Maximizing Loot Gains in Starfield: A Data-Driven Approach
Unleashing Your Inner Space Scavenger
It’s been a while since I’ve dedicated to a Bethesda video game. The last would have been Fallout 3 in 2009-ish. Since then a lot has changed for me. Kids, a job in data science and a lot less time to absorb myself in RPGs. But with the hype around Bethesda’s Starfield, I once again find myself creeping abandoned outposts, stealing junk. This time, in space rather than a post-apocalyptic alternative Earth.
Embarking on a galactic scavenger hunt in the realms of Bethesda’s Starfield is akin to being a spacefaring treasure hunter. Imagine prowling through forsaken outposts, seeking riches beyond measure amidst the cosmos. The challenge, however, lies in discerning the true gems from the cosmic clutter.
In this whirlwind of interstellar looting, the pivotal question arises: What celestial junk is truly worth hoarding in this game?
Aiming to hoard everything may seem like a stellar strategy, but alas, even the boundless void of space has its limits. An excess of loot can weigh you down, impeding your maneuvers through the cosmos. To strike the perfect balance, we need to delve deeper, beyond just mass and value. We need to calculate the ratio of these two values, unveiling the true worth of each celestial find.
Calculating the credit per gram ratio unlocks the secrets to discerning the relative value of all available items.
Unveiling the Cosmic Equation
Join me as we venture into the depths of Starfield’s resource catalogue. We’ll decipher the mysteries of mass, value, and rarity to pinpoint the celestial treasures worth their weight in gold—or rather, in galactic credits.
Gathering Data in the Digital Cosmos
To navigate this cosmic quest, we turn to the wealth of information readily available on Starfield’s resources. Numerous websites offer tables detailing these cosmic artifacts. For this article, I selected https://inara.cz/starfield/database/, a site that helpfully separates the various Starfield collectibles into meaningful categories.
For those curious about the code behind the scenes, check it out on GitHub (GitHub account required).
The Cosmic Riches: Mass, Value, and Rarity
Below, I plot the available resources’ masses and values, colouring by rarity. An ordinary least squares (OLS) trend line across all item rarities has been plotted in white. This is the line of best fit that minimises the residuals - the differences between the observed values and trend line.
What does the line mean for selecting resources to loot? Any point above that line is worth collecting. Anything below that line would probably be worth ditching if something higher in value or lower in mass became available. Hover over the points to get the resource names.
Note that several resources with zero value and mass were removed from the data during processing. I’m generally not interested in things without mass as they pose no dilemma to my encumbered pockets.
Insights from the Celestial Scatter
Here’s what we’ve discovered:
- Rare and exotic items offer around average payoff.
- Two standouts, Caelumite and Quark-Degenerate Tissues, are definitely worth collecting.
- Exotic and Unique resources tend to be low mass, all being under 3 grams.
- Most uncommon resources don’t offer substantial returns, except for select options like Helium, Silver, and Benzene. These are the lower mass options in this rarity class.
- Vac Grade Explosives, a common item, stands out as a valuable choice.
- The rare class of resources generally promises better returns, with notable outliers like Veryl Explosive and Vytinium Fuel Rod.
As I have no data on the different likelihoods of discovering these items (rarity drop rates), I cannot comment on which items are best to target for farming. Though https://inara.cz/starfield/database/ does offer in-game locations where these resources may be found.
Value Per Gram: The Cosmic Currency
Let’s break down the data further, showcasing each resource’s value-to-mass ratio, measured in credits per gram. Unveil the best options to fill your cosmic coffers.
Value Per Gram
Below I present the data for each resource in tabular format. The ratio column means value / mass, in credits per gram. The resources are sorted by descending ratio by default, but you can change that by clicking on the arrows in each column.
Key Takeaways
- Caelumite and Quark-Degenerate Tissues are high outliers, reaffirming their status as top choices.
- Surprisingly, Vac Grade Explosive emerges as a standout, despite being categorized as common.
Fill your boots up with Vac Grade Explosive. Though think about taking out good life insurance, first.
Sorting the ratio column in ascending order reveals the poor choices of resources to collect. At least in terms of value per gram. Fiber, Water, Nutrient, all of these things sound so wholesome. Perhaps there are alternative reasons for hoarding such items, such as crafting or survival. It’s not all about becoming the richest spaceperson in the universe, right?
By plotting the density of value to mass ratio for each rarity class, an interesting picture emerges. For this chart, I have filtered out those 2 high-end unique outliers, otherwise the traces are a bit small and hard to see.
Some observations
- Exotic and Unique rarities show a bimodal distribution (2 peaks in value to mass ratio).
- The other rarities exhibit trimodal distributions.
- Common and Rare classes have a clear outlier (Vac Grade Explosive and Veryl Explosive). This game places a high value on blowing things up.
- Rare resources display a wider distribution in value per gram, making it a good compromise in availability, mass and value.
Thank You, Cosmic Voyagers
By deploying simple Python know-how, we’ve unraveled the secrets of the digital cosmos, empowering you to make informed choices. Your virtual pockets, now filled with strategic loot, pave the way to riches in your interstellar escapades.
Before we sign off, a massive thank you to https://inara.cz/ for graciously sharing their data, making this cosmic venture possible. And kudos to the Python libraries — requests, beautifulsoup4, plotly, and ridgeplot — for bringing this interstellar exploration to life.
In the vast cosmic expanse of Starfield, live long and prosper.