Star Citizen guide #04: rookie mistakes to avoid

Everyone has made them. Here are the most common mistakes of your first hours, and how to avoid them.

Losing your gear

• Whatever you’re wearing when you die stays on your body, not in your inventory. Travel light while you’re learning, and keep valuable gear somewhere safe.
• Anything stored in a ship that blows up is gone: insurance replaces the ship, not what’s inside.
• Items are stored where you leave them: if you can’t find your rifle, it may be in another station’s inventory.

Forgetting your helmet

Stepping out of a ship in space or on an airless moon without a helmet means suffocating in seconds. Check your helmet is on before opening a door to the outside, and mind the temperature too: some planets require suitable armor.

Forgetting to request landing

Without clearance, you get no hangar and end up circling in front of closed doors. The habit: Left Alt + N on approach. And never land on a pad or in a hangar that isn’t yours.

Understanding CrimeStat

• CrimeStat is how wanted you are by the authorities, from 1 to 5. Shooting someone, entering a restricted area or ramming a ship can earn you one.
• Minor offenses (parking too long, light trespassing) result in a fine you pay in the mobiGlas. More serious crimes make you a target for security and bounty hunters.
• In armistice zones (cities, stations), you can’t fire weapons: that’s by design, not a bug.

And also

• Starting a quantum jump without enough fuel: check your gauges.
• Logging off anywhere: log off in a bed to keep your position.
• Heading to the Pyro system too early: it’s a lawless system where other players can attack you.
• Trusting the first stranger who offers to “help” carry your cargo… at least not in Pyro.
• Playing on patch day: servers are unstable on update days. A 30k error (server disconnect) can happen: log back in, you usually come back close to where you were.

💡 Beacon tip: before heading out on a mission, set your respawn at a nearby clinic and leave your valuable gear in storage.

Read next: Getting around · Piracy and CrimeStat · Understanding insurance

Written for Star Citizen Alpha 4.10.2 (October 2026). The game changes with every patch: if something has moved, tell us in a reply and we’ll update the guide.