How to Target Engines in Starfield

Space combat is one of the most fun aspects of Starfield. While sometimes the pirates or bounty hunters try to hunt you down, other times you may need to raid other ships for their cargo and resources. If you want to commandeer an enemy ship, you'll need to take out the engine instead of destroying the spacecraft.

How do you target enemy engines in Starfield

To be able to target specific parts of the ship you're battling, you'll first need to unlock the Targeting Control Systems skill from the Tech skill tree. Start by opening the Data Menu (Tab) and select the section in the top right corner. Go to the Tech section and select Targeting Control Systems, the last option in the first row. Now unlock the skill (E) to activate the targeting system for your ship. Remember, you'll need one skill point to acquire this skill, which you can get by leveling up.

Related: How to Swap Ships in Starfield

Now that you've unlocked the Targeting Control Systems skill, a Target Lock indicator will appear on your HUD. I marked the indicator in the first image. Keep the target ship inside the big circle to let the target lock complete. Now press R to enter targeting mode and choose the system using the Select System inputs (A/D) as shown in the second image.

Once the ENG bar is selected, shoot your weapons to damage the engine of the enemy ship. This will disable the ship instead of destroying it to bits. Then, you can board the ship to capture it and steal its cargo. However, if you're about to lose to your opponent, I think it's always a good idea to just run away from the fight.

Stay tuned to Pro Game Guides for more Starfield content. In the meantime, head over to our article on How to mine Argon in Starfield and Why Inventory Management in Starfield Sucks