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Latest Starfield Patch Notes: 1.8.86

Everything included in the 1.8.86 update for Starfield.

starfield steam promo art grav jump
Image credit: Bethesda
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Guide by Marie Pritchard Guides Writer
Additional contributions by Jessica Orr, and Lottie Lynn
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Starfield patch notes will let you know about any changes being made to the game in the most recent update. From these, you can learn if a bug or glitch that has been irritating you has been addressed and resolved or if there's a new feature to look out for.

The patch notes for Starfield version 1.8.86 went live on Monday 20th November, 2023.

So, without further ado, here are the Starfield 1.8.86 patch notes. Plus, we show you how to update your version and list all the previous patch notes in case you need to catch up.

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If you'd like more help in your galactic adventures, visit our Starfield guides, tips and tricks page.

Starfield 1.8.86 Patch Notes

The Starfield 1.8.86 Patch Notes are the latest update for the action RPG and the update itself tackles graphical, quest-related and performance issues.

Here are the Starfield 1.8.86 Patch Notes, which were released on Monday 20th November, copied verbatim from the official Starfield website:

Performance and Stability

  • Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
  • Added some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
  • Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
  • Various stability and performance improvements.

Gameplay

  • Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world.
  • Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
  • Fixed an issue where Andreja’s head would stay permanently cloaked.
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
  • Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes (Note: This issue may resolve itself over time).
  • Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
  • Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
  • PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
  • Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
  • Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.
  • Fixed an issue where occasionally the camera could shake incorrectly during Traveling, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.

Graphics

  • Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
  • Optimized initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
  • Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
  • Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
  • Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
  • Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
  • Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
  • Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.
  • PC: Addressed additional visual issues related to DLSS.

Quests

  • All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn’t sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
  • Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
  • Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective "Secure the Shuttle Bay".
  • Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players' quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
  • Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if "Supra et Ultra" was completed while returning to the Lodge during "High Price to Pay".
  • No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
  • Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
  • Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
  • Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
  • The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the "The Heart of Mars".
starfield steam promo art character between two canyon walls
Image credit: Bethesda

How to update Starfield

If you've allowed automatic updates on your device then Starfield should begin to automatically begin to install the update once it rolls out. That being said, if you've got automatic updates turned off, you will need to follow a few steps to get the latest version downloaded.

Steam

There are a few ways you can update Starfield on Steam if you don't have automatic updates enabled:

  1. Enter your library and right click on Starfield, then select 'Update'.
  2. Open the game page as if you were going to play it, then select the 'Update' button where the 'Play' button is.
  3. Enter 'Manage Downloads' at the bottom of the screen, select Starfield and choose to 'Update' it.

XBOX

  1. Boot up your Xbox and log in.
  2. Head to 'My Games and Apps'.
  3. Head down to the 'Manage Updates' tab.
  4. Once on this tab, head across to and select the 'Updates' option. There's usually a number next to it that indicates how many updates you have to do.
  5. On the next screen you will be shown all of the games that currently require updates.
  6. Select 'Starfield' and confirm that you want to update it.
  7. You can also choose to 'Update All' if you've got other games you want to do at the same time.
starfield new atlantis
Image credit: Bethesda

Previous Starfield Patch Notes

Below, you'll find all of the previous patch notes for Starfield.

1.8.84 Patch Notes

The Starfield 1.8.84 Patch Notes were released on Saturday 10th November and were copied verbatim from the official Starfield website (scroll to the bottom of the page):

Fixes and Improvements

Graphics

  • Improved DLSS overall stability.
  • Fixed an issue with DLSS Frame Generation where occasionally a blur effect could be seen and the screen could turn black.
  • Fixed an issue with DLSS Frame Generation where occasionally blurring or ghosting artifacts could be seen on characters.
  • Fixed an issue where some grain/sharpening could be observed in very dark areas with DLSS enabled.

UI

  • Fixed an issue where DLSS preset was defaulting from Quality to Performance or vice versa upon exiting the Display settings.
  • Fixed an issue where DLSS Frame Generation couldn’t be turned on correctly unless DLSS is enabled.
  • Improved Display settings to force V-sync off when DLSS Frame Generation is turned on.
  • Improved Display settings DLSS localization.

Gameplay

  • Fixed an issue where occasionally the camera could shake incorrectly during Traveling, Grav Jumping, Docking, or Landing transitions.

1.8.83 Patch Notes

The Starfield 1.8.83 Patch Notes were released on Thursday 8th November and were copied verbatim from the official Starfield website:

Update Highlights

Nvidia DLSS Support

  • This update introduces Nvidia DLSS support for our PC players. Compatible Nvidia graphic cards can now use DLSS Super Resolution, Deep Learning Anti-aliasing (DLAA), Nvidia Reflex Low Latency, and DLSS Frame generation. Please note: While DLSS Frame Generation is active, VSync needs to be toggled OFF to see the benefit. We are working to automatically adjust this setting in a future update.

Let Them Eat!

  • By popular request, we have added the ability to ingest food and drink items upon finding them in the environment. You can enjoy those Chunks immediately or save them for later. The choice is yours.

Fixes and Improvements

Performance and Stability

  • Addressed a number of memory related issues and leaks.
  • [PC Only] Add some GPU performance optimizations, which will be more impactful on higher end cards.
  • [PC Only] Improved renderer threading model, improving CPU usage most notably on higher end systems.
  • Various stability and performance improvements.

Gameplay

  • Added the ability to eat the food placed in the world
  • Adjusted stealth to be a bit more forgiving.
  • Fixed an issue where Andreja’s head would stay permanently cloaked.
  • Fixed an issue that could prevent players from firing their weapons.
  • Fixed issues where some NPC could be seen not wearing clothes.
  • Fixed an issue where already in-progress skill challenges could stop progressing after reaching the Unity and starting a new game.
  • Fixed an issue that could temporarily prevent opening the inventory or saving after entering the Unity.
  • PC: Fixed an issue where mouse movement could be choppy.
  • Fixed a rare issue that could cause the home ship to be lost.
  • Fixed an issue where the ship services technician might be missing.

Graphics

  • Addressed an issue with how ambient occlusion appeared in ultrawide resolutions.
  • Optimized initial shader compilation that occurs on start-up.
  • Added the ability to adjust Brightness and Contrast in the Display Settings menu.
  • Added the ability to adjust HDR Brightness provided that the system supports it. (Xbox & Windows 11 only).
  • Addressed a number of materials that could sometimes present an unintended pattern under certain conditions.
  • Fixed various visual issues related to the new FOV slider options.
  • Improved the appearance of the eyes on crowd characters.
  • Addressed a number of minor visual issues related to lighting, shadows, terrain, and vegetation.

Quests

  • All That Money Can Buy: Fixed a rare issue where players couldn’t sit during the negotiation with Musgrove.
  • Blast Zone: Fixed an issue where the hard rocks that need to be cleared out by players will not appear on Ngodup Tate’s land.
  • Echoes of the Past: Fixed an issue where the Grylloba Queen could sometimes not be reachable during the objective "Secure the Shuttle Bay".
  • Eye of the Storm: Fixed an issue where players' quest progression could potentially be blocked due to a missing docking prompt.
  • Grunt Work: Addressed an issue where progress could appear blocked if "Supra et Ultra" was completed while returning to the Lodge during "High Price to Pay".
  • No Sudden Moves: Fixed an issue the that could prevent the entrance door to the Scow ship from being opened again.
  • Operation Starseed: Fixed an issue where the key that is needed to exit the facility could sometimes not be present.
  • Sabotage: Fixed an issue where David Barron could potentially not be found by players.
  • Short Sighted: Fixed an issue where players could rarely become control-locked while speaking with Vladimir.
  • The Heart of Mars: Fixed an issue where players might not be able to mine the "The Heart of Mars".

1.7.36 Patch Notes

The Starfield 1.7.36 Patch Notes were released on Monday 9th October and were copied verbatim from the official Starfield website:

General

  • FOV: Sliders are now available in Settings that allow player using first person or third person to adjust their FOV.

Performance and Stability

  • [PC ONLY] Improved stability for Intel Arc GPUs.
  • Various additional stability and performance improvements.

Quest

  • Echoes of the Past: Addressed an issue where tunneling creatures could pick a location that would prevent progression.

1.7.33 Patch Notes

The Starfield 1.7.33 Patch Notes were released on Tuesday 26th September and, below, you can find copied verbatim from the official Starfield website:

  • Characters: Fixed an issue that could cause some characters to not be in their proper location.
  • Star Stations: Fixed an issue where Star Stations would be labeled as a player-owned ship.
  • Vendors: Addressed an issue that allowed for a vendor's full inventory to be accessible.
  • AMD (PC): Resolved an issue that caused star lens flares not to appear correctly AMD GPUs.
  • Graphics: Addressed an upscaling issue that could cause textures to become blurry.
  • Graphics: Resolved an issue that could cause photosensitivity issues when scrolling through the inventory menu.
  • Hand Scanner: Addressed an issue where the Hand Scanner caused hitching.
  • Various stability and performance improvements to address crashing and freezes.
  • Displays: Fixed an issue that would cause displayed items to disappear when applied to in-ship mannequins.
  • Displays: Fixed an issue that would cause items stored in Razorleaf Storage Containers and Weapon Racks to disappear after commandeering another ship.

1.7.29 Patch Notes

The Starfield 1.7.29 Patch Notes were the first update for the action RPG and the update itself tacklds framerate and stability issues, as well as tackling a few quest problems.

Here are the Starfield 1.7.29 Patch Notes, copied verbatim from the official Starfield website:

  • Xbox Series X S Improved stability related to installations.
  • Various stability and performance improvements to reduce crashes and improve framerate.
  • All That Money Can Buy: Fixed an issue where player activity could result in a quest blocker.
  • Into the Unknown: Fixed an issue that could prevent the quest from appearing after the game is completed.
  • Shadows in Neon: Fixed an issue where player activity could result in a quest blocker.

That's it for now, if you're enjoying the space exploring RPG then check out our guides on Backgrounds, Traits and Companions too.

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