If you're looking to be one of the shady individuals who deal in illegal and illicit goods across the Settled Systems, you'd better know how to smuggle Contraband. Once you've got the hang of this, you will want to know the best Contraband you should collect.
In your space smuggler career, you'll have to scavenge around and know all the best routes leading to Contraband vendors. This may seem like a hassle, but selling Contraband is one of the quickest ways to make Credits in Starfield. So, let's get on with our list of the best Contraband for value in Starfield.
Xenowarfare Tech
- Weight: 2.5
- Value: 16110 credits
Xenowarfare Tech items are remnants of dangerous technology from the era of the Colony Wars between the United Colonies and Freestar Collective. Xenowarfare tech is strictly prohibited due to its potential for destruction, such as releasing Terrormorphs.
This Contraband item has the highest value in the game while weighing less than others. This makes Xenowarfare Tech the best Contraband to find and smuggle in Starfield.
Stolen Artwork
- Weight: 3
- Value: 15600 credits
Stolen Artwork consists of various pieces of illegal art, perhaps historical masterpieces, coveted by collectors and criminals alike. The black market for art and its involvement in money laundering schemes make Stolen Artwork priceless in these shady circles.
Sentient AI Adapters
- Weight: 2.5
- Value: 14840 credits
Sentient AI Adapters are sophisticated tech pieces designed to augment robotic intelligence, but they're banned because of ethical considerations surrounding artificial sentience. Creating or possessing these adapters is considered a serious crime, indicative of attempting to breach AI conduct protocols.
Harvested Organs
- Weight: 3
- Value: 13500 credits (4,500 credits per 1 mass)
Harvested Organs, a grim category of contraband, often come from dubious sources, raising significant ethical and legal issues. These organs are trafficked through black markets, catering to desperate or unscrupulous individuals seeking medical solutions outside legal boundaries. Unfortunately, the illegal organ trade market is still well and alive in space.
You'll find these in Spacer and Ecliptic Mercenary compounds.
Mech Components
- Weight: 3.8
- Value: 12290 credits
Mech Components are parts of the once-mighty war machines from the Freestar Collective, now banned due to their association with past war atrocities. These components are highly valuable to collectors and historians interested in the preservation or illicit reconstruction of mechs. They're the heaviest Contraband and sell for a decent value.
Black Market Antiques
- Weight: 3.5
- Value: 11260 credits
Black Market Antiques are relics from various civilizations and factions now deemed dangerous. The case for these antiques being Contraband might be due to them belonging to terrible or shady individuals and being considered highly valued staples of the black market, similar to the Stolen Artwork.
Va'Ruun's Heretic Writings
- Weight: 2
- Value: 8,190 credits
Va'Ruun's Heretic Writings are considered blasphemous in all the monitored Systems. While nobody knows exactly what they contain, it's theorized that they have calls to violence against the heretics and nonbelievers. This violates the existing peace treaties and would explain why these controversial writings might be banned. They sell for a pretty penny, but you can profit from them even more if you sell them to the corrupt officer at the Crimson Fleet Base.
So that you know, you can only find the Va'Ruun Heretic Writings at the Almagest.
Aurora
- Weight:
- Value: 600 - 760 credits
Aurora is a hallucinogenic drug that will slow time by 40% for 10 seconds when consumed. Despite its legal status in Neon City, its possession is highly illegal in other systems, as it's considered an illegal psychoactive substance. It's produced through a special species of fish called Chasmbass.
While Aurora's sell value might seem incredibly low compared to other Contraband, you can work with the Xenofresh Corporation and learn how to research and manufacture your own Aurora. This can result in an automated supply of income.
That concludes our tier list for the best Contraband in Starfield that you should look to smuggle. For more guides, check out how to max your sneak skills and the infinite credit trick.
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