While you’re traveling throughout the various systems in Starfield, you’ll come across many enemies. Some of these will be a one-shot kill, while others will take a bit longer to down. Either way, it’s nice to always be prepared just in case.
As with any game, there is a list of the weakest to toughest enemies that you will encounter during your travels. Keep in mind that even if an enemy is listed as weaker than the rest doesn’t mean you should underestimate them. Always bring your A-game to any fight. It’s better to be prepared than to be dead.
10 Juvenile Grylloba Queen
While completing Echoes of the Past mission, you will encounter Grylloba Queen. She is a very large creature with miniature creatures around her. You must keep an eye on her as well as the little ones scurrying around to avoid getting hurt, which makes this a tough enough fight you may not finish on your first try.
It’s suggested to utilize the stairs that will bring you to the final arena as it will help to prevent the Queen from meleeing you. You can also hide behind the equipment outside and shoot from a distance.
9 Va’Ruun Zealot
During the game, you may run into Va’Ruun Zealot, especially if you get the bounty mission to Kill the Va’Ruun Zealot on Tau Ceti IV-B. As with other enemies, going one-on-one against them isn’t too horrible. Though when there’s a group of them you’re going against, you might run into some trouble. You’ll want to utilize any cover around you and be sure to be stocked up on med packs if you plan on staying alive for the whole fight.
8 The Syndicate
During the Matters of the Hart mission, you will need to go against many different types of Syndicate including Hitmen, Soldiers, and Gangsters to get to Lillian. However, the Syndicate Assassin and the Syndicate Enforcer can be a pain especially since they have two bars to you will need to deplete before defeating them.
If you haven’t defeated the soldiers prior to taking on the assassin, you will have even more difficulty. So do yourself a favor and take care of them before you start going toe-to-toe with the stronger enemy types.
7 The Ecliptic
These soldiers are tougher than they look, especially depending on their level. They have a commander who can be pretty resilient. This enemy has no particular location, and you’ll find them throughout the galaxy roaming around, looting and killing for money.
Although they aren’t the toughest enemy type on our list, the Ecliptic can still be a formidable group to encounter depending on which system you are fighting them in. Their sheer numbers, high-caliber weaponry, and the handful of higher-ranking versions of them you’ll face in each squad are enough to quickly take you down if you are caught off guard.
6 The Spacers
These enemies can be found throughout the galaxy. If your ship isn’t upgraded, you will have great difficulty with them in space. They will also appear in random locations such as Almagest during the Almagest Jackpot Code Combination quest.
They can be a big pain, especially if they gang up on you and your weapons are weak. They do seem to be a bit more difficult while in their ships though, as opposed to in person.
5 Robots/Machinery
Solo, these enemies won’t be too difficult to take down. However, when you’re ganged up by them, such as during the Entangled quest, it can become quite difficult. By the end, you can choose to have to deal with the creatures or the machinery by using the distortion.
Be cautious when it comes to the turrets as sometimes they’re hidden out of sight. If possible, try to take out those first before going against the other robots. In addition, you will go against this machinery throughout the game, so it’s always a good idea to carry at least one weapon with the disassembler perk.
4 Crimson Fleet
When you casually run into the pirates, they’ll be pretty easy to take care of. That is, if there are only a few. When there’s a whole campsite filled with them, then you’ll most likely have issues.
Like all recurring enemy types in the game, the Fleet’s difficulty will largely be based on the level of the system you are battling them in. Some of the hardest scenarios where you fight the Crimson Fleet can also be found in specific missions, the Legacy’s End mission being one of the more challenging examples. Before going against them, make sure you have high-quality weapons and an upgraded ship to easily defeat them.
3 The Hunter/Emissary
Whichever side you choose, the opposing side will be tough. However, by now you should have some upgraded weapons that will help to melt through the duplicates versions scattered around during the Revelations mission. Always keep an eye on the original as that is the one you need to take down.
You can try to avoid all the other duplicates and focus your bullets on just the main enemy, but you’ll just need to be careful not to get surrounded. This fight wouldn’t be so bad if there weren’t so many duplicates, making this encounter pretty challenging and drawn out.
2 Terrormorphs
These creatures could be considered living death as they can be hard to evade. Not only are they tough, but they have intelligence as well. Terrormorphs are the largest enemy creatures you’ll encounter in the game, and they like to ambush you from bushes. The important thing when going against them is to remain calm and try to get the turrets activated as quickly as possible during the Grunt Work mission.
Outside the initial mission that introduces them, you’ll occasionally encounter them in front of Temples as well. Since their heads will be their weak points, be sure to aim for that and keep moving to avoid their melee attacks. They are also vulnerable to any energy weapons you may possess, though even with the best weapons it will take a considerable amount of time to drain their large health bar, so be prepared for a longer battle than you may be used to.
1 The Starborn
Hands down, the Starborn are the most difficult enemy type in the game. One-on-one, they aren’t horrible. It’s when there’s more than one that it becomes a lot more difficult. This is especially true during the Unearthed mission when you’re trying to leave NASA and Starborn keep popping up to prevent you from leaving. If you try to run through them, you will quickly run out of oxygen which will cause you to slow down and allow them to catch up.
You will also meet up with them in space as well as wherever the artifacts are. It’ll definitely be important to have an upgraded ship and better weapons when going against them. As with other enemies, utilize cover when possible and keep moving. Remember, they will utilize their powers every chance they get but don’t forget that you can use your powers on them as well. Overall, they’re just extremely challenging when in large numbers, and if you don’t have the right equipment, they can feel nearly impossible to defeat.