What’s the difference between class A, class B, and class C ships in Starfield – Ship classes explained

While you receive your first ship for free near the very beginning of Starfield, there are dozens of other ships to purchase in the future. You can also build your own unique creation through the ship builder. But one thing that many players don’t know is that there are three separate ship classes. You may also not know that you can only fly one type at the start of your journey, and you’ll have to learn how to fly the others later. We’ve explained below the differences between ship classes in Starfield, which are A, B, and C class.

Starfield: Ship classes A, B, and C differences explained

When you first begin your Starfield playthrough, you can only operate class A ships. Each ship class is operable at different levels depending on the skills you’ve unlocked in the skill tree. The differences between class A, B, and C ships in Starfield are the ship parts, mainly the Reactor.

Related: Starfield ship combat, controls, and skills explained

There are plenty of different parts on a ship that pertain to either of the three classes. But your ship’s overall class depends on the Reactor’s class. Surprisingly, A class ships are for beginners. Unlike how you were graded on tests in elementary school, C class ships are for the most skilled, while B rests in the middle for intermediate-level ship operators. So don’t accidentally purchase a B or C class ship if you know you don’t have the skills for them yet!

Screenshot: PC Invasion

But what about ship building, what type of parts go with the Reactor’s class? Well, you can attach ship parts of the same class as the Reactor or lower. For example, if you have an A class ship, you can only use A class parts, since it’s the lowest level. But B class ships can handle B or A class parts, just not level C. Of course, since class C is the highest, it can work with all ship parts.

If figuring out how to unlock class B and C ships in Starfield interests you, we have a guide on that! But until then, just know what type of ship or part you’re buying before purchasing it. In the ship builder screen, you can tell what class the ship or part is from the information on the left side of the screen. It’ll tell you the Reactor level (like on the screenshot above), which dictates the overall ship class.

Starfield is available on Steam and the Microsoft Store.