If you’ve ever been mid-way through mining a rich activated indium vein only for a squad of aggressive sentinels to spawn, you know how frustrating it is to be stuck with a multitool that’s only good for breaking rocks. There’s no need to fumble with upgrading mods mid-fight, though. Learning how to change your multitool in No Man's Sky is one of the most underrated quality-of-life skills you can pick up, and it takes almost no time to master. I’ve put over 400 hours into the game across three different saves, and I swap my multitool at least 10 times per play session to match whatever I’m doing that day.
Pre-Requisites to Change Your Multitool in No Man's Sky
You can’t swap between multiple multitools right when you start a new save, and a lot of new players miss the unlock step entirely. You first need to progress through the opening story missions until you gain access to your first space station, where you’ll find the multitool cabinet near the ship landing pads. Interacting with this cabinet for the first time unlocks your ability to store multiple multitools, rather than just replacing your current one every time you find a new model.
You can own up to 6 multitools at once across all your saves, and you can buy extra storage slots for units directly from the multitool cabinet if you want to collect more. You don’t lose any installed upgrades or inventory items when you store a multitool, either, so you don’t have to re-install mods every time you swap back to an old favorite. A lot of new players discard their first high-tier multitool by accident when they find a new one, so double check you’re selecting the “store current” option before claiming a new find.
You also don’t need to spend any nanites or special resources to swap between multitools you already own, the process is completely free. The only cost comes if you’re buying a new multitool you haven’t added to your collection yet, or if you’re upgrading the inventory slots of a tool you already own.
How to Swap Between Owned Multitools While Exploring
There are two fast ways to swap multitools when you’re out on a planet or flying through space, and you don’t need to visit a space station to do either. The fastest method for emergency swaps, like when sentinels or pirates attack, is to open your quick menu by holding down the D-pad on console or the corresponding key on PC. Navigate to the multitool icon, and you’ll see arrows to cycle through all the multitools you have stored in your collection.
The quick menu swap only works if you have already registered the multitool in your collection at a space station cabinet first. If you just found a new multitool on a planet and haven’t stored it yet, it won’t show up in this menu. The swap takes less than two seconds to complete, and there’s no animation lock, so you can switch to a combat-focused multitool mid-fight without taking extra damage.
You can also swap through your inventory menu if you want to check stats or modify upgrades before you switch. Open your main inventory, navigate to the tools tab, and select the multitool icon at the top of the screen. You’ll see all your stored multitools listed, and you can select any one to equip it immediately. I like to tag my most used multitools as favorites so they show up first in both the quick menu and inventory list, which saves me extra time when I’m in a hurry.
How to Claim and Store a New Multitool You Find
New multitools spawn in a handful of fixed locations across every star system, and the stats and cosmetic designs are rolled randomly when you first enter the system. When you interact with a new multitool, you’ll get three options: exchange your currently equipped multitool for the new one, buy the new one outright to add to your collection, or store your current multitool and add the new one for free if you have an open storage slot.
If you’re hunting for high-tier S-class multitools, these are the most reliable locations to look:
- Space station multitool cabinets: these refresh every time you warp to a new system, and have a 30% chance of spawning an S-class multitool in 3-star economy systems
- Minor settlement workrooms: look for the small tool cabinet near the NPC crafting stations, these often have multitools with unique cosmetic skins you can't find anywhere else
- Ancient alien ruins: cracked wall caches at ruin sites occasionally have experimental multitools with extra damage bonuses against sentinels and fauna
- The Space Anomaly: Iteration: Hyperion sells pre-upgraded multitools for nanites, perfect for new players who don't want to hunt for S-class rolls
Never discard an S-class multitool, even if you don't use it right now, because the cosmetic and stat rolls are completely unique to the system you found it in, and you won’t be able to get the exact same model again if you get rid of it. You can upgrade the number of inventory slots on any multitool later, so don’t pass up a good S-class roll just because it has fewer slots than your current tool.
If you find a multitool you love but can’t afford right away, you can mark the system on your star map and come back later. The multitool roll will stay the same forever, as long as you don’t reset your galaxy. I have 12 systems marked on my map right now with rare multitool skins I plan to go back and buy once I save up enough units.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Managing Your Multitool Collection
It’s easy to make costly mistakes when you first start collecting multitools, and I’ve made almost all of them myself over the years. The biggest mistake new players make is wasting units on low-tier C and B class multitools early in the game. You can get a free A-class multitool from the Space Anomaly after you finish the first three main story missions, so save your units for ship upgrades or storage slots instead.
Another common mistake is forgetting to remove rare upgrade modules before you sell or discard an old multitool. Upgrade modules that use rare resources like runaway mold or storm crystals are incredibly hard to find, and you can’t get them back if you delete the multitool they’re installed on. I always do a full check of every multitool’s mod slots before I sell anything, just to make sure I’m not throwing away a rare S-class combat mod I farmed for hours to get.
A lot of players also don’t organize their multitools by use case, which wastes a lot of time swapping mods back and forth. I have four dedicated multitools in my collection right now: one for mining, one for combat, one for scanning flora and fauna, and one for building. I install all my relevant mods once, and I never have to rearrange them unless I find a better upgrade. It cuts down my prep time for any activity by at least 5 minutes every time I play.
Multitool stats are rolled when you first enter a system, so save before you warp if you’re hunting for a specific S-class model. If the space station cabinet doesn’t have the roll you want, you can reload your save and warp again to get a completely new set of rolls. I’ve used this trick to find three perfect S-class multitools for my collection, and it saved me dozens of hours of warping between random systems.
If you accidentally delete a multitool you wanted to keep, don’t panic. You can recover any deleted multitool from any space station multitool cabinet for a small unit fee, as long as you owned it for more than 24 in-game hours. I did this once when I accidentally deleted my favorite fishing multitool, and it only cost me 5,000 units to get it back.
At the end of the day, the best part of No Man's Sky is how you can tailor every part of your gameplay to fit your preferences, and your multitool setup is no exception. Knowing how to change your multitool in No Man's Sky lets you jump between mining, combat, scanning, and building without wasting time swapping out mods every time your goal changes. Don't be afraid to test out weird mod setups on spare multitools, either – I have a dedicated multitool just for fishing up rare underwater treasures that I thought was useless at first, but now it's one of my most used items. Next time you're out exploring, keep an eye out for unique multitool skins and rolls, you never know when you'll find your new favorite tool.
