Starfield gives the freedom to explore the galaxy, unearth alien artifacts, and get gunned down by space police. The latter’s a pain when you’re roaming around the cosmos, but it’s an even bigger inconvenience on the ground. If you’re wondering how to get city guards to stop attacking you in Starfield, here’s what you need to know.
How to Deal with City Guards in Starfield If You Have a Bounty
The first thing to know about Starfield’s city guards is that they and the whole bounty system can be slightly wonky. I’ll start with the best-case scenario: that you’ve actually done something wrong and they’ve not arbitrarily decided to murder you. If you want to check that you are a wrong ‘un, go to the planet/galaxy map. If you see, in the top right-hand corner, a red warning that a faction has a bounty out on you, things are working properly.
You then have a few choices. Those are as follows:
- Holster your weapon and get close to a guard, at which point they should offer you the fine/jail/resist option. To holster, hold down R on the keyboard or X on your controller. Be warned, if you choose not to comply and they attack you again, holstering your weapon won’t give you a second chance to surrender. Once you’ve paid your fine or done jail time, you should be free to roam the city again
- Escape. You can’t fast travel while in combat, but you can fast travel once you’re clear of the guards. While gunning down the guards is an option, it’s not recommended, at least not until you’re reasonably powerful. Instead, try jumping into areas where the guards can’t follow. In New Atlantis, I ran towards the starport and leapt off the cliff into the water. When you’re clear, fast travel somewhere else, preferably a system owned by another faction
If you choose that second option, you’re not done yet. You still need to clear your bounty, and the best way to do that is to find a Trackers Alliance console. You’ll find these in various places, sometimes near bars. For example, there’s one in Akila City in The Hitching Post. These will let you pay off your bounty for any faction (with a small commission fee), even if that faction doesn’t own the space you’re in. You’re now good, and next time you go back to the place you were being shot at you should be fine.
How to Deal with City Guards Shooting You When You’ve Done Nothing Wrong
Unfortunately, players have also reported law enforcement gunning them down when they’ve done nothing wrong. While Starfield isn’t a buggy trainwreck, I’d recommend saving often so you can load a previous game if this happens and nothing else works. You can also try the following:
- Get to safety and wait several hours
- Leave the planet and return later
- Check you’ve not got contraband. You may have been flagged for contraband you didn’t know you had
- Sleep for several days, in your spaceship if you can
- Exit and restart the game
- If you’re on PC, use a console command to clear your ‘bounty’, even if you don’t think you have one
And if all else fails, load an earlier game. That’s how to stop city guards from attacking you in Starfield. If you’re looking for more advice on dealing with the challenges the game throws at you, take a look through our full coverage archives.
