Starfield: The Best Ship to Get Early

Space combat in Starfield only gets more challenging as you progress through the main story, but the Frontier isn’t going to get any better unless you invest in it. Instead of upgrading the ship you’ve got buying a new ship, we’d recommend earning ships for free.

One of the best ships you can get in Starfield is called the Razorleaf, and the only way you can get it is by completing a side mission called Mantis. It’s a higher-level mission, but it’s worth strongarming for the rewards. Not only is the Razorleaf fast, equipped with great weapons, and worth over 120,000 credits, but it also comes with a shielded cargo hold if you’re looking to smuggle contraband. Plus you’ll get other great rewards with the ship.

In order to start the Mantis quest you’ll need to find and read a data slate called “Secret Outpost!” which is dropped at random by Spacers and can drop rather early in Starfield. You might already have it!

If you don’t, here are some instances where we’ve seen it dropped:

Visit the Mantis walkthrough for complete directions on how to get through it or check out the video below.

About the Razorleaf

Below are the original Razorleaf stats we had as soon as we grabbed the ship from the Mantis lair. Upgrading the ship is simple, but even if you don’t upgrade it, the Razorleaf can tear through enemies. Even better, you might get a special encounter in space involving the ship (we won’t spoil that here).

As far as Razorleaf upgrades go, we’d suggest replacing the reactor and add additional lasers that can then be powered by the upgraded reactor. Even if you don’t upgrade the Razorleaf you’ll still have a fast, powerful ship that’ll serve you well.

For more helpful guides be sure to check out IGN’s complete Starfield walkthrough and list of the many things Starfield doesn’t tell you.

Miranda Sanchez is the executive editor of guides at IGN and a member of Podcast Unlocked. She’s a big fan of stationery and fountain pens. You can sometimes find her on Twitter.