If you’ve ever trekked 20 minutes across a toxic, storm-blasted planet just to reach a distant ancient ruin, you know how tedious on-foot travel in No Man’s Sky can get. That’s where exocraft come in: these rugged, upgradeable planetary vehicles let you zoom across terrain, mine resources faster, and survive extreme conditions without constantly draining your life support. A question I get from new players almost every week is how do i get an exocraft in no man's sky, and the good news is it’s far simpler than most people think, even if you’re only a few hours into the game. You don’t need to beat any tough story missions or grind for rare resources to get your first one, either.
How Do I Get an Exocraft in No Man’s Sky: First Steps to Unlock the Nomad
Your first exocraft will almost always be the Nomad, a light, fast buggy built for flat and moderately rough terrain. To unlock it through the standard quest line, you first need to progress a little bit through the base building tutorial. After you build your first base computer and place a few basic structures, you’ll get a quest to build a Science Terminal and hire a scientist NPC from a nearby space station. Complete three or four of the scientist’s early fetch quests, and they’ll hand you the blueprint for an Exocraft Terminal to add to your base.
Once you place the Exocraft Terminal, the scientist will give you the blueprint for the Nomad Geobay, the structure that spawns your exocraft. You’ll need 50 Paraffinium, 100 Ferrite Dust, and 30 Sodium Nitrate to build it. I remember my first time trying to unlock the Nomad, I wasted 20 minutes looking for Paraffinium on a frozen planet before I realized I could just refine it from regular Carbon and Ferrite Dust in my portable refiner. Don’t make that mistake – if you’re stuck for resources, the refiner is your best friend here.
Place the Geobay anywhere on the planet your base is on, and your Nomad will spawn immediately. You can summon it anywhere on the same planet from your quick menu once it’s unlocked, even if you’re nowhere near your base. If you travel to a different planet, you just need to place a new Geobay (or use one belonging to another player in multiplayer) to summon it again.
Unlocking All Additional Exocraft Variants
The Nomad is great for early game, but there are five other exocraft variants tailored to different use cases, from bulk mining to underwater exploration. Most of these unlock through the same scientist quest line, right after you get the Nomad. The first one you’ll unlock after the Nomad is the Roamer, a sturdier all-terrain buggy that handles steep mountains and icy surfaces far better than its lighter counterpart. Its Geobay costs 100 Paraffinium, 200 Ferrite Dust, and 50 Sodium Nitrate to build.
As you complete more of the scientist’s quests, you’ll unlock blueprints for the Colossus, a heavy hauling exocraft with tons of cargo space for bulk mining runs, and the Pilgrim, a fast, motorcycle-style exocraft built for long-distance travel across open planets. The Nautilon, an underwater exocraft, unlocks through the separate Deep Dreams quest line that triggers after you spend some time exploring ocean planets, and the Minotaur mech unlocks through the Exo-Mech quest line you can pick up from the Space Anomaly.
Each exocraft has a unique set of strengths that make it worth unlocking, even if you only use it for specific situations:
- Nomad: Best for early game, fast travel across flat, dry planets, low resource cost to unlock
- Roamer: All-purpose workhorse, handles steep mountains and rough terrain better than any other light exocraft
- Colossus: High-capacity hauler ideal for bulk mining runs, can equip multiple mining lasers for fast resource farming
- Nautilon: Only exocraft built for deep underwater exploration, protects you from pressure and aquatic predators
- Minotaur: Combat-ready mech with short flight capabilities, perfect for hostile planets with frequent Sentinel attacks
If you love exploring ocean planets, the Nautilon is a game-changer. I once spent three hours swimming around a deep ocean planet looking for a sunken wreck before I unlocked it, and now I can cover the same distance in 10 minutes without worrying about being attacked by giant underwater predators.
Shortcuts to Unlock Exocraft Without Quest Progression
You don’t have to grind through the scientist quest line to unlock exocraft if you don’t want to. As soon as you get access to the Space Anomaly (which happens very early in the main story, right after you repair your first ship and leave your starting planet), you can buy all exocraft Geobay blueprints directly from the Construction Research Station near the back of the Anomaly.
Each standard exocraft Geobay costs 10 Salvaged Data, and the Minotaur Geobay costs 15. Salvaged Data is extremely easy to farm: just dig up Buried Technology Modules on any planet, each of which gives 1 to 4 Salvaged Data. This shortcut is perfect if you’re playing a permadeath run and don’t want to spend time building a full base early on, or if you just want to jump straight to exploring without doing side quests. I usually farm 50 Salvaged Data in my first hour of a new playthrough just so I can unlock all exocraft as soon as I get access to the Anomaly.
There is one small downside to this method, though. If you unlock exocraft through the Anomaly instead of the scientist quest line, you won’t get the free upgrade blueprints you earn as quest rewards. You’ll have to buy those upgrades separately from the Construction Research Station, which costs extra Salvaged Data. If you’re playing multiplayer, you can also use a friend’s existing Geobay to summon your own exocraft once you have the blueprint, even if you don’t have your own base built on the planet.
Essential First Upgrades for Your New Exocraft
Default exocraft work fine right out of the Geobay, but a few simple upgrades will make them far more useful for exploration and resource farming. The first upgrade I always install on any new exocraft is the Exocraft Engine Upgrade, which boosts top speed and handling. It cuts down travel time across large planets by almost 50%, and makes it far easier to climb steep terrain without getting stuck.
Next, install the Mining Laser Attachment for your exocraft. This lets you mine large resource deposits directly from your vehicle, without having to get out and use your multi-tool. It’s especially useful on the Colossus, which can equip up to four mining lasers at once to tear through massive mineral deposits in seconds. You’ll be able to fill your cargo hold with Ferrite, Carbon, and rare resources in a fraction of the time it takes to mine on foot.
The Life Support Reinforcement upgrade is another must-have, especially if you like exploring extreme planets. It makes your exocraft completely immune to radiation, toxicity, extreme heat, and extreme cold, so your personal life support won’t drain at all while you’re inside the vehicle. You can drive through the worst storms on the most hostile planets without any risk, no extra resources required.
Finally, install the Exocraft Signal Booster as soon as you can. This lets you scan for nearby points of interest like ancient ruins, resource deposits, crashed ships, and abandoned bases directly from your exocraft’s menu, without having to pull out your analysis visor every two minutes. I always install the signal booster first on every exocraft I own. Last month, I found a rare S-class crashed freighter just 10 minutes after landing on a planet, all because I scanned for points of interest from my Roamer instead of wandering around aimlessly. It cuts down the time you spend looking for rare finds by at least 70% in my experience.
Exocraft completely change how you play No Man's Sky, turning tedious cross-planet treks into fast, fun rides that let you focus on finding cool secrets instead of managing your stamina. If you were asking how do i get an exocraft in no man's sky, you now have two clear paths to follow: work through the scientist base quests for free upgrade rewards, or grab the blueprints from the Anomaly whenever you want. Whichever route you pick, you’ll wonder how you ever played the game without these rugged little vehicles. Next time you land on a new planet, skip the slow walk and summon your exocraft to see everything it has to offer in half the time.
