If you’ve ever trekked 20 minutes across a toxic, storm-blasted planet just to grab a rare mineral deposit, only to get caught in a radiation surge halfway back, you know how brutal No Man’s Sky’s planetary exploration can be on foot. That’s where exocraft come in: these rugged, specialized vehicles let you cross any terrain in safety, carry extra resources, and even scan for hidden loot without draining your life support. Today we’re breaking down exactly how do you get an exocraft in No Man’s Sky, plus all the extra details you need to pick the right ride for your playstyle.
How Do You Get an Exocraft in No Man’s Sky: The First Basic Unlock
Your first exocraft, the Roamer, unlocks entirely through the core base building quest line, so you don’t have to grind for rare items or spend hard-earned Nanites to get it. First, you’ll need to build a basic base with a Construction Research Station, which unlocks within your first 3 to 5 hours of play as you complete the initial Awakenings quest line. Once you have the station, you can purchase the Exocraft Terminal blueprint for 10 Salvaged Data, a common resource you find by scanning for buried technology on any planet.
After you build the Exocraft Terminal at your base, you’ll get a quest to hire a Vy’keen Technician to staff it. You can find eligible NPCs at any major space station, just talk to Vy’keen characters until you find one looking for a base job. Bring them back to your terminal, turn in the quest, and they’ll give you the Roamer Geobay blueprint completely for free.
You don’t have to grind for rare resources or unlock extra blueprints to get your first exocraft – the only materials you’ll need for the Roamer Geobay are 100 Ferrite Dust, 5 Metal Plating, and 4 Ion Batteries, all resources you can craft or collect easily in the early game. Once you place the geobay, your Roamer will spawn inside, ready to use. That’s all it takes to get your first ride.
Unlocking Additional Specialized Exocraft Types
Once you have your first Roamer, you can unlock 5 additional exocraft types, each built for a specific use case. Most blueprints can be purchased directly from your hired Vy’keen Exocraft Technician for Nanites, though a couple are tied to optional side quest lines. You don’t have to unlock every exocraft if they don’t fit how you play, but it’s good to know what’s available as you progress.
Each exocraft is built for a specific use case, so you don’t need to unlock all of them unless they fit your playstyle. You can pick and choose based on whether you focus on mining, exploration, combat, or underwater travel. The most useful exocraft for most players include:
- Roamer: The all-purpose starter exocraft, great for general traversal across all non-underwater terrain, with balanced speed and 12 base storage slots for extra resources
- Minotaur: The combat and harsh-environment mech, completely immune to all planetary hazards and equipped with built-in mining lasers that can harvest even the rarest ores
- Nautilon: The only underwater exocraft, perfect for exploring deep ocean biomes and collecting rare aquatic resources like living pearls or underwater relics
- Colossus: The heavy cargo hauler, with 28 base storage slots for moving massive amounts of resources between mining outposts and your main base
The Nautilon unlocks through the optional Dreams of the Deep side quest, which triggers automatically shortly after you get your first exocraft. All other exocraft blueprints cost between 150 and 300 Nanites each from the Exocraft Technician. You can also unlock a jetpack upgrade for the Minotaur that lets it fly short distances, making it even more useful for navigating mountainous or cratered terrain. If you mostly stick to land exploration and resource grinding, the Roamer and Colossus are the only two exocraft you’ll ever need.
Tips to Set Up Your Exocraft For Maximum Utility
Getting your exocraft is just the first step – a few simple upgrades will make it far more useful for your daily exploration. First, you can install storage expansions in any exocraft to add extra slots for resources, which is especially helpful if you use the Colossus for hauling mining loot. You can also add hazard protection upgrades, though most exocraft already have basic resistance to common planetary hazards like rain or mild radiation.
One of the most useful upgrades you can get is the Exocraft Summoning tech for your exosuit. You can buy this blueprint from the Construction Research Station for 20 Salvaged Data, and it lets you call any unlocked exocraft to your exact location on a planet for a small cost of 50 Ferrite Dust. Before you unlock this tech, you have to either build a geobay for each exocraft on every planet you visit, or travel back to your existing geobay to get your ride.
Install the exosuit exocraft summoning tech as soon as you can afford it – it eliminates the hassle of running back to your geobay every time you need your ride. You can also add scanners to your exocraft that detect nearby resources, buried technology, or fauna, which makes it far easier to complete exploration milestones or find rare crafting materials. If you plan to use your exocraft for mining, you can install upgraded mining lasers that harvest resources faster than your standard multi-tool laser.
If you own a freighter, you can install an Exocraft Bay module on it that lets you summon any of your unlocked exocraft on any planet, no geobay or summoning tech required. This is a game-changer for players who jump between planets regularly, as it means you never have to worry about building new geobays every time you land somewhere new.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Unlocking Your First Exocraft
Many new players make simple mistakes that delay their exocraft unlock or waste valuable resources, so we’re breaking down the most common ones to skip. First, don’t spend Nanites on exocraft blueprints you don’t need. If you never explore underwater biomes, there’s no reason to spend 200 Nanites on the Nautilon blueprint, no matter how cool it looks. Save those Nanites for exosuit or multi-tool upgrades instead.
Another common mistake is building your first geobay on a random planet you don’t plan to revisit. While you can dismantle the geobay later to get all your resources back, it’s far easier to build your first geobay on your main base planet, so you always have a spot to return to for exocraft upgrades or repairs. You can dismantle exocraft geobays at any time to recover 100% of the resources used to build them, so don’t stress if you place one in a bad location.
Don’t forget to keep your exocraft fueled either. All land exocraft run on Carbon or Condensed Carbon, so keep a stack of at least 100 Carbon in your exocraft inventory at all times to avoid getting stranded halfway across a planet. The Nautilon runs on Tritium, which you can harvest from asteroids in space, so keep a stack of that on hand if you use the underwater exocraft regularly.
Finally, don’t ignore exocraft combat upgrades if you play on higher difficulty levels. Most exocraft can be equipped with plasma cannons or missile launchers that make fighting sentinels or hostile fauna far easier than fighting on foot, especially if you’re exploring high-level planets with aggressive enemy spawns.
At the end of the day, exocraft aren’t just a fun extra in No Man’s Sky – they’re a game-changing tool that cuts down on travel time, reduces risk of losing resources to planetary hazards, and makes exploration far more enjoyable. Now that you know how do you get an exocraft in No Man’s Sky, you can start planning your unlock order, picking the upgrades that fit your playstyle, and stop wasting hours trekking across barren planets on foot. Next time you land on a new world, you’ll have a rugged ride waiting to help you uncover every secret it has to offer.
