Star Citizen takes place in a massive and ever expanding universe with a wide array of activities for players to partake in. Explore with friends! Amass a fleet of ships! Become an ace fighter pilot! It's a space-faring "sandbox" of sorts, as the direction that you take during your time in the 'verse is totally up to you. For our newer citizens that might not have any idea where to begin, below are a number of examples of activities that all our players can engage with while playing.
By no means is this an exhaustive list of various activities that are available in the 'verse. Try things out, explore on your own, combine multiple activities into your own personal way of life! Define your place in the 'verse yourself.
Also remember, any ships mentioned below can be acquired now or will be able to be acquired in the future in game using aUEC.
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Need help learning the ropes for any of the above and more? Check out our Guide System which can hook you up with an experienced citizen to teach you.
Ships
As Star Citizen is set in an ever growing expanse of the universe, the distances between prominent locations is great. Thus, space faring vehicles are a part of every day life and essential to getting around the 'Verse. Whatever your personal goals are with your time with us in Star Citizen, ships play a role in nearly every aspect of the game.
Players generally have a Game Package of some kind to access the game, and so all players should have access to at least one ship. Whether or not to grow your personal fleet beyond this ship is totally up to the individual. You can browse and review Star Citizen's offering of ships on the Pledge Store, but remember that all ships will also be available for in-game currency in the future if they aren't already.
Additionally, don't worry about getting stuck with a ship forever! Your pledge ships can be upgraded to something different later through the use of Ship Upgrades. If a player finds their starting ship isn't serving their needs any longer or a player is simply seeking out something newer, this can allow a path to that change. To find out specifics and any restrictions on the upgrade process, head to our article on the topic here.
Ship and vehicle classifications:
- Combat - Vessels dedicated to weaponry and firepower of various forms, designed for attack, defense, or both, to take down hostile targets.
- Transport - Ships that focus on their ability to move cargo, be it physical goods, other ships/vehicles, or people, from one place to another safely.
- Exploration - Designed for those that wish to explore the unknown, either as a scout or in a luxurious star ship to travel in comfort.
- Industrial - These ships focus on their ability to gather and haul resources efficiently.
- Support - Vessels with specialized equipment to assist others, such as with refueling, repairs, or emergency medical care.
- Competition - Racing ships and vehicles designed with speed and maneuverability in mind.
- Ground - Land-based vehicles that can aid in traversing the vast expanses of the surface of planets scattered around the verse.
- Multi - Versatile ships that can cover a wider range of activities than a master of one, and thus don't fit neatly into any of the above.
Combat
Owning a ship, or even a fleet of them, is the goal of many, but some look to hone their skills on foot as much as they do in the pilot seat. Knowing one's way around a rifle, a gun turret, or even a combat knife can help when confronted directly with space pirates or hostile fauna. You never know when an encounter might turn into a fire fight!
Combat is something that can happen at any time, regardless of what one may doing, but some can intentionally seek it out if they can't get enough. There are plenty of options! Dogfighting with fighters, tackling a request from various missions, participating in server-wide Global Events, challenging other players or computer controlled opponents in Arena Commander, or seeking out spontaneous on-foot PvP conflicts are only some of the combat situations that can be sought out. One that many players enjoy is...
Bounty Hunting
Combining skills like tracking and take-down tactics, a quite lucrative activity many partake of is Bounty Hunting. These citizens peruse the Contract Manager in their mobiGlas for any jobs related to hunting down a given target that has committed some kind of slight or wrong against the petitioner.
These missions can be both PvE (taking down a game-controlled enemy) or PvP (a contract on another player) so be certain to read what the mission is asking of you before accepting!
More often than not, you'll need a well-equipped ship as anyone that's wanted by authorities are not like to stay planet-bound. Thus it behooves these mercenary types to be skilled with a wide array of weaponry, be it hand-held or ship-based.
Recommended for new citizens:
Mining
The 'verse is full of raw, untapped resources waiting to be found. The bounty of space awaits for those with the initiative to seek it out. But of course to do this, one needs proper mineral extraction equipment and knowledge to locate, reach, and harvest the minerals and ores.
Why do this? Money, of course! Raw materials gathered can be collected and traded for currency to purchase other things you might need, be it a new ship or upgraded equipment. Raw ore should go to a refinery while certain other valuable materials like gems can be sold as they are. You might consider teaming up with a hauler to increase how much you can extract before having to head back and sell. Be wary of pirates and thieves on the return trip! Hiring an escort to protect your newly acquired assets may not be a bad idea.
Special equipment can be acquired to help locate resource deposits, and the basics to do this on a small scale are handheld (your trusty multitool, which can be purchased and modified with a mining tool attachment in shops) and do not require a special ship. However, to broaden the range, quantity, and variety of materials that can be acquired, learning to use mining ships or vehicles and adding them to your personal fleet later in your career would be a good goal to set. You may also wish to read up about Commodities to get the most of your loot.
Recommended for new citizens:
- MISC Prospector
- Drake Golem
- Greycat ROC
- A hand-held Multitool with Mining Attachment
Cargo Hauling
With there being such vast distances and wide expanses of space between all of the pockets of civilization, someone has to help get things to where they need to be! And this is done by haulers - those that have decided to dedicate their time to loading up their ships with goods and carting them across the stars to get them to their final destination. Exploring the vast reaches of space is exciting in its own right, and putting that knowledge to use by creating efficient trading routes can be fulfilling to many.
As this involves moving large amounts of goods and resources around, more than any other activity this one requires some investment into a ship. The risk can be high, what with piracy being a thing and commodity prices possibly fluctuating between pickup and delivery, but It can be quite profitable to do so if done correctly! Knowledgeable haulers can quickly make back their initial investments and then some.
Haulers can also check the mission board via the Contract Manager in their mobiGlas to see if there are any available courier missions that they could handle for some extra side credits. These sorts of missions can help familiarize new cargo pilots with the tools of the trade. There are jobs for ships and pilots of all skills levels, so don't miss out!
Recommended for new citizens:
Medical
Medics focus on assisting fellow denizens of the 'verse with staying healthy. Unless you plan to stay in a city and never venture out into the wider reaches of space, you'll need some supplies and preparations to make certain that you come back in one piece. Sometimes even the most prepared individuals are caught in a bad situation...and that's where the medical specialists come in!
These intrepid citizens have made it their mission to acquire all the necessary equipment and knowledge to go out and rescue and help others should they need it. Rather than destruction and violence, some take up this mantle as they gain more satisfaction from assisting their friends or helping a stranger that's stranded and hurt on some far flung crevice of a moon.
Alternately, coming prepared and bringing someone familiar with medical equipment along on your bounty mission or salvage excursion can reduce or eliminate the need to send out emergency assistance beacons for aid.
Recommended for new citizens:
- Drake Cutlass Red
- Anvil C8R Pisces
- A hand-held Multitool with a Lifeguard Attachment
- CureLife Medical Tool
Salvage
One person's trash is another's treasure! The pinnacle of recycling, those that focus on salvaging are big on the reclamation of lost manufactured resources to put them back to work. It's a fact of life that not everything is peaceful, and so wreckage from battles past, unfortunate disasters and crashes, and old ruins can be discovered in places that people traverse. Happening across these diamonds in the rough is one of the many side benefits of exploring everything the 'verse has to offer. Coming prepared to exploit them can ensure that no one else arrives to harvest the lost resources for themselves.
Much like miners, salvagers (or sometimes called "junkers") employ special equipment to help them locate and extract forgotten or abandoned resources from the remaining hulks of shipwrecks and civilization. Also like with mining, anyone can get started with basic handheld equipment, but for those planning to do this long term, acquiring a salvage-capable ship or vehicle would be a fine investment. Consider also befriending or hiring a trustworthy hauler to help transport your goods if you're short on cargo space.
Want to learn more? Check out our Industrial Gameplay guide over on the main RSI Website!
Recommended for new citizens:
- Drake Vulture
- MISC Fortune
- RSI Salvation
- A hand-held Multitool with a Salvage and Repair attachment
Crafting
One of the best ways to outfit yourself for your adventures is to make the items yourself! With the use of an item fabricator, citizens can utilize various materials gathered from around the 'verse to create all sorts of equipment using various blueprints that can be discovered or earned. Crafting can be called the end point for many of the other activities mentioned in this guide.
Making a new gun or piece of armor for your next delve with your crew mates will require raw materials. You'll need to either get them yourself through mining, salvaging, and refining, or you'll need to trade for them with other players. Remember, master crafters will need to be selective about their sources and materials, as higher quality materials results in better finished products!
For further information, be sure to check out our Crafting Gameplay Guide.
Recommended for new citizens:
- Item Fabricator (purchased from shops in-game)
- Any of the previously mentioned mining or salvaging ships for gathering your materials.
- Any of the previously mentioned cargo ships for moving your materials.
Racing
What better way to show off one's piloting or driving skills than by pushing the limits of speed and maneuverability in a sleek machine? Whether it's on an official race track rife with obstacles and tight turns, or in a player-run race of some kind, there will be plenty of chances to satisfy a need for speed.
Skills learned through racing can be for its own benefit to get faster times on various courses, official or unofficial, or they can handily transfer over to dog fighting (or perhaps...fleeing authorities) in a pinch. The rush of speed and seeing everything fly past your view screen, mastering maneuvers around obstacles with no wasted space or movement to maximize time, racing and learning how to handle speed can be an exhilarating experience.
Challenging the race tracks in Arena Commander can also be a great way to get familiar with some of the smaller and more maneuverable ships. Attaining a new personal best can sometimes be its own motivation.
Recommended for new citizens: