Starfield best ship parts – the best ship modules for every category

On the hunt for the Starfield best ship parts? If you’re looking to build the ultimate ship from scratch, and credits are no concern to you, then you’re going to need the best ship parts in every category. But with so many to choose from, and no way to sort them in-game, it can be a hassle to figure out which parts are actually the best. Luckily, we’ve got you covered.

Be sure to check out our Starfield tips and tricks for some handy advice in your playthrough. If you would rather not have to build your own ship, you could also get a premade one from our best Starfield ships guide. If you’re intent on building your own, though, check out our guide to Starfield starship weapons to make sure your ship’s weapons are up to scratch.

Best ship parts for every category

We’re only going to be talking about the very best of the best here. All of these parts and modules are going to be Class C, meaning you’ll need to have levelled up your Piloting and Starship Design skills enough to use them. Check out how to level up Starfield Piloting skill fast if you’re underlevelled. With that, let’s take a look at all of the best parts in every category.

Best reactor – SF40 Sheared Flow Reactor

The beating heart of your ship, your reactor provides power to everything. If you have a Class C engine but only have a Class A reactor, you won’t have enough power to get the most out of that engine, so this is the most important part. From our time with the game, we found no better reactor than the SF40 Sheared Flow Reactor. With 40 max power, you can power whatever you want, but you’ll need Rank 4 in Piloting and Starship Design to make the most of it.

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Alex’s Advice

Since all your other ship modules are powered by your reactor, it’s the first thing you should look to upgrade. There’s no point having some incredibly powerful engines if you can’t fully power them!

If you’re not quite at those ranks yet, take a look at our best Starfield reactors guide for some Class A and Class B options.

Best engine – Poseidon DT230 Engine

The Poseidon DT230 Engine is hands-down the best engine we used in Starfield. With 34530 engine thrust and 11600 maneuvering thrust, there’s simply no other engine we found that comes close to what this can do. While a 40280 credit price tag might seem like a lot, it’s a great investment as you’ll never have to upgrade to another engine again, and gives you a massive top speed, all the mobility you need, and decent engine health too.

Best grav drive – J-52 Gamma Grav Drive

There’s only one thing you actually need from grav drives, and that’s to send you as far as possible, and with the maximum 50 jump range provided by the J-52 Gamma Grav Drive, that’s exactly what you’ll get. If you’re feeling a bit cheap, the Apollo GV300 Grav Drive provides the same jump thrust for cheaper in exchange for lower grav drive health, but why skimp out on the best? For us, this is a must have for space exploration.

Best shield generator – 104D Guardian Shield Generator

The best shield generator we came across is the 104D Guardian Shield Generator. While it takes the most power to reach its full potential of any shield generator, the maximum 1350 shield health you get from it is massive, making you capable of taking much more shield damage in space combat before you start taking hull damage. If you prefer a lower shield health and higher regen, then the Warden SG-400 Shield Generator is a great choice, too. Regardless of your choice, as long as your shield lasts longer than your enemy’s shields, you should be good to go.

Best fuel tank – 900T He3 Tank

When it comes to fuel tanks, the bigger the better, and you can’t get any bigger than the 900T He3 Tank. This behemoth of a tank can store 650 grav jump fuel, which is a massive 100 more than the next closest competitor, while also being lighter. Not only is this the best fuel tank, but it’s the best by some margin, and an absolute no-brainer in our playthrough.

Best cargo hold – Galleon S204 Cargo Hold

With a cargo size of 1480, the Galleon S204 Cargo Hold is the biggest one currently available in the game. If you’re the kind of person who loves to hoard their loot and is always shipping around tonnes of resources, then you’re not going to want anything on your ship smaller than this.

Alternatively, if you’re a big smuggler, then the best cargo hold for you might be the 10ST Hauler Shielded Cargo Hold which are sold by vendors such as in the Red Mile on Porrima III. You can find more about that in our Starfield how to get a shielded cargo hold guide.

Best docker – 100DP Slim Docker

This one is mostly up to personal preference, but we prefer the small appearance of the 100DP Slim Docker over its larger counterpart. If you would prefer a port docker instead of a top one, then we would recommend the Connect-Pro Docker – Port instead.

Best cockpit – DS40.2 Ares Bridge

The cockpit is only something you should really worry about if you’re planning on having a ship full of crew members. But if you are, then the DS40.2 Ares Bridge is exactly what you should be looking for. With the maximum of 8 crew stations, you can pack this cockpit with crew members, while the 360 cargo capacity is pretty handy to have, too.

Best landing gear – NG-20 Lander

There’s not much in it when it comes to the different types of landing gear, but based on stats alone, the NG-20 Lander set is the best around. It has the highest thrust of any landing gear, and the highest hull health. To be honest, we would rather go with looks over stats when it comes to landing gear, but if you’re maximising stats, then this is your best bet.

Best landing bay – Ship Bed 200 Landing Bay

Same as with landing gear, the Ship Bed 200 Landing Bay is technically the best when it comes to stats, but the difference is so minimal that you’re probably better off just choosing based on aesthetics unless getting 3 hull health instead of 2 is really that important to you.

Best habs – whatever you want

It’s impossible to choose an outright best habs, because what habs you should use depends entirely on what you want on your ship. Some have crew stations, some have passenger slots, some have research stations and workbenches for crafting. Prioritise what’s important to you to have on your ship, and then choose your habs accordingly.

Where to buy the best ship parts

The best ship parts can all be bought from Ship Services Technicians at various spaceports around the Settled Systems. Places like New Atlantis on Jemison, Cydonia on Mars, Akila City on Akila, and specialists like the HopeTech at the Hopetown Shipyard in the Valo system and Deimos Staryard in the Sol system will all have ship technicians selling parts like these. If you’re interested in checking out specific Starfield ship manufacturers, check out our guide.

What are the most important ship parts to upgrade in Starfield?

The outright most important part is your reactor. This determines how powerful your other parts can be, so you’ll want to upgrade this first. Strong shields are also a must to help you in combat, as well as good engines to increase manoeuvrability. If you’re a hoarder and pick up everything you find, you should have some hefty cargo bays to store it all. And lastly, you don’t need one, but a better grav drive will help you fast travel to faraway star systems much more efficiently.

That’s everything you need to know about the best Starfield ship parts. If you’re after some quests, the Sabotage, Delivering Devils, Absolute Power, Entangled, Surgical Strike, Alternating Currents, and Operation Starseed missions are all great choices. For some shopping, be sure to check out the New Atlantis shops, Akila City shops, and Neon shops. And if you need some materials for your outpost, our guides on how to get adhesive, lubricant, adaptive frames, high tensile spidroin, and microsecond regulators have you covered.

Starfield best ship parts FAQs

Where can you buy ship parts in Starfield?

Ship parts can be bought from any Ship Services Technician at spaceports of all major cities.

What is the best engine in Starfield?

The best engine in Starfield is the Poseidon DT230 Engine.