How to Sneak Attack in Starfield

Catching your enemies by surprise is one of the oldest tactics in the book, and Starfield wouldn’t be complete without it, as combat is also an important aspect of exploration. Sneak Attacks have a lot of benefits once you master how to effectively jump on your opponents unnoticed, and here’s what you need to know about them.

How Sneak Attack Works in Starfield

Sneak Attacks are unlocked by leveling the Stealth skill in the Physical Skill Tree. Once you unlock it, a Stealth Bar will appear at the top of your screen whenever you crouch, saying either “Hidden”, “Caution”, or “Dangerous”, depending on how well-hidden you are from the surrounding creatures or humans.

In order to do a Sneak Attack, all you have to do is hit an opponent while in the “Hidden” status. Even if they immediately discover you after being hit, your Sneak Attack has already been registered by now and it has received any relevant bonus it might have.

The Stealth skill favors such playstyle, giving extra damage to Suppressed weapons as well as making it harder for enemies to notice you. Once you get it to Rank 4, opening doors while in Stealth won’t alert enemies either, so it’s the perfect base-raiding skill to get earlier if you like doing it quietly and slowly.

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Ranking the Stealth skill requires actually hitting Sneak Attacks, and one of the easiest ways to do it is by using a rifle and hunting native creatures on a low-leveled planet from afar. Each shot counts as a Sneak Attack separately, so you can quickly max out your attack’s counts by hunting feeble alien lifeforms. Don’t feel bad for them, it’s survival of the fittest here.

They also affect melee weapons, but sneaking up on enemies to stab them is particularly harder, especially if they’re human. So it might be better to just stick to your guns while trying to safely survey a planet or just beat some enemies for the sake of more experience.