Starfield Contraband Guide

If you want to live the life of a smuggler, our Starfield contraband guide will teach you how to circumvent the law and smuggle contraband successfully.

How to Smuggle Contraband

Smuggling involves you trying to get around various factions who will scan your ship when you enter space that they control. 

You'll also need to find a fence, otherwise known as a vendor who will buy illicit or stolen goods. 

How to Tell if an Item is Contraband

If you want to know if an item will get you in trouble, check out the item name. Drugs and stolen goods will have a yellow arrow symbol written next to it. To make it easier, we've highlighted the symbol in the image above. 

Avoiding Contraband Scans

There are two ways to avoid getting caught with contraband, you can either try and run away from the area before they can scan you, or you can have a ship with shielded cargo space. 

If you don't want to go to the trouble fo getting a shielded cargo hold, you'll need to open up the planet menu to land before the scan happens, but bear in mind that you'll only be able to land in wilderness locations. 

By far the simplest option involves getting your hands on a ship that already features a shielded cargo hold. You can check out our ship guide for more information on the different ships available in the game, both paid-for and free. 

Finding a Fence

Once you've got around the issue of beating the authorities when they scan for your cargo, you'll also need to find someone to buy it from you. 

There are various vendors dotted around the galaxy who will buy stolen or illicit goods from you, but they're spread out pretty far.

If you're not going Crimson, check out Neon and introduce yourself to the gangs where you'll find another vendor to buy your narcotics and stolen goods, too!

Every major city also has a Trade Authority, who will happily purchase contraband from you, as well.

Buying Contraband

The easiest place to pick up contraband is Neon since you can literally just walk into Euphorika and just buy Aurora for relatively cheap prices to sell on other planets. 

Beyond Euphorika, the clinic in The Key stocks a wide variety of illicit goods as well, though you'll need to be a member of the faction to gain admittance. 

Easiest Ways To Sell Contraband in Starfield

Beyond upgrading your ship's hold to have shielding, so you can avoid scans - there are two great places to sell contraband with minimal difficulty:

• The Den - Spacestation in the Wolf System (No Scan, you can sell to the Trade Authority)
• The Key (Kryx) - Crimson Fleet's Stronghold, after becoming a member you can sell Contraband to your heart's content!

That's it for this Starfield guide, but there are more to check out below: