Starfield Ship Builder

Plan your reactor, grav drive, shield and engines with real in-game parts. See the ship class, skill requirements, power budget and cost before you visit a Ship Services Technician.

Part stats come from community Starfield databases (Fextralife, Dot Esports and Game8) and can differ slightly between sources. Prices vary by vendor, and some parts only unlock at higher levels. Jump range is not shown, because it depends on your grav jump thrust against your ship’s total mass (hull, habs, cargo and weapons too). Check it in the in-game ship builder before you buy. Weapons and engines also draw reactor power. Assign power in game.

How to Use the Starfield Ship Builder

  1. Set your current Starship Design rank. The part lists only show what you can install right now.
  2. Pick a reactor. Its class (A, B or C) sets your ship class and how much power you have.
  3. Choose a grav drive, shield generator and engines. The planner warns you if a part is a higher class than your reactor, or if you are short on power.
  4. Check the Piloting and Starship Design ranks you need, then copy the plan and build it at any Ship Services Technician, found at major spaceports such as New Atlantis and Neon.

Starfield Ship Building Basics

Ship classes (A, B and C)

Your reactor sets the ship’s class. Class A ships are light and agile, while Class B and C carry bigger reactors, more weapons and more cargo. Flying them needs higher Piloting ranks: rank 3 for Class B and rank 4 for Class C.

Power, mass and mobility

  • Reactor power is split between weapons, shields, engines and the grav drive. More power means more systems running at full strength.
  • Mass lowers mobility and jump range. Every hab, cargo hold and armour piece adds weight.
  • Engine thrust vs mass decides how well you turn and how fast you reach top speed in a dogfight.
  • Grav drive thrust vs mass decides jump range. Read our Astrodynamics guide to push it further.

Required modules

Every flyable ship needs a cockpit, reactor, grav drive, fuel tank, engine, landing gear and a docker. The ship builder in game will not let you save a design that is missing one or has unattached parts.

Ship Design Tips

  • Build around one weapon type, such as all particle beams or all ballistics, so you only need one weapon-system skill.
  • Keep a light, fast ship for combat and a separate cargo hauler for trading and outposts.
  • Take Starship Design (Tech) to unlock better modules, and Targeting Control Systems for lock-on.
  • Since the Free Lanes update you can push stats further with X-Tech at the ship optimization terminal. See the X-Tech guide.

Need inspiration? Browse the best Starfield ships tier list, or plan your character with the Skill Planner.

Ship Builder FAQ

Is there an online Starfield ship builder?

Yes, this page is a free online Starfield ship builder. Plan a loadout in your browser, then build it in game at a Ship Services Technician.

Where do you build ships in Starfield?

Talk to a Ship Services Technician at a spaceport, or use a Shipbuilder terminal at your outpost, and pick “Ship Builder”.

What skill do you need for Class C ships?

Piloting rank 4. Rank 3 unlocks Class B ships.