No Man's Sky: How to Choose, Upgrade, and Scrap Starships

To manage starships efficiently in No Man's Sky, match your hull archetype to your current travel or combat needs, restrict Nanite class upgrades to high-tier hulls, arrange high-impact technology around supercharged slots, and scrap unwanted vessels to acquire free inventory augmentations.

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Starship Archetypes and Role Selection

Each starship hull features inherent stat multipliers and operational perks. Selecting the right archetype prevents wasted technology slots on redundant upgrades.

Fighters: Built for fleet defense and space combat. They feature high native Damage Potential and moderate shields, making them ideal hosts for weapon systems like the Infra-Knife Accelerator and Positron Ejector.
Explorers: Optimized for galactic warp travel. They offer the highest base Hyperdrive range multipliers and reduced Launch Thruster fuel consumption.
Haulers: Act as mobile supply depots. They carry large default inventory capacities and the highest base Shield Absorption, though they possess lower maneuverability in atmospheric flight.
Solar Ships: Feature unique Vesper Sails that automatically recharge launch thruster fuel and significantly improve Pulse Engine fuel efficiency, offering an agile middle ground between Fighters and Explorers.
Exotics: Always spawn as S-class hulls. They deliver high, uniform base stats across damage, shield strength, hyperdrive range, and maneuverability.
Shuttles: Low-cost generalist hulls with balanced, modest stats. They serve primarily as budget runabouts or early salvage fodder.

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Class Upgrades and Nanite Costs

A starship's class grade (C, B, A, or S) dictates its base stat ceilings and unlocks supercharged technology slots. You can upgrade any ship's class at the Space Station Starship Outfitting Terminal using Nanites:

C-Class to B-Class: 10,000 Nanites
B-Class to A-Class: 25,000 Nanites
A-Class to S-Class: 50,000 Nanites

Upgrading a ship from C-class to S-class costs 85,000 Nanites total. Because this cost is steep, avoid upgrading C-class or B-class ships directly to S-class. Instead, shop or hunt for ships in Outlaw systems or three-star economies (such as Opulent, Wealthy, or Advanced systems), where natural A-class and S-class spawn rates are highest. Reserve your Nanite spending for the final 50,000-Nanite jump from A-class to S-class.

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Supercharged Slots and Tech Adjacency

Supercharged slots directly multiply the performance of any installed module. Higher class ratings unlock more supercharged slots within your technology inventory:

C-Class: 1 slot
B-Class: 2 slots
A-Class: 3 slots
S-Class: 4 slots

Place primary equipment or top-tier procedural upgrade modules into these slots rather than utility items:

Objective	Primary Supercharged Target	Benefit
Fleet Combat	Infra-Knife Accelerator or top-tier weapon module	Maximizes peak damage per second
System Travel	Pulse Engine core or Sub-Light Amplifier upgrade	Increases boost speed and maneuverability
Galactic Routing	Core Hyperdrive unit or Emergency Warp unit	Extends maximum light-year jump distance
Hull Survival	S-class Deflector Shield upgrade	Boosts shield capacity and recharge rate

Maximizing Adjacency Bonuses

Technology modules of the same type gain synergy bonuses when placed directly next to each other, indicated by a highlighted, colored border. Arrange matching modules in a 2x2 square or cross cluster. Whenever a supercharged slot sits inside that cluster, install your main weapon or core system directly onto the supercharged slot, then surround it with upgrade modules to combine the supercharged multiplier with the adjacency bonus.

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Starship Scrapping and Salvage Economics

Scrapping unwanted ships at a Space Station Starship Outfitting Terminal refunds roughly 70% of the ship's total valuation in trade items (such as AI Valves, Sub-Light Amplifiers, and Thermic Condensate) that can be sold for Units.

Scrapping also produces two critical progression items:

Procedural Upgrade Modules: Scrapping A-class and S-class hulls grants matching-tier upgrade modules. Sell these directly to station technology merchants for hundreds of Nanites.
Storage Augmentations: These tokens unlock a technology or cargo slot at no cost, allowing you to bypass the escalating Unit prices required for late-game inventory expansion.

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Fleet Capacity and Distress Signal Farming

You can own up to 12 starships at a time. To manage your fleet and maintain a steady salvage income:

Keep One Fleet Slot Empty: Maintain no more than 11 permanent ships so you can claim crashed ships or purchase new vessels on sight without exchanging your current starship.
Assign Specific Ship Roles: Retain one Hauler for bulk material storage, one Fighter for dogfights, and one Explorer or Exotic for long-distance warp routing.
Farm Crashed Hulls: Purchase Emergency Cartographic Data from Space Station Cartographers to locate planetary distress signals. When you locate a crashed ship, claim it, repair only the Launch Thruster and Pulse Engine using basic Ferrite and Di-hydrogen, and fly it directly to a space station to scrap it.