Ship Building and Customization Guide

You can customize your ship in space ports in Starfield. Read on to learn how to build and customize ships, what you can customize, all ship builder errors, and where to get ship parts.

All Ship Guides
List of All Ships	How to Get Free Ships
Best Ships	Ship Customization

How to Customize Your Ship

Visit Ship Technicians in Space Ports

Ship Customization Options
Modify Modules Individually	Ship Builder Mode
• Change or upgrade parts individually • Doesn't change part location	• Freefrom editing • Change or upgrade parts • Transfrom ship design

You can customize your ships by docking in Space Ports and visiting the location's Ship Technician near the dock. Select the "I'd like to view and modify my ships" dialogue option to choose to customize your ship.

Modify Modules Individually

Once inside the customization screen, you can change or upgrade parts individually by selecting a part and browsing through the available options.

Ship Builder Mode

Alternatively, you can access the game's Ship Builder Mode. In this screen, you'll be able to change every part of your ship as well as the ship's overall design. You can move parts around to configure the ship's setup, changing its appearance. In addition, you can also change your ship's color scheme from this screen.

How to Get Free Ships

What Can You Customize?

Customizable Parts of a Ship
Modules	Interior	Stats	Color

Modules

Ship Parts Breakdown
Cowling	Shield Generator	Docker
Fuel Tanks	Grav Drive	Weapons
Hab	Engines	Cockpit
Cargo Hold	Reactor	Bay
Landing Gears

Bethesda went all out with Starfield's ship customization. Each part of a ship can be upgraded, replaced, expanded, or moved around. You can customize your ship modules with different intentions, whether functionality, aesthetics or just for the fun of it. You can have a small focused ship that excels at a single thing, or a jack-of-all-trades behemoth with a town's worth of crew.

List of All Ship Parts

Ship Interior

You can change the interior of your ship by adding and changing its hab modules. These modules can also add different workstations that will allow you to craft different items.

List of All Ship Habs

Stats

Ship parts have stats that affect how the entire ship functions. The better the weapon systems you have, the better you are at space combat. The better your engines, the further you'll be able to travel. You can customize your ship according to the functions you want and need from it by changing or upgrading parts.

Color

For appearance over functionality type players, you can also change the color scheme of your ship to further personalize it.

List of All Ship Builder Errors

All Ship Builder Errors
Unattached Modules	Missing Weapon Assignment
Unassigned Weapon	Low Mobility
Missing Shield	Ship Cost
Need More Grav Jump Thrust	Invalid Docker Module Position
Cannot Reach Cockpit from Landing Bays	Cannot Reach Cockpit from Docker
Minimum Engine Count	Minimum Landing Gear Count
Minimum Fuel Tank Count	Missing Cockpit
Missing Docker	Missing Grav Drive
Missing Landing Bay	Missing Reactor
Multiple Cockpits	Multiple Dockers
Multiple Grav Drives	Multiple Landing Bays
Multiple Shields	-

Unattached Modules

Ship has unattached modules.

A module is not properly attached to your ship. Drag the unattached module to an appropriate slot.
Double Click on a module to highlight all the modules that are properly attached it it. This will help you detect the unattached module.

Missing Weapon Assignment

Ship is missing a weapon assignment.

You have a spare weapon assignment group to be bound to a weapon. Open the Flight Check menu and press T for the weapons tab. Select a weapon group and bind a weapon to it.

Unassigned Weapon

Ship has weapons that must be assigned to a group.

You have a weapon on your ship that is not assigned to a Weapon Assignment. Open the Flight Check menu and press T for the weapons tab. Select a weapon group you want to bind the weapon to.

Low Mobility

Reduce mass or add engines to improve mobility.

Your ship is accumulating more mass than your engine's thrust can provide. Either lessen the mass of your ship by removing parts or replacing it to lighter versions, or add more engines to increase thrust.

Missing Shield

Ship is missing a shield.

You do not have a Shield Module on your ship. Select a spare slot on your ship and press G to open the available modules for that and select a shield of your preference.

Ship Cost

Ship cost exceeds available credits.

You do not have enough credits to afford the parts you are buying. Settle for cheaper parts or come back with more credits
How to Farm Credits

Need More Grav Jump Thrust

Ship is too heavy to grav jump. Reduce mass or increase grav jump thrust.

Your ship has too much mass for the Grab Drive to handle. Upgrade to a Grav Drive with higher Grav Jump Thrust, or reduce your ship's mass.

How to Power Up Grav Drive

Error Invalid Docker Module Position

Docker modules need to be on an outside edge of the ship.

The Docker Module will always be on top of your ship and this error indicates that there is another module on your ship thats positions higher than you ship's docker.

Simply remove or relocate the module that is contesting with your Docker Module's position.

Cannot Reach Cockpit from Landing Bays

Landing bay needs to be connected to the cockpit.

The Landing Bay is not properly connected to the Cockpit. There should be a clear path within the interior of your ship from the Landing Bay to the Cockpit.

Check for the entrance of your Landing bay and connect it to the Cockpit through Hab Modules.

Cannot Reach Cockpit from Docker

Docker modules need to have an interior connection to the cockpit.

The Docker is not properly connected to the Cockpit. There should be a clear path within the interior of your ship from the Docker to the Cockpit.

Have your docker be connected to the cockpit through Hab Modules.

Minimum Engine Count

Ship has too few engines.

Your ship should have at least one Engine.

Minimum Landing Gear Count

Ship has too few landing gears.

In order for a ship design to be acceptable, it has to have enough landing gears to hold the ship upright. The gears' lander thrust stat determines the mass limit of a ship. 1 point of lander thrust can hold approximately 200 mass. If your ship has a total mass of 1000, your landing gears must have a total lander thrust of 5 or more.

Minimum Fuel Tank Count

Ship does not have at least one fuel tank.

Ships are required to have at least 1 Fuel Tank

Missing Cockpit

Ship is missing a cockpit.

Install a Cockpit on your ship.

List of All Cockpits

Missing Docker

Ship is missing a docker.

Install a Docker on the top of your ship.

List of All Dockers

Missing Grav Drive

Ship is missing a grav drive.

Your ship is missing a necessary Grav Drive Module.

List of All Grav Drives

Missing Landing Bay

Ship is missing a landing bay.

Your ship does not have a Landing Bay. Please make sure it's properly connected to the Cockpit.

List of All Landing Bays

Missing Reactor

Ship is missing a reactor.

Install the necessary Reactor module to your ship.

List of All Reactors

Multiple Cockpits

Only one cockpit is allowed.

You have exceeded the maximum amount of Cockpits, which is one.

Multiple Dockers

Only one docker is allowed.

The game does not allow players to have more than one Dockers on their ship.

Multiple Grav Drives

Only one grav drives is allowed.

The game does not allow players to have more than one Grav Drives on their ship.

Multiple Landing Bays

Only one landing bay is allowed.

You cannot have more than one Landing Bay on your ship.

Multiple Shields

Only one shield module is allowed.

The maximum amount of Shield Modules on a ship is one.

Maximum Weapon Count

Ship has more than three different weapons.

You have exceeded the maximum weapon count of 3. You may have duplicates of the same weapon as long as you have, at most, three different weapon module types.

Where to Get Ship Parts

Purchase from Ship Technicians and Showrooms

City	Shops
Akila City	・Ship Technician
Gagarin Landing (Gagarin)	・Ship Technician
HopeTown (Polvo)	・Ship Technician ・HopeTech Showroom
Neon	・Ship Technician ・Stroud Eklund Showroom ・Taiyo Astroneering Showroom
New Atlantis	・Ship Technician
Paradiso (Porrima II)	・Ship Technician
Red Mile	・Lon Anderssen
The Den (Wolf System)	・Ship Technician

Purchase additional ship parts or modify existing ones by visiting ship technicians and manufacturer showrooms. These points of interest will allow you to access the ship builder mode where you can customize your ship.

Purchase Ships

You can purchase ships from ship technicians that come with a lot of ship parts pre-installed.

Starfield Related Guides

Tips and Tricks

All Tips and Tricks

Starter Guides: Game Features Explained
UI and Menu Explained	Periodic Table Explained
All Stats Explained	Reputation System Guide
All Religions Explained	Level Scaling Explained
Bounty System Explained	Digipick Guide
Persuasion Guide	Stealing Guide
Durability Guide	All Crimes You Can Commit
Zero G Effects Explained	How to Cure Infections
Space Piracy Explained	What to Do First
Oxygen System Explained	All Environmental Damage and Resistances
How to Avoid Getting Encumbered	How to Cure All Status Afflictions and Effects
How to Cure Broken Bone Affliction	How to Cure Burn Affliction
How to Cure Addiction	All Damage Types Explained
Crew Explained	Red and Yellow Item Icons Explained
How to Use the Quest Marker	Health Bar Explained
Weapon Tiers and Rarity Explained	-
Combat Guides
Combat Tips	Aiming Guide
How to Stealth Kill Enemies	How to Throw Grenades
How to Block Attacks	How to Mantle and Climb Ledges
How to Remove Weapon Mods	How to Combat Slide
How to Detect and Disarm Landmines	-
Ship Guides
Space Battles Combat Guide	How to Increase Jump Range
Ship Customization Guide	How to Get Fuel
How to Dock Your Ship	How to Upgrade Ship
How to Target a Ship's Engine	How to Get Shielded Cargo Holds
How to Power Up the Grav Drive	How to Fix Unattached Modules
How to Repair Ships	How to Get and Fire Turrets
How to Sell Ships	How to Rename Ships
How to Change Home Ships	What is GRV?
Missing Weapon Assignment Error Explained	Ship Classes Explained
Farming Guides
How to Level Up Fast	How to Farm Credits
How to Farm Legendary Weapons and Armor	How to Get More Digipicks
Infinite Money Glitch	Infinite Weapons Exploit
General Tips and Tricks
All Names Companions Can Say	Best Settings for PC and Console
Character Creation Options	All Romance Options
Where to Sell Items	All Planetary Traits
Difficulty Differences	Where to Store Items
Crafting Guide: How to Craft	How to Increase Companion Affinity
How to Hijack Ships	How to Access Computers
How to Pay Off Mortgage and Bank Loans	Where to Find Industrial Workbenches
Where to Find Weapon Workbenches	How to Install Mods
Where to Find Spacesuit Workbenches	How to Get Free Ships
Endings Guide	Nova Galactic Staryard Skip
How to Restock Vendors	Keybinds and Controls for PC and Xbox
All Missables and Points of No Return	Best Mods List
List of All Unlockables	List of Easter Eggs and Secrets
How to Show Damage Numbers	Language Options and How to Change Language
List of Exploits	How to Turn on the Flashlight
List of Error Prompts	List of All Random Encounters
New Game Plus Explained	All Universe Variations
Where to Find Cooking Stations	Where to Find Pharmaceutical Labs
Rescue Barrett Skip	How to Speedrun New Game Plus
Quest Objective Guides
How to Dock with the Nova Galactic Staryard	How to Complete the Vanguard Simulation
Equipment Guides
How to Get the Hunter Armor and Weapon	How to Get the Emissary Armor and Weapon
Exploration Guides
How to Get Cold Resistance	How to Get Radiation Resistance
How to Get 100% Survey Score	How to Mine Faster
How to Go to the Ocean Biome	All Unexplored Ecological Features and How to Scan
Location Guides
Sanctum Universum Location in New Atlantis	How to Unlock the Door in the Well
How to Access the Dev Room	Almagest Casino Jackpot Location
All Earth Landmarks	-
FAQs
How to Get Rid of Adoring Fan NPC	How to Hide Spacesuit and Helmet
How to Change Background	How to Change FOV
How to Fast Travel	What Happens When You Die
How to Remove Traits	How to Wait and Skip Time
How to Skip Dialogue and Cutscenes	Best Houses and How to Get All Houses
How to Holster Your Weapon	How to Scrap Junk
Can You Change Crosshairs?	How to Increase Health
How to Use Photo Mode	How to Intimidate People
How to Use Jetpack	Can You Kill NPCs?
How to Avoid Jail	Are Mechs Usable?
What is the Max Level?	Can You Get Pets?
How Does Free Roam Work?	Is There Underwater Exploration?
Are There Land or Water Vehicles?	Is There Fishing?
Are There Black Holes?	Are There Cybernetic Enhancements?
Can You Build a Fleet?	How to Pickpocket Successfully
How to Sneak and Avoid Detection	How to Increase Carrying Capacity
Is There Fall Damage?	How to Increase Jump Height
Can You Adopt Kids?	How to Use the Hand Scanner
How to Bribe NPCs	What to Do if You Can't Get in the Game?
Can You Change Pronouns?	How to Change POV
How to Turn Off XP Pop Up	Should You Do the Main Quest First?
How to Claim Pre-Order and Deluxe Edition Bonuses	Can You Respec?
How to Access Ship Storage	How to Use Quick Slots and Switch Weapons
Is there a Survival Mode?	What Is Inside the Master Lock in The Lodge?
How to Change Companions and Crew	Who to Choose for Your First Follower
How to Change Your Name	How to Display FPS Counter
What to Do If You Get Stuck	What to Buy First
Where to Sell Survey Data	Do Companions Need Ammo?
Reasons Why You Cannot Fast Travel	Can You Dismantle Weapons?
How to Save	How to Remove Stolen Label on Items
Can You Craft Ammo?	Can You Add More Saves?
How to Put Out Fires	How Does Procedural Generation Work
Are There Radio Stations?	How Do Tiles Work?
How to Reenable Achievements	Can You Steal the Fortuna?