Starfield’s large Shattered Space expansion launches a week from now on September 30, which will be a draw for many players who may have given the original game a shot, but haven’t stuck with it since as…that happens with single player games. Even large ones.
If that’s you, and you’re not a Starfield superfan that has been following along with every update, I have two core pieces of advice for you based on patches the game has gotten you might not be aware of as a more casual fan.
The New Difficulty Options/XP Bonuses
This is what I would argue is easily the most significant addition to the game since launch, a wide array of difficulty options that can make the game easier or harder with XP bonuses the more you challenge yourself for faster leveling.
One big change is the new “extreme” difficulty if you feel you’ve gotten too overpowered over the course of the game (I don’t think it’s that much harder, honestly). That gives you a big XP boost if you do that in all categories.
There are smaller things too, like if you give your ammo weight, that’s a bonus. If you increase your carry capacity, that’s a negative bonus but man, does that feel good to have the option to do. You can also increase vendor credits, which is fantastic.
You can also lean a lot harder into survival aspects, as some players asked for, with increased chances at negative health effects and settings for hunger and rest. There’s a whole lot here you can sort through until you get the right mix of options. For me that’s been max difficulty with some QoL improvements and no survival stuff, which I don’t care about. But you can make it your own.
Driving Your New Mako
Okay it’s not really a Mako from Mass Effect, but it might as well be. Starfield has indeed finally added land vehicles to the game so you can journey across the landscape without doing so on foot battling your oxygen meter. Though some terrain is certainly not ideal for this, despite its off-road capabilities.
You will not simply have the vehicle when you log in, you have to go to a shipwright in any city and pay a bit of money for it. Then, when you land on any planet, it will be on the ground automatically waiting for you. You do not have to drive it back to your ship when you’re done and you can teleport to it. I wouldn’t call it game-changing or anything, but it’s a nice option.
See you in a week.
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