As you can imagine, space travel is a crucial part of Starfield. You can travel by spacecraft manually, but it will take about seven real-time hours, depending on where you are trying to go. Grav jumping is the best way to get from one star to the next in record time. It basically automatically flies you through space.
You only have a certain amount of fuel to grav jump a certain amount of light years away. It’s important to know when you are about to run out and how you can increase the distance you can jump. Nothing is worse than being stranded in space and having to manually fly five galaxies thattaway.
How To Increase Grav Jump Range
To grav jump in Starfield, you can open the star map and select a far-reaching planet or system. By selecting a planet, the game will show you how much fuel the travel will consume and if you are able to grav jump. From there, you can select Jump on the right-hand side.
- The maximum distance you can travel in one jump is 30 light years.
There are a couple of things you can do to increase your grav jump. The first obvious one is upgrading your grav drive.
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Grav Drive > |
Distance of Light Years you can travel |
To upgrade any part of your ship, you must land on a settlement planet and speak to the nearest Ship Services Technician. They are usually found in front of your ship, near the entrance to the settlement.
Select the dialogue option to modify your ship. The grav drive will be the last power gauge in the row at the top left. You can enter Ship Build mode and press the “Add” objects prompt to browse purchasable parts.
You will not be able to “Add” parts if you have no more space. With the original spaceship you get as your starter, you will need to remove something first.
When selecting a better grav drive, you want to pay attention to the number of light years it can travel. In the photo above, you can see that the game highlights that the vendor’s grav drive will increase your Jump Range to 17 Light Years, but that it will also increase your Mass and Mobility.
Decrease Your Ship’s Mass
Another option for increasing your jump range is decreasing your mass. The distance you can travel via grav jump will also depend on how heavy your ship is. The heaviest things that will negatively affect your jump range are the size of your cargo hold and your engine.
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Mass > |
Distance of Light Years you can travel |
More powerful engines will increase your ship’s mass as well as large cargo holds. When in build mode, you will want to purchase lighter engines, and cargo holds so that you can reach greater distances.
Expand Your Helium Fuel Supply
Expanding your fuel supply is another way to better your grav jumping. Doing so does not increase the number of Light Years you can travel, but it will increase the number of planets you can jump between in one trip before needing to refuel.
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Fuel Capacity > |
Number of planets you can jump between at once |
Increasing your helium fuel supply will allow you to make fewer stops, as you need to make stops to recuperate fuel for jumps if you have traveled too far in one go. To increase your fuel capacity, you must speak to a Ship Services Technician and ask to modify your ship.
Your fuel tank will come in various shapes and sizes, usually found on the side or top of the ship. In build mode, select and remove the fuel tank, then press “Add” at the bottom of the screen to browse options.
Grav Drive Vs. Fuel Capacity
With all this information, you might be confused about which series of upgrades to work toward. You can upgrade your grav drive, lose the heavy engine, lose the heavy cargo, or upgrade fuel capacity.
All of these options are great ways to grav jump further distances for a longer period of time. You do not have to do all of these upgrades.
Grav Drives increase your range. Fuel capacity only increases how long you can go without needing a refuel. Both are important, but if your issue is range, you should upgrade your grav drive first and decrease your ship’s overall mass.