Starfield - DO NOT Play an Unarmed Build - IT NEEDS TO BE FIXED!

Imagine spending years to develop a game that has an unarmed build options but no way to quickly equip your fist. Fail!

Omg can you imagine I’m at the same base, with the same enemies trying out an unarmed build which seems to do no to little damage. What are the chances lol 😂

Unarmed + Powers = FTW . Yu can fit 10 powers & then keep 2 slots for comfort items on the D-pad . Grav shift around slapping ppl and using the solar flare power . Yu have a shield , grav dash , etc. some devastating shit fr . My opinion

I just don't understand why you'd want to punch people as a career in this game. So much effort goes into the gun play and it's not like elder scrolls with a melee focus (at least comparatively). Square peg, round hole. It won't be fixed, it's going to be such a low priority for the majority of players.

They learned their lesson in Fallout 3

One of the Bathasda guys said Neurostrikes for a unarmed bulid it was in the trailer before starfield was released

I hope a good patch would come. Also, try picking Khajiit, they have claw bonus 😆

all melee in starfield is bad, starting with the low amount of melee weapons, there's not even a security baton. the animations are the same always no matter your skill points and they even took away directional attacks like in oblivion or skyrim. you invest in the boxer skill but you dont get faster punches or more strikes in the attack combo its just the 3 attacks before stoping. its just lazy and lame also why if im "learning" boxing my character still punches like and idiot. tbh the worst part is that theres no reason to punch, unlike skyrim theres no brawl sistem or speech option that leads to a fist figth

the only way you are gonna get any sort of melee animation and ability improvements is through the modding community, just like with skyrim

It doesn't "need to be fixed". This is a futuristic space travel game. If you are throwing hands against enemies with laser rifles, you're just a moron. Bethesda is just allowing you to be a suicidal moron if you so choose.

Add a damage increase to consecutive hits on an enemy. Then add in a few special moves like neck snapping for stealth kills, and arm/hand breaking to stop enemies from using firearms, and ground pounding to finish off downed enemies. Finally add in a special 3-5 kill powerup attack like Fist Flurry that slows down time and increases punching speed for a few seconds, or Cosmic Slug that lets you launch enemies into the stratosphere in a single punch.

This is one of the many reasons why I don't like the challenge system to rank up perks. I was thinking of dabbling into unarmed up melee because within the first 20 hours or so, I'd melee enemies as they came around corners, switch to my gun and finish them off. Ya know, John Wick style. But as you may have noticed when I said that, it wasn't the melee/unarmed that killed them, so oops, I guess you won't level up those ranks. I don't like how it forces you into certain playstyles. For example, sometimes I'd be using a rifle and have to switch to my pistol to make sure I'm getting pistol kills so it ranks up. I didn't like how it was constantly on my mind with what is or isn't leveling.

What is an improvement over Elder Scrolls, however, is that I at least always get exp when killing enemies. Weirdly enough, getting a skill to level 100 in skyrim just made me feel bad, not good, as that meant no more leveling when using that skill. And progression is very important to me in games.

With all that attacking from Stealth you can one shot ko lvl 1- 40 3 tsp lvl 50s and stun lvl 70 and pummel them if u steal there weapon first it's a boxing match with disarm added effects u do x25 dmg from Stealth unarmed

I'll tell you the skills to pick for an efficient melee build im building.
Boxing lvl 4
Fitness lvl4
Stealth lvl 4
Wellness lvl4
Gymnastics lvl 4
Martial arts lvl4
Concealment lvl 4
Neurosyrikes lvl 4
Rejuvenation lvl4
Crippling lvl 4
Armor penetration lvl 4
Dueling lvl4
Theft lvl 4
Intimidation lvl4
Instigation lvl 4
That's my unarmed green barrette build

Umm he's built it wrong you get more dps with the Stealth unarmed combo

Has someone checked to see if the melee skill still boosts fist damage, like they're technically melee they just aren't weapons, but maybe it's still programmed to stack? Maybe delusional optimism but I figure there's a chance.

damn i wanted my cowboy bebop style build to work with martial arts but guess ill lean into pistol/melee build

We have a bloody boost pack in the game.. why in god's name would they not include a literal superman punch that causes you to slam into targets at a distance for the cost of a little boost charge? Extremely easy fix, can bake in a really large stagger modifier or larger damage and put it on a small cooldown.

I've power punched 100+ enemies and haven't disarmed one yet. It's preventing me from getting to rank 2 in martial arts. Unarmed build is definitely not worth it. Probably just end up rage quitting.

It's hard to believe that in a futuristic world like Starfield there aren't any brass knuckles or power gloves. Especially when martial arts still exists.

Make some spike gloves or a shock...glove. idk come on

I enjoyed playing unarmed build. Lots of control and when you want to go for the kill you can just do some sneak attacks for free since the enemy is incapacitated.

Unfortunately it needs to be used as a secondary for me. I also like to tie into the time slowing power. It helps immerse me in as a time controlling space exploring samurai. Wish it was a martial arts master but im happy.
When it gets fixed, martial arts master is going to be my first playthru😅

Does the EM damage perk synergize with the neurostrikes perk?

They should’ve added a bow

Thank you for the detailed report. I would never have thought of it. But I wouldn't go unarmed against a 12-year-old with a shotgun either (or against my wife with a frying pan).

I'm having a blast with unarmed ! Try it.

being strong is a grind just like irl

i think both melee and unarmed suck especially in levels above 30+ because there arent lvl adjusted melee weapons like guns

Judging by the fact there are no unarmed weapons i honestly dont think bethesda intended for players to use unarmed almost at all.

It is my belief that unarmed perks were added as a challenge for melee users to gain additional perks since a lot of the unarmed skills also affect melee.

I dont think it was meant for anything beyond punch a few weak aliens to death over and over until you rank up, then switch back to a melee weapon.

To late.😅 Even with 2x XP it is a pain. Thanks for the Vid.

They need to add some kind of armor penetration at the very least.

Maybe I am out of the loop I use unarmed and melee feels fine to me

Even melee is mid as fuck. Clunky animations, zero upgrades and customization, no superior versions of the same weapon, so your damage caps out pretty quickly and it's not high at all. It can be fun, especially in the early to mid game, but only against humans. Going up against 3 terrormorbs one after the other during one of the quests really cured the fear I had of them since a few quests earlier. The scariest part of fighting the scariest enemy is now the amount of time I'll have to spend running in a circle around them while sluggishly swinging a weapon that may as well be a pool noodle at them, knowing it'll only get worse every subsequent time as the level scaling bumps up their health and armor.

I don't know about you, I just started doing unarmed to level assassination and get the chameleon ability and OMG was that fun if you pair it with the Zero Gravity StarPower.

Concealment + Void Form makes this a lot better

Wait... you liked vanilla melee? with all the weird delays where you cant attack for no reason?

Really sucks I spent a long time grinding to be disappointed. At least give me a spacesuit with amazing unarmed bonuses to make it worth it.

Todd when he’s getting his diaper changed who laughing now 😂

saints row 2 had unlockable fighting styles back in 2008 for christ sake 15 years later and this is what we have

What do you except your punching people it’s not gonna be super powerful 😅

It's a total nonsense form of combat in a game like this and then they don't even make it viable. What were they smoking with these decisions.

Actually now that I think about if it the player is dumb enough to invest in and go for an unarmed combat build against people wearing futuristic space suit armor and helmets meant to withstand multiple forms of damage, the vacuum of space and hostile environments then you deserve the idiot reward you get. GG Bethesda well played, I see exactly what you did there.

No sorry, melee isnt much better, and no, there isnt a variety of weapons, there is one melee weapon that has different skins, they are all effectively the same with a different number attached to it.
There is way too many aspects of the game that feel last moment and incomplete, or intentionally forgotten to be provided in a DLC later

Melee isn't much better actually, it falls off hard after 50-60, or maybe it's with difficulty idk. I'm medium difficulty, 1st NG+, level 85 and melee is basically useless even when using all the appropriate perks, the 20+ mobs absolutely SHRED you even with the defense bonus, and if you want to use melee you have to spam chems like there is no tomorrow. Basically unless a mob is low level melee is awful, compare it to my shotguns that can still 1 or 2 shot most things modded and not even having the related perk points. My hornet nest coachman in particular is ridiculous, I'm sure the right legendary coachman would actually break the game lol. Really disappointed with melee and unarmed in Starfield, compared to TES/FO it is a significant downgrade in literally every way shape and form. Somehow the Fallout universe gets the cooler techno fist weapons, and cool unique looking lore-appropriate weapons, why we didn't get a nasa-punk power fist is beyond me, someone was asleep on the job. Skyrim while not catering specifically to unarmed still has the tools in place for it to be a viable build if you want, and the melee combat while not great has worked fine for the last however many times they've re-released the game. Really hope they address the utterly crap melee/unarmed with a preferably free expansion, though I'm sure there are modders already hard at work figuring out how to add 2h'ers to the game, along with some badly needed space-themed variety.

IMO there should have been a level scaling to unarmed damage, and I believe there will be in a future patch.

The only time I will melee someone is if I run out of ammo and I need a second to reload, so I'll bash them in the face with my rifle. That's it.

I think they should make it so unarmed is tied to the suit you have equipped. Different suits give different unarmed damage. The mantis suit would be amazing for an early game set that gives great boost to unarmed damage. Also heavy unarmed attacks should be granted a huge percentage increase to knocking enemies down. I really want the satisfaction of uppercutting enemies into space 😩.

I can't lie that you make some good points but if you max out stealth with it too and get the slide from gymnastics you got a 10x damage output most of the time especially doubled with the chameleon ability and maxed melee for 10% vamp and finally void form. It's not perfect but it is very fun. I do believe that making the "fists" a favourite-able thing, it would be much more fun as you could still quick change between them and EM weapons to just send everything to sleep. It's really fun to pickpocket all their stuff while they're knocked out too

Unarmed needs knuckle based weapons, period. Fallout's unarmed had knuckles and Skyrim's had gloves, rings, a necklace, a heavy set, race bonuses, and enchantments to make its unarmed good - absolutely game breaking. They can do better than this...