How to wait & pass time in Starfield

Waiting and passing the time in Starfield works a bit differently to how it did in Skyrim and Fallout - here's what you need to know to do it.

Joshua Boyles

02nd Sep 2023 17:08

Images via Bethesda

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A classic feature in Bethesda RPGs is being able to wait and pass the time - but at first glance, the feature appears to be missing in Starfield.

In Skyrim, it was possible to hit a single button and your character would wait around for as long as 24 hours, right there on the spot. This was especially useful if you were completing a certain quest where time needed to be advanced quickly, or if you’d rather be playing the game at a certain time of day. We all know Riften looks its best at golden hour.

While there is a way to pass time in Starfield, it’s a little more convoluted than in previous Bethesda RPGs. What’s more, there is actually a way to earn extra buffs and XP if you wait in a certain way.

So, here’s everything you need to know about how to wait and pass time in Starfield.

How to pass time in Starfield

You can’t just press a button to wait around just anywhere in Starfield. Instead, you must:

Find a chair or some sort of seat in the world
Press E to sit down
Press the B key to open up the wait menu
Choose an amount of time to wait

The current planet’s time is displayed in this menu, as well as the UT, which is the universal time for the settled systems.

Sitting in a chair and waiting in Starfield

You can sometimes find seats and chairs out in the open world, but the most reliable place to find a seat is in your own spaceship. Depending on the design of your ship, there should be somewhere to sit down and wait - even if it’s the toilet.

Here's how to visit Earth in Starfield

The best way to wait and pass time in Starfield

The best possible way to wait and pass the time in Starfield is to find a bed and sleep. Not only will this pass the time, but you will also awaken feeling well-rested. This applies a buff to your character which sees you earn additional bonus XP with every accomplishment.

A bed to wait and pass time in Starfield

In addition, sleeping can heal any damage effects you’ve managed to accrue - including fractured limbs. However, this won’t cure the worst ailments out there - so you’ll still need to carry medicine for injuries with a ‘poor’ status or worse.

If you’re looking for somewhere to rest your head, your best bet is (yet again) your own ship. There, you should find a bed to lie down in wherever you’ve parked it.

If you’ve managed to progress far enough through the main story and completed the One Small Step quest, speak to one of the NPCs in The Lodge. They will offer you a place to stay there, complete with your own room on the first floor. Once you’ve acquired this, you will always have a free bed to sleep in - and there’s a safe to store some valuables next to it, too.

That’s everything you need to know about how to wait and pass time in Starfield.

For more Starfield guides, keep reading GGRecon.

About The Author

Joshua Boyles

Joshua is the Guides Editor at GGRecon. After graduating with a BA (Hons) degree in Broadcast Journalism, he previously wrote for publications such as FragHero and GameByte. You can often find him diving deep into fantasy RPGs such as Skyrim and The Witcher, or tearing it up in Call of Duty and Battlefield. He's also often spotted hiking in the wilderness, usually blasting Arctic Monkeys.

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