Bethesda has gone to work on the whole dialogue system in Starfield and refined the persuasion mechanic into a whole mini-game. Every time you start a dialogue with an NPC and see the “Persuade” option, get ready to work on your convincing skills. The new mini-game warrants a detailed guide explaining Starfield‘s persuasion mechanic.
To persuade an NPC in Starfield, you have to choose one of the given options while weighing its difficulty vs. the points it will fill in your persuasion bar. The goal is to fill the persuasion bar within the given turns to win the argument.
Failing to convince the NPC might trigger a completely difference response and reaction from them. So, learning how persuasion works early on in your playthrough will help you out a lot.
The Persuasion Mechanic in Starfield
As explained above, the goal is to fill the persuasion bar within the given turns to win the argument.
There are a lot of different more minor mechanics at play here. So, we will highlight and explain them individually for better understanding. It is good practice to save your game before engaging in a significant persuasion mini-game with an important NPC.
Persuasion Bar
The goal is to fill the persuasion bar at the bottom left of the screen. The empty dots must be filled by selecting the appropriate dialogue choices within the given turn. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? Well, it’s not all that simple.
Let’s look at the other aspects that affect how your bar fills.
Total Turns
You have to win the dialogue within the given turns. Failure to fill the bar within the given turn will result in losing the argument and trigger a specific outcome based on who you were talking to.
Note that even if you are on your last turn and end up convincing the NPC with your selected dialogue, your turn will continue. Winning a dialogue gives you a free turn. This can continue until you successfully fill the bar OR lose a dialogue (in which case the persuasion will fail)
Difficulty of Each Dialogue
Next, You should take a look at the difficulty level of each dialogue option you have available. This can be gauged by looking at the multi-colored bar next to each dialogue option.
The colors will denote how likely it is for that dialogue to persuade the NPC. Green means easy, Yellow means Slightly Difficulty, and Red obviously means Most Difficult.
This does not, however, mean that the Red option will not succeed. You should figure out the rest of the mechanics before actually gauging each option.
Points
Each available dialogue option has a + sign and a number next to it. This denotes the number of dashes that will get filled in the persuasion bar if this option can persuade the NPC.
You have to judge how difficult an option is based on its color, how many turns you have left, and how many points it will add to the bar if you succeed.
Auto Persuade
There is an Auto Persuade option in the bottom right as well. This option can be used every so often once it has been charged. You can charge it by winning dialogues and persuading NPCs.
Once charged, you can use it in your next persuasion min-game to automatically convince the NPC to agree with whatever it is you want.
How to Improve Persuasion in Starfield?
Persuasion is an essential skill in Starfield that can be obtained from the get-go if you pick backgrounds like the Diplomat, Industrialist, and Space Scoundrel.
The skill can be further improved by dumping points into it and completing related challenges. At Rank 4, you will have a 50% increased chance of persuading people in the game. Those are some excellent odds.
If you are at a point where you cannot immediately spend skill points to level up your persuasion, then you may use the following food items to boost it temporarily.
- Supernova – provides an additional 12% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 5 minutes)
- Sparkling Wine – provides an additional 10% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 5 minutes)
- Pinot Noir – provides an additional 12% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 5 minutes)
- Hippolyta – provides an additional 20% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 5 minutes)
- Velocity – provides an additional 15% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 3 minutes)
- Riesling – provides an additional 12% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 5 minutes)
- Paramour – provides an additional 25% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 10 minutes)
- Chandra Merlot – provides an additional 12% chance to convince NPCs during persuasion. (Lasts for 5 minutes)
There are also outfits in Starfield that provide similar bonuses, which are listed below.
- Green Fashionable Suit – this suit gives the player an additional 5% persuasion.
- Corpo Sleek Suit – this suit gives the player an additional 5% persuasion.
- Fashionable Suit – this suit gives the player an additional 5% persuasion.
- Fitted Business Suit – this suit gives the player an additional 10% persuasion.
Conclusion
That is how the persuasion mechanic works in Starfield. We hope this detailed guide will help you win most of your dialogues and be known as the smoothest talker in the universe.
For more on Starfield, stick with WIG as we continue to bring out informative guides that are easy to follow and provide a lot of insight into the game.
