How to auto-persuade in Starfield: Persuasion explained

Tyler Constable
An screenshot of a character walking on a planet's surface in Starfield.

Starfield’s universe-spanning adventure is filled with many interested characters to meet, and some may take more convincing than others to get you on their good side. So here’s how to utilize Starfield’s Persuasion system, and how to auto-persuade in the game.

Bethesda’s Starfield is a sprawling RPG where players travel across an entire galaxy, visiting planets, meeting companions, and customizing their ideal ship.

One of the most useful tools you have in the game is Persuasion. By pulling this off successfully you can completely avoid some tough combat situations so it’s an extremely handy option. After some time in Starfield, you can unlock the auto-persuade option which will speed up the process.

Here’s exactly how Persuasion works in the game and how to use auto-persuade.

An image of NPC dialogue options with persuasion in Starfield.
Auto-persuade can speed up conversations in Starfield.

How to unlock Persuasion in Starfield

Before you can start Persuading folks in Starfield, you’ll first need to acquire the skill. You can do this by selecting a character background that has Persuasion. These are:

  • Diplomat
  • Industrialist
  • Sculptor
  • Space Scoundrel

If you’ve got a background without Persuasion, however, you’ll have to unlock it from the ‘Social Skills’ Skill Tree. To do this, simply level up your character until you’ve got enough skill points to obtain Persuasion.

How to auto-persuade in Starfield

To auto-persuade in Starfield, you’ll need to have successfully passed 6 instances of persuasion.

When you begin a conversation with an NPC, you may be able to select a dialogue option marked with the words ‘[PERSUADE]’. Once you choose this option, an additional menu will open with persuasive dialogue. Each option will be color-coded in either Green, Orange, or Red based on how likely they are to succeed.

If you successfully pass 6 lines of dialogue, the auto-persuade option will become available to select on the bottom right of the screen. Choosing to auto-persuade will automatically pass you through the most difficult dialogue option which will greatly increase your chances of a successful conversation.

That’s everything you need to know about Persuasion in Starfield! For more on the game, check out our guides below:

Starfield all main story missions | All skills | All factions | All console commands | All romance options | All achievements | Level cap | How to remove bounty | How to fast travel | Easy XP | Easy credits | Best traits | How to get a house | Is Starfield on PS5? | Is Starfield on Nintendo Switch? | How to add DLSS | How to pick locks | How to customize ship | Starfield difficulty settings explained

About The Author

Tyler is Dexerto's Gaming Evergreen Specialist. He loves many games but is particularly fond of JRPGs and The Last of Us. When he's not writing about or playing video games, he's probably watching Doctor Who or reading a book. You can contact him at tyler.constable@dexerto.com