If in case you have sticky fingers, it’s possible you’ll end up with a bounty in Starfield. For those who’re caught stealing whereas not hidden or smuggling unlawful items, you will get tossed into the slammer, and there are a number of methods to keep away from this. We examined all of them so that you don’t need to.
The primary time you’re arrested by the United Colonies, you’ll really begin a mission known as “Deep Cowl,” by which they blackmail you to go undercover for them. After you begin this quest, getting arrested once more after will yield the traditional outcomes, which we speak about beneath.
How do bounties work in Starfield?
Bounties in Starfield work extraordinarily much like Skyrim bounties. If individuals see you pickpocketing or stealing, you’re going to get a bounty added to your head for that area. For those who get caught stealing one factor on Neon, you’ll get a 500 credit score bounty for Neon. For those who get caught stealing once more, you’ll get one other 500 credit added and so forth.
Smuggling out contraband, like Aurora, will even add a bounty to your head.
If in case you have a bounty, safety from that planet will chase you down. Nonetheless, you possibly can pay a high quality, select to go to jail, or combat your method out. You can’t quick journey whereas guards are chasing you.
[Ed. note: We encountered an issue when we were mass pickpocketing people on planets and loads of security guards would appear. They’d follow us around but never actually start the “you’re under arrest!” prompt unless we interacted with them. Use this knowledge how you’d like, but we don’t think this is working as intended.]
![A Starfield character stands proudly in front of several guards in New Atlantis.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/cWxzQ4R6ur5qOdq8l_ZkQEyp9CE=/0x0:2557x1440/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2557x1440):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24879248/Starfield_2023_08_28_13_29_09.jpg)
Learn how to repay bounties
There are some kiosks that can help you clear your bounty with out speaking to anybody, however it will depend on the area by which you might have that bounty. Based mostly on our testing, you possibly can solely clear your bounty if you happen to’re not at present within the space related to the faction that has a bounty out for you.
For instance, when you’ve got a bounty with the Freestar Collective and also you’re utilizing the kiosk in Freestar Collective area, you possibly can’t repay your bounty. You’ll have to seek out one exterior of Freestar Collective area.
There’s additionally a slight markup. Clearing a bounty of 500 credit value us 550 credit, so it is a little more costly than simply paying your fines.
Bounty kiosk areas
These kiosks are usually positioned in bars, however you’ll find them in random outposts and smaller settlements, too — like HopeTown. You will discover bounty kiosks within the following hub areas, however keep in mind the rule about faction affiliations earlier than charting your grav bounce:
- Akila Metropolis (Freestar Collective): Hitching Put up Bar
- Neon (Freestar Collective): Astral Lounge
- New Atlantis (United Colonies): Viewport Bar
- Cydonia (United Colonies): Damaged Spear Bar
What occurs whenever you get caught by guards in Starfield?
The best strategy to get out of this case is to pay a high quality (which is the price of your bounty) and relinquish your stolen items.
On Neon particularly, you may also bribe the guards to allow you to go, with the price of the bribe being increased relying in your bounty. The preliminary value to pay them off is 3,000 credit. Paying off the guards means that you can hold your stolen items, however you can not bribe guards on many different planets. (There could also be extra planets that permit for bribery, however we haven’t discovered every other ones on the time of publish.)
Even if you happen to pay these quantities, you’ll nonetheless get teleported to jail, although you’ll be free to go when you get there.
![A Neon security officer in Starfield is trying to make an arrest.](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/zSSTV7vb079AngCIp6xR_q9zi6A=/0x0:2560x1440/1200x0/filters:focal(0x0:2560x1440):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24879271/Starfield_2023_08_28_13_15_18.jpg)
Picture: Bethesda Recreation Studios/Bethesda Softworks through Polygon
It’s also possible to conform to serve jail time, which really relinquishes all of your stolen items and deduct some XP. With the bottom bounty of 500 credit, we needed to serve 5 days in jail and we misplaced 500 XP. At a 1,000 credit score bounty, we needed to serve seven days in jail and we misplaced 900 XP, so it’s secure to say that the upper your bounty, the extra jail time it’s important to serve (and the extra XP you lose). Your XP can’t go beneath zero and you’ll not lose ranges.
It’s also possible to select to combat the guards, which you most likely don’t wish to do in locations like Neon or New Atlantis, as there’s tons of safety to brawl in opposition to, and that is most likely not value it.