What Does Prognosis Improved or Worsened Mean in Starfield?

Status Effects in Starfield are Afflictions, which are different injuries or infections you can gain from risky activities like falling from a great height or being exposed to a biological hazard. Additionally, you will be given a Prognosis for your affliction, a rating system that dictates how bad an Affliction is and what it takes to heal it. This Prognosis rating can improve or worsen based on specific scenarios and circumstances. Here’s what Prognosis improved or worsened means in Starfield.

How Does Prognosis Work in Starfield?

An improved Prognosis indicates a positive progression in the status of your Affliction, signifying an elevation of one level in the overall rating. Conversely, a worsened Prognosis indicates a negative progression, indicating a downgrade of one level in the overall rating of your Affliction.

When you gain an Affliction, you will gain a Prognosis rating from “Poor” to “Excellent,” which describes the chance for your body to heal and remove an Affliction without treatment. The better the prognosis, the greater the chance an Affliction will heal without using an Aid item or by visiting a Doctor.

You can check the Prognosis of any Afflictions you currently suffer from by accessing the Status Effects menu from your Character Screen. Inside the Character Screen, you will see icons for each Affliction underneath your health. Press the Y button or B key to access the Status Effects screen. Then, look on the right-hand side of the screen to see a list of every Affliction you have and their current Prognosis.

Related: How to Treat Contusions in Starfield

How to Heal Afflictions in Starfield

Afflictions cannot heal independently until they reach “Stable” or a better prognosis. A “Poor” prognosis comes with no chance for healing, but your prognosis will improve over time, from “Poor” to “Stable,” “Stable to “good,” and from “Good” to “Excellent,” increasing the chance of your Affliction healing itself with each step.

For example, a Fractured Limb affliction with an “Excellent” prognosis has a good chance of healing independently without treatment. However, the same Affliction with a “Poor” prognosis cannot heal independently and will have to improve to a “Stable” prognosis before it will heal itself. When the Fractured Limb improves to a “Stable” prognosis, it can heal on its own, but not as high of a chance to do so compared to the “Excellent” prognosis.

Finally, gaining an Affliction you already have will reset its Prognosis back to “Poor.” For example, if you have a “Stable” Fractured Limb affliction, and you fall from a great height and receive the Affliction again, the existing “Stable” Fractured Limb will worsen to “Poor.”

Author’s Note: I wrote this guide while playing Starfield on Xbox Series S.