General

How to sneak in Starfield — Stealth bar explained

09/18/2023

Starfield is an open world space RPG that allows you to complete quests in a variety of ways. For example, if you need to get your hands on a certain item you may find yourself fighting someone for it, bribing them for it, or sneaking over to it and stealing it. If you prefer the stealth method, here’s how to sneak in Starfield.

In Starfield, you won’t be able to use stealth automatically. It requires you to unlock it on your skill tree. Once you put one skill point into sneaking, you will see a stealth bar on your screen whenever you crouch. Some character backgrounds have this skill already unlocked, including the Cyber Runner and Ronin, but you’ll most likely have to use a skill point on it manually.

Use the stealth bar in Starfield

If you want to get sneaky during a mission, you can crouch down and start sneaking around a certain area. This will allow you to avoid combat and get things done without making a scene. But you’ll need to keep an eye on your stealth bar to make sure you’re not in danger of getting caught.

When you are in stealth mode, you’ll see the stealth bar change color depending on how well you are getting away with being sneaky. If your bar is fully white, you are completely hidden. But if an enemy is coming near you or you are not totally hidden, you will start seeing the white bar turn to green, orange, and then red.

How to level up your stealth in Starfield

If you feel you’re getting caught far too often, you may want to level up your stealth rank when you get a skill point for your skill tree. Here’s how to level up your stealth in Starfield.

Stealth Rank	Description	Progression Challenge
Rank 1	Adds a Stealth Meter You are 25 percent more difficult to detect when sneaking Suppressed weapons do an additional five percent sneak attack damage	Perform 10 sneak attacks
Rank 2	You are 50 percent more difficult to detect when sneaking Suppressed weapons do an additional 10 percent sneak attack damage	Perform 20 sneak attacks
Rank 3	You are 75 percent more difficult to detect when sneaking Suppressed weapons do an additional 15 percent sneak attack damage	Perform 40 sneak attacks
Rank 4	You are 100 percent more difficult to detect when sneaking Suppressed weapons do an additional 20 percent sneak attack damage Doors you interact with while in stealth no longer alert enemies	Max rank

How to use stealth in combat

While sneaking is often used to avoid confrontation, you can even use stealth in combat. Sneak up to an enemy by staying out of their line of sight. Hide around corners or behind items to avoid detection. Unfortunately, it’s very hard to pull off a stealth melee attack in Starfield and sometimes you’ll get caught even if a character has their back towards you.

You can also use stealth at a range by putting a suppressor mod on your sniper rifle and having good, precise aim. To further help, you can use space suits with the Chameleon augment to blend into your environment.

Then, start unlocking other skills that are related to stealth, including theft and concealment.