actions your companion likes temporarily buffs combat effectiveness.Cons: Performing actions your companion dislikes temporarily nerfs combat effectiveness.
The Empath trait allows your relationships with your Starfield companions to spill into the game's combat system by providing either a buff or a nerf to "combat effectiveness" depending on whether you've recently pleased or displeased your companion(s). It's not yet clear whether the effect only affects the companion, or you, or the whole party. But if you're a player who'll never miss an opportunity to please your comrades, then this sounds like a solid trait to pick.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosExtrovert
Pros: Use less Oxygen while adventuring with human companions.Cons: Use more Oxygen while adventuring alone.
Note: incompatible with Introvert trait.
Extroverts benefit from adventuring as part of a larger group of human companions, and suffer a penalty when travelling solo. So depending on your playstyle, there's either no reason or every reason why you'd want to pick this trait. The actual effect is on your Oxygen consumption, which likely acts as a stamina bar of sorts in Starfield.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosFreestar Collective Settler
Pros: Access to special Freestar Collective dialogue options and faction rewards.Cons: Greatly increased crime bounty towards other factions.
Note: incompatible with Neon Street Rat and United Colonies Native traits.
The Freestar Collective Settler trait, as you might imagine, immediately makes you tight with the libertarian cowboy-esque Freestar Collective faction. During the Colony War of 2310 (20 years before the events of Starfield), the Freestar Collective fought against the United Colonies. Nowadays they're at peace, but there's still a lot of tension between the two factions.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosHero Worshipped
Pros: An "Adoring Fan" will show up randomly and give you gifts.Cons: The "Adoring Fan" is very annoying.
The already-famous Hero Worshipped trait inflicts upon you a character called the "Adoring Fan", who dotes upon the player character and wants nothing more than to be near them. It's a great thought, making the negative aspect of the trait just having to be around the annoying character themselves and put up with their relentless fawning. Still, we don't know what sorts of gifts the "Adoring Fan" gives the player, so he could end up being very useful.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosIntrovert
Pros: Increased endurance while adventuring alone.Cons: Decreased endurance while adventuring with other humans.
Note: incompatible with Extrovert trait.
Being an Introvert in Starfield means you gain a boost to your maximum endurance while you're in a solo party (i.e. no companions around to help you fight). So if you're a lone wolf style RPG player, then Introvert sounds like a fantastic trait to pick up at the start of the game. It's unclear exactly how "endurance" works, and whether it's at all different from the Oxygen consumption effect of the opposite trait, Extrovert.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosKid Stuff
Pros: Your parents are alive and well, and you can visit them at their home.Cons: You earn 2% less money.
Kid Stuff gives you the unique privilege of being able to visit your parents at their home in New Atlantis. No doubt there'll be some unique conversations and interactions to be had with both your parents, but it's unclear whether bigger opportunities (such as whole quests) will blossom from this trait choice. Still, 2% seems like a small price to pay for the opportunity to find out!
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosNeon Street Rat
Pros: Access to special Neon dialogue options and faction rewards.Cons: Greatly increased crime bounty towards other factions.
Note: incompatible with Freestar Collective Settler and United Colonies Native traits.
The Neon Street Rat trait acts as one of the various faction traits in Starfield (alongside Freestar Collective Settler and United Colonies Native), but while the latter two are very clearly organizations, Neon is a place - a major city on the planet Volii Alpha. Neon is, however, the home of Ryujin Industries, one of the major factions in Starfield, so you're likely to end up getting an easy "in" with them by picking this trait.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosRaised Enlightened
Pros: Gain access to a special chest full of items from the House of the Enlightened.Cons: Lose access to the Sanctum Universum chest.
Note: incompatible with Raised Universal and Serpent's Embrace traits.
The Raised Enlightened trait immediately aligns you with the Enlightened, one of the three dominant religions in Starfield. The Enlightened are a religion which puts a great deal of emphasis on science and the pursuit of knowledge, and as such is at odds with the Sanctum Universum, a much more mysticist-oriented form of religion. It's unclear what they'll put in a special chest of goodies, but we're willing to bet it's good stuff.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosRaised Universal
Pros: Gain access to a special chest full of items from the Sanctum Universum.Cons: Lose access to the Enlightened chest.
Note: incompatible with Raised Enlightened and Serpent's Embrace traits.
The Raised Universal trait puts you in the good books of the Sanctum Universum religion. The Sanctum Universum are one of the most prominent religions in the galaxy (perhaps the most populous of the three dominant religions), and has a great trading presence across the Settled Systems. Their mysticism-esque teachings make them a near-opposite of the Enlightened religion. Again, we don't know what's in the Sanctum Universum loot chest or how it differs from the Enlightened chest, so we'll have to see what happens when the game releases.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosSerpent's Embrace
Pros: Grav jumping provides a temporary boost to health and endurance.Cons: Health and endurance are lowered if you don't grav jump regularly.
Note: incompatible with Raised Enlightened and Raised Universal traits.
Serpent's Embrace indicates that you are a follower of The Great Serpent, a mysterious religion notably worshipped by the House Of Va'ruun faction. If you're planning on taking to the skies with a jetpack then Serpent's Embrace sounds like a fantastic choice. Just remember that if you go too long without grav jumping, you'll be penalised. It's essentially a jetpack addiction.
Image credit: Bethesda Game StudiosSpaced
Pros: Increased health and endurance while in space.Cons: Decreased health and endurance while on the surface.
Note: incompatible with Terra Firma trait.
Picking the Spaced trait means you're most comfortable out in space rather than on the surface of a planet, moon, or other celestial body. As long as you're in space, you'll gain increased health and endurance (read: stamina). But the moment you set foot on a planet or moon, your max health and endurance is decreased. Is it worth the penalty? Depends how extreme the penalty is, really.
Image credit: TaskmasterTaskmaster
Pros: Unknown.Cons: Unknown.
Nothing at all is known about the Taskmaster trait so far - we only know it exists because we caught a tiny glimpse of its name in the trait list during the Starfield Official Gameplay Reveal trailer. Until told otherwise, I'm gonna assume it turns you into UK comedian Greg Davies.
Terra Firma
Pros: (Assumed) Increased health and endurance while on the surface.Cons: (Assumed) Decreased health and endurance while in space.
Note: incompatible with Spaced trait.
It's not yet confirmed what the Terra Firma trait actually does, but we can take a reasonable guess that the effect is the exact opposite of the Spacer trait, given that the two are mutually exclusive. If this is true, then Terra Firma will give you a max health and endurance boost while on the surface of a planet or moon, while decreasing your health and endurance while you're in outer space.
United Colonies Native
Pros: (Assumed) Access to special United Colonies dialogue options and faction rewards.Cons: (Assumed) Greatly increased crime bounty towards other factions.
Note: incompatible with Freestar Collective Settler and Neon Street Rat traits.
United Colonies Native is another trait that we only know the name of, but seeing as it's classed as one of the mutually exclusive faction traits, we can safely assume that the effect is the same: you get tight with the United Colonies, but bounties against you as a result of crimes towards the other factions are increased. The United Colonies hold the largest military of all the factions though, so you may not need to worry quite as much.
Unwanted Hero
Pros: Unknown.Cons: Unknown.
Unwanted Hero is a trait that we know absolutely nothing about except its name. Just like the Taskmaster trait, we only know of its existence because it was shown in the Starfield gameplay reveal back in June 2022.
Wanted
Pros: Increased damage while your health is low.Cons: Bounty hunters will randomly appear and try to kill you.
The Wanted trait is, unusually, a trait that I reckon a lot of players will pick because of the downside rather than the positive effect. Gaining increased damage while at low health is nice, and if it could be turned into a focused build then that could be very fun. But come on. We all want to be randomly attacked by bounty hunters. That's such a cool idea.
How to remove Starfield traits
Thankfully, you're not stuck with the Starfield traits that you pick during character creation. If you decide that you don't like a particular trait and how it affects your journey, Todd Howard has confirmed in one of Bethesda's Constellation Questions videos that each trait has an associated "activity or quest" which you can complete in order to remove that trait.For example, if you don't like the Adoring Fan trait, you can simply kill the Adoring Fan. Bit dark, though. There might be a less bloody way to get rid of him that we don't know about yet.
How to add more Starfield traits
From what we've seen so far, it looks like you're forever stuck with just 3 trait slots in Starfield. But if you remove a trait later on in the game (or you didn't fill all the trait slots during character creation), you can add more traits throughout your journey.The only confirmed way that you can get more traits in Starfield is by scanning planets and moons. We know this thanks to the description of the Astrophyiscs skill in the Starfield skill tree:
As you put more points into Astrophysics, you'll gain an increased chance to discover more traits. We don't yet know if this is the only way that you can add more traits in Starfield, but it does confirm that you can switch around your traits beyond character creation if you wish
All the best Starfield Traits
Learn the effects of all 17 Starfield traits, from Kid Stuff to Serpent's Embrace, and the positive and negative effects of each one so you can pick the best!
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