How to recruit mercenaries in Starfield
They might all be nameless, but they'll make great additions to your crew
Wondering how to recruit mercenaries in Starfield? During your Starfield playthrough, you’ll likely find a companion or two (and maybe even romance one) through the main story. If you’re looking for more help aboard your ship, though, you’ll be able to recruit nameless mercenaries that aren’t as closely tied to the story but can still make worthy additions to your crew in exchange for a bit of cash.
Here’s everything you’ll need to know about recruiting mercenaries in Starfield, including where to find them and how to successfully get them to join your crew.
How to recruit mercenaries in Starfield
Unlike the companions you’ll encounter during Starfield’s main missions, recruiting mercenaries is a much more intentional process. If you’re ready to begin your hunt, you’ll want to head to a bar or club in a major city and search for a character with a title such as “Payload Specialist” or “Missile Weapons Specialist” instead of a name or other label. They also normally wear white spacesuits, if you need help picking them out from the crowd.
These mercenaries and their skills are randomly generated, so if you're looking for a particular skill, you might need to shop around a bit. Once you’ve found one of these potential crew members, you’ll be able to talk to them to learn more about their potential role on board and see their skills (listed in the top right corner of your screen).
Your intended mercenary will name their price, which is often around 7000-8000 credits early on depending on the skills they offer, and you can choose to simply pay their asking price and bring them straight to your crew. However, if you’re feeling lucky, you can try to sway them to give you a deal by pressing the option that starts with “[Persuade].” You’ll have to pass a series of persuasion checks to succeed, but if you’re able to do it, you’ll be able to recruit a new crew member for a much lower price.
Whatever you decide to do regarding their price, hiring these mercenaries will recruit them to your crew like other named companions or crew members, allowing you to place them wherever you’d like to begin fulfilling some space duties.
That's all the information we've got on recruiting mercenaries in Starfield! If you're wondering who else you can recruit to your team, find our list of companions and crew members here. Or, if you're planning on making some other alterations to your crew, find out how to transfer items to your companions here or learn how to get rid of your Adoring Fan here (sorry, Adoring Fan...).