PSA: You don’t have to manually scan every flora, fauna, and creature in Starfield

Starfield, like most sci-fi games these days, has the ability to scan life and objects, to be added to a database. This neat feature adds to the realism of the game and makes you feel like a real adventurer, obtaining research to further your own understanding of the world. However, there has been a revelation that will help out all of those who keep forgetting to scan things, and those who can’t be bothered.

Do you have to manually scan everything in Starfield?

When exploring the seemingly countless planets in Starfield, you have the ability to scan whatever flora, fauna, and minerals you happen to come across. Normally, in games that let you do this such as the Metroid Prime trilogy, you need to perform the scan before you defeat the enemy or collect the object you’re scanning. Oftentimes, it can become a challenge in and of itself to remember to do this, particularly in the case of enemies that can often attack and interrupt you while you attempt to scan them. Naturally, many have assumed that scanning in Starfield works the same way, especially since the game allows you to scan manually with the press of a button.

However, players have recently found out that you don’t need to scan using this method, at least in regard to certain wildlife and materials. According to Reddit user DagothNereviar, Starfield will automatically scan any fauna you kill, any fauna you harvest, and any minerals you obtain. Of course, if you encounter a relatively docile creature, you might not want to kill it just to make the process of scanning easier. Nonetheless, the option exists for those who don’t mind using it.

Another noteworthy quality-of-life feature

Additionally, DagothNereviar notes that if you hit the fire button while you have your scanner equipped, you will automatically bring out your mining laser. And once you unequip your scanner, you will automatically equip whatever weapon you were using last.

Screenshot: PC Invasion

Quality-of-life features like these should definitely streamline your Starfield playthrough by quite a significant degree. Manually scanning everything makes for a compelling activity in a game as compact as Metroid Prime, but for the vast expanses of Starfield, it would probably become incredibly tiring. Fortunately, the developers seem to have realized this, so you can enjoy the game’s numerous worlds without needing to constantly interrupt yourself.

I hope you enjoyed our helpful public service announcement. For more helpful tips and tricks for Starfield, PC Invasion has you covered.