A Starfield scientist has crunched the numbers to prove that truly excellent loot is extremely hard to find - by murdering the same unlucky level 98 NPC 100 times and recording the gear they dropped.
In a post on the game's subreddit, user Endecc noted that Elite enemies always drop an Elite item complete with modifiers that hopefully change the way the gear works for the better. For weaponry, for example, that might mean bonuses like increased damage while aiming down sites, a bleed effect, damage against certain enemy types, or increased magazine size. For armor, modifiers may add resistance to specific damage types or a chance to reflect damage.
I killed a Level 98 Pirate Elite 100 times, and put every drop into a detailed document. from r/Starfield
Noting that they were curious to see just how good late-game gear drops actually are, Endecc says "I made a quicksave a moment before killing a high level elite pirate." They proceeded to kill the exact same NPC 100 times, jotting down the gear they received for each kill. You can see their findings for yourself right here, and the first thing that you'll notice is that the vast majority of their loot consists of pretty disappointing Rare-grade drops.
A full two-thirds of those drops come with the blue labelling that confirms they have just one modifier, with another 24 Epic drops offering two modifiers. Just 10 of the 100 drops were Legendary, offering all three possible modifiers. Of those, four were melee weapons, three were helmets, and only two were guns, with a Legendary Navigator pack rounding out the 10. But the biggest issue here appears to be that drops can feel "totally unscaled," with Endecc noting that "killing a level 98 enemy into a Disassembler Ripshank [a low-tier melee weapon that does bonus damage to robotic enemies] is laughable."
While this isn't an unimpeachably scientific method, plenty of other players have come forward to say that they've also found it frustrating to score decent late-game drops. Some have complained about the difficulty of finding specific modifiers, while others have lamented the sheer quantity of Ripshanks that have shown up. As for Endecc himself, he reckons that "unless you've been very lucky, or persistent, [all that loot has] most likely been junk." It looks as though you might be better off buying or stealing your gear than waiting for it to drop from an enemy, however much that might go against the traditional Bethesda experience.
If you don't fancy killing the same pirate 100 times, make the most of our Starfield weapons guide instead.
