You've probably spent dozens of hours buzzing around in a sleek S-Class fighter or a weirdly shaped exotic ship, thinking that's the peak of the game. Honestly? You're missing the point. Ships are just cars. No Man's Sky freighters are your house, your office, and your private army all rolled into one massive hunk of metal floating in the void. If you aren't living out of a capital ship, you're basically backpacking through the Euclid galaxy when you could be flying a five-star hotel.
It’s easy to get intimidated by the sheer scale of these things. Some of them are kilometers long. They cost a fortune—unless you know how to snag your first one for free—and the building mechanics inside can feel like a totally different game compared to planetary bases. But once you get your hands on a Dreadnought or a Venator, everything changes. Your inventory problems vanish. Your money starts making itself. You actually feel like a commander instead of just another lost Traveler.
Getting Your First Capital Ship Without Going Broke
Most players make the mistake of buying the first system freighter they see. Don't do that. It's a waste of units. If you've been playing for at least three hours and have made five warp jumps, you'll eventually stumble into a space battle. Pirates are swarming a massive ship. You shoot them down, the captain invites you on board, and suddenly he’s offering you the keys to the kingdom.
Here is the kicker: if it’s your first freighter, it’s free.
But wait. If the first one they offer is a crappy C-Class with barely any storage, decline it. Take the payment instead. You can wait for the next battle (usually after another three hours of play and five more jumps) to try for an S-Class or a "Capital" class ship. Capital ships come in two main flavors: the Star Destroyer-looking Venators and the Sentinel-style Dreadnoughts. They are objectively better because they have more starting slots and a much higher ceiling for upgrades.
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Getting an S-Class is a test of patience. Some people spend hours "reloading" their save to get that perfect spawn. Is it worth it? Sorta. An S-Class has better hyperdrive range and fleet coordination, but honestly, a solid A-Class will do 95% of what you need without the soul-crushing grind.
The Mobile Base: Why Planetas Are Overrated
Building on planets is cool until you realize you have to fly back to that specific star system every time you need to refine some Nanites or grab a specific resource. No Man's Sky freighters solve this because they follow you. Everywhere.
You can build a massive, multi-floor complex inside your freighter. We're talking refiner rooms, storage containers that sync with your suit, and even indoor farms. The 2022 "Endurance" update completely overhauled this. Now you can build glass corridors and exterior observation decks. There is nothing quite like standing on the outside of your ship, looking down at a ringed planet while your frigates hum in the background.
It's essentially a "base-in-a-box." If you install the Matter Beam, you can access your freighter’s entire inventory from the surface of a planet as long as the ship is in the same system. No more "Inventory Full" messages. It’s the ultimate quality-of-life upgrade.
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Your Fleet and the Passive Income Machine
You aren't just a pilot; you're an admiral. Your freighter serves as the hub for your frigate fleet. You can recruit up to 30 frigates—Combat, Exploration, Industrial, Trade, and Support types.
You send them out on expeditions from the Galactic Command Room. They go off, do their thing in real-time, and come back with millions of Units, rare treasures, and upgrade materials. It's the best way to make money while you're actually busy doing other stuff like hunting Sentinels or exploring derelicts.
Pro tip: Look for "Organic Frigates" (Living Ships) by using a Dream Aerial. They look like space whales and bring back specialized upgrades for your Living Ship if you have one. They’re weird, creepy, and incredibly cool.
The Hunt for Salvaged Frigate Modules
This is where the grind gets real. To upgrade your freighter—like giving it the ability to warp to Red, Green, or Blue stars—you need Salvaged Frigate Modules. These are notoriously annoying to find.
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You used to be able to just pirate them from NPC freighters without much consequence. Now, it'll tank your reputation with the local faction. If you don't care about being a space jerk, go for it. If you want to stay "good," your best bet is hitting Derelict Freighters (those spooky, Dead Space-style missions) or checking Nexus missions at the Anomaly.
Expect this to take time. You can't just buy your way to a maxed-out ship. You have to earn it.
Defense and the New Pirate Dreadnoughts
Recently, Hello Games added the ability to actually capture Pirate Dreadnoughts. These things are terrifying. They have massive trenches and huge laser batteries. If you disable their engines and their warp drive during a battle, you can board them and demand the ship.
Owning a Pirate Dreadnought is the ultimate power trip. It looks different, it feels different, and it makes you feel like the villain of the system. However, don't ignore your own defenses. You can install your own squadron of pilots who will launch from your freighter hangar whenever you get into a dogfight. It turns a 1-on-3 fight into a full-scale space war.
Practical Steps for Your Next Session
If you’re currently freighter-less or stuck with a "baby" ship, here is how you should handle your next few hours in the cockpit:
- Stop buying ships and save 100 million Units. Just in case you find a high-tier freighter you actually want to buy outright later.
- Trigger a space battle. Play for three hours, warp five times. When the battle starts, kill the pirates but do not hit the freighter or the local authorities will turn on you.
- Check the stats. Land on the ship, get out, and use your analysis visor on the floor or wall of the hangar. It'll show you the Class and slots without you having to talk to the captain. If it's a C-class, just leave.
- Install a Matter Beam immediately. This is the single most important upgrade. It makes the freighter's storage accessible from anywhere.
- Start your fleet missions. Even if you only have two or three frigates, get them out there. The rewards scale up quickly, and the passive income is vital for end-game crafting.
No Man's Sky freighters are the bridge between being a survivor and being a galactic power player. They take the friction out of the game. Once you have a fully upgraded S-Class bridge to stand on, looking out over your fleet, the rest of the universe feels a lot smaller—and a lot more yours to take.