Having finished the latest expedition twice now (on PS5 and PC), I thought I would jot down some non-spoilery tips for people who have yet to take the plunge. None of these are essential, but they could save you time and frustration.

1. Spend some time on the starting planet collecting storm crystals for cash. Also pick up any ancient bones you come across; if you’re dedicated, you can knock out one of the later milestones. At the least though you can put a dent in it (and get some more starting cash).
2. The starting system is wealthy so it’s relatively easy to get an A-class (or even S-class) ship. A 19-slot S-class explorer will run you just under 2M, an A-class is even cheaper. With some S-class hyperdrive upgrades purchased from the ship tech vendor, either will allow you to warp to any rendezvous point (from the previous one) in one jump. Bonus: you won’t have to install the hyperdrive and will probably get launch thruster upgrades.
3. Also, the starting system’s space station multitool box has a nice B-class alien rifle if you don’t like your starting MT. Simply reload on the station with multiplayer OFF to get it to appear if you don’t see it (it’s around 2M units).
4. Save three hadal cores and four larval cores (from whispering eggs). You can safely sell/refine any extras.
5. Any of the various organic “prizes” you get from the milestones can be sold for cash. The fleshy ropes you get from wiping out worm dens can also be safely sold. Don’t let them clog up your inventory! Note: fleshy ropes tend to sell better on space stations than planetside. I leave it up to you if you want to sell the story items, they’re not used for anything but they are unique.
6. Make use of the generosity of your fellow travelers. Even with multiplayer off, you can still find and visit bases. Use the space station teleporter to find bases that help you gather larval cores or locate a planetary archive.
7. The starting system (again) has an easy to do derelict freighter. You’ll only need to cap a couple of security drones and can avoid the few turrets. No mucking about with alien egg sacks!
8. The third rendezvous station sells a wide variety of multitool upgrades.
9. The only hazard protection you’ll need on the rendezvous planets is extreme heat/fire. You can safely sell any others you find for nanites, although if you find a cold mod it will be useful on the derelict freighter.
10. Unless you really want to muck around with the Nautilon, you can safely sell the sub upgrades for nanites. However, if you plan on keeping the expedition save as a normal save once you’re done, hang on to them. They’ll make the Dreams of the Deep mission line so much easier.

Below are a few popular questions that we’ve received from our past FAQ thread. As always we ask that everyone be respectful and we welcome everyone’s contribution so have fun!

Q- I’m keen to start a new passive money making pursuit. What are some good ideas or guides post-Waypoint?

A#1-Gold farm, then take that stack and sell it at a terminal (not traders) in systems that sell gold. Sell all your gold to the terminal and crash the economy. Then buy it all back at 80% off discount. You just got free money and keep all the gold. All this takes is an initial investment on a gold farm, then you carry all that gold with you and just sell/buy back when you get to another system that sells gold. With 50 stacks in my ship’s cargo hold, I can make somewhere around 150 million units in each system I do this in.

A#2-Start a Farm, Fusion Igniters or Statis Devices Farm which will increase your profits to 100- 200 mil fairly quickly and you can even send out multiple freighter missions which will help you get aronium, magno-gold, Enriched carbon and more which will increase the profits even more.

A#3-Quickest way I’ve found to make a TON of units: Harvesting Storm Crystals. Find a VERY hot planet that has frequent fire storms. DURING STORMS ONLY – you can see the bright white light from Storm Crystals if you fly around low enough. Fly to them, land, quickly harvest them, get back in your ship and fly to the next before you burn up.

Q-How do I get the Advanced Mining Laser? I don’t have the option to craft one, and the multi-tool upgrade vendor at the space station doesn’t have the blueprint for sale.

A-In order to get it, you have to look for the blueprints in crashed ships or abandoned facilities. You get it from the main story (awakenings) or you can buy it on the anomaly.

Q-What do I actually do in the game? I finished the tutorial, is there anything else beside gathering stuff, building a base and repeat?

A#1-It’s really whatever you want, there’s a base story, (assuming you haven’t completed it already), follow the quest log and you’ll figure it out, but things You’d want to do for end game? You can collect multiple multitools, ships, built a fleet for your freighter, etc.

Q-Is there a planet that is populated by many players, and they built their base close to each others like a city?

A- Yeah its the Galactic Hub Project, Its a place where many people have bases and each day the numbers grow. Please help yourself. There are many factions in NMS that do this, even NMS Pirates Hub.

Q-I’m still pretty early into the game, just making my way to the center of the galaxy, what should I be spending my credits on?

A-Go hang around a outlaw/pirate trading post. Cheapest S-class start at around 8-8.5 million without a trade-in. I recommend Vikeen pirate, as then you have two good and 1 remote chances at high-maneuverability S-class: fighter, solar, exotic.