If you’ve spent even a few hours hopping between star systems in No Man’s Sky, you’ve almost certainly stared at a sleek, high-capacity ship docked at a space station and wondered how to make it yours. Learning how to get new ships in No Man’s Sky doesn’t have to be a grind reserved only for endgame players, either. Whether you’re looking for a hauler with extra storage for your resource runs, a speedy fighter for pirate battles, or a weird and wonderful exotic ship to show off to friends, there’s a method that fits your playstyle and budget. I’ve spent hundreds of hours scanning every ship that crosses my path in the game, and I’ve broken down the most reliable, low-effort ways to upgrade your ride below.
How to Get New Ships in No Man’s Sky for Zero Units: Crashed Ship Hunting
Crashed ships are the best option for new players who don’t have a stock of units saved up, and they’re even useful for veteran players looking to expand their fleet for free. You can find these damaged ships scattered across planets all over the galaxy, and you only need to repair their core systems to claim them permanently. Distress signal planetary charts are the fastest way to locate crash sites, and you can buy them from the cartographer at any space station for just 1 navigation data each.
Before you claim a crashed ship, always scan it first to check its slot count and class. A 30-slot B class ship is way more useful than a 20-slot C class, even if it needs more repairs upfront. You don’t have to fix every broken slot immediately either, just get the launch thruster and pulse engine working so you can fly it back to a space station.
One little-known trick: if the crashed ship has more slots than your current ride, you can claim it, transfer all your items over, and scrap your old ship for extra units and upgrade modules even if you don’t plan to keep the crashed ship long-term. I’ve earned millions of units scrapping mid-tier crashed ships I found while hunting for S class haulers, so it’s always worth stopping to check a crash site when you see one.
Buy Ships Directly From Pilots for Guaranteed Stats
If you’re looking for a guaranteed way how to get new ships in No Man’s Sky without relying on random crash site spawns, buying directly from pilots is your best bet. Any time a pilot lands at a space station, planetary trading post, or even your freighter hangar, you can walk up and interact with them to view their ship’s full stats and make a purchase offer. Ship prices scale directly with slot count and class, so a 48-slot S class hauler will cost tens of millions of units, while a small C class fighter might only run you a few hundred thousand.
You don’t have to pay full price, either. If you give the pilot a small gift before you ask to buy their ship, they’ll almost always knock 5-10% off the asking price. I once got 15% off a mid-tier fighter after giving the pilot a stack of activated indium I had lying around from a recent mining run, so it’s always worth testing the gift option first. You can also trade in your current ship to lower the final cost if you don’t want to keep multiple ships in your fleet.
Just note that you can’t negotiate for a lower price beyond the friend discount, so if a ship is out of your budget, you’re better off waiting for a similar model to spawn instead of wasting time haggling. I usually set a unit budget before I start shopping for a new ship, so I don’t blow all my savings on a fancy fighter that doesn’t fit my playstyle.
Unlock Rare Exotic and Sentinel Ships Through Targeted Exploration
If you want a ship that stands out from the generic fighters and haulers you see at every space station, you can hunt for rare exotic or sentinel interceptor ships. Exotic ships have unique, outlandish designs, maxed-out stats, and a tiny spawn rate of less than 1% in most systems. To boost your chances of finding one, hang out in three-star high-economy systems, as they have the highest exotic spawn rates in the game.
Sentinel interceptor ships are another fan favorite, and you can only get them by completing a specific task on corrupted planets. Locate a corrupted planet marked on your system map, clear out waves of corrupted sentinels until you trigger a dreadnought alert, board the sentinel dreadnought, and take down its core. Once you do, you’ll get to choose a free sentinel interceptor ship to add to your fleet. These ships don’t require tritium for pulse jumps, which is a huge quality of life bonus for players who spend most of their time exploring deep space.
These rare ships take patience to find, so don’t get discouraged if you spend an hour hanging around a space station and don’t see an exotic spawn. I once spent two hours farming a high-economy system for a specific squid-style exotic, and it was well worth the wait once it finally landed.
Add Free Escort Ships to Your Freighter Fleet
A lot of new players don’t realize you can have up to 6 escort ships docked to your freighter at all times, and you can get most of these ships for free without spending a single unit. The easiest way to collect these escort ships is to help out civilian fleets when they’re under attack by pirates. Whenever you jump into a new system, you’ll sometimes get a pop-up alert that a nearby fleet is being raided. If you fly over and take out the pirate ships, one of the civilian pilots will often offer you their ship as a thank you gift.
These ships are completely free, and you can either add them to your escort fleet to boost your freighter’s combat and trade stats, or scrap them immediately for a huge haul of units and rare upgrade modules. I’ve gotten three S class fighters this way without spending any units, so it’s always worth stopping to help out when you see a pirate attack alert. Just make sure your ship has decent weapons before you jump into the fight, as higher-level systems have much more powerful pirates that can take out unupgraded ships quickly.
You can also buy escort ships directly from freighter crew members if you find one with stats that fit your fleet needs, but the free ones you get from pirate fights are almost always just as good for casual play.
At the end of the day, there’s no right or wrong way to upgrade your ride, and the best method for you will depend on how much time you want to spend, how many units you have saved up, and what kind of ship you’re looking for. You can grind for hours to hunt a perfect S class exotic, or grab a free crashed ship 10 minutes after you start a new save, and both options are totally valid. Now that you know how to get new ships in No Man’s Sky, you can start planning your next upgrade, and keep an eye out for those rare spawns every time you dock at a space station. Don’t be afraid to test out different ship types too, you might find that a bulky hauler fits your playstyle way better than a fast fighter, or that a sentinel interceptor is perfect for your deep space exploration runs.
