How to avoid being encumbered in Starfield

Bethesda’s sci-fi RPG lets you carry a bunch of items while you explore the planets it offers, but only up to a certain limit. Crossing this limit will have you encumbered and in turn, stop you from fast traveling. Here’s how you can avoid being encumbered in Starfield.

In Starfield, you’ll find a plethora of items to collect, ranging from spaceship parts to potatoes, making your inventory filled with a diverse set of resources, each with its own weight. However, the game sets a limit on your carrying capacity, and exceeding this limit results in encumbrance.

Inventory management is a common feature in games with loot systems. While Diablo 4 offers options to sell, store, or salvage extra items, Starfield provides additional features such as Lockers and Companions.

With that said, let’s explore all the methods available to avoid encumbrance in Starfield.

• Best ways to not get encumbered in Starfield
  • Use your companion Inventory
  • Use your Captain’s Locker
  • Use your Cargo Hold
  • Use your Unlimited Storage in The Lodge
• Ways to temporarily increase your Mass carry capacity
• Ways to permanently increase your carry capacity

Best ways to not get encumbered in Starfield

Transfer items to your companion in Starfield

One of the ways to avoid becoming encumbered in Starfield is to transfer items to your companion. You simply need to talk and request to “Trade” with them. An inventory interface similar to that of a vendor will appear.

Press “Q” to switch to your inventory, and you can transfer all your excess items to your current companion to avoid being penalized due to all the excess Mass.

Note that some companions, like Vasco, have way more inventory capacity than others. Keep that in mind before you use them as carriers.

Transfer items to the Captain’s Locker in Starfield

Another way to avoid becoming encumbered in Starfield is to use your Capitain’s Locker in your ship. It is a safe protected by code that can carry up to 40 units of Mass.

You will find it in the cabin of the ship, right next to the pilot chair. It can be a little tricky to find. Plus, every ship model has it placed in different spots around the cabin, so keep that in mind when you change your ship.

Transfer items to your Cargo Hold in Starfield

Another option to avoid becoming encumbered in Starfield is to store your excess items, weapons, and materials in the Cargo Hold of the ship. You can access the Cargo Hold through an interface computer in your ship. Every ship has a different capacity in the Cargo Hold, so keep that in mind.

You can also access your Cargo Hold by simply being near the ship and through the Data Menu of your User Interface.

Transfer your items to The Lodge Storage in Starfield

You can gain access to another storage deposit that can help you if you are encumbered in Starfield, and it is inside The Lodge of the Constellation faction.

To find it, you need to go past the Workbenches that are in the basement of The Lodge, and you will see a small Deposit Safe above one of the tables. You can drop unlimited items there, but we don’t know if this is a bug or something meant to be like that, so it may be patched in the future.

How to temporarily increase your carry capacity in Starfield

Other options to avoid becoming encumbered in Starfield are using Aid items that temporarily boost your Mass carry capacity.

These items can be drugs, food, or similar consumable objects that you can find, craft, or buy from vendors, and all of them grant you diverse boosts besides carry capacity augmentations.

Just keep in mind that all these items have a certain duration and can save you momentarily to give you enough time to fast travel to your ship, where you can use the Cargo Hold or Captain’s Locker.

How to permanently increase your carry capacity in Starfield

There are options to permanently increase your maximum carry capacity in Starfield, which can help you avoid becoming encumbered.

Items such as Magazines, spread across the entire galaxy, can be found and will grant various permanent buffs to your character, including an increase in your maximum Mass carry.

Mods that you can add to your spacesuit or backpack can also increase your maximum carry capacity.

And finally, you can always grab the Weight Lifting Skill when you level up. Investing in this skill can be critical, so we highly recommend you do so.

And that’s all you need to know to avoid becoming encumbered in Starfield. If you enjoyed this guide, you can browse a lot of fresh content in our guide section below:

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