How does Survival Mode work in No Man’s Sky? Answered

No Man’s Sky can already be a pretty tough game, but for some its just not tough enough. For those who fancy taking on the games many galaxies at their most brutal, No Man’s Sky’s Survival mode will put your through your paces and is aimed at making the game a much more difficult experience. So, how does it work? Well, in this guide we’ll talk your through this game mode and what you can expect to deal with.

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What is Survival Mode?

Survival Mode is one of the modes available for players in No Man’s Sky. This option is designed to give players a “more challenging survival experience” and make the game an overall more difficult one. In this game mode, there are a few key changes to the gameplay. When you begin your game you will spawn far away from your ship, and need to make your way to it. You will have limited resources and it will be harder to find more in this mode, meaning you will need to be careful and mindful of how you use them and prioritize what to spend and use them on. Enemies are also a bigger issue, as they are more aggressive and have more health, making them harder to kill. They also hit harder, so be prepared to get a good beating if you fancy picking a fight.

In addition to those changes, Hazards are more deadly and more frequent, meaning you’ll be dealing with freak weather and dangerous flora more than usual, so you’ll need to keep your Hazard Protection up and keep it topped up more regularly.

Dying isn’t made any better in Survival Mode. If you die, you will lose all you current inventory, on your person and on your ship. You will respawn on a the nearest planet, with all items gone, and you will need to make your way back to your ship and repair a few of its components.

Quick tips to help you get started

If you plan to try this mode, here is a couple of tips for when you get started. Your scanner will be your best friend, more so than other game modes, so make sure to be scanning for resources constantly on your way to your ship to give you a fighting chance. To deal with Hazards, be on the lookout for caves and shelter to hide away, this will help you use less resources trying too keep you Hazard Protection topped up. Try to avoid combat where possible, as this will likely not end well for you, especially in the opening few hours. Lastly, your ship will be quite far from, in some cases up to 30 minutes, so don’t waste too much time and get to it ASAP and get it fixed. Faster you can leave the planet and get moving, the better.