The 5 Best Social Skills in Starfield

In Starfield, not all battles are fought with weapons and the Social skill tree offers players a unique set of tools to succeed. Let’s dive into the top 5 Social Skills that every player should consider mastering.

1. Isolation

The Isolation skill gives you some of the strongest passive combat bonuses in Starfield if you’re willing to drop your companion, which let’s be honest, is often the best thing to do especially if you’re playing a stealth build or otherwise immoral character background.

At rank 4, the effects of a fully mastered Isolation skill are quite dramatic. You can expect a huge jump in the base damage of all weapon types and your Physical damage resistance should also increase in value by over 100. The only downside is that Isolation does not seem to boost any of your other resistance types such as EM or energy resistance, but you can always supplement that with spacesuit mods if you want. All in all, this skill will provide a huge combat benefit which you should definitely take advantage of if you prefer to run solo.

2. Commerce

Trading is an integral part of Starfield, and the Commerce skill enhances this aspect significantly. Starting at Rank 1, players can buy items for 5% less and sell them for 10% more. As they progress, these percentages increase, allowing players to maximize their profits. By Rank 4, players can buy items for a whopping 20% less and sell them for 25% more, ensuring they get the best deals in the galaxy.

The Commerce skill will be especially helpful for those players who want to invest in Ships or Outposts. Purchasing Ships in Starfield for example can cost hundreds of thousands of credits and reducing that cost by 20% will result in significant savings.

3. Scavenging

The universe of Starfield is filled with hidden treasures, and the Scavenging skill ensures players get the most out of their explorations. At Rank 1, there’s a chance to find extra credits when searching containers. Ranks 2 and 3 however are the most useful as these will allow players to find additional ammo and aid items. Healing and ammo are some of the most used items in Starfield and are always needed, so getting more of these for free will become invaluable over the length of your entire playthrough.

4. Manipulation

As a Social Control skill, Manipulation can be used to force NPCs in Starfield to attack others rather than you, which can be useful, though the chance of success is rather small. However, there are other applications of Manipulation that make it far more useful, plus it’s one of the few skills in Starfield that you can get completely for free by doing an easy series of quests.

My two favorite uses for this skill include Persuasion, where having the Manipulation skill can often unlock some high-powered dialog choices that can easily turn a Persuasion check in your favor, and also for stealing from vendors by forcing them out of their shop for up to 30 seconds at a time.

All in all, Manipulation is a pretty niche skill but it can be extremely useful in some situations, plus you don’t have to spend any skill points so that’s a win-win in my book. To learn how to unlock Manipulation for free, check out the video below.

5. Theft

Theft can be a valuable skill for players looking to acquire even more items and credits completely for free in Starfield. In fact, players cannot steal from NPCs at all until this skill is unlocked, so if you’re the type of player that likes to see what every NPC is carrying then Rank 1 of this skill is a must have.

In addition, Theft can unlock some new areas by stealing keys to locked doors.

The Final Word

Mastering the Social Skills in Starfield can open up new avenues, strategies, and opportunities, ensuring a unique and immersive gameplay experience. We hope this guide was helpful and don’t forget to check out our list of every Social Skill in Starfield next.

More Skill Guides For Starfield