How to Hijack Ships in Starfield

Being a space pirate in Starfield is a pretty fun experience. Whether it be through hailing an enemy ship and demanding all their cargo, or simply taking out their entire squadron of ships, being the king of any sector of space is way more fun than you’d expect. Even better than that is the ability to nab enemy ships for yourself. Here’s how to hijack ships in Starfield.

How to Take An Enemy Ship For Yourself in Starfield

Before we begin, there are two things you should have that aren’t 100% necessary, but will make your life far easier. These are four points in the Piloting skill and at least one point in the Targeting Control Systems skill. How these will be useful is explained below, but trust me when I say that they are going to prevent a lot of headaches later.

Related: How to Get a Free Ship Early in Starfield

With that out of the way, you’ll want to find an enemy ship you want to hijack. Ideally, this should be a hostile faction like the Crimson Fleet or Spacers, but if you want a UC or Freestar ship that badly, then you can use that too. Once you find one, fire on the ship until you take down its shields, then focus on its Engines. If you have that point in Targeting Control Systems, you can easily focus the engines in slow motion and take them down super quickly. Otherwise, you’ll have to manually aim at the engines and shoot them.

Once the engines are down, get close and you’ll have the ability to dock that ship. Do so and board it, then begin taking down every member of the ship’s crew. This will take some time, as there are often a lot of small rooms enemies can be sitting in. Either way, after you take them all down, you can sit in the pilot’s seat, and the ship will be yours. However, this is where the Piloting skill I mentioned earlier will come in. Without rank three or four in Piloting, you won’t be able to fly a Class B or Class C ship, which certain enemy ships can be. If you’ve opted to not have the skill leveled, then you’ll need to keep trying with different ships until one of them ends up being a Class A ship.

Is Hijacking an Enemy Ship Worth It?

Hijacking an enemy ship in Starfield can be nice for a few reasons. For one, you don’t need to spend an exorbitant amount on acquiring a new ship from the Ship Services Technician. This lets you put your money towards other areas, like weapons, ammo, and spacesuits that provide you with better stats. It also serves as a good foundation to build upon, instead of making a ship yourself from scratch and dealing with its daunting systems.

If you’re looking more into ship design and hijacking ships, check out our guide on how to dock your ship in Starfield.