Starfield persuasion dialogue system and how to improve persuasion

The Starfield persuasion system might not be as flashy as some of the game’s other features, but it’s certainly one of the most exciting ones. Giving players more ways to alter their playthrough using Starfield’s dialogue system makes conversations more meaningful, and really helps sell the world as an immersive experience.

When you’re chatting with the people of Starfield, make sure you’re clued up on the different Starfield factions and Starfield religions, as these can have a big impact on how successful you are when talking to them. With that, let’s get into what we know about the Starfield persuasion system.

What is persuasion in Starfield?

Persuasion is a feature of the dialogue system in Starfield that lets you try to convince NPCs of certain things. Game director Todd Howard has likened this to ‘classic Bethesda style dialogue’ system, which we’ve seen from previous games like Oblivion, Skyrim, Fallout 4 and more. He continued, saying that it effectively ‘feels like you’re having a conversation where you’re actually trying to persuade somebody of something.’ It also comes with a skill, which can be boosted by certain Starfield backgrounds, like the Diplomat, and grants an increased chance of success during these speech challenges.

Why use persuasion?

Persuasion is useful for convincing NPC to take a specific action, hand you money or items, to avoid combat, or to simply change their mind on a topic or course of action.

Each persuasion option costs a certain number of points to use, so you have to balance using the best dialogue options with spending points the most efficiently you can. Use up all your points with wrong answers and you’ll fail the persuasion attempt.

For example, the player is talking to a member of the Crimson Fleet, we’re given three responses to the pirate’s demands. These are:

• [Persuade] There’s no treasure in my ship. Cut your losses before more people get hurt.
• [Attack] Time to make the Settled Systems a safer place.
• I don’t suppose we can just agree to disagree? No hard feelings?

If you don’t want to have to fight an entire pirate crew or just give them your loot, persuasion is your best option. Once you choose the persuade option, you now get a choice of four options, requiring 1, 3, 4, and 5 points respectively. This adds an element of risk to your persuasion, that will make dialogue much more interesting, especially when the stakes are high.

With over 250,000 lines of dialogue in the game, compared to the 60,000 and 111,000 of Skyrim and Fallout 4 respectively, dialogue is a major focus of Starfield, and persuasion is an important tool to complete quests.

Another major use of the persuasion system is avoiding being punished for any crimes you commit in Starfield’s major cities. The Starfield jail system means certain actions such as killing or stealing can result in you being arrested or sent to jail. With a persuasion, though, you can bribe or convince NPCs not to arrest you, letting you get away with your actions scot-free.

How to improve your persuasion skill

There are three main ways to improve your persuasion skills in-game.

• Persuasion skill from the Social Skills tree – each rank improves your chance of success when persuading someone by a set percentage (10%, 20%, 30%, and 50%). Some of the best Starfield backgrounds, like Diplomat, come with this skill already ranked up.
• Save scumming – save right before attempting persuasion, then reload if the interaction doesn’t go as planned.
• Aid items – certain aid items boost your chance of success when persuading, such as alcoholic beverages like Chandra Reisling and Red Wine along with consumables like Hyppolyta.

That’s all for the Starfield persuasion system. If you’re interested in some more of the game’s features, check out our guide to the Starfield traits system for a glimpse at some of the available character perks. And if you want to know more about the game’s world, our Starfield planets guide is a great place to get started.

For help at the start of your playthrough, check out our Starfield tricks and tips, where to get Digipicks, the best Starfield spacesuits, the Jemison Mercantile location, the best Starfield reactor, and our Starfield quest list.

Is persuasion the best dialogue option?

If you’re a low level, or not yet very adept at combat, persuasion is sometimes the best path to choose during a dialogue interaction, as long as you’re skilled enough.