Buying a new ship is one of the most significant investments in Starfield, but choosing one trait at character creation ensures a free ship will be acquired with relatively little investment. The Settled Systems – the region of space where Starfield takes place – is incredibly vast, and players will spend quite a lot of time in their ship managing cargo, traveling to distant star systems, and chatting with companions and crew . Each spaceport has new models available for purchase, but they cost quite a lot of credits, even before the additional fees players are likely to spend on upgrades and customization.
Starfield also provides a free ship practically immediately. After a short introductory sequence, the player character is handed the keys to the Frontier by Barrett. After a while, however, the Frontier in its current (or even upgraded) state might not be satisfactory. Rebuilding the Frontier is always an option, but players who take the option to their in-game parents will be rewarded with another free ship, a notable upgrade that increases the size of the player's fleet at practically no additional charge.
Starfield's Kid Stuff Trait Will Give You A Free Ship
One of the traits available during character creation is Kid Stuff, which lets the player character visit their parents, who live in New Atlantis, capital of the United Colonies on the planet Jemison. Taking Kid Stuff, however, means a fraction of the player's credits will be sent home to help them in their sunset years – 2% of all credits earned automatically deducted every in-game week. Eventually, upon a visit to their apartment in New Atlantis' Residential District, the player character's father will announce he's won big at his regular poker game, with the pot including a ship, the Wanderwell, which he offers to the player for all their recent financial help.
Of course, this requires a couple things on the player's part. First is a few regular visits to New Atlantis. The heart of the UC plays a central role in the Starfield's early stages, so this won't be much of an issue. Second is continued weekly payments to the player character's parents; Kid Stuff can essentially be abandoned as a trait at any time by telling them the extra credits getting sent home is no longer feasible.
Kid Stuff's Weekly Payments End Up Being A Pittance
Forking over 2% of one's income initially feels like it may not be worth it for just the opportunity to meet one's virtual parents, but it turns out to be a worthy investment once the Wanderwell is offered for free. Credits soon become a non-issue; buying supplies here and there is common in the first few hours of Starfield, but most money will end up being saved for much larger investments, like ships. Weapons, ammo, spacesuits, helmets, and boost packs are plentiful out in the Settled Systems, and will rarely have to be bought (and traders usually won't have the best ones anyway).
Additionally, a lot of time can easily be spent in New Atlantis near the beginning of Starfield, where credits won't exactly be pouring in just yet. The weekly 2% will likely end up being only a few hundred credits, and it doesn't take very long for the player character's father to win his poker game. Just doing a handful of side quests in New Atlantis and nearby star systems, and checking in whenever the game says dad wants to chat will result in obtaining the Wanderwell very quickly. The Wanderwell definitely isn't the best ship in Starfield, but getting it for free is an incredible deal, especially with ships being some of the most expensive purchases in the game.
