During your interstellar travel in Starfield, you will encounter several characters who would like to join you in your adventure. They will become crew members, and although some are more skilled than others, each one has their own area of expertise. With that being said, how many crew members can you have in Starfield? Let’s find out, shall we?
Starfield: crew member limit explained
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Your crew member capacity, while very limited at first (Ah, I remember those early hours), can be expanded through several factors related to your ship and your skills. Three factors will determine your crew member limit in Starfield:
- Ship Command skill.
- Ship habs and cockpit.
- Engine, reactor, shield, and weapon modules.
Ship Command skill crew member expansion
Screenshot by PC Invasion
The easiest way to increase your crew member capacity is to acquire and level up the Ship Command skill in Starfield. It belongs to the Social skill tree, but it is a tier 4 or master skill. This means that you will have to spend 12 skill points in the Social skill tree to be able to purchase this skill’s rank 1. It is worth it, though, since it will increase your active crew member capacity, becoming one of the best skills in the game. Not only that, but you will unlock its ranks by destroying or boarding enemy ships, which arguably is one of the funniest aspects of Starfield.
Ship Command Rank 1
Challenge: Spend 12 skill points in the Social tree.
Effects: You can have up to four active crew members.
Ship Command Rank 2
Challenge: Destroy or board 5 ships with a crew of two or more.
Effects: You can have up to five active crew members.
Ship Command Rank 3
Challenge: Destroy or board 25 ships with a crew of four or more.
Effects: You can have up to six active crew members.
Ship Command Rank 4
Challenge: Destroy or board 50 ships with a crew of six or more.
Effects: You can have up to eight active crew members.
Ship module crew member expansion
Screenshot by PC Invasion
Physical constraints are also a huge factor that will determine your ship’s crew capacity. A small ship means a small crew, while a big ship opens the door for more crew members to board it. There are a total of six ship module types that will determine your ship’s crew capacity:
- Hab.
- Cockpit.
- Engine: Each engine will add 0.25 crew capacity. Upgrade your reactor to add more engines.
- Reactor: One per ship.
- Shield: One per ship, adding 0.5 crew capacity.
- Weapon: Each weapon adds 0.5 cre capacity, allowing for multiple weapons to be installed.
Be sure to purchase the weapon modules that will add the most crew capacity to your ship. Combined with your Ship Command skill, you will have a huge crew waiting for you to command in Starfield. You can also upgrade your Outpost Management skill to rank 3 to allow additional crew to be assigned at outposts.
