Starfield's New Settings: Adjust Game Difficulty

• Starfield has new updates and mods enhancing gameplay.
• Dialogue Camera Toggle for seamless NPC conversations.
• Survival mechanics with hunger, thirst, and environmental hazards.
• Settings for item management, carrying capacity, and vendor credits.
• Control over healing sources: Medical Items, Food, and Sleep.

Starfield has undergone significant changes since its initial release on September 4, 2023.

With the introduction of new updates and mods, the game now offers a variety of ways to enhance your gameplay experience.

As of May 2024, several new features have been added to Starfield's settings menus, allowing you to adjust the game's difficulty and immersion levels.

New Settings and Features

One of the most talked-about features is the Dialogue Camera Toggle.

This option allows you to turn off the rigid zoom-in during NPC conversations, resulting in a more seamless transition from gameplay to dialogue.

You can find this option under Settings > Accessibility > Dialogue Camera on/off.

Environmental Damage and Survival Mechanics

These settings can be divisive, as survival mechanics aren't for everyone.

However, for those who enjoy a challenge, new options like hunger, thirst, and environmental hazards add a layer of complexity to the game.

You can also earn more XP for playing on more challenging settings.

Sustenance

The Sustenance feature challenges you to maintain hunger and thirst levels.

• Fed: Increases health by 30%, melee damage by 15%, and adds 25 additional carrying capacity.
• Hydrated: Increases O2 recovery by 30%, sneak attack damage by 15%, and lets you reload guns 25% faster.

If you prefer a greater challenge, you can select Positive + Negative, which punishes you for not consuming food and water.

• Malnourished: Decreases health by 30%, reduces melee damage by 15%, and docks your carrying capacity by 25.
• Dehydrated: Decreases O2 recovery by 30%, lowers sneak attack damage by 15%, and reduces reload speed of guns by 25.

Environmental Damage and Afflictions

You can entirely shut off environmental damage or make it more challenging by setting it to Advanced.

This will require you to manage health impacts and status afflictions, similar to how radiation works in Fallout.

Other Cool Difficulty Tweaks

Starfield now has four difficulty options that affect how much damage enemies and you output, both on foot and in your ship.

You can also tweak settings that influence your overall carry capacity, healing, and the in-game economy.

Changes to Item Management, Carrying Capacity, and Vendor Credits

There are settings to adjust how much you can carry and manage it effectively.

For example, you can switch on ammo weight to encourage better ammo management.

Cargo Access Distance allows flexibility with your ship's cargo, letting you access it from various locations.

You can also adjust the amount of credits vendors have on hand.

Healing Settings

Starfield now offers control over three sources of healing: Medical Items, Food, and Sleep.

You can influence how much or how little these sources heal you.

Additionally, you can adjust sleep healing based on where you sleep, with options like Full Restore and Location Limited.

Whether Starfield will ever live up to its initial hype remains to be seen.

However, these new options provide a great way to customize your gameplay experience.

With the right combination of settings and mods, you might finally get the game you were hoping for.