Starfield Special Projects Leveling Guide | How to Craft Uncommon, Rare, and Exotic Manufactured Components

Don't have the right tool? Make one with this skill!

by J.R. Waugh
Starfield Special Projects Common Uncommon Rare Exotic Unique Manufactured Components
Image: Attack of the Fanboy

Knowledge is power when it comes to expanding your horizons in Starfield. The game offers an impressive array of freedom and varied gameplay loops for players looking to roam the stars and build interplanetary outposts. But sometimes you need the right tool for the job, and in this game, you often have to make those tools. This can be done by the Special Projects skill, but to add ranks to it, you must craft uncommon, rare, and exotic manufactured components in Starfield.

How Do You Level Up Special Projects Ranks in Starfield?

Starfield-Special-Projects-Leveling-Guide
Image: Attack of the Fanboy

Each rank has a small crafting challenge you must complete to level up Special Projects in Starfield. Each challenge requires a set of 10 crafting components of increasing rarity, as follows:

  • Rank 1: Build 10 Common or Uncommon components to unlock Rank 2
  • Rank 2: Build 10 Rare components to unlock Rank 3
  • Rank 3: Build 10 Exotic components to unlock Rank 4.

Related: Starfield Manipulation Leveling Guide | How to Convince NPCs to Obey Commands

At Rank 4, you can also craft Unique components, and your Outpost extractors will produce more resources, so consider getting your Greenhouse and Mineral Extractors ready!

How Do You Craft Uncommon, Rare, and Exotic Manufactured Components?

To create Common, Uncommon, Rare, Exotic, and Unique manufactured components in Starfield, you need an Industrial Workbench and ranks in the Special Projects skill. To get this skill, you need 12 points in the Science portion of the Skill Tree. Beyond this, the ranks you’ll need to create each level of component are the following:

  • Rank 2: Rare
  • Rank 3: Exotic
  • Rank 4: Unique
Starfield-Manufactured-Components-Common-Uncommon-Rare-Exotic-Unique
Image: Attack of the Fanboy

When building at the workbench, you’ll see in its description if it’s common, uncommon, rare, etc. Additionally, if it’s Rare or above, it’ll have the required Special Projects rank on the right as a reminder. These components open up some incredible crafting opportunities, particularly for your custom outposts, and shouldn’t be overlooked!

- This article was updated on October 11th, 2023

About The Author

J.R. is a Staff Writer with AOTF and has been covering gaming and entertainment in the industry since 2022. Along with a B.A. in History from the University of Cincinnati, he has studied at the University of Birmingham, UK, and part of his M.A. at the University of Waterloo. You'll find J.R. particularly at home writing about the hottest manga and anime. He is highly passionate about horror, strategy, and RPGs, and anything about Star Trek or LOTR. When not ranting about fan theories or writing guides, J.R. is streaming his favorite RPGs and other forgotten gems.