So you are trying to build an outpost on a planet, but the outpost beacon button is grayed out in Starfield? There are a few reasons why this is happening. Since your outpost is where you can build your home, use outpost storage, and extract resources, it’s a crucial part of your journey. And so, here’s why you are unable to place the Outpost because it’s greyed out and what conditions you need to fulfill.
Starfield Outpost Grayed Out Fix
If the outpost button is grayed out on the screen, it means you cannot place the beacon there because:
- It’s a restricted area
- It’s a hostile environment with extreme weather conditions
- There is an existing outpost there already
- It’s a bug
Restricted Area
You won’t be able to place a beacon and the outpost button will be grayed out in Starfield if it’s a restricted area for building. Use your scanner to locate such areas so that you can move away from that location and find another place where you can extract resources better. Most zones where you can’t build are near a POI like a landmark, a ship landing spot, a building, etc.
Hostile Environment
Another reason why you won’t be able to build an outpost at a particular location is because it’s a hostile environment (depending on the planet’s conditions). But if you get the Planetary Habitation skill, you can combat dangerous conditions/temperatures like Deep Freeze and Inferno and increase the maximum number of Outposts you can build by 4. If you keep ranking it up, you can also build outposts on planets with extreme pressure, toxic, corrosive atmospheres, and extreme gravity.
Note that you need to spend points in Science to unlock Master Science Skills (Planetary Habitation is one of them.)
Can’t Place Outpost within the Area of Another Outpost
You won’t be able to place an outpost within the designated area of an existing outpost. So, move away, avoid any overlap, and as soon as you come out of the limits, you should see that the outpost button is no longer greyed out.
Related | Where to Set Up First Outpost? (Best Planet Location)
It’s a Bug
If all the required conditions are fulfilled but the outpost button is still grayed out, it may be a bug. To work around it, close the game, relaunch it, and reload an autosave close to the time you tried to build an outpost.
That’s all you need to know if the outpost button is grayed out in Starfield. To get more out of Outpost building, make sure to get and upgrade the Outpost Engineering Skill. For more related to building, head over to our Starfield Outpost guides on Gamer Tweak.