There are numerous ways to earn credits in Starfield, but looting is easily one of the most effective. While completing main story missions or exploring uncharted territory, players will be able to pick up all kinds of valuable gear and resources, most of which can be sold later on for a rather sizable chunk of change. Sadly, there is something of a catch.
As in many other modern role-playing games, there’s a limit on how much players can carry. Going over this limit will result in the playable character becoming encumbered, at which point, over-exertion will lead to a lack of oxygen, joint pains, and, if they’re not careful, even health loss. Thankfully, there are several ways to increase carrying capacity in Starfield.
How to Increase Carrying Capacity in Starfield
Players can increase their carrying capacity by unlocking the Weight Lifting skill. Those who choose the Homesteader or Long Hauler Background will have this unlocked by default, but everybody else will need to unlock it from the Physical skill tree for one skill point. Doing so will increase their total carrying capacity by 10 kilograms, making it one of the best starter skills in Starfield, particularly for those with an inclination to loot everything that’s not nailed down.
This is just the beginning though, as like every other skill in Starfield, the Weight Lifting skill can be upgraded up to three times. At Rank 2, carrying capacity increases by 25 kilograms, with Ranks 3 and 4 providing boosts of 50 and 100 kilograms respectively. To increase the skill’s rank, players will first need to complete a challenge, which involves sprinting for a certain distance while carrying at least 75% of one’s maximum carrying capacity. After doing so, they can upgrade the skill via the Skills menu by spending another skill point.
How to Carry More Stuff in Starfield
In addition to increasing their carrying capacity and upgrading the skill, players can also use their ships and companions in order to increase the amount of resources that they’re able to store. To give stuff to a companion to carry, players will need to talk to them while outside of combat and select the “Let’s trade gear” option, then cycle to their own inventory and choose the things that they’d like to hand over. To add stuff to their ship’s storage, they’ll simply need to open up their inventory while on board the vessel and then choose the items that they’d like to transfer. Alternatively, they can interact with the Cargo Hold computer.
Players will be able to sell items stored aboard their ship while speaking with vendors and merchants and can also use these resources remotely for crafting and research purposes. However, they won’t be able to do this with items that a companion is carrying, so it’s a good idea to transfer a companion’s gear to the ship’s inventory at the end of every mission or excursion.
Starfield is available now for PC and Xbox Series X|S.