Starfield – How to smuggle and sell contraband
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Want to learn how to smuggle contraband in Starfield? Starfield has plenty of components you will have to understand, and thankfully, the ability to be a space pirate is one of them. When dealing with some illegal activities, smuggling Contraband and making bank is a must. However, you will always be scanned for Contraband items on your ship when entering a planet.
While there is no way to get around being scanned, there are ways to get those illegal items through security. Unfortunately, it isn’t very easy to break your way through a planet’s security and get your items to the surface. You will need to be a master of deception and learn the ways of the pirates.
With plenty to discover and various traits that will help you along the way, knowing which will help you most is essential. Along the way, you may want to learn what a Digipick is and how to lockpick. But first, this guide will detail how to smuggle Contraband in Starfield.
How to smuggle contraband in Starfield
To smuggle Contraband, ensure you have a Deception Skill on your Social Skill Tree in Starfield. Once you upgrade this skill to Rank 4, enemy ships’ Contraband Scans will be less effective. You will need to upgrade your ship to help you bypass the scanners. You can then place your Contranband in a shielded cargo hold. Like bypassing the scanners, you can buy a Scan Jammer for your spaceship.
You can buy them at The Red Mile on Porrima III within the Porrima System. Pirate ships will have these items preinstalled, so smuggling Contraband will be easier if you take hold of one of their ships. If you seek to join the Crimson Fleet Faction, you will also gain additional traits that will benefit you in smuggling Contraband.
The planets that will scan you for Contraband items are the following:
- Jemison (New Atlantis) Alpha Centauri System
- Mars (Cydonia) Sol System
- Volii Alpha (Neon City) Volii System
- Akila (Freestar Collective) Cheyenne System
Note: Smuggling Contraband is highly illegal, and you can get arrested for it by the United Colonies or Freestar Collective and serve some jail time. However, you can also pay a fine but have the stolen items confiscated. When you do, you will lose XP. Failure to pay your fine or serve jail time will cause a bounty to be put on your head.
Where to find contraband in Starfield
Contraband is an item you can find when you explore abandoned labs or your enemy’s strongholds. These will be The Spacers or the Crimson Fleet Factions. Contraband items include all illegal items, such as Banned Drugs, Harvested Organs, or Black Market Antiquities.
Contraband items will be indicated by the yellow icon when interacting with them, unlike stolen items, which will have a red icon. This icon will also appear when looking at the item in your inventory. Some missions will require you to obtain contraband or lead you to areas where it can be found.
Where to sell contraband in Starfield
Now that you have illegal items and have chosen the life of piracy, you may want to know where you can sell this loot. You must find a ship or building with Trade Authority to sell Contraband in Starfield. However, you must speak to a sales associate at the Trade Authority Kiosk, who will not accept the item.
While items like stolen goods can be sold to any merchant, you’ll have a more challenging time selling Contraband.
