The Starfield stealth meter is a feature that is not available at the start of the game. This might be surprising to you, since other Bethesda games like Fallout has a hidden and detected bar that is revealed when you crouch. Even Skyrim had an eye that opened and closed to show whether your were hidden or detected. Luckily, there is a simple way to unlock the stealth meter in this game. Here’s how to get the hidden/detected bar in Starfield.
How to unlock Starfield stealth meter
To unlock the stealth meter, you need to allocate one skill point into the Stealth skill in the Physical tree.
Once that happens, the hidden-detected bar functions similar to other Bethesda games. When you crouch, a meter above the center of the screen will appear indicating whether you are hidden or detected. But this time around, it’s been upgraded so that the white bar will fill green whenever someone can see you, despite the bar saying that you’re “hidden.”
So if there’s even a speck of green, it means that an NPC is noticing your presence, meaning that attempting to steal something will likely result in getting a bounty. In our experience, stealing items can be finicky. A NPC can sometimes notice you take an item though he or she doesn’t seem to have an angle on you. Sometimes the bar is completely white and you still get caught.
Unlike other Bethesda games, Starfield locks quite a lot of gameplay features behind the skill tree. This includes boosting in the air by using your boost pack, which you need to unlock by putting a point into Boost Pack Training. Similarly, you need to earn one rank in Thief to pickpocket NPCs, and there are a lot of starship features that are placed behind other skills as well.
Starfield Stealth Meter FAQ
A: To gain access to the stealth meter, you need to invest one skill point into the Stealth skill located in the Physical tree. Once activated, the meter appears above the center of the screen when you crouch.
A: While the stealth meter functions similarly to other Bethesda titles, indicating if you are hidden or detected, there’s an upgrade in Starfield. If the white bar starts to fill with green, it means an NPC has detected your presence even if the bar indicates you’re “hidden”. So, you need to be cautious as you might still get caught even if the bar is white.
A: Yes, Starfield integrates many gameplay features within its skill tree. For instance, to use the boost pack for aerial movement, you have to allocate points into Boost Pack Training. Similarly, the Thief skill enables you to pickpocket NPCs, and various starship functionalities are also unlocked by progressing in other skills.
For more Starfield guides, here’s how to unlock the emergency cuttable wall, and whether you can adjust the game’s brightness settings.
