Best Early Game Crew Members to Recruit in Starfield

As a member of Constellation in Starfield, hunting down artifacts can be daunting work, but having the best early game crew members under your thumb will make things more manageable. Crew members offer valuable benefits to your starship or an outpost. They can aid your exploration with their inherent skills, improve your ship’s performance in space combat, or even cultivate resources for you. Consider these guys NPCs you can hire and assign to different locations, unlike the recruitable companions with rich personalities and narrative importance. Nothing’s stopping you from having your companions fit the shoes of the hired crew, though. Most companions provide high-rank skills and will easily outrank a regular crewmate. With that in mind, here are the best early game crew members to recruit in Starfield and where to assign them. 

Starfield’s Best Early Game Crew Members to Recruit

Here’s a list of the best early game crew members we believe players should go for, including their skills and a brief explanation of how to recruit them.

Related: Baldur’s Gate 3 and Starfield Are the Two Extremes of RPG Storytelling

• Heller: Geology I and Outpost Engineering III. You can recruit him during the “Back to Vectera” mission by deciphering a distress call and following it.
• Omari Hassan: Shield Systems II and Starship Engineering I. You can hire Omari with credits at The Hitching Post in Akila from the Cheyenne System. 
• Andromeda Kepler: Outpost Engineering II, Piloting I, and Aneutronic Fusion I. You can hire Andromeda with credits at The Broken Spear on Cedonia in the Sol Star System. 
• Gideon Aker: Ballistic Weapon Systems II and Missile Weapon Systems II. You can hire Gideon with credits at The Viewport in New Atlantis.
• Sam Coe: Piloting IV, Rifle Certification III, Payloads II, and Geology I. Sam becomes recruitable after completing “The Empty Nest” mission. 
• Sarah Morgan: Astrodynamics IV, Lasers III, Leadership II, and Botany I. Sarah will join your crew after “The Old Neighbourhood” mission.
• Vasco: Aneutronic Fusion I, Shield Systems II, and EM Weapon Systems I. You can recruit Vasco by accepting his offer to join your crew after completing the “One Small Step” mission in New Atlantis.
• Andreja: Stealth IV, Particle Beams III, Energy Weapons Systems II, and Theft I. You can recruit Andreja after finishing the “Into the Unknown” mission in New Atlantis.
• Barrett: Starship Engineering IV, Particle Beam Weapon Systems III, Robotics II, and Gastronomy I. You can recruit Barrett after completing the “Back to Vectera” mission.

For the most part, Constellation companions a part of the main story, like Sam Coe and Barrett, are the best early game crew members. Others, such as Omari and Andromeda, will cost you a pretty penny to hire but are worth the investment. You can recruit these crew members early into Starfield if you stick to the main story missions and use your credits wisely. 

If you’re looking for more on the game, check out how to kill Terrormorphs in Starfield.