Persuasion is one of the best tools you have in Starfield, as you can completely avoid and trivialize some of the most difficult battles in the game. You will eventually unlock the ability to auto-persuade, which can help immensely in difficult dialogue scenarios.
Starfield’s persuasion checks are slightly different than other Bethesda games. Instead of displaying a percentage of potential success, you will have Persuasion Points that you need to acquire in order to successfully persuade another character. The required number of points are listed at the bottom of any given scenario’s dialogue box, with the amount you accumulate also being tracked.
In almost all persuasion checks, you will only have three attempts to max out the Persuasion Point bar. Given that auto-persuade helps you achieve a large number of points at once without expending an attempt, knowing how to do this is integral to a diplomatic character playthrough.
Auto-persuade in Starfield, explained
Auto-persuade is an option in dialogue that gradually builds up by successfully passing persuasion checks. You need to pass approximately six persuasion instances before you can use the auto-persuade ability. However, the speed at which this bar fills up depends on the difficulty of your dialogue checks, as some will require far more Persuasion Points than others.
Whenever the auto-persuade ability is fully maxed out and ready to use, all you need to do is press the corresponding button seen in the bottom right of the screen. Whenever you use this ability, it automatically passes the most difficult persuasion option. This means that occasionally you won’t automatically pass the dialogue.
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How does Persuasion work in Starfield?
In Starfield, persuasion is a combat-like scenario with Persuasion Points acting with a health bar of sorts. Below all your dialogue options is an empty bar that needs to be filled by the various persuasive options at your disposal. While easier checks only require four Persuasion Points, harder checks will require eight to 10.
The dialogue options you have will range in difficulty and reward. The easiest dialogue options are marked by a green line, and usually only give +1 or +2 Persuasion Points. Medium level difficulty options are yellow and give slightly more difficult options. Finally, the most difficult dialogue options are marked in red and give the most available Persuasion Points.
If you find yourself failing a lot of persuasion checks, then I would heavily recommend investing more points into your persuasion skill. Each upgraded persuasion tier drastically increases the likelihood that you pass any given check. At the highest tier, even the hardest dialogue options have a high chance of succeeding.
