Every Starbound Race Explained: Abilities, Lore, and Armor Perks

When you boot up a new save in Starbound, the species you pick is more than a cosmetic choice. Each playable race carries its own backstory, aesthetic and, more importantly, a hidden ability that activates once you slot the right armor onto your character. Some are built for combat, others for travel, and a couple were clearly designed with miners and explorers in mind.

Here is a breakdown of every race currently in the game and what each one actually brings to the table.

The Seven Races at a Glance

Starbound ships with seven playable species. Visually they are distinct, but the real differences show up the moment you craft a piece of racial armor. That armor turns a flavor pick into a mechanical perk that can change how you approach planets, dungeons and combat in general.

The current lineup includes:

• Human
• Avian
• Apex
• Floran
• Hylotl
• Glitch
• Novakid

Each section below covers the official lore, the racial bonus and when that bonus actually pays off in play.

Human

"In spite of their long and turbulent history, humans tend to possess a lighthearted and optimistic outlook towards life and the universe. Humanity set about forming a society that would unite the people of the universe, The Terrene Protectorate."

Humans lean on adaptability rather than raw specialization. They pair sharp problem solving with a habit of getting along with almost any other species, which makes them a natural fit for diplomacy heavy playthroughs. The mechanical benefit is more grounded: human racial armor grants a larger inventory, which is great if you hate the constant trip back to your ship just to dump materials.

Avian

"Avians are a race of colorful birdfolk whose tribal culture revolves around the worship of Kluex, the winged god of the Aether. Their soldiers are trained from birth to be fierce warriors who will protect their temples at any cost."

Avians take their devotion to Kluex seriously, and the rest of the universe takes them seriously right back. With the right armor equipped, an Avian character unlocks the ability to fly, which makes scouting unfamiliar planets a much faster experience. They also dig at an accelerated pace, so resource runs go quicker even when you decide to keep your feet on the ground.

Apex

"A race of highly intelligent primates. For millennia, the Apex were close to human in appearance until a scientific breakthrough allowed them to trade physical devolution for intellectual evolution."

If your build leans on mobility, the Apex are worth a serious look. Their lanky frame translates into higher jumps when racial armor is worn, and their general agility helps in arenas where vertical positioning matters. Combine that with their intelligence focused lore and you get a species that fits both melee skirmishers and explorers who enjoy climbing whatever the terrain throws at them.

Floran

"Don't be fooled by their peaceful appearance! Florans are known throughout the universe to be aggressive, carnivorous hunters. Not particularly inventive of their own, they're fond of stealing and adapting technology from people they've attacked."

Florans are aggressive carnivores wrapped in chlorophyll. With Floran armor on, your character photosynthesizes under direct sunlight and slowly regenerates health. Pair that with their hostile streak and you have a race that thrives in surface combat against opponents bigger and meaner than they have any right to fight.

Hylotl

"The peaceful Hylotl place great value on ancestral tradition and take great comfort in the arts. Originally dwelling on land, their passive nature made them easy prey for the Florans and they were driven beneath the waves, where they now thrive."

Where Avians own the air, the Hylotl claim the water. Racial armor grants unlimited underwater breathing, turning ocean planets from an annoyance into a playground. Their starting health pool runs a little lower than other races, so the smart play is to use water for both exploration and tactical retreats during tougher fights.

Glitch

"The Glitch were built in order to simulate a civilization. A fault in their programming caused them to become stuck early in simulation, and to this day they are unable to shake their Medieval values and beliefs."

The Glitch are robots that never got the memo about leaving the year 1300 behind. Mechanically they are the miner's pick: with Glitch armor equipped, your character mines significantly faster than any other species. If your goal is to build castles, factories or massive underground bunkers, this is the race that gets the foundation laid before anyone else has finished prospecting.

Novakid

"The Novakids are a mysterious race of 'interstellar gas-bag people.' They have no charted settlements and no documented history. They're volatile beings, untroubled by the past. No one known what they're made of, much less where they came from."

Added in the Winter Update, the Novakid round out the roster with a Wild West aesthetic and a personality to match. Their racial perk leans into evasion through a natural cloaking ability that creates a brief window to dodge incoming attacks and counterpunch. They feel less like a tank and more like a gunslinger with a vanishing trick built in.

Picking the Right Race for Your Playthrough

Your pick will not lock you out of any content, but pairing the right race with its armor can make a particular playstyle noticeably smoother. Mining heavy run? Glitch. Aquatic exploration? Hylotl. Aerial recon? Avian. Inventory hoarder? Human. Choose the species that matches how you actually like to play, then prioritize crafting the racial armor early so the bonus kicks in before you really need it.