How to Craft a Stealth Sniper Build in Starfield

Like the olden days of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Starfield allows for various builds based on your preferred playstyle. But does that really matter? Like its medieval counterpart, you will play a stealth sniper build in Starfield. After all, who doesn’t want to sneak through New Atlantis, finding the perfect perch atop the waterfall catwalk before raining down precision sniper fire on unsuspecting UC Security? Here’s how to craft your stealth sniper build in Starfield!

How to Build a Stealth Sniper in Starfield

The stealth sniper is the ultimate build in any role-playing game that allows for ranged attacks. You can remain away from the heat of battle, picking off opponents from the shadows without a care in the world. All the while, you’re safe from harm’s way and enjoying a full health bar.

In Starfield, several exceptional sniper rifles are found throughout the galaxy. When used in tandem with the right skills, these rifles decimate any Spacer on the battlefield!

The Stealth Sniper Best Background and Traits

The key to a good build in Starfield is proper preparation. It all begins with character creation.

For a stealth sniper, opt for the Soldier background. It automatically unlocks three essential skills that you’ll use for the duration of this playthrough.

• Ballistics: At its base level, Ballistics provides a 10% damage buff to ballistic weapons.
• Fitness: At level one, Fitness provides 10% more oxygen.
• Boost Pack Training: Unlocks the ability to use boost packs.

As for traits, you technically don’t need any traits to excel as a sniper. But if you want to choose any, we recommend:

• Alien DNA: Provides additional health and oxygen at the expense of the effectiveness of food and drink items. A small price to pay!
• Terra Firma: Chances are, as a sniper, you’ll spend most of your time hunting opponents on the ground. Terra Firma provides additional health and oxygen while on the surface.

Recommended Skills for a Stealth Sniper in Starfield

Your primary skill as a stealth sniper build in Starfield is Sniper Certification. It provides 50% more damage when using your scope at the max rank. As a sniper, chances are you’ll find yourself perched somewhere high, not moving for fear of being spotted by the enemy, so extra damage is a given as you’ll find yourself looking through a scope at all times. You’ll also be able to hold your breath longer while aiming.

But it’s the damage buff that matters most. If you’re playing the build right, you only need a single shot to topple most foes, so line up that shot and let it rip!

What most people don’t know is that Ballistics stacks with other skills. For instance, your Rifle Certification skill provides up to 50% additional damage with your sniper rifle, which typically fire, you guessed it, bullets. Ballistics, when maxed out, provides yet another 30% extra damage and 30% increased range. That’s a massive buff to any sniper rifle in the game, so long as it fires traditional ammunition and not, say, EM rounds.

Lastly, consider investing points up to your desired tier in the following skills to bolster your stealth sniper:

• Pistol Certification
• Marksmanship
• Sniper Certification
• Armor Penetration
• Sharpshooting
• Weapon Engineering
• Boost Pack Training
• Wellness
• Fitness
• Stealth

Most of these skills are self-explanatory. For example, as a sniper, you want to invest points into Sniper Certification and Sharpshooting. Both prove ever-useful. But investing a few points into Pistol Certification, just in case you require a backup weapon, is wise. As is Boost Pack Training, which will allow you to reach new perches.

Recommended Weapons

There are only a handful of sniper rifles in Starfield, unfortunately. Just wait until the Starfield mods start ramping up; then, we’ll have a vast selection of modern and futuristic rifles to work with.

But for now, we recommend using one of the following best sniper rifles in Starfield for this build:

• Hard Target
• Magsniper

As for a secondary weapon, consider taking:

• Deadeye
• Magshot

Find yourself a Magsniper and hang onto it for dear life whenever possible. It’s such a powerful rifle, capable of dealing over 400 damage at a range of 120 meters. But if you prefer more traditional ballistic weaponry, the Hard Target is a .50 caliber monstrosity that takes down most enemies with a single headshot.

As for a sidearm, you want to pack something solid and compact. As such, we recommend taking a revolver, like the Deadeye or Magshot, though the former will scale with your Ballistics perks.