The No Man's Sky: Companions update (also referred to as update 3.2) introduces the player to a weird and wonderful world of taming pet aliens. Every strange creature you encounter on your interstellar travels can be befriended, trained, and utilized. From giant feathered dinosaurs (though those tend to be hatched by mistake) to squat alien piglets, there's a new alien friend of every size and shape waiting for players in space.
Whether No Man's Sky fans are looking for a fuzzy companion or a well-trained beast to help them find secret resources, it's well worth getting to grips with everything this pet-centric new update has to offer.
10 Meeting Your Future Alien Companion
Bizarre creatures crawl over every floating rock in No Man's Sky. Land your ship and you're bound to bump into some fantastical creation of Hello Game's procedurally-generated game world.
Once you've met the alien you'd like to befriend, you can begin a process of feeding it little snacks, playing games with it, and eventually adopting it as your own personal companion.
9 Interacting With An Alien Monstrosity
The new dropdown menu makes it easy to interact with your companion. There are a few options, such as adoption, riding, or harvesting whatever the creature's offering. This menu opens up once players have fed the alien some pellets.
Yes, you can squeeze honey from certain alien creatures. After all, in this fictional take on the depths of space, anything goes. Depending on the creature's species, gamers can also get their hands on eggs or milk. These harvested materials can be sold on for a profit.
8 What You Can't Do With Pets In No Man's Sky
The Companions update is a huge step for No Man's Sky, which includes a lot of new functionality for looking after and working with your alien pets. You can adopt, breed, and trade them, and some will even help out on your adventures.
However, don't expect too much from the update, as there are a few things aliens still can't do. Players can't adopt flying creatures or certain exotic species. No flying snakes or giant bats for No Man's Sky fans just yet. Likewise, although many customization options have been added, a few items don't work or haven't been integrated into the gameplay.
7 Customizing Your Alien's Appearance And Utility
Even though you might think your alien buddy is looking perfect already, there are lots of options to customize these companions. Not sure if those purple legs suit the creature? You can adjust the color of your alien in the menu. Gamers will probably want to make sure their aliens are distinct from each other, so they know which is which at a glance.
It's also possible to fix them up with different accessories, such as a cargo backpack (functionality for this is still only aesthetic at present), armor to get them battle-ready, or items to help you make money, among others. Different creatures have different options to them, based mostly on their size and species.
6 Your Pet Will Act On Its Own
Alien pets aren't just for petting and feeding, but can actually be counted on to become a useful partner during adventures. Depending on what you've kitted your pet out with (whether it's a canteen for a dry climate or a mining laser to blast apart minerals) your companion will act of its own accord.
It might scan for hidden resources, or defend you against hostile creatures. Keep your pet fed and happy and they won't let you down.
5 Be Smart With Your Squad Of Alien Pets
Pets can be used in a variety of ways. Different species and sizes of aliens can handle different tasks. If you want a mining companion kitted out with a huge mining laser, you're going to need to adopt a big pet. Which pet you use in each situation is governed by the six slots in your companion register.
For example, it's a good idea to create a balanced squad of aliens, like you might if you were playing Pokemon. Current applications of pets include providing a constant light source, a Vitals Monitor that informs you of their health, and the ability to occasionally mine resources for you. Unfortunately, a lot of the cargo, battery, and other accessories are still only aesthetic, although functionality might be added for this later.
4 Hot Or Cold, Your Pet Can Come With You
The Companions update introduces a useful new quick menu to make it easier to manage your pet. It can be accessed on the hotbar underneath the Creature icon. You can call your pet to you if it's off causing chaos, or even summon your creature to another planet.
As it stands, pets are not affected by different climates. Even if players adopted a pet from a super hot planet, it won't feel too much discomfort in an icy world. This means you can traverse the quirky worlds of No Man's Sky together, whatever the climate. Interestingly, your alien might communicate how it's feeling about a new planet through the Neural Link function.
3 Find Rare Robotic Pets
Not every pet in No Man's Sky is a living, breathing animal. You can also discover rare robotic pets of all shapes and sizes. To be in with a chance of finding a robotic pet, fans will need to travel to uncharted systems and planets.
Each planet has around a 10% chance of spawning a robotic creature to tame. One easy and convenient way to check is to look at your creature pellets: if they change to Ion Batteries, there's a robot out there on the planet's surface.
2 Leveling Up Pets Works A Bit Differently In No Man's Sky
Unlike Pokemon, pets don't level up in No Man's Sky, but there is still a way to transform your pets into even more useful companions. You might, for instance, be keen on carrying on a strong genetic line of helpful alien companions by breeding them.
A happy companion will lay an egg every 24 hours, which players can then help gestate by keeping it snug inside their Exosuit. Once your alien egg hatches, the creature that pops out will share some of its genetic traits with its parent. This method allows you to change a pet's utility; making sure your next alien is larger, for instance, or has a more useful personality.
1 Trading Is An Easy Way To Get The Pets You're Looking For
This is where things really start to get very Pokemon-esque. Once you've bred your pets and discovered the perfect formula, you can start a trading empire with your eggs. This also means you can purchase or trade for other player's eggs, a quick way to get the pet you're looking for right away.
There are some really exotic options out there on the market, and you'll never quite know which alien will hatch out of an egg you've traded. Remember, you can also trade valuable eggs (such as the Whispering Egg) for resources.