Starfield may offer you a lot of planets to discover, but you may experience the environmental damage in some of these if you are not careful. This damage is based on different factors, and you must come prepared to deal with it, as it will deplete a significant portion of your HP.
In this guide, I will discuss Environmental Damage, its effects, and how to recover from it.
All Environmental Damages in Starfield
You will get to experience different kinds of Environmental Damages. These will include the following four types:
1. Thermal
This Environmental damage is caused by extreme heat or cold temperatures on different planets and moons. For example, when you select a planet in a specific system, you can check its Temperature to determine its Thermal damage in Starfield, i.e., Deep Freeze, etc.
2. Airborne
Airborne damage results from the damage you sustain from contaminants and diseases you come in contact with in Starfield. Many factors may cause you to suffer Airborne (environmental damage), and these include:
- Contaminants (planet’s atmosphere)
- Flora (Plants on the planet)
- Fauna (wildlife on the planet)
- Throwables (items used by enemies on the planet)
You must be extra careful and avoid contacting Airborne damage at all costs as it may activate a debuff. Moreover, this environmental damage can result in you losing a lot of HP in Starfield.
3. Corrosive
Like Airborne damage, Corrosive is another environmental damage that can affect you immensely. This environmental damage is more deadly because it includes both the environmental aspects and has passive effects.
Moreover, you can come in contact with the Corrosive damage through the flora and fauna on that specific planet. This way, your HP starts to decrease immensely in Starfield.
4. Radiation
Radioactive items can cause damage if you are within a radioactive radius of a particular area in Starfield. However, this time around, this environmental damage will target your max HP, and you will also lose a significant chunk of that.
How to increase Environmental Damage Resistance
You can increase Environmental Damage Resistance using these three ways:
Use resistant Armor and Gear
You can avoid Environmental Damage by increasing the resistance factor against these in your spacesuit. You can use different armor and gear options to increase radiation and Cold Resistance in Starfield.
Also, check your HUD in Starfield, as it will display the areas where you will suffer damage. Before moving towards those marked areas, change into the required gear.
Furthermore, you can use the following options in terms of spacesuits to increase environmental damage resistance:
- Mercenary Spacesuit (against Airborne and Corrosive Damage)
- Explorer Spacesuit (against Airborne and Radiation Damage)
- Navigator Spacesuit (against Thermal and Corrosive Damage)
- Constellation Spacesuit (against Thermal, Corrosive, and Radiation Damage)
Crafting Projects in Research Lab
If you are looking for another way to increase environmental resistance, visit the Research Laboratory section in Starfield. There, you will find projects that you can craft.
Using the required resources, you can craft research projects for Pharmacology, etc., which will result in you gaining temporary resistance to Environmental threats.
Rank up Skill
To Increase Environmental Damage Resistance, you can work on upgrading your skills. One of these, in particular, will be the Environmental Conditioning (skill) in Starfield.
This skill is considered a second-tier physical skill. By leveling it up, you will increase your resistance against certain damage types, including Environmental Damage.
How to recover from Environmental Damage in Starfield
Recovering from Environmental Damage may not be an easy process in the beginning, as you will come to learn about it early on during your main playthrough. When you venture to the Planet Mars, you will see that your HP is affected by the atmosphere.
Moreover, one portion of your HP will also be marked orange. This will denote the Environmental Damage you suffer in Starfield. Taking medicine or sleeping will not affect this damage either, so the only way to recover will be to enter a space confined area. This way, the planet’s atmosphere won’t affect you there, so the best place for that will be to go indoors.
Once you reach there, you will notice that the orange portion on your health bar will be removed. You can now recover your health from environmental damage to max HP by eating or sleeping.
