No Man's Sky S Class Frigates: Why You Should Stop Hunting and Start Training

You've been pulsing through three-star economy systems for three hours. Every time a freighter fleet warps in, you frantically scan the support ships, hoping to see that gold S icon. Your units are burning a hole in your pocket. But honestly? You're kinda doing it the hard way.

In the vast, procedurally generated expanse of No Man's Sky, the no mans sky s class frigate is the crown jewel of any fleet. They look cool. They have better stats. They bring home the big loot like Storage Augmentations and Salvaged Frigate Modules. But there is a massive misconception among newer Interlopers that you have to find them in the wild to have a "perfect" fleet.

Actually, the veterans will tell you the opposite. Buying a "natural" S-class is often a trap.

The Secret Math of the No Mans Sky S Class Frigate

Here is the thing: frigates in No Man's Sky aren't static. Unlike your starship or your multitool, frigates actually gain "experience" and rank up.

Every time you send a frigate on an expedition from your freighter's bridge, it earns "encounters." After a certain number of these encounters—usually every 4 to 5 completed expeditions—the ship levels up. It gains 6 points to its base stats and potentially sheds negative traits. This continues until they hit a cap at 55 expeditions.

Why does this matter? Because a C-class frigate that you've personally raised to S-class will almost always have better total stats than an S-class you bought off the street. When you buy a natural S-class, you’re stuck with whatever random stat distribution the game gave it. When you level one up from C-class, you’re essentially "hand-crafting" its growth. Plus, C-classes are dirt cheap, usually costing under 2 million units, while an S-class can easily run you 10 million or more.

How to spot a "God-Tier" Recruit

If you want the absolute best no mans sky s class frigate by the time it hits its peak, you have to be picky about the "babies" you recruit. Look for these specific markers:

• Low Expedition Count: You want a C-class with 0 to 4 expeditions completed. This gives the ship the maximum number of "level-up" opportunities left in its life cycle.
• Base Stats: Look at the four main categories (Combat, Exploration, Industrial, Trade). Subtract any bonuses from traits. If the remaining "pure" base stat is 10 or higher, you’ve found a winner.
• Fuel Consumption: This is huge. A standard frigate usually eats 8 to 12 tonnes of fuel per 250 light-years. If you find one that consumes only 8 tonnes, keep it. If it’s a Support Frigate, you want it as low as 2 or 3 tonnes.

Stop Save-Scumming and Start Sending

We've all been there. Reloading a save in a Pirate system for five hours trying to get a specific freighter to spawn as an S-class. It's exhausting.

For frigates, just don't do it.

The most efficient way to build a fleet of no mans sky s class frigates is to simply fill your 30 slots with high-potential C-classes and send them out every single day. If you’re worried about them getting damaged, just make sure your fleet rating is 2 stars higher than the mission difficulty. If it’s a 1-star mission, send a 3-star fleet. This virtually guarantees they won't break and force you to fly out there for tedious repairs.

The Living Frigate Exception

Now, if you're hunting for Organic or "Living" frigates (the ones that look like space whales), the rules change slightly.

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These guys are weird. You get them using a Dream Aerial or Anomaly Detectors. Unlike metal frigates, you can actually change a Living Frigate's stats by feeding it different foods from your inventory. If you feed one a stack of Meat Stew, its Combat might go up. Give it some Larval Cores? Maybe it becomes an Industrial powerhouse.

Because of this "feeding" mechanic, many players prefer to just find these as S-class immediately. It saves the headache of waiting for dozens of expeditions to finish before you see their final form.

Why S-Class Actually Matters for Your Loot

Is the grind worth it? Yeah, mostly.

When you have a full fleet of no mans sky s class frigates, your rewards for missions like "Industrial Expansion" or "Trade Patrol" get significantly better. We aren't just talking about units. We're talking about rare materials like Iridesite, Geodesite, and those precious Salvaged Frigate Modules you need to upgrade your main freighter.

Higher class ships also have more positive traits. These traits can reduce mission time or, more importantly, slash fuel costs. If you stack enough Support Frigates with fuel-reduction traits, you can eventually run 24-hour missions for zero fuel cost. It feels like cheating, but it's just good management.

Your Next Steps for a Perfect Fleet

If you're ready to stop wandering and start building, here is exactly what you should do next time you log in:

1. Purge the dead weight: Go to your fleet management terminal. Any S-class or A-class ship with total base stats (after subtracting traits) lower than 10? Consider dismissing them.
2. Go Shopping in High-Economy Systems: Fly to a Wealthy, Opulent, or Advanced system. These tend to have "cleaner" ships with fewer negative traits.
3. Recruit "Clean" C-Classes: Look for ships with 0 expeditions and 8-10 base stats. Buy five of each type: Combat, Trade, Industrial, Exploration, and Support.
4. Maximize Your Command Rooms: Build 5 Fleet Command Rooms on your freighter so you can send out every available mission simultaneously.
5. Focus on "Balanced" Missions: These are the fastest way to level up your new recruits because they test all four stat categories at once.

Within about two weeks of real-time play, those cheap C-class "lemons" will have transformed into a legendary fleet of no mans sky s class frigates that would make even a Gek Overseer jealous.