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Best Starfield ranged build

Use our best Starfield ranged build guide if you want to take your enemies out from a safe distance and become the deadliest assassin in the galaxy.

Starfield best ranged build: two man face off for a duel, both holding handguns.

What is the best Starfield ranged build? It’s inevitable that you’ll come across conflict during your time exploring the Settled Systems, and the best way to ensure you survive is to know how to handle yourself in a fight. While butting heads and swinging an axe is a viable option, you won’t get far if you’re always jumping head-first into every battle.

The Starfield release date is right around the corner, and I bet you can already feel the bounty hunters on your back. While you can lean on your Starfield crew to help you out of a bind, there really isn’t a better way to handle a situation than with your own brains, your own brawn, and of course, your favorite Starfield gun. Although we’ve got all of the best Starfield builds in one hub, here is the best Starfield ranged build.

Starfield ranged build best: a person holding a sniper rifle witnesses several explosions.

Best Starfield ranged build

The best Starfield ranged build is:

  • Best skills: Ballistics, Rifle Certification, Marksmanship, Sniper Certification.
  • Best weapons: Rifles, sniper rifles.

Best Starfield ranged skills

Ballistics

Not only does the Ballistics skill increase the damage dealt by traditional ballistic weapons, but at the highest level, it increases their effective range, too. Ideal for those extended fights, taking people down quickly, or chunking bosses.

Rifle Certification

Further boosting your damage, the Rifle Certification increases the damage dealt when utilizing a rifle – something you’re very likely to be doing with a ranged build.

Sniper Certification

Similar to the Rifle Certification, the Sniper Certification skill boosts damage done by sniper rifles, for when you really want to stay out of range of your enemies.

Marksmanship

This skill decreases the idle sway you encounter when using long-range weapons. Maxing out the Marksmanship skill will allow you to make every shot count – vital if you’re facing off against anything particularly deadly.

Starfield ranged build best: a person holding a rifle looks at a beautiful vista.

Best Starfield ranged weapons

It may seem like an obvious choice, but you’re going to want to pick up the absolute best rifle you can and keep it by your side at all times with this build. The closer your enemies are to you, the deadlier they are. Because of the Ballistics skill, you’ll still deal decent damage with other traditional weapons, so keeping a shotgun or a pistol to hand isn’t a bad choice in case someone gets a little too close for comfort.

Now that you’re primed to take on the galaxy with the best Starfield ranged build, it’s probably time you gave some thought to who you want with you on this adventure. The Starfield companions all have their advantages, so give our guide a read and see who’s the best fit for your Starfield ship as you sail into the unknown.

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.