Space Battles are one of the gameplay features you will encounter throughout the entire Starfield storyline. The essence of this mechanic is to target and disable the engine of an enemy ship to board it.

You will first experience this mechanic during the training and starting mission "One Small Step". You'll need to fend off an attack from a pirate ship and board it, dealing with the remaining enemies. Challenges may arise later if, for some reason, you missed or didn't fully grasp the training.

In this guide, we will detail where to find the ship's engine, how to target it, and deliver a blow.

Aim Skill

Precision and speed in targeting are governed by the technical skill "Targeting Control Systems."

How to Target an Enemy Ship

Step-by-step instructions on how to activate targeting in combat:

1. Approach the enemy ship and maintain a distance of no more than 500 meters.
2. Before locking onto your target, disable the shields. Continuously attack the ship.
3. To lock onto the target, press: E on PC, A on Xbox.
4. After locking onto the target, press: R on PC, X on Xbox. This will cause your ship to move even closer to the enemy, and time will slow down.
5. Select the target using arrow keys on PC or with a gamepad on Xbox. The engine is located in the rear part of the ship, closer to the end.

You can attack the engine with any type of weapon: ballistic, missile, or laser. If the indicators on the screen turn red, you've successfully immobilized the ship. Now you can dock with it and board it.

If you continue to shoot at the ship after the engine is disabled, it will simply explode. But even a destroyed ship can be looted. If you managed to keep the ship intact, you can hijack it and make it your own. We've covered this mechanic in a separate guide.