How to Open Emergency Doors in Starfield

It doesn’t take long to stumble upon an emergency door in Starfield. The gigantic red markers are hard to miss but the allure of anything with that many warnings scrawled on it is difficult to ignore. If you’ve been struggling to figure out exactly how to pop those hinges, don’t feel too bad. With all the systems in Starfield, some mechanics are sidelined and left for players to figure out; Emergency doors are one such example. Even though they’re all over the place, I can’t recall ever seeing a UI pop-up on how to actually open them. Fortunately, a lot of careful analysis, experimentation, and a helpful amount of luck has proven that the emergency doors can be cracked open and it’s significantly easier than you might think.

How to Cut Open Emergency Doors in Starfield

The first and really only thing you need, if you want to start opening those emergency hatches, is the cutter. The basic mining laser that’s dished out in the game’s opening scene isn’t just good for blasting invading Crimson Fleet or breaking down chunks of lead. Equip that bad boy and then scope out the actual door, looking specifically at the four corners. You should see a series of yellow bolts latched shut. To open the door, all you need to do is split those bolts with your laser, and Barrett’s your uncle, you’re free to enter!

I’ll be the first to admit that seeing the massive “CUTTABLE WALL” label didn’t immediately click with me. Just goes to show that reading comprehension is important, kids.

Related: Are There Invisible Walls on Planets in Starfield?

Of course, that’s just the easy option. Players wanting to throw away explosives to open a measly emergency door can certainly go this route; Frag grenades and mines can knock those bolts loose but they’re obviously far more risky when it comes to execution. They’re also more inconsistent; during my time experimenting with grenades, even with what I assumed to be a perfectly timed throw the targeted bolt wouldn’t budge. I’m not sure if this was a bug or intentional, considering Starfield‘s devs probably didn’t expect many people to lob powerful frags at emergency doors. I’ve not tried this myself but some players have even tried to blow them open by shooting carefully placed fuel canisters to varying degrees of success. Hey, whatever gets you through to the other side, I’m not gonna judge.

As for why you’d want to cut through Starfield‘s emergency doors, there could be a variety of things hidden on the other side. It’s usually a small collection of loot including ammo, crafting materials, and, if you’re lucky, some credits. They could also be protecting something more valuable like a computer terminal to deactivate a group of deadly turrets or a secret tunnel that avoids a group of angry spacers. Sometimes it pays to use your cutter for more than just mining!

If you’re looking for more guides, check out how to cure status effects in Starfield.