No Man's Sky has everything you would expect from a game set in outer space: starships, space exosuits, aliens, quintillions of planets, star systems, and a vast amount of out-of-this-world species and materials. Like any game that relies on exploration, it provides players with a tool that will help them with specific tasks; in No Man's Sky's case, that role goes to the Multi-Tool. You can use the Multi-Tool for a wide array of things: scanning, as a weapon, for mining and collecting resources, and for terraforming the land.

RELATED: No Man's Sky: How To Find Crashed Ships

The first version of this item you get your hands on will be a very basic one. It will have a specific amount of update slots, and once you fill those out with all the options you have to choose from, you have to know which upgrades to keep. That's the reason why upgrading is a significant part of your Multi-Tool, as it will help you do more with it.

How To Get a New Multi-Tool

multi tool from no man's sky

New (and much better) Multi-Tools than the one you start with at the beginning of the game can be acquired at different Space Stations; you just need to find a Multi-Tool Technology Merchant, who will sell new models. There's also a chance you can purchase a new Multi-Tool from the Space Anomaly.

Better Multi-Tools can also be found at Outposts or can be granted to you by a really generous NPC. Multi-Tools with default functions and even modules already installed can be purchased with units.

Just like it happens with the ships, each Space Station has a certain quantity of default Multi-Tool models, with their respective classes and number of slots, so you can only be offered a limited number of Multi-Tools each time you load before they are repeated.

Upgrade Your Multi-Tool

Upgrade Station for the multi tool

However, if you want to upgrade the one you already have, head over to the Multi-Tool Upgrade Station. There, you can upgrade the Class of your Multi-Tool to increase its performance in exchange for a certain number of nanites.

There are a few things you should keep in mind before deciding to upgrade your Multi-Tool:

  • To install each module, you'll need a free slot and the right materials.
  • You can purchase new functions from the Anomaly (in exchange for Salvaged Data)

Multi-Tool Classes

multi tool class S and class C

Multi-Tools also come in classes, from C (the worst one), through B-Class to A-Class to S-Class (the best one). Each player can own a total of three Multi-Tools at the same time.

The cost set by the Multi-Tool Upgrade Station to go from class C to B is 10k nanites; to go from B to A is 25k nanites; and from A to S-Class is about 50k nanites. Class S is the level that will make your Multi-Tool shine with its full potential.

Higher classes will grant better and better bonuses, including how many slots they'll have initially. The Multi-Tool that you start with is C-Class.

A Multi-Tool's Type

The specialization "Type" of a Multi-Tool determines the distribution of their bonus in the Mining, Damage Potential, and Scanning categories. Those can be either Low, Medium, or High. For example:

  • Experimental Types have high scanning bonuses, medium to high slots, medium damage output, and medium mining bonuses.
  • Rifle Types will usually have medium damage bonuses, medium scanning bonuses, and medium to high slots, as well as always having low mining bonuses.
  • Pistol Types have high mining bonuses, low scanning bonuses, and low to medium slots, as well as always having no damage bonuses.
  • Alien Types have high damage bonuses, medium mining and scanning bonuses, and medium to high slots.

RELATED: No Man's Sky: Everything To Know About The Atlas Path

Each specialization Type works best for different gameplay styles. As long as a weapon is upgraded to S-Class, it can have 24 slots, so this shouldn't be as much of a concern as other factors when deciding on which Multi-Tool you'd like to use.

Class Bonuses Are Measured In Percentages

Scanning bonuses determine the size of the radius that your scanner covers. Damage bonuses increase how much damage your Multi-Tool weapons, including the Mining Beam, will deal. Mining bonuses increase the speed of mining.

One way to increase the Damage Potential of a Multi-Tool is by installing higher class weapons and upgrading them as much as possible. For example, one of the weapons with the highest Damage Potential is the Scatter Blaster.

Adding More Inventory Slots

Multi tool's inventory slots no man's sky

Once a Multi-Tool is an S-Class, it can have its number of slots upgraded to a certain maximum. This way, the player can have more inventory space for companion units, add more functions and upgrade modules, and install other technologies.

The player can buy more inventory slots using units, again, in a Multi-Tool Upgrade Console, also called Multi-Tool Upgrade Station, located in Space Stations.

Multi-Tool Technology

There are technological improvements that can be added to a Multi-Tool, which affect some of its main functions. These are the different technologies that can be installed:

  • Advanced Mining Laser
  • Amplified Cartridges
  • Analysis Visor (installed in purchased Multi-Tools)
  • Animus Beam
  • Barrel Ioniser
  • Blaze Javelin
  • Boltcaster
  • Boltcaster Ricochet
  • Boltcaster SM
  • Combat Scope
  • Geology Cannon
  • Incinerator
  • Mass Accelerator
  • Mining Beam (installed in purchased Multi-Tools)
  • Optical Drill
  • Personal Forcefield
  • Plasma Launcher
  • Plasma Resonator
  • Pulse Spitter
  • Pulse Spitter Ricochet
  • Scanner (installed in purchased Multi-Tools)
  • Scatter Blaster
  • Shell Greaser
  • Solar Ray
  • Survey Device (useful for hotspots)
  • Terrain Manipulator

Players have a wide range of options to choose from. Each of these has various upgrades (called modules) that the player can add, depending on the Class, but the maximum number of modules/upgrades that can be added to a Multi-Tool per function is three, so choose wisely. Functions that can be upgraded include the weapon techs, scanner, and mining beam.

Upgrade Modules

Upgrade Modules for your Multi-Tool can be found at Space Stations, in Trade Posts, and directly purchased from technology merchants with nanites. You can also find them in Outposts. These are the available Upgrade Modules in the game:

  • Scanner: Upgrades for this function increase the scan radius or provide you with more units for scanning flora and fauna.
  • Mining Beam: This module has four bonuses: Mining Speed (which increases the damage the Mining Beam does to minerals and flora); Heat Dispersion (which slows the rate at which the Mining Beam generates heat); Fuel Efficiency (the charge drain decreases); Overheat Downtime (the cool-down rate for the Mining Beam decreases).
  • Boltcaster: This upgrade module can provide six different bonuses to your Multi-Tool. Those are: Clip Size (you'll be able to fire for longer before you need to reload); Damage (each shot will deal more damage); Fire Rate (decreases the time between shots); Reload Time (you'll reload new clips into the Boltcaster faster); Burst Cooldown (decreases the time between each burst of shots); Shots Per Burst (you'll shoot more shots per burst).
  • Blaze Javelin: This tech's upgrades can give the following bonuses: Time to Full Power (the required time to reach full damage will be reduced); Damage (the Multi-Tool will deal more damage).
  • Pulse Spitter: With the Pulse Spitter Upgrade, you can enjoy at least one of these bonuses: Clip Size (allows the Pulse Spitter to have more than 80 shots); Better Fire Rates, slower Reload Times, and more Damage.
  • Scatter Blaster: Upgrades for this tech can provide improved Damage, Reload Time, Fire Rate, Clip Size, and Burst Cooldown.
  • Plasma Launcher: With this module, your Multi-Tool will deal more Damage, have a better Explosion Radius, an improved Projectile Velocity, and better Bounce Potential.
  • Geology Cannon: This module improves the Multi-Tool Damage, Explosion Radius, and Projectile Velocity.

NEXT: No Man's Sky: Everything You Need To Know About Space Stations