Topic: Starfield

@BAMozzy Oh thanks for update. No to be honest I have not really played much Fallout to be honest. But I remember to have played a little bit of Elder Scrolls IV Oblivion back in the days on my dads PC which was a very nice and fun experience. I honestly think I would probably have fun with that game even today. I know I was so impressed with it back days but I dont think I have played any serious RPG after that game actually hehe (beside a little bit of Pokemon).

@oliverp Elder Scrolls is very similar in terms of the 'overall' experience. Obviously a different setting and Combat style, but the underlying structure of the game is similar. That 'freedom' to go anywhere, to be the character 'you' want to be in that universe is present here. There is almost always something to do - not all of it is 'intense' action. Ship building or 'resource' gathering, scanning a planet to get it to 100% complete for example may not be 'intense' action but maybe just the amount of Action you want to deal with at that moment - especially if you have just come out of an intense 'firefight' (either Ship or hand combat) and want something a little quieter to do.

I'd recommend Game Pass over purchasing - not that I don't think the game is 'worth' buying because for 'fans' of Bethesda RPG's, this is by far their 'best' game on release and well worth playing, but because you can 'try' it yourself, as well as many other games, for a lot less money and if you don't 'enjoy' Starfield, are not down £70 and have a LOT of other games (inc Lies of P, Forza Motorsport, PayDay 3 etc) to play instead. If you really enjoy Starfield, you can still buy it at a later date - and with a bigger Discount if you have a Game Pass Subscription if you want too. Game Pass lets you decide if you want to keep playing the game or not and 'if' not, plenty of other options for you to 'try' every month too...

@PsBoxSwitchOwner yea I had to look up where to actually go. Finally figured it out.
@BAMozzy thanks, good to know. Aside from the cutter, I also switch to the axe or shank but close combat isn't as easy.

@NintendoByNature Melee can be somewhat hit or miss - literally LOL.

The cutter though is decent and can be 'focused' for more damage and boosted too - although but does increase the rate at which it 'overheats'. However, you never 'need' ammo and can melt enemies quickly. I used it to kill the first 'pirates' I met (after meeting Barrett) and it cleared them very quickly.

The first Terraformer I met was around the same point and I found it quite useful whilst also jumping/boosting around, using the environment to my advantage to beat it. I predominantly used the cutter as I could spit out damage, jump/move to avoid incoming attacks and by the time I am in a position to attack, the cutter is back to 100% full...

It didn't take that long at a lvl 2-3 and I only had a 'pistol' as an alternative (excluding melee - but I didn't want to get that close). The cutter is an option and you may find it 'useful' and effective rather than having to leave to go find Ammo elsewhere.

@BAMozzy sweet deal. The next skill point I'm allocating is to laser. Out of curiosity, how do you use a jet pack? Maybe i missed it.

@NintendoByNature When you jump, press and hold 'jump' again to 'boost' and you maybe able to boost a couple of times before the 'boost' runs out. However, you do need to 'unlock' the boost skill in the 'last' section- Boost Pack Training in tier 1 of the 'Tech' tree - with further upgrades using less fuel and then regenerates fuel quicker with the final upgrade doubling both of those (even less fuel used and quicker regeneration too).

If you haven't unlocked the skill yet, then you are limited to just 'jumping'. I didn't spend a skill point on Lasers, not yet and certainly haven't unlocked the 'heavy' skill either but 'both' of those do help with the cutter as its classified as a 'heavy laser' weapon if you want to 'boost' its damage output. Unlike a 'gun' that's shooting single 'bullets' (inc laser bolts), this is a constant 'beam' of damage so you see the health bars just drop - even without the 'skill points' boosting that damage. It can still kill 'higher' tier enemies much quicker than even your highest rated 'weapon' as its very easy to keep on target and its 'constantly' doing damage. missing shots or the 'time' between shots is 'no' damage output where the cutter is 'cutting' through the enemies health quickly.

I would upgrade the 'Boost Pack Training' over the Laser myself as I use the 'added' movement that gives everywhere and it has got me out of trouble as well as getting to advantageous positions that I find much more 'useful' than the 'boost' to Laser damage which only benefits me in select situations (combat with Laser weapons) and certainly helps getting around on foot. As I spend much more time on foot than I do in combat with lasers, it made more sense to upgrade that first. It really helps getting around - including in Cities which is 'handy' as numerous quests will send you from point to point to point. Being able to jump and boost helps make that more fun and quicker too.

In my opinion, the Boost Pack Training - at least just unlocking that, is one of the skills I would recommend unlocking as soon as you can. I would say 'within the first 2 or 3 skill points you earn but I also appreciate that others may have a specific playstyle/build where that is not such a priority and would rather put points elsewhere to facilitate that.

Anyway, hope that helps...

@BAMozzy perfect explanation thanks my friend. I think I did allocate a skill point to boost and that's why I was confused. I wasn't sure if they showed how to actually use it. Total DOH moment for me here lol. Of course I should've just held the jump button down haha. Thanks again.

Anyone else feeling a little burnt out with Starfield? I’ve played it since it’s general Game Pass release last Wednesday and I’ve put in over 30 hours. Even though I think the game is brilliant, I also think it’s just too big with both its open world and amount of missions. I’m currently level 11, did the main mission with Sarah on Mars and quite a few activity/side missions, so I’m very early in the game’s storyline but I feel I’m barely making any progress with no end in sight. I wouldn’t be doing the game any justice by just solely playing through the main missions as I wouldn’t be getting the full experience of what the game has to offer.

It has to be said that I’ve never finished games like Skyrim, The Witcher 3 and AC Valhalla with me barely getting past all the game’s opening prologues, just preferring to roam their open worlds. Starfield is looking likely to be added to the list with those games which I’ll probably never finish. Fallout 3 and 4 are the only Bethesda RPGs that I’ve completed to 100% along with their DLCs.

I’m going to dive back into Cyberpunk 2077 when it’s next big update arrives and I’m looking forward to more linear games like Alan Wake 2. Family life and work definitely play a part in me not being able to take my time with games like Starfield, there’s just simply not enough hours in the day for me to devote my time and attention to a massive game like Starfield. I’m gutted tbh but I’ll definitely go back to it now and again but just to explore planets and moons in different solar systems.

@MaccaMUFC well if you tend to not finish open world games maybe the genre it is not for you .

Also I feel your level is very low so far (I am level 14 right now and about 15h in). Maybe you are focusing a lot on activities missions which are the most boring and less rewarding. In Starfield by doing main missions you will get things that will make the game more fun too so you should give it a go next instead.

@MaccaMUFC It's a thing I sometimes get with big open world games too. However, if its a game you're enjoying (and it sounds like you are),I just try to take the approach that I'm going to play to visit that world space and exist in it, even if I make no progress. If I had fun and a cool thing happened or I found a little discovery, thats my progress rather than %complete, levels or trophies. If I'm having fun with it, who cares? I ended up playing games like totk, witcher 3 and elden ring over 4-6 months with some smaller games sprinkled in exactly like that. However, I do think one of the things the game would benefit from is a menu where you can see all the missions in one place (or if its there and I missed it, let me know!), so you can emerse yourself in one world for a bit. I wonder if the fallout vibes would hit you more that way? I would also try going back to the main quest and doing the awakening mission (you get a choice of three and that's one) after the Mars missions before you do anymore exploring too. I know what you mean about the cyberfunk expansion though. I enjoyed that game when I played the 1.5 patch. Now it looks so much closer to the original vision, I'm itching to try it out!

@Balta666 I’ll never abandon the open world genre as it’s one of my favourite genres but I think your right about me spending too much time doing activities, I just wanted to clear my to-do mission lists before getting into the main story missions and not miss out on potential great side missions. Some open world game’s side missions are even better than the main ones like in The Witcher 3.

I’ll make a start on the main missions and try to stop doing everything else that comes up, I just feel the need to do everything but the game is too big and it’ll take over my life for probably the rest of the year the way I was playing it.

@MaccaMUFC ok that is fair. But now I will say Please finish The witcher 3!! It is my favourite game and although it's best questlines are the bloody baron and the blood and wine dlc, the main story is also very good.

@R1spam The games I mentioned that I’ve barely started like Skyrim, Witcher 3 etc I get overwhelmed with the size of the game and the amount of missions they have, so I just explore to immerse myself into their worlds instead to see random events happening with NPCs and seeing gorgeous sceneries with sunsets/sunrises. I still have both The Witcher 3 and AC Valhalla still installed for this reason.

I’ll try the awakening mission like you suggested because I really want to give this game a chance and as it’s basically Fallout in space, Fallout is the only Bethesda RPG series that I’ve finished. I’m really looking forward to the new update for Cyberpunk, I’ve only got to the part where I control Johnny Silverhand. I just hope the update doesn’t mess my save up because I’ve put many hours into that game as well.

@MaccaMUFC I'd suggest that maybe focusing on the Main Story maybe would help you rather than trying to do 'everything' in one place before moving on - besides most 'major' places you'll likely end up returning to and by following the 'main' story, you'll get more engaged and feel like you are progressing quicker too. From what I hear, New Game+ is worth playing and I have heard some say that its worth just focusing on the Main story 'first' to get to NG+ as the best way to play.

I must admit, I like to play these in a similar way to you it seems, get all the 'side' quests I can done, 100% a 'zone' before I move the 'story' along, I can't walk past any lootable container without checking it and have to explore every corner, passage, room etc - just in case there is something of value to find. So I too find it overwhelming at times and get side-tracked away from the main plot quite easily, not exactly racing through the Levels as I am spending a LOT of time just exploring and looking everywhere for loot - but that is 'OK' too because I enjoy that aspect but I am also conscious of wanting to get to NG+ so that helps me to focus on Main missions instead - I still do Side Quests/activities but I don't try and do 'everything'.

I expect this game to be one of those that you'll still find something 'years' later, still have outstanding things to do/see etc. So expecting to feel like your not 'progressing' in a game on this scale when you aren't really pushing the 'story' forward - which not only progresses the narrative, but also your character. Its difficult to say more without spoilers...

@BAMozzy I’m the same for wanting to fully explore the area I’m in and looking for loot in every room and corridor but doing so is adding more time onto my playthrough that is delaying me to actually start and finish missions. At least I’m enjoying all the exploring and looting.

I’m currently doing the UC missions as a Vanguard Captain but if these fraction missions take too long to wrap up I think I’ll just start focusing on the main story missions and come back to the fraction and activity missions in NG+. How does NG+ work? If I do a few fraction and activity missions then proceed to finish the main story, when I start NG+ will I have to start all the fraction and activity missions from scratch or will I able to continue where I left off from my first playthrough? I presume in NG+ we get to keep all our skills, weapons, credits, powers, ships etc?

@MaccaMUFC I'm trying to avoid spoilers myself but its difficult when you watch a lot of gaming youtube videos to get recommendations that are a bit spoiler-ish and give some indications that there is some 'beneficial' reasons to play NG+ - not sure if that's Narratively, what's carried over etc, but if it resets a LOT of the quests etc - as a 'NG' should, of course letting you choose what you do and even how you do it with maybe differing outcomes, does it matter?

I guess if I was faced with 'continuing' to mop up everything or 'lose' a LOT of hours to get what ever pay-off NG+ provides, then maybe its better to get through that NG+ Payout in the least possible time. Then go off and explore every nook and cranny on the NG+ mode, go off on whatever quests/activities you want, spend time building outposts exactly where you want etc instead of on your 'first' run...

I really don't know what you 'lose/keep' but it would seem weird to keep things like that when starting again — especially as some things would intertwine with some character dialogue and interactions. So I 'assume' progress with Factions would be lost as you'd be 'starting' again on NG+ and you'd maybe make 'different' choices on the next