Skip to main content
Join The Community
- Join our community
11
Premium Benefits
24/7
Access Available
21K+
Active Members
Commenting
Join the discussion
Exclusive Articles Coming Soon
Member-only articles
Weekly Newsletters
Weekly gaming & entertainment news
Member Badges
Earn badges as you go
Exclusive Competitions
Members-only prize draws
Curated Deals Coming Soon
Tech and gaming deals worth grabbing
GET COMMUNITY ACCESS QUICK
For the quickest way to join, simply enter your email below and get access. We will send a confirmation and sign you up to our newsletter to keep you updated on all your gaming news.
By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
FIND OUT ABOUT OUR MAGAZINE
Want to subscribe to the magazine? Click the button below to find out more information.
Find out more
GET Community ACCESS QUICK

Join the GamesRadar community for quick access. Enter your email below and we'll send confirmation, and sign you up to our newsletter.

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

Background
Welcome to GamesRADAR+ Community !
Hi ,

Your membership journey starts here.

Keep exploring and earning more as a member.

MY ACCOUNT

Badge picture
Earn your first badge
Read 1 article to unlock your first badge.
Keep earning badges
Explore ways to get more involved as a member.
Latest Games News

Latest Games News

Breaking gaming news and updates

Read Now
Latest Games Reviews

Latest Games Reviews

Expert verdicts on the newest releases

Read Now

See what you’ve unlocked.

Explore your membership benefits.

Explore
Member Exclusives

Stay Ahead with GamesRadar+

Get the biggest gaming news, reviews, and releases straight to your inbox.

Explore

Sign Out
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • Games
    • Game Insights
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
    • Genres
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
    • Franchises
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • Insights
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
    • Computing
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
    • Accessories & Tech
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
  • home
  • Games
    • View Games
      • Games News
      • Games Features
      • Games Reviews
      • Games Guides
      • Big in 2026
      • The Big Preview
      • On The Radar
      • Indie Spotlight
      • Future Games Show
      • Golden Joystick Awards
      • Action Games
      • RPGs
      • Action RPGs
      • Adventure Games
      • Third Person Shooters
      • FPS Games
    • Platforms
      • View Platforms
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X
      • PC
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Nintendo Switch 2
      • Tabletop Gaming
      • Grand Theft Auto
      • Pokemon
      • Assassin's Creed
      • Monster Hunter
      • Fortnite
      • Cyberpunk
      • Red Dead
      • The Elder Scrolls
      • The Sims
  • Entertainment
    • View Entertainment
    • TV Shows
      • View TV Shows
      • TV News
      • TV Reviews
      • Anime Shows
      • Sci-Fi Shows
      • Superhero Shows
      • Animated Shows
      • Marvel TV Shows
      • Star Wars TV Shows
      • DC TV Shows
    • Movies
      • View Movies
      • Movie News
      • Movie Reviews
      • Big Screen Spotlight
      • Superhero Movies
      • Action Movies
      • Anime Movies
      • Sci-Fi Movies
      • Horror Movies
      • Marvel Movies
      • DC Movies
    • Streaming
      • View Streaming
      • Apple TV Plus
      • Disney Plus
      • Netflix
      • HBO
      • Amazon Prime Video
      • Hulu
    • Comics
      • View Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • DC Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Lego
    • Dungeons and Dragons
    • Merch
  • Hardware
    • View Hardware
      • Hardware News
      • Hardware Reviews
      • Hardware Features
      • Desktop PCs
      • Laptops
      • Handhelds
    • Peripherals
      • View Peripherals
      • Headsets & Headphones
      • TVs & Monitors
      • Gaming Mice
      • Gaming Keyboards
      • Gaming Chairs
      • Speakers & Audio
      • Gaming Controllers
      • Tech
      • SSDs & Hard Drives
      • VR
      • Accessories
      • Retro
  • Deals
    • View Deals
    • Game Deals
    • Tech Deals
    • TV Deals
    • Buying Guides
  • Video
    • View Video
    • Video
    • GR+ Replay - Submit Your Clips
  • Newsletters
    • Quizzes
    • About Us
    • How to pitch to us
    • How we score
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Total Film
Trending
  • Amazon Spring Sale
  • New Games for 2026
  • Crimson Desert
  • Submit your clips. Win prizes
  • Pokopia
Don't miss these
Crimson Desert
RPGs Best weapons in Crimson Desert
The Future of Starfield branding
RPGs Here's the 5 biggest changes coming to Starfield this April, from interplanetary travel to more varied exploration
Helldivers 2 helldiver running with plas scorcher weapon
Third Person Shooters Best Helldivers 2 Primary Weapons to use against the Terminids, Automatons, and Illuminate
The Future of Starfield hero image
RPGs The Future of Starfield: How Bethesda Game Studios is beginning to breathe new life into its most misunderstood RPG
Starfield screenshot showing the new Anchor Point location
RPGs How your feedback helped shape Starfield's biggest updates: "We're always checking in," says Bethesda
A First Foothold objective in Arc Raiders
Third Person Shooters Full Arc Raiders Loot Cheat Sheet with all items
The Future of Starfield
RPGs Bethesda's Tim Lamb on the biggest changes coming to Starfield, the PS5 release, and why all those load screens are necessary
Helldivers 2 Helldiver looking at snowy automaton base getting bombarded by two orbital 380mm HE barrages
Third Person Shooters Helldivers 2 Stratagem tier list and the best ones to choose
Helldivers 2 Helldiver wielding senator revolver
Third Person Shooters Best Helldivers 2 pistols and melee weapons to use against the Terminids, Automatons, and Illuminate
Colony War Action Heroes from Starfield, a new form of collectible
RPGs Starfield gets its answer to Fallout's bobbleheads, complete with a playset to display them all
How to steal in Crimson Desert
RPGs How to steal in Crimson Desert
The RPG-7 in Resident Evil Requiem, for which you can get infinite ammo.
Resident Evil How to get Resident Evil Requiem infinite ammo
Support Weapons in Helldivers 2
Third Person Shooters Best Support weapons in Helldivers 2
Image of the Asteroid Manor in Starfield, a player-house in a hollowed out asteroid
RPGs Starfield will let you have a true "home among the stars" with its new Asteroid Manor player house
The future of Starfield
RPGs It isn't Starfield 2.0, but the Free Lanes update and Terran Armada expansion are coming this April
  1. Games
  2. RPGs
  3. Starfield

How to switch weapons in Starfield

Guides
By Iain Wilson last updated 31 March 2026

Swap guns in Starfield quickly by adding them to your favorites

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Starfield switch weapons
(Image credit: Bethesda)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
0
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


Want to add more newsletters?

GamesRadar+

Every Friday

GamesRadar+

Your weekly update on everything you could ever want to know about the games you already love, games we know you're going to love in the near future, and tales from the communities that surround them.

GTA 6 O'clock

Every Thursday

GTA 6 O'clock

Our special GTA 6 newsletter, with breaking news, insider info, and rumor analysis from the award-winning GTA 6 O'clock experts.

Knowledge

Every Friday

Knowledge

From the creators of Edge: A weekly videogame industry newsletter with analysis from expert writers, guidance from professionals, and insight into what's on the horizon.

The Setup

Every Thursday

The Setup

Hardware nerds unite, sign up to our free tech newsletter for a weekly digest of the hottest new tech, the latest gadgets on the test bench, and much more.

Switch 2 Spotlight

Every Wednesday

Switch 2 Spotlight

Sign up to our new Switch 2 newsletter, where we bring you the latest talking points on Nintendo's new console each week, bring you up to date on the news, and recommend what games to play.

The Watchlist

Every Saturday

The Watchlist

Subscribe for a weekly digest of the movie and TV news that matters, direct to your inbox. From first-look trailers, interviews, reviews and explainers, we've got you covered.

SFX

Once a month

SFX

Get sneak previews, exclusive competitions and details of special events each month!


Join the club

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

To switch weapons in Starfield, you can use the inventory menu or customizable quickslots, the latter being the fastest and most convenient option. Since quickslots will save you lots of time and remove the need to faff about in inventory menus in the heat of combat, you can focus solely on battling your foes and quickly swapping weapons and using grenades and even healing items on the fly. Starfield doesn't explain this useful system very well, so here's everything you need to know about setting up quickslots to easily swap weapons in Starfield.

How to equip and switch weapons in Starfield

Starfield switch weapons

(Image credit: Bethesda)

Once you've highlighted one of your Starfield weapons (or most other usable items for that matter) in your inventory, follow the Favorite prompt at the bottom of the screen and a plus-shaped grid will appear. Use the D-pad to move the icon on to one of the 12 segments in this grid, then select it to confirm the quickslot that the item will sit in.

Now when you're exploring or in combat, you can quickly tap the D-pad to select the weapon or item you need to equip it instantly and save going through the menu again. This is particularly handy for switching weapons in combat if you run out of ammo or need a more appropriate weapon for the job, and once you tap the D-pad time will slow down significantly so you don't need to rush highlighting and selecting the next armament.

Starfield switch weapons

(Image credit: Bethesda)
More Starfield guides

Starfield tips
Starfield skills
Starfield encumberance
Starfield afflictions
Starfield lockpicking

Of course, you can still switch weapons in Starfield by opening the pause menu then choosing the down and right option to access your Inventory. Select the Weapons option at the top to open a list of all the weapons you're currently carrying and you can just pick one from the list to equip it and close the menu.

From this menu you can also compare weapon stats and sort your arsenal by Damage or Ammo Type to help manage your gear. However, this is all a bit clunky, so thankfully quickslots are there to act as a much faster way to swap weapons in Starfield.

You may like
  • Starfield frontier ship landing at city How Starfield fast travel works using the Starmap and Scanner
  • Starfield How to carry more in Starfield and stop being overencumbered
  • Starfield boostpacks player using boost pack to fly across the moon How to get and use Starfield boostpacks

© GamesRadar+. Not to be reproduced without permission.

Sign up to the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Weekly digests, tales from the communities you love, and more

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
CATEGORIES
PS5 Xbox Series X Xbox One PC Gaming Platforms PlayStation Xbox
Iain Wilson
Iain Wilson
Social Links Navigation
Guides Editor

Iain originally joined Future in 2012 to write guides for CVG, PSM3, and Xbox World, before moving on to join GamesRadar in 2013 as Guides Editor. His words have also appeared in OPM, OXM, PC Gamer, GamesMaster, and SFX. He is better known to many as ‘Mr Trophy’, due to his slightly unhealthy obsession with amassing intangible PlayStation silverware, and he now has over 1,000 Platinum pots weighing down the shelves of his virtual award cabinet. He does not care for Xbox Achievements.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.

Read more
Starfield frontier ship landing at city
RPGs How Starfield fast travel works using the Starmap and Scanner
 
 
Starfield
RPGs How to carry more in Starfield and stop being overencumbered
 
 
Starfield boostpacks player using boost pack to fly across the moon
RPGs How to get and use Starfield boostpacks
 
 
starfield grav jump
RPGs How to perform Starfield grav jumps to travel between planets and systems
 
 
Starfield dock board
RPGs How to dock in Starfield and board other ships
 
 
An icon for one of the many Starfield skills.
RPGs All Starfield skills and the best to unlock first
 
 
Latest in RPGs
An image of Strawberry Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom.
RPGs All Cookie Run Kingdom codes (March 2026) for Crystals, Cubes, and more
 
 
Deltarune
RPGs Undertale's Toby Fox doesn't want to do translations in languages he doesn't speak
 
 
Several nude figures in Baldur's Gate 3, most of them shaped like Gale
Baldur's Gate Baldur's Gate 3 keeps 4 invisible, naked clones of Gale in your camp just in case
 
 
best elder scrolls games
The Elder Scrolls After 6 years, Elder Scrolls Blades is shutting down, and everything is now super easy to unlock
 
 
A dark-haired character crosses their muscled arms in Sorcerer Ascent.
RPGs Sorcerer Ascent codes (March 2026) for Soul Points and more
 
 
Kingdom Hearts PS2 screenshot
Kingdom Hearts As Kingdom Hearts 4 fans await news, director celebrates series' 24th anniversary by telling them to check in next year
 
 
Latest in Guides
Arc Raiders Assessors
Third Person Shooters Assessors and Close Scrutiny in Arc Raiders explained
 
 
An image of Strawberry Cookie from Cookie Run Kingdom.
RPGs All Cookie Run Kingdom codes (March 2026) for Crystals, Cubes, and more
 
 
Arc Raiders outstanding balance
Third Person Shooters Arc Raiders Outstanding Balance walkthrough and where to find Dodger's Stash
 
 
A dark-haired character crosses their muscled arms in Sorcerer Ascent.
RPGs Sorcerer Ascent codes (March 2026) for Soul Points and more
 
 
A pink-haired anime character with a Halo around their head in Anime Overload.
Strategy Games Anime Overload codes (March 2026) for Crystals, Tokens, and more
 
 
WWE 2K26
WWE 2K The best WWE 2K26 CAWs you have to download right now
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Arc Raiders outstanding balance
    1
    Arc Raiders Outstanding Balance walkthrough and where to find Dodger's Stash
  2. 2
    Horror fans have already found nods to the original 4chan post and internet lore in new Backrooms tweets and posters
  3. 3
    Arc Raiders Assessors and Close Scrutiny map condition explained
  4. 4
    Cookie Run Kingdom codes (March 2026) for Crystals, Cubes, and more
  5. 5
    Newly spotted Clone Wars Easter egg in Ahsoka season 1 might be a huge hint at the season 2 plot

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...