Can You Steal NPC Ships in Starfield?

Starfield starts you off with a suprisingly decent starship. We’re not talking Stan’s Previously Owned Space Vessels here, it’s good enough to take on some of the ne’er-do-wells you’ll find roaming space. But what if you’ve got your eye on someone else’s ship? If you’re twirling your moustache, wondering can you steal NPC ships in Starfield, here’s the answer.

Here’s  Whether or Not You Can Steal Ships in Starfield

You can steal NPC ships in Starfield. Mostly, but I’ll get to that in a minute. Stealing ships is a matter of disabling their engines, then docking with them and killing anyone inside. Provided you’ve got the pilot rating to fly that ship, you can then steal it. Your old ship will magically fly back to your ship collection.

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That’s how you steal them in space, anyway. Some people have had luck stealing them when they’ve been landed, but every ship I’ve encountered has had their hatch sealed. So, to spite them, I’ve stolen their first aid kit or whatever else was in my reach. Unfortunately, you can’t steal absolutely every ship in Starfield. Of all the ones I’ve tried to take, I’ve got away with most of them (save-scumming helped a little). But if the NPC or NPCs inside are unkillable, you can’t take the ship.

I got a distress call from a would-be pilot whose trailer had taken ill, and so I disabled the engines and made my way inside. I had an evil, evil idea and blasted the learner pilot, figuring I’d take the ship for my own collection. Instead, he was totally unaffected by any kind of attacks. I’m assuming this because saving him and his instructor was some kind of mini-quest. But because I couldn’t kill him I couldn’t steal his ship.

So, the answer to can you steal ships in Starfield is yes, but you can’t steal every ship.

For more on the game, check out all of the voice actors in Starfield, as well as this Skyrim easter egg. You may also be interested in how to successfully smuggle contraband in Starfield.