Starfield: How to change ships

How do you change ships in Starfield? If you're playing Starfield and your Frontier just isn't cutting it, you're in luck! There are dozens of Starfield ships you can buy, earn, or steal so that you won't be stuck with the same old ship throughout your entire playthrough, and you can also customize and upgrade any ship you manage to get your hands on as you play.

Whether you're just tired of the same old make and model or need a primer on how to swap ships as you progress, here's everything to know about how to change ships in Starfield, including where you can go to switch ships, information on building a large landing pad at a Starfield outpost, and information to know if you plan to steal ships.

How to change Starfield ships

You can change Starfield ships by visiting a ship technician, using the ship building controls at a large landing pad at an outpost, or stealing and piloting a ship. You can gain ships by buying them, stealing them, and earning Starfield free ships as rewards for traits, missions, and other in-game activities. You can have a total of ten ships in your arsenal, and note that you must have more than one ship in your possession to switch ships.

Here are more insights on what to expect with each method.

Speak to a ship technician

In Starfield, you can switch ships by talking to a ship technician. You'll find technicians across the universe. For a complete list of ship tech locations, check out our guide to selling Starfield ships.

When you speak to the technician, select the prompt, "I'd like to view and modify my ships" to bring up a list of all ships you own. Select the one you plan to make your home ship by selecting the "Make Home Ship" button.

If you don't yet have another ship to switch to, you can also purchase one from the technician as long as you have the credits. Most ship vendors have an inventory of ships of purchase that changes with every in-game day.

Use outpost ship building controls

Similarly, you can swap ships at a shipbuilding kiosk at any one of your outposts. To get a shipbuilding kiosk, you must build a large landing pad. The large landing pad requires the following:

• Iron x30
• Beryllium x2
• Adaptive Frame x18
• Zero Wire x2

The large landing pad lets you land ships of all sizes directly at the outpost. The ship builder allows you to perform a variety of customizations from the comfort of your outpost rather than having to go to a ship technician. You can also use this kiosk to switch ships and change your home ship, similar to how you would change it with a ship technician.

Steal a ship

You can also switch ships by hijacking a ship. If you do this, the stolen ship becomes your home ship by default. There's no need to worry about the ship you left behind to do the hijacking, as it will remain part of your fleet. To steal a ship, you must have a high enough pilot skill to be able to fly that ship, with class C ships requiring a pilot skill level of four.

You can then switch back to your default ship or any other ship in your arsenal with either of the two methods above.

Home ship overview

Once you have made a ship your home ship, it will become the one you can board to launch into space and land. However, you will want to be aware of the ship's cargo as you will be subject to Starfield contraband scans at certain destinations. If this is the case, you must either head to a destination that does not require a contraband scan and offload it or ensure you have sufficient shielded cargo space. Many stolen ships, and particularly Crimson Fleet ships, have shielded cargo capacity to protect contraband from being detected by scanners. You can also purchase scan jammers to prevent the scan from successfully occurring. However, note that there is always a small chance the system will still detect contraband.

As you accumulate Starfield ships, you may eventually want to sell them. You can do this at any ship services technician, but if a ship is stolen, you must register it before selling it. This means you ultimately receive only a fraction of a ship's overall value for selling it. However, it's still worth the effort as you can still make decent money doing stealing and selling ships and any stolen cargo.

That's everything you need to know to change ships in Starfield. If you want to know more about what ships you should have in your inventory, you can check out our guide to the the best Starfield ships. And, as long as you're working on a masterful ship collection, you may also want to check out our guide to the best Starfield ship designs, too.