Starfield: The 10 Best Weapon Traits

The right trait can make a huge difference in combat effectiveness, and we break down the best 10 weapon traits in Starfield.

In Starfield, weapon traits are enhancements or buffs that grant additional bonuses. There are various traits, some deal additional damage, and others inflict status effects or increase the rate of attack speed. Traits appear randomly on loot drops and cannot be removed or changed through the crafting system. In this guide, we explore the 10 Best Weapon traits in Starfield and why you should be on the lookout for them!

What Are the Best Weapon Traits in Starfield

The best weapon traits in Starfield are Shattering, Hitman, and Rapid. Shattering breaks through strong armor., and Hitman increases your damage by 15% as long as you aim. The Rapid increases your attack speed by 25%. There are nearly 30 different weapon traits in Starfield, and each comes with its unique bonuses and buffs.

Here are the 10 best weapon traits in Starfield:

1. Shattering: Breakthrough even the strongest armor.
2. Hitman: +15% damage while aiming.
3. Rapid: +25% increase in attack speed.
4. Explosive: Randomly switches to explosive rounds.
5. Concussive: Small chance to knock down targets.
6. Extended Magazine: Doubles the base magazine capacity.
7. Incendiary: Randomly deals incendiary damage.
8. Furious: Each consecutive hit deals more damage.
9. Instigating: Deals double damage to targets with full health.
10. Crippling: Deals +30% damage on the next attack after hitting a target’s limbs.

10 Crippling

Crippling weapon trait features:

• Effect: Deals +30% damage on the next attack after hitting a target’s limbs.
• Slot: 2, on Purple Epic weapons and above
• Console Command: 000F2E39

Crippling is one of the better traits in Starfield, especially for a Sniper build. It gives you +30% damage on the next attack after hitting a limb’s targets. This also applies to the head, fantastic when aiming for a head-shot kill. If the first shot doesn’t kill the target, your next will deal an extra 30% damage, finishing them off.

9 Instigating

Instigating weapon trait features:

• Effect: Deals double damage to targets with full health.
• Slot: 1, on Blue Rare weapons and above
• Console Command: 000F2013

Instigating is great for Snipers and Stealth builds going for one-shots. To take advantage of it, try to headshot the strongest target to deal double damage, while in stealth. If you have a weapon with Instigating and Crippling, you can get a second shot with additional damage.

8 Furious

Furious weapon trait features:

• Effect: Each consecutive hit deals more damage.
• Slot: 1, on Blue Rare weapons and above
• Console Command: 000EA117

The Furious weapon trait is fantastic for rapid-firing weapons such as machine guns or RPM firearms. Ensure your aim stays on the target, otherwise, you will lose the consecutive hits. (Combo-breaker!) This is a must-have trait on anything that shoots multiple rounds, and as a Slot 1 trait, it should be easy to find.

7 Incendiary

Incendiary weapon trait features:

• Effect: Randomly deals incendiary damage.
• Slot: 2, on Purple Epic weapons and above
• Console Command: 0007D728

The Incendiary weapon trait will randomly damage any enemy you hit. The chances are low, but if you’re firing many shots into a powerful enemy, one of them is likely going to go off, making it the best damage-over-time trait. Sometimes, on higher difficulty, you can hit a target, retreat, and kill it via damage over time effect.

6 Extended Magazine

Extended Magazine weapon trait features:

• Effect: Doubles the base magazine capacity.
• Slot: 1, on Blue Rare weapons and above
• Console Command: 000FFA3B

The Extended Magazine trait doubles your base magazine capacity, especially with those bigger, heavier machine guns. Reloading costs you time, and time equals damage! The bigger magazine gives you more time to deal damage before you need to reload. It’s also versatile, and the benefits can apply to any gun.

5 Concussive

Concussive weapon trait features:

• Effect: Small chance to knock down targets.
• Slot: 3, only on Gold Legendary weapons
• Console Command: 000FBD3C

The Concussive trait is one of the best crowd control mechanics Starfield has to offer. Keeping your enemy at a distance or stuck in one spot, even if it’s just for a moment, gives you time to recover or keep the damage. While the chance for it to proc might be slight, crowd control increases survivability.

4 Explosive

Explosive weapon trait features:

• Effect: Randomly switches to explosive rounds.
• Slot: 3, only on Gold Legendary weapons
• Console Command: 000FA8D6

If you’re into a Demolition kind of build, then the Explosive trait is a must for you! This trait will randomly turn your shots into explosive rounds, which will cause massive damage to your target and any other enemies nearby. You’ll want to be careful using a weapon with this trait indoors or in other tight spaces because it creates enormous area damage.

3 Rapid

Rapid weapon trait features:

• Effect: +25% increase in attack speed.
• Slot: 2, on Purple Epic weapons and above
• Console Command: 000FEA04

Though the method is different, the results of the Rapid trait are similar to the Extended Magazine trait. The Rapid gives you a 25% boost to attack speed, resulting in great bursty damage. The faster you attack, the more damage you do. Perfect for enemies that can’t be one-shot and act like a sponge.

2 Hitman

Hitman weapon trait features:

• Effect: +15% damage while aiming.
• Slot: 2, on Purple Epic weapons and above
• Console Command: 00122F1C

The Hitman trait is another choice for Sniper and Stealth builds, but not only. It gives you increased damage while aiming, making it versatile. It pairs well with the Instigating, Crippling, and Hitman, keep an eye out for weapons with those traits.

1 Shattering

Shattering weapon trait features:

• Effect: Break through even the strongest armor.
• Slot: 3, only on Gold Legendary weapons
• Console Command: 000F4557

The best weapon trait in Starfield is Shattering because it will allow your shots to break through even the strongest armor. That is a potential one-shot kill that even the highest defensive targets fear. The Shattering trait is the best overall also due to the crowd control. If your first shot was unsuccessful, you’ve likely staggered your target and can get in some free damage while they recover.

How do Weapon Traits and Slots Work?

All of the weapon traits in Starfield belong to one of three categories or slots. Additionally, each weapon can have three slots corresponding to those three categories. Not all weapons will have traits in all three slots. A weapon without any traits is a basic gun with a White label. A weapon with a single trait is a Blue Rare weapon. Two trait weapons are Epic and marked with Purple. Finally, having three traits makes the weapon a Gold Legendary.

The traits on all the weapons you find randomly or loot from dead enemies will have randomly generated traits. The only exceptions are ‘named’ weapons with specific names and traits. They are usually part of quest rewards.

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