Boring background: I’ve been playing since the Origins update, with nearly 3K+ hours spread over multiple saves, all Normal Mode. With every badge unlocked bar two – Take a Deep Breath and To Live Forever – I decided a couple weeks ago it was time to take the Permadeath Plunge.

Yes, I know about spamming a portal to get to the center of the Euclid tootsie-pop. But my interest was in playing through — the phases of the tutorial narrative are, after all, pretty much a blueprint for expeditions, Expedition Zero if you will. Follow it to get everything you need, particularly if (like I am) you plan on continuing your save. I had to croak a couple times to get the hang of it (a long career of sending out frigate missions from the safety of my freighter turned me into a space marshmallow) but here’s what I learned:

01 – What you’ve heard is true: Don’t underestimate how much damage you can take by falling/jetting from a medium height. Or, a short height. Same with the snapping & whipping plants; if one of those Venus Flytraps hits you twice in succession like they sometimes do, you’re toast. Anything pesky in normal mode is deadly in PD. Move slowly and deliberately.

02 – Don’t fight. It’s not just the ground or plants that will do you in. Everything hurts more. When sentinels come sniffing around, head in another direction. Pirate scans mean it’s time to visit the Anomaly. When you see the red paw of a predator coming your way, make like a chicken and bok bok bok.

03 – Hop in your ship, all the time. The hazard protection recharge doesn’t just save resources, it can save your save. And to that end: don’t be tempted to grab just one more storm crystal. It’s always farther back to the ship than you think, even when it’s right in front of you.

04 – Inventory management is key. If you’ve played for a while, you know what’s important and what isn’t. Don’t bother with what isn’t; focus on your needs directly ahead. Soon as you find a cold planet, mine a couple of dioxite deposits for charging life support, so you don’t have to scrounge for oxygen. Relatedly, load up on uranium so you don’t have to craft launch fuel.

05 – Dead or glitched worlds feel like paradises. I was fortunate enough to have an empty moon in my starting system, and made my base there so I didn’t have to deal with any kind of toxic environment and could refine in peace. 10/10 would recommend.

06 – Once you make it to the Anomaly, remember: You earned those QS rewards (well, if you did, in another life). And I can confirm: in this playthrough YES I was charged nanites for the Speeder and the Vector. I watched the counter click down. (Ditching the Pillar for the Speeder, with infra-knife and auto-charge launcher, was a no-brainer.)

07 – When it comes to Purging, turns out the game requires 16 jumps … in any direction. You don’t have to be moving toward the center, towards an Atlas Station (the Seed mission, which I had intended to ignore, triggered itself concurrently with the Purge), or to grandma’s house. According to the way I did it, you can probably just bounce back and forth between two known star systems until Atlas directs you to that final portal (I goofed and backtracked at one point, and still got the glyphs).

It’s easy to let your guard down, especially once you’re flying. So the main thing is to be mindful, respect the common dangers, and figure out an inventory management system that serves you best. Take your time, enjoy the game, and you’re home free.

Thanks, and Happy Travels! Come visit me in Budullangr, where I’m currently working to bring my Radiant Pillar up to S-class!

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