No Man’s Sky started the year with revamped combat on the ground, and now its latest update is taking that combat revamp to the skies. Outlaws brings a completely retooled space combat experience to No Man’s Sky with rebalanced weapons, enemy shields, the ability to create your own fighter squadrons, and a hangar expansion for up to nine spaceships.
Oh, and you can be an actual pirate now too.
The expansion is called Outlaws because there are new Outlaw bases scattered throughout the galaxy. These are systems with no laws, no rules, and no Sentinels to save commercial shipping from your pirate ambitions. Fly to an Outlaw station, and you’ll be greeted by a colorful band of ne’er-do-wells that prey upon the law-abiding. They’ll even send you on missions to take down a frigate or two (courtesy of the new mission vendor).
Pirating in the black void or the high seas will do a number on your reputation, but a forged passport will get you back into the good graces of civil society--for a price, of course.
Along with the ability to recruit fellow pilots to form your own fighter squadron (for the purposes of either piracy or defense from pirates), No Man’s Sky players can train their recruits to become better pilots by accessing the Managed Fleet terminal on your capital ship. Each recruit has its own skills, traits, and battle statistics that can improve over time.
Enemies now have shields that need to be punctured before you can damage enemy ship hulls, with weapons doing different damage to either shields or hulls depending on their type. You can have nine ships in your hangar now, which means you should have plenty of variety in weapons too.
There’s a new ship type available that’ll really get you into the pirate spirit. Unfurl your solar sails as you take to hyperspeed in pursuit of your prey with a full suite of procedurally generated ship parts. Solar sail ships will also have new technology available too, including the Cargo Probe Deflector to keep your smuggling compartments hidden from system police scanners.
Besides new combat effects and graphics, No Man's Sky outlaws can now obtain a fancy cape with realistic cloth effects, so it'll drag over the ground and whip through the wind in dramatic fashion.
There's a new set of Twitch drops coming soon to No Man's Sky where you can get a duck-billed Proto-Geck and a fun-looking shuttle, so stay tuned for that. And 2022's second Expedition, The Blighted, will bring a narrative-focused story where you take on a mysterious pirate gang known as The Blighted. Last time, the expedition came just a week after the Sentinel update, so expect The Blighted to arrive soon.
No Man's Sky Outlaws is available now on all platforms.