One of the most annoying things in Starfield is constantly being encumbered, thanks to missions of too much length and too much loot. Thankfully, there are a few ways to tackle this problem, but those are not enough. Even a ship with 6-8 Cargo Holds will get full in this game. However, combining your followers, your skills, your followers, and your outposts and maximizing their carrying capacity may take you out of the red zone, if only temporarily.
How to Increase Your Character’s Carrying Capacity
There are two permanent ways to increase your character’s carrying capacity (through skills and mods), and a temporary one through aid items (consumables).
Weight Lifting Skill
Improving your skills is the proverbial low-hanging fruit for increasing carrying capacity. Specifically, the “Weight Lifting” Tier 1 skill under the “Physical” skill tree can give your character an instant carrying capacity boost of 10 kilograms. This skill can be upgraded to Rank 4 by completing associated challenges like sprinting with 75% full pockets, allowing you to tote up to 100 kilograms more.
| Weight Lifting Rank | Rank Effect | Rank Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Increase total carrying capacity by 10 kilograms. | Sprint for 1000 meters while at 75% or more of your maximum load capacity. |
| 2 | Increase total carrying capacity by 25 kilograms. | Sprint for 2,500 meters while at 75% or more of your maximum load capacity. |
| 3 | Increase total carrying capacity by 50 kilograms. | Sprint for 5000 meters while at 75% or more of your maximum load capacity. |
| 4 | Increase total carrying capacity by 100 kilograms. Gain 50% resistance to stagger. | You have mastered this skill. |
I promised myself that “Weight Lifting” wouldn’t be my first skill to Rank 4. It was the first skill I got to Rank 4… Enough said.
Nutrition Skill & Aid Items for Temporary Carrying Capacity Boosts
Items that seem trivial, like food, might be your best friends. Some consumables come with additional perks that extend your carrying limit temporarily. To amplify this, consider investing in the “Nutrition” Tier 2 skill under the “Physical” tree.
| Nutrition Rank | Rank Effect | Rank Challenge |
| 1 | Food and drink are 10% more effective. | Consume 10 food or drink items. |
| 2 | Food and drink are now 20% more effective. | Consume 30 food or drink items. |
| 3 | Food and drink are now 30% more effective. | Consume 75 food or drink items. |
| 4 | Food and drink are now 50% more effective. | You have mastered this skill. |
As you level up this skill, each morsel of food will yield more significant benefits. However, if you opted for the “Alien DNA” Trait during character creation, be warned: the benefits of food items, including carrying capacity boosts, will be dampened (are you considering removing it?).
Honestly, I wouldn’t invest in Nutrition, at least not to increase my carrying capacity, but it’s something to consider.
Gear Modifications for Extra Pocket Space
Space suits and boost pack mods offer unique opportunities to increase carrying capacity, so investing in Weapon Engineering and Spacesuit Design (both Tier 2 skills in Science) may be quite a bit worth it You can research Pack Mods 2 and Spacesuit Mods 2.
For example, the “Extra Capacity” mod, unlocked at Pack Mods 2, allows for an additional 10 kg carrying weight.
Similarly, at Spacesuit Mods 2, you can unlock the “Pocketed” feature, adding another 5kg to whatever gear you apply it to. Note that mods may increase your gear’s weight, so these are net bonuses.
Trade Gear with Companions: How to Increase Their Carrying Capacity
Note: You can trade gear with all your companions not just your active follower, so you can stack them all with 150 kg of items. I’m not sure whether that affects your ship’s mass when they are on board.
Your companions aren’t just there for emotional support and combat assistance; they can literally carry your baggage. Yes, I use my friends as mules in Starfield.
Talk to your companion to transfer items and navigate the menu to “Lets trade gear.” However, much like your own character, companions also have carrying limits (I think it’s 150 kilograms for every companion).
How to Increase Companion Carrying Capacity: Leadership Skill
To stretch their capacity, you can invest in the “Leadership” Tier 3 skill under the “Social” tree. At Rank 2, “Leadership” will boost your companions carrying limit by 50 kilograms.
| Leadership Rank | Rank Effect | Rank Challenge |
| 1 | Companions gain affinity 25% faster. | Sprint 1000 meters with an active follower. |
| 2 | Companions have 50 more health and 50kg more carrying capacity. | Sprint 2500 meters with an active follower. |
| 3 | Companions will occasionally heal you when you get low health. | Sprint 5000 meters with an active follower. |
| 4 | Doubles the bonuses of Combat and Physical Crew Skills on Companions. Companions have a chance to pick themselves up from a downed state. | You have mastered this skill. |
How to Maximize Your Ship’s Cargo Capacity
Your spacecraft is more than just a means of interstellar travel; it’s also your floating storage unit. The carrying capacity of the ship is determined by its cargo hold size. The default ship, the Frontier, starts with a 450 kg limit. You can purchase or build ships with bigger holds to carry more. My Razorleaf has 4 Cargo Holds (1,700 kg cargo capacity), while the latest addition to my fleet (and my current “Home Ship”), a Spacer Vulture, has 6 Cargo Holds for a cargo capacity of 3,000 kg (of course, it’s not enough).
Make sure you don’t sacrifice too much mobility and that your ship can take off while adding Cargo Holds. They come with a price to pay in terms of mass, especially as you pile them up.
How to Increase Your Ship’s Carrying Capacity: Payloads Skill
There’s a way to improve things with a skill though; the Payloads Tier 2 skill in the Tech tree can boost your ship’s cargo hold capacity by up to 50% at Rank 4. I consider this skill an exaggeration early in the game, but eventually, it may be worth picking up.
| Payloads rank | Rank Effect | Rank Challenge |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ship cargo holds have 10% more capacity. | Make 10 grav jumps with 75% or more of maximum cargo capacity. |
| 2 | Ship cargo holds have 20% more capacity. | Make 25 grav jumps with 75% or more of maximum cargo capacity. |
| 3 | Ship cargo holds have 30% more capacity. | Make 50 grav jumps with 75% or more of maximum cargo capacity. |
| 4 | Ship cargo holds have 50% more capacity. | You have mastered this skill. |
Outpost Storage Crates Warehouses and Storage Gas/Liquid/Solid Containers
Finally, you can fill your Outposts with Storage Crates or Storage – Gas/Liquid/Solid containers to leave your loot and resources there. Just remember that they get full fast if you keep extracting endlessly. If you need more carrying capacity, just build more storage modules; picking the items up can get very annoying though.
So, whether its honing your characters skills, optimizing your gear, or just being strategic with your ship and companions, multiple paths lead to carrying more loot in Starfield. But bear in mind that the game could undergo patches that could change these mechanics, making some methods more or less effective over time. Nevertheless, with this guide, you’re better equipped to be the hoarder of the galaxy you always aspired to be.
Originally posted 2023-09-28 02:08:02.
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