We may earn a commission when you buy through links in our articles. Learn more.

Best Starfield melee build

Use our best Starfield melee build to get up close and personal with your enemies - bashing heads is an effective and reliable way to take out enemies.

Starfield melee build: a man in a spacesuit walks down the carridor of a spaceship.
Paul Kelly's Avatar

Published:

Starfield 

What is the best Starfield melee build? Sometimes, the best solution is the most basic, and with our best Starfield melee build you’ll be able to punch, slash, and stab your way out of nearly any situation. When the enemy has run out of ammunition, you’ll be right there, ready for round two.

The Starfield release date is tantalizingly close, so much so in fact that you might want to start thinking about what kind of space adventurer you’re going to be. Will you try to talk yourself out of a situation, or jump head-first into every conflict? Who you are in Starfield might also depend on the companions you bring along – you can’t pick fights with an engineer at your side unless you want to carry the fight solo.

Starfield melee build: a person punches another, causing them to fall back.

Best Starfield melee build

Here is the best melee build in Starfield:

  • Best skills: Wellness, Weight Lifting, Martial Arts, Intimidation.
  • Best weapons: bare fists, knives.

Best Starfield melee skills

Wellness

It’s inevitable that you’re going to take damage with a melee build. You want to keep your enemies in close proximity while you beat them senseless, and leveling up the Wellness skill ensures you aren’t turned to ash the moment you try to close the distance. Each rank of Wellness increases your total hit points so that you can stay in the fight for as long as possible.

Weight Lifting

Though it doesn’t look like this skill directly impacts your combat effectiveness, being able to carry an array of melee weapons and the heaviest of armor drastically helps in combat. Carrying more weight gives you vital options and staying power in a fracas.

Martial Arts

While you may find an overpowered melee weapon or two during your adventures, the Martial Arts skill will ensure that your unarmed strikes hit like a truck – you can channel your inner monk in the vacuum of space.

Intimidation

The Intimidation skill will enable you to make your target run in fear of you. This is good news if you want to punch their lights out as if they’re too busy fleeing from the mere sight of you, they won’t be fighting back.

Starfield best melee build: a menu screen showing a skill the player can take, it causes an NPC to flee in terror.

Best Starfield melee weapons

Well, because of the Martial Arts perk, you might find that your fists are your best weapon. Fast, surprisingly deadly, and they never run out of juice. Failing that, you’ll want to find a rare knife or blunt weapon with potent perks to turn the tides in a tough fight.

Now you’ve got the best Starfield melee build under your belt, it’s time to crack those knuckles and start swinging. If you’re into more of a talk-first-punch-later approach, you might want to take Sarah Morgan, or VASCO along with you on one of your many jaunts. A calmer approach might even help you if you’ve got romance on your mind.

Still looking for more? While a good Starfield wiki can be a handy source of information, our new Starfield Database goes further, offering you daily news, searchable databanks, and even interactive tools.

When he's not writing guides at PCGamesN, PK is usually found waiting for the respawn timer in League of Legends, hanging around a tavern in Baldur's Gate 3, or fighting his way through the Settled Systems in Starfield. PK's extensive knowledge of video games is matched only by his extensive wardrobe of flannel shirts, which he has been curating since he was born, proving he was always meant to be a games journalist. He watches an episode of Star Trek every night before bed, and he loves toast, even though it makes him feel a bit sick. Buttery goodness exacts a heavy toll, one that he's willing to pay.