Starfield Inventory Management Guide: Making Space in Space

Master the art of inventory management in Starfield with our comprehensive guide and learn how to increase carry capacity, utilize companion support, and maximize your storage options

Even in Starfield's vast and immersive world, there will come many times you will ironically run out of space to store your essentials. In this comprehensive guide, we'll explore essential tips and strategies to help you effectively manage your inventory in the game. 

Understanding Inventory Categories

Before diving into the nitty-gritty of managing your inventory in Starfield, it's essential to familiarize yourself with the various inventory categories. Starfield neatly organizes your items into 11 distinct categories, each serving a unique purpose in your spacefaring journey. Let's take a closer look at these categories:

• Weapons: This category houses all your gun and melee weapons. Managing your arsenal is vital for combat effectiveness, and you'll want to keep a variety of weapons for different situations.
• Ammo: Bullets and energy cells fall into this category, supplying your firearms with the necessary firepower. Ensure you have an ample supply of ammo to avoid being caught off guard in battle.
• Spacesuits: Spacesuits serve as crucial armor pieces, protecting you from the harsh vacuum of space and alien atmospheres. Properly equipping and maintaining your spacesuit is vital for survival.
• Packs: Boost packs are essential for maneuvering in low-gravity environments. They allow you to traverse planets and moons with ease, making exploration more efficient.
• Helmets: Helmets complement your spacesuit, offering additional protection. Equip a suitable helmet to enhance your overall defense.
• Apparel: These are the garments worn beneath your spacesuit. While they may not provide as much protection as spacesuits, they often come in handy in major cities and non-hostile environments.
• Throwables: This category includes explosive area-of-effect devices like grenades. Keep a supply of throwables for dealing with groups of enemies or challenging encounters.
• Aid: Aid items consist of healing consumables, along with food and drink. Maintaining a well-stocked supply of these items is crucial for health and survival during your journey.
• Notes: Books, magazines, and other paper materials are stored here.
• Resources: Crafting materials fall under this category. Resources are essential for research projects, constructing outposts, and upgrading your weapons and armor.
• Misc: Anything that doesn't fit into the other categories ends up here. Keep an eye on this category for unique and miscellaneous items that could prove useful on your journey.

Understanding Carry Capacity

Your character's carry capacity determines how much weight they can bear before becoming encumbered. Encumbrance affects movement speed, and when over-encumbered, you cannot run or fast travel. Keep an eye on your carry capacity, which is displayed in your inventory UI, as it's a crucial aspect of effective inventory management.

Increasing Carry Capacity

You can enhance your carry capacity through various means:

• Weight Lifting Skill: The Weight Lifting skill is your character's inherent ability to maximum their carry capacity. Invest skill points into the Weight Lifting skill found in the Physical skill tree. Unlike some temporary methods, the Weight Lifting skill provides a permanent bonus, making it a valuable long-term investment.
• Consuming Certain Food Items: Some food items temporarily boost your carry capacity, ideal for missions or looting, so use these to carry more gear briefly. These bonuses have a limited duration, so plan your activities wisely.
• Transfer Inventory to Companions: Your companions come with their own inventories to assist in carrying items. Initiate a gear trade with them, but be mindful of their individual carry weight limits.
• Unload Inventory into Ship's Cargo Hold: Your ship includes a cargo hold for added storage, increasing your carry capacity. Access the cargo menu in the cockpit to transfer items, with potential weight limitations. Enhance capacity via ship upgrades and modules.
• Payload Perk: The Payload perk enhances your ship's cargo capacity, allowing you to store more items while in space and you can acquire skill points and allocate them to the Payload perk, found in the Tech skill tree. It's especially useful for transporting crafting materials and valuable loot between planets and cities.
• Outposts with Storage Containers: Outposts, customizable bases on planets and moons, can feature storage containers for extra space. Find a suitable location, activate your Scanner, and build an outpost with storage containers for convenient item storage.

These methods offer a range of options to increase your carry capacity in Starfield. Depending on your playstyle and preferences, you can mix and match these strategies to optimize your inventory management and ensure you're always well-prepared for the challenges of space exploration.

Efficient Resource Management

Effective inventory management in Starfield involves efficiently handling the diverse array of items you'll encounter in your travels. Here's a systematic approach to ensure your inventory remains organized and optimized:

Selling Loot

After each expedition, visit vendors in major city hubs to sell excess weapons, armor, and items you no longer need. Keep in mind that different vendors specialize in buying specific types of items, so explore cities with multiple vendors for the best prices. Additionally, transfer items your companion is holding to sell them, maximizing your profits.

Buying Resources

With the credits you've earned, visit mineral merchants who sell essential crafting materials. Stock up on materials such as aluminum, cobalt, copper, gold, iron, lead, lithium, nickel, platinum, silver, titanium, tungsten, and uranium. These materials are indispensable for research projects, constructing outposts, and upgrading your gear. Buy as much as you can to ensure you have a robust supply.

Using Purchased Crafting Resources

Make full use of crafting stations and research projects to maximize the utility of the materials you've purchased. Prioritize armor and weapon modifications to enhance your combat capabilities. To unlock advanced modifications, invest in the Spacesuit Design and Weapon Engineering skills in the Science skill tree. If you're still in the early game, unlock what you can, and gradually expand your crafting capabilities.

Constructing Outposts

Establishing outposts in Starfield is vital for inventory management. After your initial visit to Constellation, use the Scanner on a planet's surface to unlock the outpost feature. Place an Outpost Beacon, add an Extractor and an energy source for resource collection, and install Transfer Containers to facilitate cargo transfer between your ship and the outpost, streamlining resource management.

Clearing Out Your Inventory

Once your outpost is functional, transfer crafting materials and resources from your ship's cargo hold. This frees space for future trips and maintains resource organization. Visit the research lab to start research projects. Focus on armor and weapon mods, and invest in Spacesuit Design and Weapon Engineering skills for advanced options.

Continue the Cycle

With empty bags and an empty cargo hold, you're ready to embark on your next mission. Explore new planets, engage in combat, and loot valuable items. The cycle of selling excess loot, purchasing crafting materials, offloading items at your outpost, and managing research and crafting projects continues as you progress through the game.

Enjoy Efficient Inventory Management

By following these tips and staying organized, you'll be better equipped to tackle challenges, upgrade your gear, and make the most of your spacefaring adventure in Starfield. May your inventory always be optimized, and your adventures be legendary!