If you’ve ever zipped across a star system in a beat-up starter ship and watched a sleek S-class fighter zoom past the space station docking bay, you’ve probably wondered how to upgrade your ride. Learning how to change ships in No Man’s Sky opens up way more than just a cool new look: it lets you carry more resources, survive tougher pirate attacks, and jump between star systems faster than ever before. I’ve spent hundreds of hours bouncing between planets hunting for perfect ships, and I’ve broken down every method you can use to swap your vessel, no cheat codes or mods required. I still remember the first time I swapped my beat-up starter shuttle for a bright pink exotic ship I found parked at a Vy’keen space station – I felt unstoppable for the next 20 hours of gameplay. Whether you’re a brand new player still figuring out how to launch your ship or a veteran looking to expand your fleet, this guide has you covered.
How to change ships in No Man’s Sky: 3 common methods for all playstyles
Before you start shopping for a new ride, there are a few basic things you’ll need to have sorted first to avoid headaches:
- A functional launch thruster on your current ship so you can reach space stations or remote crash sites
- Enough units, nanites, or salvaged resources to cover trade costs or repair fees for your new vessel
- At least one free slot in your fleet if you don’t want to trade in your existing ship permanently
All three of these methods work no matter what platform you play on, and you don’t need any mods or cheats to change ships in No Man’s Sky. If you’re new to the game and still figuring out how to change ships in No Man’s Sky, the space station method is the easiest one to start with. The most straightforward method is the Space station trade-in. Every time you dock at a space station, you’ll see dozens of other pilots landing and taking off. Walk up to any pilot, interact with them, and you’ll see an option to make an offer on their ship. If you accept the trade, your old ship will be traded in as partial credit, and you’ll get to keep any upgrades you had installed on it if you transfer them over first. This is the fastest method if you have extra units to spend, and you can usually find a wide range of ship types to choose from in just a few minutes of waiting at the docking bay.
Second, there’s Crashed ship recovery. If you don’t have a lot of units to spend, this is the best way to get a high-tier ship for almost free. You can find crashed ship locations by using your scanner on planetary surfaces, or by talking to NPCs at outposts who will sell you coordinates for a small fee. When you find a crashed ship, you’ll have to repair its launch thruster and pulse engine to fly it, but all other broken slots can be fixed later. Crashed ships are often 30-50% cheaper to fully upgrade than ones bought at space stations, so it’s worth the extra time hunting for them if you’re on a budget.
Third, you can get Quest reward claims as you progress through the main story or side quests. Some quests will give you a free ship as a reward, no trade-in required, and these are often higher class than what you’d find randomly early in the game. For example, the first quest you get from the Space Anomaly will give you a free shuttle with a much larger inventory than your starter ship, so it’s worth completing that as soon as you can access the Anomaly.
Key factors to consider before swapping your current ship
It’s easy to get distracted by a cool-looking ship and pull the trigger on a trade without checking if it’s actually an upgrade for your playstyle. I’ve made that mistake myself, trading in a perfectly good hauler for a fancy fighter that couldn’t carry half the resources I needed for my base builds.
First, check the ship’s role. There are five main ship types in the game: fighters for combat, haulers for inventory space, explorers for longer jump range, shuttles for balanced stats, and exotics for rare, high-tier bonuses. When you’re evaluating a new vessel before you swap it in, pick one that matches what you spend most of your time doing. If you spend most of your time mining and selling resources, a hauler with 40+ inventory slots is way more useful than a fast fighter with only 15 slots.
Next, check the ship’s class. S-class ships have the highest stat bonuses, followed by A, B, and C class. You can upgrade a ship’s class later using nanites, but it’s far cheaper to buy or find a higher class ship upfront. S-class ships have 20-30% better stat boosts than C-class ships of the same type, so it’s worth holding out for an A or S class if you can.
Finally, check the number of technology slots. These slots let you install upgrades like better shields, faster pulse engines, or higher damage weapons. A ship with lots of general inventory slots but no free tech slots will be hard to upgrade later, so don’t overlook that detail when you’re comparing options.
How to expand your fleet to store multiple ships
You don’t have to trade in your old ship every time you get a new one. The game lets you build a fleet of ships that you can swap between whenever you want, which is perfect if you like to mix up play sessions between mining, combat, and exploration.
To add more fleet slots, head to the ship upgrade terminal at any space station, located right next to the appearance modifier. The first extra slot is pretty cheap, costing only a few hundred thousand units, but each subsequent slot gets more expensive, with the final slot costing tens of millions of units. You can store up to 12 ships in your fleet at maximum capacity, so you don’t have to worry about running out of space if you love collecting rare ship designs. If you’re a completionist who wants to collect every ship type, you can easily fill all 12 slots as you explore different star systems.
Once you have multiple ships in your fleet, you can summon any of them to your location using the quick menu, as long as you’re on a flat, open area of a planet or docked at a landing pad. That means you can switch between a hauler for resource runs and a fighter for pirate battles whenever you want, without having to go through the full trade process every time. I keep a hauler, a fighter, an explorer, and a fun exotic ship in my fleet at all times, and I swap between them almost every time I log on.
Common mistakes to avoid when changing ships
Even if you follow all the steps above, it’s easy to make small mistakes that cost you time or resources. I’ve messed up almost all of these at least once, so I’m saving you the frustration by calling them out.
One of the most frustrating errors new players make when learning how to change ships in No Man’s Sky is forgetting to move all their valuable resources from their old ship’s inventory before confirming a trade. Once you confirm a trade, you can’t get anything left on your old ship back, so always double check your inventory before you hit accept. I lost 500 units of activated indium once to this mistake, and I still grumble about it when I think about it.
Another common mistake is repairing all the broken slots on a crashed ship before checking if it’s actually a better option than your current ride. If you find a C-class crashed hauler with 20 slots, and you already have an A-class hauler with 30 slots, there’s no point wasting resources repairing it unless you just like the design. Always check the class and slot count before you start dumping resources into repairs.
If you’re still new to how to change ships in No Man’s Sky, take it slow and don’t feel pressured to upgrade your ship right away when you first start playing. Finally, don’t ignore rare spawns like exotic ships or living ships while you’re waiting at space stations. Exotic ships only spawn once every few hours in most systems, and they’re always S-class, so if you see one, it’s almost always worth saving up for if you can afford it. Living ships are even rarer, and they come with unique upgrades you can’t get on regular ships, so don’t pass up the chance to pick one up if you get a quest for it.
At the end of the day, figuring out how to change ships in No Man’s Sky is one of the most rewarding parts of the game, letting you tailor your playthrough to exactly what you want to do. You don’t have to stick with the first ship you get, and you don’t have to spend millions of units to get a great ride if you’re willing to hunt for crashed vessels on deserted planets. Next time you dock at a space station, take a minute to check out the ships other pilots are flying – you might just find your new favorite ride waiting for you.
