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Instigation Leveling Guide How to Force NPCs to attack Allies

Starfield Instigation Leveling Guide | How to Force NPCs to Attack Their Allies

Players can make combat much more manageable in Starfield by using the Instigation skill. When using Instigation, enemy NPCs will attack their allies, essentially acting as your teammate for a short period. The game doesn’t detail how to use this valuable skill. This guide will cover how to force NPCs to attack their allies with the Instigation skill in Starfield.

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How to Force NPCs to Attack Their Allies with the Instigation Skill in Starfield

Players can use the Instigation skill in Starfield and force NPCs to attack their allies by using the scanner and selecting the option. Opening your scanner and placing the middle curser on an NPC will cause an option to appear that reads “Instigation.” Select the option, and you’ll have a chance to cause that NPC to attack their allies, acting as your teammate.

Keep in mind that Instigation is not 100 percent, and sometimes you will fail. As you level up the skill, you’ll have a higher success rate and the ability to use it on enemies that are higher level than you.

Best Place to Level Up the Instigation Skill in Starfield

The best place to level up the Instigation skill in Starfield is at enemy bases found on planets. You can find enemy bases by landing on any planet, scanning the environment, and following the waypoints that say “unknown.” These unknown locations are usually a location filled with enemies.

You’ll have the highest level of success going to enemy bases that are on lower-level planets. Lower-level planets have lower-level enemies, meaning you’ll have a better chance of successfully instigating them.

Related: Starfield Neurostrikes Leveling Guide | Best Places to Stun Enemies With Unarmed Attacks

Instigation Leveling Requirements and Rewards

To reach rank 4 of the Instigation skill, you must instigate 80 people successfully. As you rank up, you’ll unlock the ability to instigate stronger enemies, making combat a breeze. Below you can find all ranks of the Instigation skill and the requirements and rewards you get for completing them.

  • Rank 1: You can force a target NPC at or below your level to attack their allies for a limited time (Spend 8 skill points in the Social tree).
  • Rank 2: You can force a target NPC up to 10 levels higher than you to attack their allies for a limited time (Instigate 5 different people).
  • Rank 3: You can force a target NPC up to 20 levels higher than you to attack their allies for a limited time (Instigate 25 different people).
  • Rank 4: Enemies affected by Instigation will attack their allies until they are dead (Instigate 50 different people).

When visiting enemy bases to rank up your Instigation skill, remember that resting for 24 to 48 hours afterward will cause all the enemies to respawn at that location. This can speed up the process and allow you to level up quickly.


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Christian Bognar
Christian has been a writer of Attack of the Fanboy for over a year and has covered Shadows of Rose, Lords of the Fallen, Remnant 2, Lies of P, and more; his favorite genre is Survival Horror. He has a business degree but felt the need to take his love for video games to the gaming community. Outside of writing, you can find him listening to all types of podcasts, especially Always Sunny Podcast and Morbid True Crime.