Starfield Free Lanes update: Cruise Mode, X-Tech and Tier-4 Legendary Effects explained

Starfield is getting the Free Lanes update

• Starfield's Free Lanes update adds Cruise Mode, easier space travel, X-Tech and more
• X-Tech enables deeper weapon and ship customisation
• Tier 4 Legendary Effects also coming to Starfield

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Bethesda’s massive open-world game Starfield is finally going to launch on PS5 on April 7. The space RPG is also getting its biggest free content update yet, called “Free Lanes”, on the same day it comes to PS5. Starfield’s Free Lanes update makes travelling between planets easier and adds a Cruise Mode, the X-Tech resource, Tier-4 Legendary Rank for weapons, suits, packs and more. Let’s dive deep and learn in detail about these new features coming to Starfield.

Starfield: Free Lanes and Cruise Mode

Space travel is going to get easier and more comfortable in Starfield with Free Lanes and Cruise Mode. With Free Lanes, players will now be able to fly freely between planets within the same star system. The Cruise Mode will let you indulge in other tasks and activities on your ship while flying to your destination.

“Everything you can do while in orbit or docked, you can now do in Cruise Mode. Decorate your ship, chat with your companions and crew, hit up the workbenches. It’s all there for you. And don’t worry about overshooting your destination; autopilot will automatically slow you down when you arrive,” Bethesda noted in a website post.

New POIs in space

The Free Lanes update will bring “tons of new space POIs to discover as you travel in Cruise Mode.” They will pop up on the display, and if you wish to explore them, you can change the destination at any point while flying the ship.

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New Encounters

The Free Lanes update will add new space encounters to Starfield; they will appear more frequently, too. A few can even pull you out of Cruise Mode automatically, so be prepared to deal with the surprises.

X-Tech comes to Starfield

X-Tech is a new resource in Starfield that allows extended customisation of all weapons, gear, and even the spaceships. According to Bethesda, X-Tech is “one of the most exciting new additions in Free Lanes.”

X-Tech can be found through combat and exploration; some game bosses may have it, and you can also find it in chests and ship wreckage.​

Customising Weapon Effects with X-Tech

With the Free Lanes update, Starfield players will now be able to use X-Tech to re-roll their legendary effects until they decide upon one.

“You’ll get 5 rerolls that you spend X-Tech and credits on, but don’t worry. If you don’t get the one you want, after those 5 re-rolls, the full list will open up and you can pick the modifier you’re looking for,” said the developers.

Tier 4 Legendary Effects in Starfield

Starfield’s Free Lanes update adds a new legendary rank for player weapons, Helmets, Packs and Suits. Once players get a rank three legendary item, they can apply a new rank four effect for credits and X-Tech, with no rolling required. Players can just pick the modifier they want. After upgrading to the maximum, there is a chance that some weapons and gear will even become “Exotic”. Here are a few of the new Tier 4 legendary effects:

Saboteur: With Saboteur, there is a chance that damaging robots instantly kills them. Robots explode on death.

Reckless: Ranged attack only. Magazine size is reduced to 1; damage is increased by 500%; health is reduced by 50%.

Enigmatic: Applicable to Suit only. Holograms of the player appear during combat, which can confuse the enemies

New Quality Tiers

The Free Lanes update adds two new quality tiers above Advanced: Superior and Exceptional.

Ship Optimization Terminal

Starfield’s biggest content update yet also adds a "Ship Optimization Terminal" that can be dropped directly into the player’s spaceship. This terminal can be used to upgrade different systems like shield strength, weapons, engines, grav drive and more via X-Tech. You can use the Ship Optimization Terminal while in Cruise Mode.