Skip to main content

You can be a space pirate in No Man’s Sky starting today

No Man’s Sky‘s latest update is intruding on Sea of Thieves‘ territory. Titled Outlaws, the game’s 3.85 update is fairly straightforward, giving players access to a bounty of new content that expands its space combat and gives players the chance to become the Monkey D. Luffy of the cosmos.

No Man's Sky Outlaws Update Trailer

With space being so big, the law can’t reach every corner. As such, some star systems have fallen under outlaw control. These new systems have their own merchants and contraband items, as well as mission agents. Players looking to make some cash can take these contraband goods and smuggle them into regulated systems to sell for a sizable profit. Of course, authorities will try and stop smugglers with probes, but players will be able to stop any investigations with Cargo Probe Deflectors, a new defense measure.

Recommended Videos

Players who want to get more into the looting and plundering aspects of space piracy will have more incentive to do so thanks to an increase in profit available for attacking trader ships or freighters. However, anyone who takes one of these predatory actions will have to deal with the consequences. Sentinel interceptors will attack anyone interfering with planetary trade routes, and as usual, the player’s reputation will go down. The latter issue can be dealt with thanks to forged passports though, which can be presented at Station Cores to restore reputation.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Aspiring pirates won’t have to fight alone either. Players can now recruit roaming pilots into their own squadron. These wingmen will automatically warp to the player when they enter space combat and can even be managed. Each pilot’s skills, traits, and battle statistics can be inspected, and if they aren’t up to snuff, pilots can even be trained.

Today’s update for No Man’s Sky adds even more features on top of an expansion of available illegal activities, like new cloth physics and another Expedition. Following the game’s first major patch of the year, it seems that developer Hello Games has no intention of slowing down.

Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
PS5 restock update: Where you can buy a PS5 right now
PS5 and DualSense art.

When the PlayStation 5 first launched back in November 2020, it was nearly impossible to get your hands on the highly anticipated console. Despite demand being through the roof, chip shortages heavily cut production -- and due to sustained consumer interest, it was a problem that plagued the PS5 for years after launch.

Thankfully, we're happy to report that those issues have largely been resolved, making it pretty easy to grab a PS5 these days. The launch of the PS5 Pro has ignited another buying frenzy, and with Black Friday coming up, Sony has even cut the price of the base PS5.

Read more
Quiz: Can you tell the difference between these PS5 and PS5 Pro screenshots?
A PS5 Pro that's floating in front of a gray background. It's turned to the side.

Ever since the PlayStation 5 Pro was first revealed, I've seen a common refrain from some skeptics: "I don't see a difference!"

I was in the same boat when Mark Cerny introduced the console in a YouTube video back in September. A compressed YouTube stream just isn't the best way to communicate a console that both increases resolution and frame rate. I only started to see just how different the PS5 Pro looks compared to the base model once I could see them side by side in my own home. It took me some time -- and a lot of eye straining -- to spot some of the finer details outside of its more obvious AI-upscaling benefits, but I was able to see them eventually. The PS5 Pro does improve image quality, but is the bump enough to justify a $700 purchase?

Read more
Can you change classes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?
Knights below a giant dragon in Dragon Age: The Veilguard.

Before you begin your quest to save Thedas in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you need to make several important decisions. While you're making your character, you will customize your race, appearance, background, and more, but the most impactful decision is which class you pick. There are only three options: Warrior, Mage, and Rogue, but each one is highly customizable, with dozens of skills and ways to specialize them. We know that you can freely change your appearance after you've left the character creator, and there is an easy way to respec your skill points, but does the game also let you swap classes or do you need to give very careful thought when choosing?
Can you change classes in Dragon Age: The Veilguard?

Once you've made your choice between Warrior, Mage, and Rogue while creating your character, you're stuck with it. There is no way to change to a new class without restarting the entire game from scratch.

Read more