If you’re looking to make the leap to a new star system, you’ll need to learn how to Grav Jump in Starfield.

Exploring the universe is easy in the world of Starfield. Even the most basic starships equipped with a Grav Drive are able to leap into hyperspace and reemerge several lightyears away in the blink of an eye.

Even The Frontier, the first ship you get your hands on in Starfield can Grav Jump, with a little know-how:

How to Grav Jump in Starfield

Here’s how to Grav Jump in Starfield:

  • First, take off in your ship of choice
  • When in space, power up your ship’s Grav Drive with the D-Pad or LeftAlt+WASD
  • Then pull up the star map by holding the Menu button or pressing M
  • Select a destination you’d like to jump to and press X to set a course
  • Then hold X to Grav Jump

How to Power Up Your Grav Drive in Starfield

To power up your Grav Drive you must first be flying your ship in space. Then, use the D-Pad (Controller) or Hold LeftAlt and use W,A,S,D (Keyboard) to allocate power for your vessel.

Tab over to ‘GRV’ and press Up or W to power up the Grav Drive.

Grav Drive in Starfield

If you’ve got no extra power to allocate, you’ll need to decrease the amount going to the other resources: Shields, Engines, Missiles, Ballistics, or Lasers.

By reducing power in one area, you’ll be able to assign it elsewhere, like to your Grav Drive.

Grav Jump Countdown in Starfield

The more you power up your Grav Drive in Starfield, the faster your ship will be able to Grav Jump, which is very handy when in an unwinnable combat situation.

What Does Grav Jump Pending Mean?

If your Grav Drive has no power but you’ve chosen a destination to jump to, you’ll see the warning ‘Grav Jump Pending’.

This simply means that your ship is ready to Grav Jump, but you haven’t allocated the Grav Drive any power to do so.

Grav Jump Pending Starfield

To fix this, power up your Grav Drive even with just a single bar of energy. Then, the countdown to Grav Jumping will begin.

How to Grav Jump Fast in Starfield

The fastest way to Grav Jump is to not be in your ship at all. You can technically Grav Jump straight from a planet’s surface by pulling up your star map at any time and selecting a destination you’ve already been to.

You can use X to jump to a system right away, or even select your landing spot and choose to land there. Then, you’ll only have a single loading screen standing between you and your destination.

Landing on New Atlantis Starfield

If you’re in your ship but you’re tired of waiting for the Grav Jump countdown, try adding more power to your Grav Drive. The more power allocated, the faster the countdown to jumping will be.

How Far Can You Grav Jump?

In Starfield, the distance you can Grav Jump depends on three factors:

  • Route
  • Jump Range
  • Fuel

Here’s how each one affects how far you can Grav Jump.

Route

If you’re trying to reach a new system and you get the warning ‘Unexplored Route,’ it means that your path to the system would go via a closer system that you haven’t visited yet.

Trace back your mapped journey until you get to the first star system before your route turns red. Then, jump to that system instead.

Routes in Starfield Star Map

You’ll then be able to jump to the next unexplored system from your new location. And next time you want to travel this route, you’ll be able to do so in a single jump, without stopping off along the way.

Jump Range

Each Grav Drive has a specific Jump Range that’s measured in light-years. This means that your ship will only be able to handle jumps of a certain distance.

Jump Range in Starfield

To increase your ship’s Jump Range, you’ll need to either upgrade your Grav Drive or put some points into the Astrodynamics skill, which allows you to make better use of your spacecraft.

Fuel

Finally, fuel (AKA Helium-3) is also a limiting factor when you’re looking to Grav Jump in Starfield.

When attempting to travel to a far-away star system, you’ll notice that your route stops at several systems along the way – it doesn’t travel in a straight line unless you’re close by.

Out of Fuel Range Starfield

Each jump takes up a certain amount of fuel depending on its distance. And you’ll only be able to jump a handful of times before running out of fuel.

To get around this, either upgrade your fuel tanks or simply split up your journey. Jump to a closer system and then continue on your travels, as fuel replenishes after each Grav Jump.