It's safe to say that since it first came out in  2016, No Man's Sky has had an almost Phoenix-from-the-Ashes approach in terms of its development cycle. The game has continued to evolve and change throughout the years thanks to a series of groundbreaking updates and patches (Companions being a prime example). Their most recent one, Expeditions, is another alteration that once again has changed things for the better.

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This latest addition is part of the 5-year anniversary celebration of the game's original launch and it's brought quite a lot to the table. Here are a couple of interesting tweaks that lie in store for intrepid explorers.

12 Shared Expeditions

No Man's Sky Expedition's Menu Option

The biggest change that came with the new update is the addition of a brand new game mode, Expeditions.

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These unique events place players together with the rest of the games community within specific spots within the universe. You can then set off with this group on a shared adventure through the galaxy to complete various tasks and earn special and exclusive rewards. To try out this new mode just select it from the main menu as you would the usual Survival or Creative options.

11 Milestones And Phases

No Man's Sky Expedition Milestones

The biggest selling point of the new expeditions is that they're made up of a series of milestones and challenges that you need to complete to finish the journey.

The challenges can be completed in any order you want and they're all open-ended. They all explore a different aspect of No Man's Sky so players will get to try other aspects of the game that they might not normally try such as crafting specific items and gear or base building. Upon completion of these tasks, you will get a nice reward to help you out on your adventure. Milestones can also be easily pinned to your mission log to let you keep track of your progress easily.

10 Exclusive Patches

Expeditions Badges No Man's Sky

Alongside special rewards for your character to help you out on your journey, there's also an added incentive for finishing milestones for any collectors out there. After completing each task you will unlock one of over 100 hundred unique patches that you can show off in an album.

Not only is this a great way to documents your achievements so far but because each one has been hand-drawn by the Hello Games team it has that nice personal touch. Plus the patches change with each Expedition, so make sure to pick them up when you can or you might miss out.

9 New Customization Options

Player Customisation No Man's Sky

No Man's Sky's general vibe has always been your adventure how you want. Land on whatever planet you want, dress how you like in whatever ship suits you. With the Expeditions update, the size of your wardrobe and options for interplanetary fashion has definitely increased.

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As an example, the science vessels have been given new parts to make them look more unique. There are also new base parts and options for customizing them to your preferred style. There are also new weapons for your ship, multi-tool and gear designs and jetpack styles to give your astronaut that extra flair.

8 Mission Target Sweeping

No Man's Sky New Target Sweep Mode

The old way of doing missions in No Mans Sky did, at times, involved a lot of mind-numbing grind as you would fly to a specific location, land on a marker, perform a task then fly back to hand it in.

But the process of finding where to go has been reworked to focus more on the exploration aspect. Now players will have to use the Analysis Visors' new Target Sweep Mode that will scan the area and give you a general direction of where to go rather than directly point. This encourages you to get out and walk around more instead of using your ship like it's an interplanetary Uber.

7 Weekend Missions

No Man's Sky Nexus Missions

Back by popular demand, the Weekend Missions in the Space Anomaly have been re-enabled for players to dive back into. Although they were taken down for a while back in January of 2020 for retooling, they've made a welcome return.

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These procedurally generated tasks were a great way to get access to large amounts of Quicksilver in a relatively easy and short space of time depending on the task.  You could then turn this currency in at the Nexus Store for rewards or use it to start other missions for higher rewards.

6 Mission Board Overhaul

No Man's Sky Mission Board

One part of No Man's Sky that was a little lacking in features was the mission boards. The rewards were decent at times but often the tasks required to get them could involve a lot of tedious repetition.

To cut through that and make things more interesting the Space Station mission board has been given a rework. Now the missions are easier to set up and run, the quests are more unique and less repetitive and the rewards for completing these missions have also been rebalanced with higher levels now giving out more exotic gear.

5 UI HUD Overhaul And Bug Fixes

No Man's Sky Ships With New Designs

But it's not just community changes and gameplay improvements that the new Expeditions Update brings to No Man's Sky. there have also been a number of quality of life improvements.

Although not majorly game-changing like the other additions, it's nice to see that Hello Games still takes time to fine-tune their toys. The new fixes include things such as a more streamlined UI as well as an improved marker notification to keep track of your points of interest as you wander around the planets. There's also been another round of patches to existing bugs to further improve and stabilize the game.

4 Rendezvous Points

No Man's Sky Two Players Together

Socializing with other players in No Man's Sky was never easy, and to be fair multiplayer is only a fairly recent addition. But now special Rendezvous Points have been introduced throughout Expeditions that will make hanging out with other players much simpler.

Similar to the Space Anomaly, these locations will act as a Hub area that's open to the entire community. So you can stand and chat with other players that have stopped by before they go back into their own adventure far off amongst the stars.

3 Expedition Seasons

No Man's Sky Four Players On Hill

Similar to how battle passes in Fortnite add new content to the game to keep players coming back, No Man's Sky seems to be adding their own spin to it. To keep players coming back for more No Man's Sky will also be introducing seasons to their Expeditions.

What this means is that they will remove and add new Expeditions over time and each journey will have unique themes and rewards. So each season you will get to enjoy a brand new adventure, earn items to show off for your dedication, and potentially try things you didn't know you could do in the game.

2 Cross-Save Rewards

No Man's Sky Player Giant Insect Alien

Crossplay in any game is always a bonus and in No Man's Sky is a huge benefit. Not only can you bring in more friends from across different platforms, but it also brings more people into the community and keeps the game alive.

So to encourage more players to try the cross-play, the Expeditions update now includes rewards for those that use Cross-Saves. The rewards can be redeemed at the Space Anomaly whenever you stop by. Although if you're just starting out as a new player in a crashed ship and don't have access to the HUB yet then don't worry, it doesn't take too long to unlock it.

1 Twitch Drops

No Man's Sky Player Jetpack Skin

Since the games, initial launch the online community of No Man's Sky has absolutely flourished over the years, and in an effort to thank their fans Hello Games is rewarding them with a chance for free loot.

This is all thanks to a new Twitch campaign that's launched that will let players get their hands on some juicy rewards through Twitch Drops. These gifts range from character customization options, decorations, fireworks and emotes or jetpack flame skins and A-Class starships. The campaign will be running from April 1st until April 5th, so get in and grab your goodies whilst you can.

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