Welcome to the No Man’s Sky achievements guide covering the 27 achievements and trophies in the game. This guide was written with the 4.2 patch as of July 2023.
No Man’s Sky was released in August 2016 for the PS4 and PC. It was later released on Xbox One in 2018, and the recent console hardware and Game Pass in 2020. Overall, No Man’s Sky is an open-ended game that doesn’t spend much time teaching the player how to play the game and certainly does not guide the player. You can choose to focus on the light story or play your own way.
From an achievement and trophy perspective, some people have been confused by the developers assigning strange numbers to each of the achievements. The majority of the achievements are worth 16, 32, or 64 gamer score. This can appear to be odd for most people, since we are used to seeing achievements worth a multiple of 5 or 10, not 16. By choosing to use the values of 16, 32, and 64, it is clear that Hello Games are a tech focused development studio. Programmers often work with numbers that are a power of 2 and these are frequently utilized. Many other choices in the game also reflect a tech focus and not a creative environment.
Achievement Breakdown
The bulk of the achievements and trophies in No Man’s Sky stack in 3 tiers covering 10 categories. All progression can be tracked in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones. You should unlock each tier in succession, but some are still buggy. During my initial playthrough I found a sold a wrecked ship for 3.1 million units, pushing me past the 100k and 1 million unit thresholds without unlocking either. See Foundation for details on how to unlock these if they don’t pop.
Game Stats
- Difficulty: 3/10
- Time to Completion: 25-45 hours
- Bulk Achievements: 10-20 hours
- Extreme Survival: 12 hours
- Center of the Galaxy: 3-10 hours
- Does Difficulty Affect Achievements/Trophies?: Yes. You will need to reach the center of the star map on Survival Mode and Permadeath Mode difficulty.
- Missable Achievements/Trophies: No.
- Broken Achievements/Trophies: Yes. The stacking Units Accrued achievements or trophies may not unlock, like Foundation and The Space Merchants if you sell a ship that blows past both of them to unlock The Diamond Age. If this happens, start a new game and quickly sell only enough materials to hit each milestone. Alternatively, wait until you do your Permadeath run to unlock them.
Recommended Playthrough
- Play the game on any difficulty setting offline (disable Multiplayer in Options) to knock out the majority of the achievements and trophies.
- When you find an extreme planet with Activated minerals, setup to unlock Stranger in a Strange Land and The Sentinel.
- After all other achievements/trophies are earned, start a game in Permadeath difficulty for Take a Deep Breath and To Live Forever. Refer to the No Man’s Sky To Live Forever Guide for a full walkthrough in Permadeath.
- Once all achievements/trophies are unlocked, feel free to go back into one of the playthroughs and modify the settings to enjoy the rest of the game.
General Tips
- Track your progress on any milestone in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones and pin a milestone you are working on to the log to save jumping in and out of the menus.
- Always purchase a new inventory slot on the space station and on the anomaly in each star system.
- Keep an eye on fuel and resource levels for your ship and multi-tool. Press D-Pad Down and select Recharge Equipment to refill when low.
- Collect all Encrypted Navigation Data in structures and on space stations to find Nanites and Navigation Data.
- Units can quickly be earned by purchasing Emergency Cartographic Data from the Carographer on space stations. Follow the navigation point to the destination. Some emergency situations will simply be downed ships that need repaired, like during the main mission, Awakenings. Only repair the Launch Thruster and Pulse Engine. If you’re playing with free upgrades, go ahead and repair everything to max out the value of the ship. Then, fly the ship to the nearest space station and make sure you have room in your inventory (3 slots minimum, preferably 7). Approach the Starship Outfitting terminal and choose Claim Scrap to destroy the ship. Then sell any unwanted ship modules to the Technology Merchant for Nanites. Finally, sell the remaining Spool of Nanocables and Subatomic Regulators (or similar items with scrap in their descriptions that sell for large values) at the nearest Galactic Trade Terminal.
1st Playthrough Recommended Difficulty
- Difficulty Preset: Relaxed
- Survival Settings: Set all to lowest available levels.
- Crafting and Items Settings: Set all to lowest available levels.
- Combat Settings:
- Enemy Strength: Weak
- On-Foot Combat: Any setting, standard is fine.
- Space Combat: Any setting except None, you will need to fight in space.
- Creatures: Passive
- Ease of Use: Set all to lowest available levels.
Links
- No Man’s Sky To Live Forever Walkthrough
- Alien Colonist Encounters Achievements
- Center of the Galaxy Achievements
- Extreme Survival Achievements
- On-Foot Exploration Achievements
- Planet Zoology Scanned Achievements
- Player Base Achievements
- Ships Destroyed Achievements
- Space Exploration Achievements
- Units Accrued Achievements
- Words Collected Achievements
Alien Colonist Encounters Achievements
Contact
16G – Attain ‘Known’ status in Alien Colonist Encounters
Talk with 10 different aliens at outposts and on space stations to unlock this achievement or trophy. Refer to What Mad Universe for more details.
Who Goes There?
32G – Attain ‘Diplomat’ status in Alien Colonist Encounters
Talk with 50 different aliens at outposts and on space stations to unlock this achievement or trophy. Refer to What Mad Universe for more details.
What Mad Universe
64G – Attain ‘Ambassador’ status in Alien Colonist Encounters
Walk up to and talk with each alien you encounter in outposts and space stations. Doing so will progress you along the Alien Colonist Encounters tracked in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Exploration Milestones.
Once you have spoken with an alien, they will have the label “Visited” under the prompt with their name. After talking with 80 different aliens, the achievement or trophy will unlock.
Center of the Galaxy Achievements
Take a Deep Breath
16G – Reach the Centre of the Galaxy in Survival Mode
Take a Deep Breath should be combined with To Live Forever to save time. See To Live Forever for additional details.
To Live Forever
72G – Reach the Centre of the Galaxy in Permadeath Mode
Reach the Center of the Galaxy while playing in Permadeath Mode. Some settings in Permadeath Mode can be lowered, but you need to keep Permadeath active. Skip all side content and missions and stick with the main story until you unlock the Anomaly. Locate and find a translucent alien and give it 100 Nanites to receive coordinates to its grave and find a glyph. Use the glyph at a portal to warp close to the center of the galaxy. Then, warp the rest of the way in your ship.
Refer to the No Man’s Sky To Live Forever Walkthrough for details on how to setup and reach the Galactic Core on Permadeath Mode.
Extreme Survival Achievements
Stranger in a Strange Land
32G – Attain ‘Robust’ status in Extreme Survival
Survive 30 sols or 27,000 game minutes (roughly 7.5 hours real time) to unlock this achievement or trophy. Refer to The Sentinel for additional details.
The Sentinel
64G – Attain ‘Everlasting’ status in Extreme Survival
Look for a planet with extreme weather/environment. From space, you can press the Left Thumbstick in to scan the planet. If it shows Activated before any of the minerals listed (Activated Copper, etc.), land on the planet and find a way to survive on the surface for 48 sols. There are a number of conditions that will stop the clock from ticking, including hiding underground or in a base.
This is easily done by:
- Use the recommended difficulty settings
- Pin the Extreme Survival milestone to the guidance log (see below)
- Plug the controller into the console
- Make sure the console is not set to go to sleep or low power mode
- Use a rubber band or a firm object to keep the left thumbstick in the left or right direction (running in a circle)
- Leave the game running and periodically check back to see if the counter is making progress
Track your progress on Extreme Survival in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Survival Milestones and pin it to your guidance log to see the progress occasionally update on the HUD. Once you have survived 48 sols or 43,200 game minutes (roughly 12 hours real time), the achievement or trophy will unlock.
On-Foot Exploration Achievements
Symphony For A Lost Traveler
32G – Attain ‘Nomad’ status in On-foot Exploration
Take a total of 40,000 steps during a single playthrough to unlock this achievement or trophy. Refer to Have Spacesuit – Will Travel for more details.
Have Spacesuit – Will Travel
64G – Attain ‘Adventurer’ status in On-foot Exploration
Take a total of 100,000 steps during a single playthrough to unlock this achievement or trophy. This will require spending more time on the ground than is necessary unless you are following the easy guide for The Sentinel while running on an extreme planet for 12 hours.
Track your progress on On-foot Exploration in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Survival Milestones.
Planet Zoology Scanned Achievements
A Scanner Darkly
16G – Attain ‘Naturalist’ status in Planet Zoology Scanned
Scan all fauna/creatures on 1 planet and the achievement or trophy will unlock. Refer to Galapagos for more details.
The Star Beast
32G – Attain ‘Archivist’ status in Planet Zoology Scanned
Scan all fauna/creatures on 7 planets and the achievement or trophy will unlock. Refer to Galapagos for more details.
Galapagos
64G – Attain ‘Encyclopedia’ status in Planet Zoology Scanned
While exploring planets, use your scanner (LT+RT / L2+R2) to scan new fauna/creatures you encounter. Previously scanned creatures will have a green dot on them when viewed through the scanner. New creatures will have a red dot and should be scanned for additional credits. Once you have scanned all available fauna on the planet, go to the pause menu under Discoveries – Fauna and register your data to complete the zoology for the planet and have it count toward the goal.
Track your progress on Planet Zoology Scanned in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Exploration Milestones. Once you have scanned all fauna/creatures on 10 planets, the achievement or trophy will unlock.
Player Base Achievements
Cradle
16G – Claim a Base or Buy a Freighter
Follow the main story during Awakenings and you will setup a base unlocking this achievement or trophy.
Navigators
16G – Build an Exocraft
Purchase one of the Exocraft blueprints in the Construction Research Station then build one on a planet (does not need to be near a base) to unlock the achievement or trophy. If you’re playing with the lowest difficulty settings, the blueprints will already be unlocked and building is free.
Reunion
16G – Visit another Player’s Base
First, make sure Multiplayer is enabled in the Networking Options menu. Next, travel to the Anomaly and approach the large portal in the back left. Then, select a player’s base (one of the blue options) and portal to it. Once you arrive, interact with their base computer and the achievement or trophy will unlock. Some player bases will not load properly and others will make it difficult to find the base computer. If that happens or when you finish, press D-Pad Down and choose to return to the Anomaly. Finally, you can disable Multiplayer and continue your playthrough.
Ships Destroyed Achievements
Use of Weapons
16G – Attain ‘Novice’ status in Ships Destroyed
Destroy 5 ships in space combat and the achievement or trophy will unlock. Refer to The Forever War for more details.
Pattern for Conquest
32G – Attain ‘Notorious’ status in Ships Destroyed
Destroy 50 ships in space combat and the achievement or trophy will unlock. Refer to The Forever War for more details.
The Forever War
64G – Attain ‘Legend’ status in Ships Destroyed
Destroy 80 ships in space combat and the achievement or trophy will unlock. There are a few ways to lure ships into combat. One is to travel to a planet with Aggressive Sentinels and fight the sentinel ships in the skies above. The easier way is to shoot the side of a space station to lure waves of sentinel ships. If you need to quit or take a break, simply fly into the space station to end and reset the combat.
Track your progress on Ships Destroyed in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Survival Milestones.
Space Exploration Achievements
The Stars, Like Dust
16G – Attain ‘Trailblazer’ status in Space Exploration
Warp 5 times between solar systems and the achievement or trophy will unlock. Refer to A Space Odyssey for more details.
The Longest Voyage
32G – Attain ‘Pioneer’ status in Space Exploration
Warp 40 times between solar systems and the achievement or trophy will unlock. Refer to A Space Odyssey for more details.
A Space Odyssey
64G – Attain ‘Discoverer’ status in Space Exploration
Warp 75 times between solar systems and the achievement or trophy will unlock. This can easily be done near the end of your initial playthrough. Simply warp back and forth between 2 solar systems. You will need to craft enough fuel or add Hyperdrive mods to increase fuel efficiency. If you are player with free fuel in the difficulty settings, there is no need to worry about fuel.
Track your progress on Space Exploration in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Exploration Milestones.
Units Accrued Achievements
Foundation
16G – Attain ‘Entrepreneur’ status in Units Accrued
Warning: This achievement/trophy is buggy and may not pop if you jump past it by selling more than 850,000 units in a single transaction. If this doesn’t unlock, create a quick game, jump in and mine cobalt underground and sell just enough on the market to unlock the achievement/trophy or earn it in your Permadeath run.
Make and hold a total of 150,000 units by scanning new flora/fauna and selling materials on the market. Don’t sell a ship or large stacks of resources until after this unlocks. Refer to The Diamond Age for more details.
The Space Merchants
32G – Attain ‘Trader’ status in Units Accrued
Warning: This achievement/trophy is buggy and may not pop if you jump past it by selling more than 1 million units in a single transaction. If this doesn’t unlock, create a quick game, jump in and mine cobalt underground and sell just enough on the market to unlock the achievement/trophy or earn it in your Permadeath run.
Make and hold a total of 1 million units by scanning new flora/fauna and selling materials on the market. Don’t sell a ship or large stacks of resources until after this unlocks. Refer to The Diamond Age for more details.
The Diamond Age
64G – Attain ‘Magnate’ status in Units Accrued
Make and hold a total of 2 million units by scanning new flora/fauna and selling materials on the market. Don’t sell a ship until after Foundation and The Space Merchants are both unlocked. Selling a ship will easily earn this achievement/trophy.
Track your progress on Units Accrued in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Survival Milestones. Once you have made and held 2 million units the achievement or trophy will unlock.
Words Collected Achievements
Babel-17
16G – Attain ‘Confused’ status in Words Collected
Talk with aliens at outposts and on space stations and select “Request dialect help” to learn new words in their language. Learn a total of 10 words across all dialects to unlock this achievement or trophy. Refer to Citizens of the Galaxy for more details.
The Languages of Pao
32G – Attain ‘Interpreter’ status in Words Collected
Talk with aliens at outposts and on space stations and select “Request dialect help” to learn new words in their language. Learn a total of 50 words across all dialects to unlock this achievement or trophy. Refer to Citizens of the Galaxy for more details.
Citizen of the Galaxy
64G – Attain ‘Babelfish’ status in Words Collected
Talk with aliens at outposts and on space stations and select “Request dialect help” to learn new words in their language. Learn a total of 10 words across all dialects to unlock this achievement or trophy. Refer to What Mad Universe for more details.
Walk up to and talk with each alien you encounter in outposts and space stations. Select “Request dialect help” if it is available in the dialog options to learn a new word in their language. Doing so will increase your knowledge of their language, translating the known words when speaking with other aliens. Interacting with Knowledge Stones or other alien structures may also teach new words. Learn a total of 150 words across all dialects to unlock the achievement or trophy.
Track your progress on Words Collected in the pause menu under Catalog & Guide – Journey Milestones – Exploration Milestones. If you have spoken with an alien, they will have the label “Visited” under the prompt with their name.
That’s it for the No Man’s Sky achievements guide. Please post any questions or comments below. Thanks.