Starfield Grav Drive Guide: Mastering Grav Jumps and Exploring Star Systems

When it comes to traveling between star systems in Starfield, the process is mostly automated. However, there are times when an extra step is required. In this Starfield grav drive guide, we will explain how to power up your grav drive for a grav jump, shed light on the meaning of the “grav drive pending” warning, and discuss the limitations of the grav drive.

Performing a Grav Jump

The first time you visit a new star system, you need to select the star from the menu, jump to that star system, choose a planet or moon to visit, and finally land on the desired location. Once you have completed this process, you can easily fast travel to that landing target without much effort.

Powering Up Your Grav Drive

In order to perform a grav jump, you must ensure that your grav drive has enough power. While piloting your ship, you can check your power distribution on the lower-left side of your heads-up display (HUD). This allows you to balance the power allocation for your weapons, shields, engines, and the grav drive itself. Use the D-pad to allocate power accordingly.

Understanding the “Grav Jump Pending” Warning

If your grav drive is completely powered down and there is no extra power from the reactor available, you will see a warning on your screen stating “grav jump pending.” This means that you have selected a destination in the Starmap menu, but your grav drive lacks power. As soon as you free up power and allocate at least one slot of power to the grav drive, the countdown will begin, and you will make the jump. The speed of the countdown depends on the amount of power allocated. Allocating the maximum amount will result in a faster countdown, which can be useful for escaping a firefight.

Limitations on Grav Jumps

There are several limitations to consider when it comes to the distance you can cover with a grav jump:

1. Route

When you hover over a distant star in the Starmap, you will notice that the plotted route is not a straight line. Instead, it consists of shorter grav jumps between stars, eventually leading to your target. However, attempting to travel through a star system you haven’t visited before will result in an “Unexplored route” warning. This warning is visualized by certain parts of the route turning red, while the parts you can jump are displayed in white. To identify the first unvisited system, trace the red section of the line back to where it stops being white.

2. Grav Drive Jump Range

Your ship’s grav drive determines the maximum jump range, which is the maximum distance between two stars (legs of the route) that your ship can handle. If you attempt a jump that exceeds your ship’s jump range, the Starmap will display an “Out of range” warning. The jump range can be increased by upgrading to a better grav drive using the Ship Builder. However, keep in mind that the mass of your ship will reduce the jump range.

3. Fuel

Fuel plays a crucial role in determining the number of jumps you can make on a given trip. The route between star systems consists of smaller jumps through systems you have previously visited. Each leg of the journey consumes some fuel. Therefore, the maximum distance covered by each leg depends on your grav drive’s jump range. The number of legs in a trip is limited by your fuel capacity. If you try to plot a route that requires more fuel than your ship can carry, you will receive an “Out of fuel range” warning. To embark on longer trips, you will need to upgrade your fuel tank(s) using the Ship Builder.