Summary

  • Starfield's intro mission ends with a fight against a bunch of space pirates that can normally take a while.
  • But one player recently shared a hilarious way to get it over with quickly by camping at the entrance of their spacecraft and immediately blowing them up with an explosive canister.

One veteran Starfield player has recently shared an unconventional strategy for dealing with the fight at the end of the game's introductory mission by immediately blowing everyone up. Their unusual approach later made the rounds on social media, amusing thousands of Starfield fans.

Spoilers for One Small Step (first Starfield mission) ahead.

Starfield's first mission, One Small Step, is designed both as an introduction to the game's story and an overview of some of its core mechanics like mining, lockpicking, managing equipment, and shooting at bad guys. It culminates with a fight against a bunch of space pirates—the toughest combat challenge that players face at this early stage of the game.

And while this encounter can normally take a while to get through, it's possible to finish it in seconds. This was recently demonstrated by Reddit user TheBigTrav, who shared footage of themselves camping in front of the pirate spacecraft while holding an explosive canister, waiting for the bad guys to emerge. As soon as the landing bay was lowered, the crafty Starfield player threw the canister at the pirates and hit it with a quick double shot from their pistol. The ensuing explosion instantly killed everyone except the farthest enemy, who was left as a sitting duck that the player promptly dispatched as well.

Starfield's Intro Pirate Fight Can Easily Get Much More Complicated

As shown in TheBigTrav's recently shared footage, only about four seconds pass between the landing bay dropping and the moment everyone aboard this Starfield pirate ship is dead. This bold strategy is hence much more effective than going along with the game's story by allowing the pirates to shoot first and then getting drawn into a prolonged firefight where everyone scatters. The location where this encounter takes place offers plenty of cover, so it's quite easy to end up in a chaotic situation that takes a while to be resolved.

TheBigTrav's unconventional strategy amassed thousands of upvotes and eventually found itself on the front page of the r/Starfield subreddit in early November 2024. Dozens of Starfield fans commended the player for their creativity, seemingly impressed by the fact that their approach is equal parts amusing and effective. The player did not clarify how many playthroughs they completed before coming up with this blazing-fast solution.

Their humorous clip also serves as a reminder that some Starfield fans keep coming back to the game, a trend Bethesda hopes will continue. As previously explained by the studio's executive director, Todd Howard, Starfield was "intentionally" made to be played for a long time, and Bethesda intends to keep supporting it with post-launch content longer than any of its previous single-player games.

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Starfield Tag Page Cover Art
10 /10

Starfield
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Action
RPG
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Systems
PC-1 Xbox-1
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Top Critic Avg: 85 /100 Critics Rec: 83%
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Released
September 6, 2023
ESRB
M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs, Strong Language, Violence
Developer(s)
Bethesda
Publisher(s)
Bethesda
Engine
proprietary engine
Cross-Platform Play
no multiplayer
Cross Save
no
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WHERE TO PLAY

SUBSCRIPTION
DIGITAL
PHYSICAL
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Starfield is the first new universe in 25 years from Bethesda Game Studios, the award-winning creators of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim and Fallout 4. In this next generation role-playing game set amongst the stars, create any character you want and explore with unparalleled freedom as you embark on an epic journey to answer humanity’s greatest mystery.
The year is 2330. Humanity has ventured beyond our solar system, settling new planets, and living as a spacefaring people. From humble beginnings as a space miner, you will join Constellation – the last group of space explorers seeking rare artifacts throughout the galaxy – and navigate the vast expanse of the Settled Systems in Bethesda Game Studios’ biggest and most ambitious game.

Steam Deck Compatibility
yes
Genre(s)
Action, RPG
How Long To Beat
20 Hours
X|S Optimized
Yes
File Size Xbox Series
101 GB (September 2023)
OpenCritic Rating
Mighty