KEY POINTS

  • Ships can be fitted with new technology and Upgrade Modules
  • Ship classes can be upgraded at the Starship Outfitting Terminal on space stations
  • Ship inventories can be expanded on space stations as well

Starships serve as the primary means of transportation throughout the majority of a player’s time in “No Man’s Sky,” whether it be pulsing through space or cruising about the atmosphere of one of the game’s many worlds.

Naturally, players will want to upgrade their ships to get the best possible performance during exploration and combat. A well-oiled starship will be able to fly faster, use less fuel, have more storage space and fight better.

There are a few different ways to upgrade a starship. Here’s how to do them.

Starship Upgrade Modules

Like exosuits and multi-tools, ships come with their sets of Upgrade Modules. The vendors for these items are conveniently located right next to the other upgrade merchants aboard space stations, though players may sometimes find others in planetary trading posts.

The default ship in No Man's Sky is a reliable companion in the early stages of the game
The default ship in No Man's Sky is a reliable companion in the early stages of the game No Man's Sky

Upgrade Modules are divided into four different tier rankings as well as general and specialized categories. Players can pick from a basic booster, fuel capacity, shield strength and warp drive upgrades. If they have the right technology installed, upgrades for specific ship weapons can be bought as well.

Purchasing a module will cost Nanites and at least one free slot in a ship’s inventory or technology windows.

Starship Technologies

The Space Anomaly has more tangible starship upgrades available for sale at Iteration Hyperion’s kiosk. Like in multi-tools, this is where players can purchase blueprints for onboard ship weapons like the Phase Beam and the Positron Injector.

There are other upgrades available at the kiosk, such as advanced Warp Drives, which allow players to travel to more dangerous systems.

Starship Inventory and Class Upgrades

The Starship Outfitting Terminal on space stations will let players increase the number of slots in their ships’ inventories by spending Units or Storage Augmentations. However, inventory expansion is limited by caps tied to Starship Class.

Luckily, the terminal also lets players upgrade the class of their ships by spending Nanites. Doing so will not only will it increase the expansion cap but also upgrade the base stats of a ship depending on its model and archetype.

Keep in mind that class upgrades cost tens of thousands of Nanites, so come prepared.