Intimidate NPCs and enemies in Starfield by unlocking the Intimidation skill found under the Social skill tree. Find out how to intimidate people and the advantages of doing so in this guide.

How to Intimidate People

Unlock Intimidation Skill

Skill	Description
Intimidation	The ability to strike fear into an opponent, causing them to flee so that you can escape or attack first, can prove critical in a battle.

Intimidate people in Starfield after unlocking the Intimidation skill. You can do this after spending 4 skill points on the Social Skill Tree.

After unlocking this skill, rank up by completing its challenges so you can intimidate higher-level NPCs.

Intimidation Skill Rank Up Guide

Intimidate Enemies Using the Hand Scanner

To intimidate NPCs or enemies, you need to turn on the Hand Scanner. Then, press the Social button for the Intimidation prompt to appear. Finally, press the Activate button to intimidate the target. It is worth mentioning that nearby enemies will be alerted after intimidating a target.

If you intimidate an NPC in a city like New Atlantis, nearby NPCs including guards will be alerted. You will receive a bounty after an intimidation is successful!

How to Use the Hand Scanner

Intimidation Is Not Guaranteed

When intimidating enemies, there is a chance that it will fail and the same target cannot be intimidated again. If your Intimidation Skill is at Rank 1, you cannot intimidate enemies whose level is higher than yours. However, starting at Rank 2, you can intimidate higher-level targets!

How to Level Up and Farm Skill Points Fast

Intimidation Doesn't Work Against Faunas

Unfortunately, you cannot intimidate Faunas you find when exploring different planets. Hence, the intimidation feature only works against humanoid NPCs and enemies!

List of All Fauna and Alien Creatures

Use During the Persuasion Minigame

After unlocking the Intimidation Skill, it will open up new dialogue options in the Persuasion minigame. As shown in the image above, the intimidation dialogue provides a high number value with a high probability of persuasion success. With this, unlocking intimidation can be useful especially when recruiting crew members at bars!

How to Build Persuasion Meter

Why Intimidate People?

Gain the Advantage During Fights

Intimidate enemies before a fight breaks out to give you an openingーwhether it is to flee or prepare yourself for combat. However, note that intimidated NPCs will flee for a limited time only so make the most out of their absence. If you want to increase the duration of the effect, you will have to level up the Intimidation Skill up until Rank 4!

Combat Tips and Mistakes to Avoid

Easier to Build Persuasion Meter

The Intimidation Skill unlocks new dialogue options during the Persuasion mini-game. The newly unlocked dialogue options tend to provide a higher number value compared to the standard ones and are easy to pass. With this, Intimidation Skill is great to have since it will be easier for you to persuade people!

List of All Social Skills

Starfield Related Guides

Tips and Tricks

All Tips and Tricks