Starfield: A Complete Guide to Surveying Planets

Surveying planets is a significant aspect of exploration and discovery in Starfield, but the process is a bit convoluted.

One of Starfield's most prominent features is the hundreds of planets that populate its universe, each ripe for discovery and exploration. Upon landing on the surface of one of these planets, players are given the opportunity to collect data for a planet survey that can later be turned in for Credits and XP, barring they pick up a Constellation survey mission before heading out.

To survey a planet, players will be required to scan the various lifeforms and structures on its surface using their hand scanner. To ensure they get the most out of their survey runs, however, it's recommended that players unlock and upgrade the Surveying skill in the Science tree to increase the effectiveness of their hand scanner.

Surveying planets can be a fairly extensive process, depending on the complexity of a planet and the amount of data players are required to collect in order to fully survey it. Players will often find themselves traveling to various points on a planet's surface to obtain data, even if all they need to scan is one more location or species.

During a survey, players are tasked with using their hand scanner to collect data on a planet's fauna, flora, resources, and locations. A planet is considered fully surveyed once each category's data has been collected. For flora and fauna, this requires multiple scans of the same species. Most planets have all four categories to collect data for, but some planets and nearly all moons only have resources to scan.

Scannable targets appear with a blue outline around them once they are within range of the scanner. Once scanned, they are filled with blue to denote their data has been collected. Once all required data for a specific species has been collected, those targets turn green and can no longer be scanned.

While performing a survey, players may occasionally notice a message in their survey information box on the left side of the screen that reads "BIOME COMPLETE" next to one of the survey categories. When this happens, it means that all possible scans for that particular category have been completed in the current biome, and the player must then travel to another biome on the same planet to continue collecting data.

To travel to another biome and continue their survey, players will need to open their map so that the entire planet is in view. Hitting the "show resources" key/button at that point will reveal the resource layout for the planet, which simultaneously serves as a guide for where players can land their ship. As players cannot land on water, the resources will highlight areas where landing is possible. Selecting any land area on the globe will then display the survey completion status for that specific biome. If it is less than 100%, players should land in that area and continue scanning targets until all the data for that biome is collected or every possible scan for the planet has been completed.

Upon surveying a single species of flora or fauna on a planet, players will receive a small amount of XP. Finding and scanning locations rewards an even greater amount of XP, but fully completing a planet survey will grant the most XP. Once a survey has been completed, players will receive a survey data slate that they can then sell to any vendor, but Vladimir aboard The Eye will pay the most for them.

Tips for Scanning Starfield Fauna

Fauna are the various creatures that wander a Starfield planet's surface and can usually be found in groups, sometimes even at war with one another. There's usually a healthy balance of hostile and passive fauna on every planet, but players should still take advantage of killing any fauna they find, as it is one of the best ways to earn copious amounts of XP in Starfield.

To scan fauna, players will first need to be within range of a creature. For fauna on the ground, this will depend on the power of the player's hand scanner, which is ultimately determined by whether they have unlocked and/or upgraded the Surveying skill. Flying creatures, on the other hand, can be scanned as soon as the blue outline appears around them, regardless of the distance they are from the player.

Players should also note that fauna can be scanned whether they are dead or alive, and killing a creature while the scanner is active will automatically collect its data. Each fauna scan contributes 13% toward that species' survey data, so players will need to scan eight of every creature to complete its survey.

Tips for Scanning Starfield Flora

Flora are plants that are unique to a planet and usually appear as small, colorful trees or bushes. While they typically appear within the vicinity of one another, players may still find themselves traveling long distances to complete the survey for a particular species of flora. Each plant can also provide players with organic crafting materials, so they should harvest any they find.

To scan a plant, players will need to be close enough to it for the scanner to register data. Once again, as with scanning anything in Starfield, the hand scanner's range can be improved via the Surveying skill in the Science tree. Each scan will contribute 13% toward that species of flora's survey completion, so players will need to scan eight of the same species of plant in order to complete the survey.

Tips for Scanning Resources

Resources are minerals that are primarily used for crafting purposes in Starfield and appear in a variety of different ways. Aside from being scanned, they can be mined using a Cutter to obtain valuable crafting materials. Resources appear in three unique forms: small ore veins, large gaseous veins, and large blue areas on the ground while the scanner is active. Scanning resources in any of these forms will contribute toward the completion of the survey.

Unlike flora and fauna, only one of each resource needs to be scanned in order to complete the survey for that specific resource, but data for every resource on a planet will need to be collected before the resources survey category for that planet is complete. It's also worth noting that every available resource on a planet is usually found in the same biome, so players shouldn't have to travel too far to complete that planet's resources category.

Tips for Scanning Locations

Locations are very different from flora, fauna, and resources in Starfield, as they first appear on the scanner as a waypoint for players to pursue. There are three types of locations in Starfield, each represented by a different icon. The three icons to look for are the Landmark icon (flag symbol), the Hazard icon (caution symbol), and the Life Signs icon (pulse symbol). Another location icon players are likely to notice is a standard map pin symbol. Upon hovering over them, they will read "Unknown." Players should also note that a symbol resembling a building is usually an outpost, not a scannable location.

To determine how many locations are needed to complete a planet's survey, players will need to look at the bottom of the survey information box on the left and count the number of circles displayed that have question marks in the center of them. Players will then need to scan a unique formation for each circle displayed, noting that scanning the same type of formation multiple times will not collect more data for the survey.

How to Complete Survey Missions

Players can pick up survey missions by visiting a Constellation mission board, like the one located near the crafting stations in the basement of The Lodge on the planet Jemison in the Alpha Centauri System. These missions task players with performing unique planet surveys and reward XP and Credits upon completion. Not all survey missions require a planet to be fully surveyed, however, and their cryptic objectives can often send players on a wild goose chase.

More often than not, survey missions ask layers to find a specific location on a planet that falls within certain parameters. If a survey mission says to "locate charred ecosystem in [system]," for example, players will need to travel to the indicated system and search every planet for a Charred Ecosystem location. To better determine what to look for, players will need to follow the clues provided by the name and description of the mission and evaluate the information on each planet in the specified system.

For example, a charred ecosystem would be found on a hot planet, so landing on a planet categorized as "barren" is a great place to start. From there, players should search each location on a planet's surface until they find one identified as a "charred ecosystem." Note that something like a charred ecosystem is almost always indicated by the Hazard icon.