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How to Find Enemy Ships in Starfield

I've got a bone to pick with you!

While you traverse the stars in Starfield, you’ll often find some random encounters when entering a particular star system. Some of these are friendly, such as Grandma of the UC who has a meal for you ready to go on-board if you want to dock with her ship. Most of these though are hostile, with Spacers, Crimson Fleet, and Va’ruun Zealots all wanting a piece of you. How you can find them though is a little tough. Here’s how to find enemy ships in Starfield.

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Where to Find Enemy Ships to Destroy in Starfield

Starfield Enemy Ship
Screenshot by Prima Games.

If you’re looking for a surefire way to find ships to kill in Starfield, then Grav Jumping to different systems is going to be your best bet. In my experience, I’ll find ships wanting to pick a fight with me after Grav Jumping three or four times. With that being said, don’t Grav Jump to a planet with a major city on it like Akila City or Neon, as it’s impossible for hostile ships to spawn there. Instead, you should try systems under control by the Crimson Fleet or random, uncontrolled systems.

Related: How to Target Engines in Starfield

If you want a surefire way to find some enemy ships and haven’t completed the Crimson Fleet line of missions, then you’ll want to head to the Kryx system and jump to The Key. This will bring with it an armada of ships that only an experienced pilot with a very strong ship should take on but will always have enemy ships to worry about.

What Benefit is There to Finding and Destroying Enemy Ships?

Starfield Targeting Engines
Screenshot by Prima Games.

Destroying hostile ships will give you access to some of the loot they have on board, which can include valuable materials for crafting or Credits to purchase whatever you’d like. If you decide to take things more carefully though, you can disable the engines of an enemy ship and board it. Doing so will let you kill its crew and potentially hijack their ship. This lets you either claim it as your own and fly wherever you please, or sell it for some extra Credits. It’s a win-win no matter how you approach the situation unless you bite off more than you can chew.

If you’re looking for more details on how to snag an enemy ship for yourself, check out our guide on how to hijack an enemy ship in Starfield.


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About the Author

Shawn Robinson

Shawn is a freelance gaming journalist who's been with Prima Games for a year and a half, writing mainly about FPS games and RPGs. He even brings several years of experience at other sites like The Nerd Stash to the table. While he doesn't bring a fancy degree to the table, he brings immense attention to detail with his guides, reviews, and news, leveraging his decade and a half of gaming knowledge. If he isn't writing about games, he's likely getting zero kills in his favorite FPS or yelling at the game when it was 100% his fault that he died.