Star Citizen Food, Drink & Survival Guide (2026)

Star Citizen simulates your character's basic needs. Two meters track your physical state: a blue hydration bar and a green nutrition bar. Both drain slowly during normal play. Running, fighting, or spending time in extreme temperatures drains them faster.

To check them, press F1 to open your mobiGlasmobiGlasYour character's wrist-mounted computer. It opens missions, manages inventory, summons ships, and handles in-game messages. Press F1., then navigate to the Character status tab. If either bar is below about half, eat or drink before heading out on a long mission.

What happens when you get dehydrated

Dehydration happens in three stages, each worse than the last:

• Mild: Slightly increased stamina drain. You will notice you get winded a little faster when running.
• Moderate: Blurred vision and an elevated heart rate indicator on your HUD. Hard to ignore.
• Severe: Disorientation, movement penalties, and a real risk of passing out. Do not let it get here.

What happens when you get hungry

• Mild: Stamina recovers more slowly after sprinting or fighting.
• Moderate: Reduced carry capacity and slower sprint recovery. You will feel sluggish.
• Severe: Health starts to deteriorate and you risk passing out. Another player can revive you, but it is an embarrassing way to go down.

What to drink

• Water: Best hydration per inventory slot. No side effects. Always carry two or three bottles.
• Coffee: Hydration plus a temporary stamina boost. Good for long haul runs.
• Energy drinks: A big immediate hydration and stamina boost, followed by a crash. Good for emergencies, not a daily driver.
• Alcohol: Provides minimal hydration while temporarily impairing your motor skills and vision. Fun on the ground, dangerous before a fight.

What to eat

• Nutrition bars: Best nutrition per inventory slot. Portable, cheap, and reliable. The standard survival kit item.
• Fast food (BigBenny's and similar): Good saturation and quick to eat. Available at most city food courts.
• Burritos: A solid all-rounder — they fill both the hunger and hydration bars a little. Widely available.
• Specialty foods: Some provide temporary bonuses, such as a small health regeneration boost or resistance to temperature extremes. Worth grabbing when you see them.

Where to find food and drink

Every major city and space station has vending machines and food vendors. Outposts usually have at least one vending machine, but they can run out of stock. Stock up at a city before heading somewhere remote.

• Space stations: Vending machines in common areas and food courts at most orbital stations around StantonStantonThe first playable star system — four corporate-owned planets (ArcCorp, Crusader, Hurston, microTech), each with cities and moons. Mostly safe, law-enforced..
• New Babbage: Wally's Bar and the Commons food court both have good selection.
• Area18: G-Loc Bar plus food stands throughout the Plaza level.
• Lorville: Food vendors throughout the Workers' District.
• Orison: Cloud View Center restaurants if you are out near Crusader.

Outpost prices are higher than city prices. Buy in bulk at a city and carry enough to last your mission. One water bottle and two nutrition bars per hour of play is a reasonable baseline.

Practical survival tips

• Minimum carry: Two water bottles and four nutrition bars in your personal inventory before any serious mission.
• Stock your ship: Before a long cargoCargoBuying goods cheap at one station and selling them high at another. The classic trader loop. Hangar size and SCU capacity are your limits. run or exploration session, buy a stack of consumables at a city. You will pay more at an outpost.
• Do not eat and drink all at once: Consuming too many items in rapid succession reduces how effective each one is and can trigger negative status effects.
• Check your bars before every mission: F1 → Character. If either bar is below half, eat and drink before you leave.

Common questions