Starfield Grav Jump
Screenshot by Prima Games

Should You Upgrade Your Grav Drive in Starfield? – Answered

Jump between systems with a functional gravity drive...once you learn to use it!

A significant part of Starfield revolves around exploration. As such, you’ll spend a lot of your game time behind the controls of a starship, learning to traverse systems and uncover the mysteries of the galaxy. But to jump between systems, you must have and learn to use a functional Gravity Drive. It’s not immediately evident, especially if you skipped the tutorials, so here’s how to power up and upgrade Grav Drives in Starfield.

Recommended Videos

How to Upgrade Your Gravity Drive for Long-Range Jumps in Starfield

Starfield Grav Drive Jump Countdown
Screenshot by Prima Games

With a stronger and better gravity drive in your ship, you can allocate more power points to the system and jump farther and faster. But you’ll need quite a few credits and a spaceport to upgrade your Gravity Drive in Starfield.

  1. Visit your local spaceport.
  2. Speak with the ship services technician and choose to ‘modify’ your ship.
  3. Choose the upgrade option, and then navigate to the Gravity Drive category.
  4. Buy an upgraded drive and install it.

A new gravity drive, especially a better one, will allow you to jump to distant systems without hassle. It’s well worth the expense for an explorer!

Powering Up Grav Drives in Starfield

Starfield Grav Drive
Screenshot by Prima Games

While it’s entirely possible to fly to different planets manually, as we’ve seen from various users online, it will take many hours to complete the flight path. Instead of sitting around waiting or sleeping through the journey, why not just learn to power up your gravity drive and jump through the stars?

To power up your ship’s gravity drive, start by opening the power distribution menu in the HUD’s bottom left-hand. Here, you’ll note the final section reads “GRV,” which stands for Gravity Drive.

To access this menu, hit ALT on your PC or use the D-Pad on a controller, then traverse the menu and insert points into the “GRV” section to power up the gravity drive in Starfield.

The more power you allocate to the gravity drive, the faster the countdown for a long-range jump. It’s helpful to fill up the gravity drive’s power bar entirely when dealing with scans or ship combat that you can’t win. It’s a tactical retreat, nothing more.


Prima Games is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy

About the Author

Brandon Morgan

Brandon began writing in 2012, for websites such as OnlySP, before transitioning to digital marketing in 2016 to learn the ins and outs of SEO. In mid-2023, Brandon returned to write strategy guides for Prima Games, IGN, DualShockers, and more, with a focus on ARPGs, RPGs, and Survival games. His past coverage includes Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, Starfield, Skull and Bones, and many more!