/
Log in

Your first hour in Star Citizen

Go from a brand new character to your first quantum jump and landing, and learn the basics that keep you alive along the way.

Not signed up yet? You can enter the referral code STAR-M9JQ-CBKL when you create your account to get a starting UEC bonus.

Star Citizen drops you into a huge, open universe with very little hand-holding. This guide walks you through your first session: making a character, finding your ship, flying somewhere and landing again in one piece.

Make your character and pick a home

The first time you open the Universe tab in the game menu, you go straight into character customization. After that you choose your starting residence. This is where you first spawn, and it also becomes your home for respawning and for your personal hangar.

After the first time, you rejoin the game at the last place you could spawn, or in the ship bed you logged out in.

Wake up and learn your mobiGlas

You wake up in a small hab room. Your mobiGlas is the wrist computer that runs almost everything in the game. These are the default keys you will use the most:

  • F1 opens the mobiGlas home screen.
  • F2 opens the Starmap, where you plan routes.
  • I opens your inventory.
  • F is the interaction key. Hold it to see what you can use, like door panels and terminals.
  • F12 opens chat, which is a good place to ask other players for help.

Your Nutrition and Hydration show at the bottom left of your HUD and on the mobiGlas. They drain over time. If they get too low you start taking damage and can pass out, so carry some food and drink. You need to take your helmet off to eat or drink.

Get to your ship

Ships are spawned from a ship terminal, also called an ASOP terminal or fleet manager. In a city they are in the spaceport. On a space station they are in a central area. Your personal hangar also has one.

  1. Leave your hab and follow the signs to the spaceport or hangars.
  2. Use the ship terminal and pick your ship. The first time it may say Deliver. After that it says Retrieve.
  3. The terminal gives you a hangar or landing pad number.
  4. Take the elevator in that area and select your hangar or pad number.
  5. Walk to your ship and board it.

If the ship you call is too big for your personal hangar, the game gives you a public hangar instead.

Take off

  1. Sit in the pilot seat and press Right Alt + R to power up and get flight ready.
  2. If you are inside a hangar, ask for clearance with the request landing key or by hailing the ATC contact in your comms. Station pads out in the open do not need permission.
  3. Wait for clearance. The hangar doors open when you are cleared.
  4. Lift off gently with Space, then raise your landing gear with N.
  5. In cities there is a no-fly area around the spaceport. Follow the exit path shown on your HUD until you are clear of it.
  • W / S / A / D move you forward, back and sideways.
  • Space / Ctrl move you up and down.
  • Q / E roll the ship.
  • Mouse wheel changes your speed limit.

Your first quantum jump

Quantum travel is how you cross the huge distances between planets, moons and stations. It always goes in a straight line, so longer trips can take a few jumps.

  1. Open the Starmap (F2) while sitting at the controls, pick a destination and choose Set Route.
  2. Point your ship at the route marker on your HUD. It can be behind you, so look around.
  3. Tap B to spool the quantum drive. It calibrates once you are lined up.
  4. When it is ready, hold B to jump.
  5. Stay at the controls during the trip. When you arrive, the drive needs to cool down before the next jump.

A jump will not start if the path is blocked, you do not have enough quantum fuel, or the drive has not finished cooling down. Fuel got more expensive in patch 4.10, so top up whenever you land at a pad that offers it.

Land safely

  1. Slow down well before you reach your landing zone or station.
  2. Request landing so you get a pad or hangar assigned.
  3. Lower your landing gear with N and set down slowly on the assigned spot.
  4. Store your ship at a ship terminal when you are done. Leaving it on a pad can earn you a parking fine you have to pay before you can retrieve it.

The basics of not dying

  • Injuries are tracked per body part, from minor to severe. A MedPen (Hemozal) restores health, stops bleeding and can bring you back if you are knocked down.
  • When you are badly hurt you become incapacitated and a countdown starts. A friend can revive you with a medical tool, or you can fire a rescue beacon.
  • If you die, you respawn in a medical bed. By default this is the hospital at your home location, but you can set a different hospital or clinic.
  • If your ship is destroyed, you can file a claim at a ship terminal and wait for a timer to get it back. Anything carried inside, including cargo, is lost.
  • Always check your oxygen before you step outside a ship or station.

What next?

Once you can fly, land and respawn, open the Contract Manager in your mobiGlas and take a simple job. The next guide covers easy ways to earn your first aUEC.