Navigating the Stars: Finding the Best Early Game Ship in No Man’s Sky

Choosing the right ship in the early stages of No Man’s Sky can significantly impact your gameplay experience. While the starting Shuttle is serviceable for a few initial planetary hops, it quickly becomes apparent that you need something more robust. So, what’s the best early game ship? The simple, yet nuanced, answer is an Explorer-type ship with a high Class rating, preferably an A-Class or even better, an elusive S-Class. However, accessibility plays a massive role, and focusing too much on perfection can hinder early progress. Therefore, this guide will give a practical approach on how to acquire a great early game ship, considering the game mechanics and accessibility.

Understanding Ship Classes and Types

Ship Classes: The Tier System

Every ship in No Man’s Sky is assigned a class, ranging from C (the worst) to S (the best). This classification determines the ship’s base statistics, such as damage output, shield strength, and hyperdrive range. Higher class ships also get more inventory slots.

• C-Class: The lowest tier, offering the fewest slots and weakest stats.
• B-Class: An improvement over C-Class, with better stats and more slots.
• A-Class: Significantly better than B-Class, offering substantial stat and slot increases. This is often a sweet spot for early and mid-game gameplay.
• S-Class: The highest tier, with the best possible stats, bonuses and maximum inventory slots. This is the ultimate goal, but can take a long time to acquire due to its rarity.

Ship Types: Function Over Form

Beyond classes, ships are also categorized by type:

• Shuttles: Your starting ship. Cheap, basic, and balanced with not a lot of inventory space or combat power. Great for short planet hops but not much else.
• Fighters: These are designed for combat, boasting higher damage output and shield strength. They’re ideal for players who enjoy battling pirates or hostile sentinels, however have short hyperdrive range.
• Haulers: The workhorses of space, they have the highest possible inventory space and strong shields, but are slower and not ideal for dogfights.
• Explorers: The best ships in general for exploration as they have an excellent balance of storage space, hyperdrive range, and fuel efficiency. Often the best jack-of-all-trades for most players.
• Exotic Ships: Unique ships, often smaller and more visually diverse, with superior stats in one or two categories making them very rare. They are hard to find, and often expensive, but do come as S-Class.

Why An Explorer Is the Best Early Game Choice

While Fighters might tempt players with combat potential, the Explorer generally stands out as the most versatile and beneficial ship for the early game. Here’s why:

• Hyperdrive Range: Explorers come with a significantly better base hyperdrive range than Fighters, allowing you to travel farther and discover more systems quickly. This is crucial in the early game when you’re trying to find resources and bases.
• Fuel Efficiency: Explorer ships require less fuel to use their hyperdrive than other ships, meaning less time spent farming or purchasing fuel.
• Balanced Stats: Though they might not be the best at combat or inventory space, Explorer ships provide a good balance of stats, making them useful for a range of situations you face in the early game.
• Storage Capacity: Explorers can have respectable inventory space, especially A-Class or S-Class ones, enabling you to store more resources and valuable finds during your explorations.

How to Acquire a Good Early Game Ship

The Space Station Method

The most consistent way to find a good early game ship is by visiting space stations. Space stations serve as hubs for many ships that land and depart periodically.

1. Locate a Space Station: Fly to the nearest space station (they usually appear in all star systems).
2. Observe the Ship Spawn Order: Ships arrive in a predictable order in space stations. Keep an eye out for ships you like and note their appearance. The most important feature will be that the ships are an Explorer type.
3. Waiting Game: Wait for the ship you want to respawn as an A-Class or an S-Class. This may take time, but reloading the game (by exiting and reloading your save) at the space station may speed the process up.
4. Claim Your Prize: Once the desired ship arrives in the right class, talk to the NPC pilot and negotiate the trade.

Trading Posts

Trading Posts function similarly to space stations, but are located on planets. They are sometimes less reliable but offer an alternative if space station spawns aren’t working for you. You can use your ship’s scanner to find nearby trading posts. The same principle for ship spawns at space stations also apply to the trading posts.

Salvaging Crashed Ships

Crashed ships appear as red dots on your ship’s scanner while you fly on planets. These can be found without a tower or paying an NPC. However, these are often damaged, will need repairing, and may not have the best base stats when you do repair them. But it is a free option if you’re not prepared to pay a lot for a ship.

Essential Steps Before Ship Hunting

Before you start focusing on acquiring a new ship, make sure you have done the following:

• Upgrade Your Scanner: A long-range scanner is essential for finding locations and resources. This will help you navigate to space stations and trading posts efficiently.
• Gather Resources: Before buying a new ship, make sure you have enough units and resources, you can earn units quickly by scanning flora and fauna.
• Learn Languages: Learning alien languages through NPCs will help you engage in more complex trading interactions, and give you a better understanding of the world.
• Prioritize Inventory Slots: Focus on expanding your ship and exosuit storage. This will help you maximize the amount of resources you can carry and save more money.

Conclusion

While an S-Class Explorer is the ultimate early-game ship, an A-Class Explorer is a fantastic and far more accessible starting point. Prioritize hyperdrive range, fuel efficiency and a balance of storage, then a better ship can be purchased later on. By understanding ship classes, types, and by methodically using space stations or trading posts, you can find a great ship without spending countless hours searching. Remember that patience and exploration are key in No Man’s Sky.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the starting ship in No Man’s Sky?

The starting ship in No Man’s Sky is a basic Shuttle. It’s a low-tier ship designed for short-range travel and basic resource gathering.

2. Can I get my first freighter for free?

Yes, the game offers you your first freighter for free after warping through a few systems, and engaging in a fight with pirates.

3. What is the best ship type for combat?

Fighters are the best ship type for combat, boasting high damage output and strong shields.

4. What is the biggest ownable ship in No Man’s Sky?

Haulers are the largest ownable ships, offering the most inventory space but lacking agility.

5. What is the rarest ship in No Man’s Sky?

The Squid-shaped ship is considered the rarest ship in the game.

6. How many ships can I own?

You can own up to 12 different starships at any one time.

7. Do ship types matter in No Man’s Sky?

Yes, ship types significantly impact gameplay. They offer different bonuses, strengths, and weaknesses, and will impact gameplay depending on the style you prefer.

8. How do I trigger pirate attacks?

You can trigger pirate attacks by attacking a freighter or other ships. This will alert Sentinel ships who will attack you.

9. How can I find crashed ships?

Crashed ships appear on your ship’s scanner as red dots while flying over planets.

10. Can I walk around inside my ship?

Yes, you can walk around in all your freighters and frigate ships. However, most starships only allow for you to enter the cockpit area.

11. Is it better to take payment or the first freighter for free?

It’s generally better to take the free freighter for the first one you encounter, as future freighters can be obtained at a low cost later on.

12. Can I pilot my freighter?

Yes, you can pilot your freighter through the freighter warp map, which can take you to different star systems.

13. Can I steal a freighter in No Man’s Sky?

It is possible to steal freighters from NPCs, but you will need to win a fight against the “defenders” to take possession of it.

14. Is a Living Ship the best in NMS?

Living Ships can be very beneficial as they can warp to any star system of any color without needing Cadmium, Emeril or Indium.

15. How do I find a good ship early game?

Visit space stations or trading posts, and wait for an A-Class or S-Class ship with the type you want to spawn. Saving and reloading may be needed if it doesn’t appear. The best type for most players early game is an Explorer.