Starfield’s combat is one of its best-realised elements, and using the Quick Swap menu allows you to change your play style on the fly. If you know how to add weapon shortcuts in Starfield, you can swap loadouts depending on the situation without needing to manage your inventory.
You can have multiple weapons equipped at once and swap between them using weapon shortcuts. The only limitation is that there is a limited number of slots you get, so you will not be able to add shortcuts for your entire arsenal of weapons. We recommend having a loadout for close-range combat and one for distant enemies.
Before we dig deeper into the weapon shortcut system, consider checking out our guide to joining the Freestar Collective. We also have a guide on how to change your FOV that can enhance your experience when exploring. All of this and more can be found in our complete Starfield hub!
How to use weapon shortcuts in Starfield
You can equip multiple weapons in Starfield by using the Favorite system, and then you can map shortcuts to pull out any weapon you need. Here’s how to do it:
- Open up your inventory.
- Hover over the weapon you want to use by default.
- Press Y on your Xbox controller or the corresponding Favorite key that shows up on your HUD.
- The Quick Swap menu will now be open.
- Select the slot you want to add the weapon to and add it.
- Repeat the process for all the weapons you want to add to your quick slot menu.
- Your weapons are now added to the Quick Swap menu.
Do note that your med-pack will always occupy one of the slots in your Quick Swap menu, and you cannot take it out. You can also add other items like grenades and mines in case you want to access them quickly.
We now need to assign shortcut keys for our weapons. Unfortunately, this is a feature available to PC players only at the time of writing, as keyboards have access to a lot more keys while controllers have limited inputs. If you are on a controller, you can just use the D-Pad and cycle to the weapon or item you need instead.
To assign shortcut keys to your weapons, you must bring up the Quick Swap menu and press any key from 0-9 on your keyboard. This will allow you to instantly bring up a weapon or item that corresponds to the key, making you far more effective in combat.
We recommend assigning shortcuts for your med-packs as it will allow you to start healing with a single button press, which can be helpful in situations where you are taking heavy fire. If you are reliant on other consumables, you can add shortcuts for them as well.
That is all you need to know about weapon shortcuts in Starfield. For more content, check out our guide on how to fast travel. We've also got a guide on how to change your helmet for players looking to customize their appearance.