Highlights
- No Man's Sky has evolved from a limited space simulator to an immersive RPG, with a steady stream of ships available for players to obtain.
- Shuttles are balanced but clunky and unsightly choices for transportation, with limited power and storage, making them unpopular.
- Explorers are ideal for players who want to explore the entire universe, with increased hyperdrive range and good maneuverability, but they can be outclassed by other ships.
No Man's Sky's transition from creative misfire to redeemed masterpiece is one of gaming's greatest evolutions. What started as a limited space simulator has become an immersive RPG, and alongside such changes have come a steady stream of ships.
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It's no secret that some ships are more difficult to obtain than others, but this doesn't always make them better. In the game's procedural universe, luck can often strike when players least expect it, as many of the best spacecraft in No Man's Sky can simply be stumbled upon.
8 Shuttle
Shuttles are comfortable pieces of transport in the ever-expandingNo Man's Sky universe, offering balanced stats but sadly little else. The lack of class bonuses, as well as the general 'blockiness' of the ships, make them clunky and unsightly choices for transportation.
There is some variety in terms of engine parts and colors, and shuttles can, therefore, be cosmetically appealing to some players. However, the huge limits on power and storage, which are critical in the late game, as well as the fact that players can start with a somewhat better ship, make shuttles one of the least popular archetypes.
7 Hauler
In earlier updates, haulers were critical ships in a player's fleet, offering nigh-unmatchable storage capacity, even if their overall jump range and speed could be very weak. With the more recent updates making ship gameplay more or less universal, much of what made haulers so inviting has become redundant.
Despite this, haulers still benefit from a shield-absorption bonus that can make them damage-taking tanks and do tend to appear with higher-than-average cargo space, making them desirable and expensive to aspiring explorers.
6 Fighter
Aggressive attack vessels that offer a potential damage bonus, the fighter is the first ship players start with in No Man's Sky and is a smart choice for much of the hostile early game. Fighters tend to appear with sleek wings and sci-fi shapes that make them the primary choice not just for newly resurrected anomalies but also for the many pirates that may desire valuable cargo.
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Fighters are strong choices for gamers wishing to play as outlaws or space marauders, but their lack of hyperdrive bonuses, as well as the rare tendency for the ship design to affect first-person visibility, makes them an acquired taste for seasoned veterans or explorers in No Man's Sky.
5 Explorer
Explorers are for those who want to see every corner of The Universe in No Man's Sky. They boast a class bonus that increases the range of their hyperdrives and have excellent launch costs and maneuverability for those who find themselves in fight-or-flight circumstances.
Explorer ships usually have large engines mixed with tiny wings or cockpits, giving them a unique look that stands out from the other ships available. For a reliable, if occasionally outclassed, vessel that can reach great distances, there is no better ship than the explorer.
4 Living
By far the most difficult ship to acquire, living ships are hatched over multiple days from Void Eggs, rare items purchasable with quicksilver aboard The Space Anomaly. They require multiple pieces to be assembled and communicated with but offer rich bonuses and highly unique styles that make them eye-catching choices in the game.
Unfortunately, living ships suffer from one huge flaw: traditional upgrades don't work on them, and instead, players must hunt down organic modifications that can take a long time to accumulate. Additionally, their huge expense - quicksilver, followed by 10,000 nanites for each subsequent ship, make them status symbols more than anything else. Those that have the patience for living ships, however, can create powerful spacecraft rivaled by few others.
3 Solar
Usually found in outlaw systems, solar ships are always equipped with a Vesper Sail, a unique piece of technology that allows them to slowly recharge launch thrusters at no cost. It makes these ships valuable exploration vessels, especially if gamers want to visit many inhospitable planets, and the pulse drive bonuses that accompany these unique sails are excellent additions, too.
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They may have fewer bonuses to shields and hyperdrive efficiency, but they make up for this with unique landing animations that spread the solar sails like a ship at sea. For those willing to brave the dangers of outlaw systems, the solar ship is a worthwhile prize.
2 Exotic
Exotic ships are difficult to categorize uniformly, as there is such diverse variation between each ship that they look unrelated side-by-side. Some bear a resemblance to a squid, whilst others are tiny little balls of bright red or blue. What all exotics share, however, is a hugely desirable set of balanced stats, never appearing as anything other than S-class.
Exotic ships can spawn with a variety of bonuses and, coupled with their visually striking appearances, still remain a staple endgame choice for most players. If the hundred-or-so million unit price isn't an issue, exotic ships are a worthwhile vessel to keep in a starship collection.
1 Interceptor (Sentinel)
The most recent ship class to join No Man's Sky, interceptor ships are high-tech beasts that contain unique technology and aggressive designs that mirror the machines they were once used by. Although they don't make use of the traditional base technologies or materials, interceptors can still be upgraded with the upgrades available at space stations, bridging the gap between living ship and base game vessel uniqueness.
The former sentinel ships require an extensive list of construction materials to repair them for use, but these are almost all acquired through combat with sentinels and their corrupted counterparts. Their unique first-person interfaces, animations, and powerful class bonuses make interceptors one of the finest choices around when it comes to player travel in No Man's Sky.
No Man's Sky
- Platform(s)
- Switch , PC , Xbox One , Xbox Series S , Xbox Series X , PS4 , PS5
- Released
- August 9, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games