How To Smuggle Contraband In Starfield

Are you wondering how to smuggle that precious Contraband into one of the major cities in Starfield? In your travels, you may come across ordinary-looking items with a hefty price value. These are illegal goods that fetch high prices, though you can't enter a city without paying a fine or going to prison when in possession of one. 

However, there are ways to overcome that hurdle and live your fantasies of being a space pirate. Here's our guide, which explains how to smuggle Contraband in Starfield. 

How To Smuggle Contraband In Starfield

You can smuggle Contraband in Starfield by investing in the Deception skill or unlocking the Shielded Cargo Hold and Scan Jammer ship upgrades. 

The Deception skill will reduce the effectiveness of the enemy's contraband scans, allowing you to smuggle Contraband into the city. Investing in this skill can decrease the effectiveness of enemy contraband scans by up to 50%. However, keep in mind that your illegal cargo can still get detected by enemies. 

Before you unlock the Deception skill, you will need to spend four skill points in the first row of the Social skill line. We recommend investing in the Persuasion and Commerce skills as both are quite useful early on.

The Shielded Cargo Hold is a ship module that can also help you avoid contraband scans. For this, you need to visit a Crimson Fleet ship vendor or the one in the Red Mile in the Porrima System. 

Do note that you won't have access to the Crimson Fleet vendors until you join the faction. We will have a separate guide up to explain how to join Crimson Fleet, so don't forget to check back soon. 

Once you have the Shielded Cargo Hold upgrade, you can start storing Contraband on your ship's Cargo Hold. However, these illegal goods are still susceptible to ship scans, so don't go overboard. Thankfully, you could further increase the chance of evading these Contraband scans by unlocking another ship upgrade called Scan Jammer. 

As the name suggests, Scan Jammer can increase the evasion rate of ship scans by 50% if you have the Shielded Cargo Hold upgrade. Do note that the former won't work without the latter, so get ready to spend those credits before you become a space smuggler. 

Where To Sell Contraband In Starfield

You can sell Contraband to the Trade Authority vendors. These are scattered all over the galaxy, and you can find one early on in the Well region of the New Atlantis City on the planet Jemison.  While exploring the space, you may also stumble upon Trade Authority ships. Interact with them to sell the Contraband.