No Man's Sky: How to Build Custom Starships

To build a custom starship in No Man's Sky, collect three modular components belonging to the same ship archetype, acquire a Starship Reactor Core, and assemble them at the Starship Fabricator on the mezzanine of any standard space station.

1. Salvage Components from Donor Ships

Before fabricating a ship, you must extract three structural components: a body or cockpit, a wing assembly, and an engine or thruster.

1. Acquire a donor ship of your target archetype: Fighter, Hauler, Explorer, or Solar. Exotic, Sentinel Interceptor, and Living ships cannot be salvaged for fabrication parts.
2. Fly the donor vessel to an inhabited space station and access the Starship Outfitting Terminal on the upper mezzanine.
3. Choose the option to dismantle the ship for parts rather than selling it for scrap.
4. Select the specific modular piece you want to keep.

Dismantling permanently destroys the donor ship and yields only the single component you select. Because extracted parts preserve only exterior styling and do not transfer stats, buy inexpensive C-class or B-class donor vessels from NPCs at space stations or planetary trading posts to save units.

2. Acquire a Starship Reactor Core

The Starship Reactor Core dictates the final rank (C, B, A, or S-class), base stat potential, and overall tech capacity of your fabricated ship. Modular hull pieces provide only the ship type and appearance.

• Purchase with Nanites: The Starship Technology Merchant, located next to the outfitting terminal, sells reactor cores. Higher-grade cores require significantly more Nanites, with S-class cores costing thousands. Earn Nanites quickly by refining runaway mold, scanning all fauna on a planet for completion bonuses, or cashing in pirate bounties.
• Claim from Guild Envoys: Raising your standing with the Merchants, Mercenaries, or Explorers Guild unlocks free supply packages from station envoys. High-tier guild standings periodically grant high-grade reactor cores and Starship Storage Augmentations without Nanite costs.

3. Assemble the Ship at the Fabricator

The Starship Fabricator is located between the outfitting terminal and the technology merchants on the station mezzanine.

1. Interact with the terminal to open the four-slot assembly grid.
2. Insert your three salvaged components along with your chosen reactor core.
3. Open the customization menu to set the primary color, secondary accent color, and surface finish (such as matte, metallic, or stealth).
4. Inspect the resulting technology slot layout, supercharged slot positions, and core stats in the preview window.
5. Finalize the build to claim your new starship.

Rerolling Supercharged Slot Layouts

A space station's hidden system seed dictates how supercharged slots and core stats distribute across a fabricated ship. If a preview reveals poorly placed or separated supercharged slots, remove your components from the fabricator and travel to a space station in a different star system. Inserting the exact same combination of parts into another station's fabricator will roll a different stat spread and slot configuration.

Funding Builds Through Fleet Expeditions

Maintaining a steady supply of Nanites and materials for high-tier fabrication can be supplemented through your freighter fleet. While frigate expeditions run, expedition commanders may occasionally contact your ship communicator to report tactical dilemmas mid-mission, such as hostile blockades or damaged derelicts. Choosing to warp directly to their location and providing escort support resolves the encounter without frigate damage and awards high-tier alloys, Nanites, and components useful for future fabrication projects.