If you are a gamer who has been playing No Man’s Sky then you’ll know that the outlaw update has recently come to the game and with it have come a lot of new features for you to enjoy, and one of these new features is the introduction of squadrons.
So, if you are new to the update and want to learn how to be the best captain of your small squad then just continue reading.
How To Unlock Squadrons
Before you even think of trying to create or unlock squadrons you’ll first need to make sure you have a capital ship, a Freighter works for this and you can potentially unlock one for free just by wrapping through galaxies.
So now that you’ve gotten the most important thing, you’ll be able to access your squadron by going to the “Manage Fleet” terminal that you’ll find on the bridge. Here you’ll also find a menu that says “Manage Squadron” and when you select this you’ll see the exact number of available slots that you have.
Squadron Slots
You have access to a total of 4 various squadron slots and if you want to unlock all of the slots it’ll set you back a total of 21,800 Nanites (the first slot costing 800 Nanites, the seconds costing 3,500, the third costing 7,500 and finally the fourth one costing the most, 10,000 Nanites). If you haven’t purchased any of these slots then the menu will just show you that all squadron slots are locked.
Assembling The Pilots
Now after you’ve saved up and bought the 4 squadron slots it’s now time to try and fill them up with some of the most capable pilots that you can find. There are a few different ways that you can find pilots, however don’t put all of your focus onto good pilots because having good ships is just as important.
When deciding what ship will be best for your squadron you’ll be analysing four different stats: Damage Potential, Shield Strength, Hyperdrive Range and Maneuverability. There is no one answer here that will fit all because the best for you will depend on what kind of squadron you’re looking to assemble. When it comes to choosing which aspects you want to focus on, you should try and have one that has some high Damage Potential but also good Manoeuvrability so that you can be sure to have the best all-round combat pilots. However, this is entirely up to you and your play style because there are some that may benefit a lot more from having some tank ships and some ships whose main focus is to deal damage.
You’ll also notice that when it comes to the pilots, their stats are really randomised and they can range all the way from acrobatics to spatial awareness. When it comes to choosing a great pilot for your squadron then it is important for you to try and include a pilot with some great spatial awareness or reaction time on a high-damage dealing ship as these two could work together as a really great power team.
Finding the Pilots
There are a lot of different ways that you’ll be able to locate pilots to join your squadron and although it is difficult to always make sure that you’ll get a S-class pilot there are still a lot of various options hidden throughout the vastness of space. Below you’ll ding some of the areas where you’ll be able to find some pilots:
- They sometimes come aboard and dock your Freighter
- Space stations that aren’t pilot-controlled
- Trading posts and as well as on some planetary locations.
When it comes to the various tiers that you can find these pilots in, they’ll all range from C tier all the way ip to S tier, with S being the best types of pilots that you’ll be able to find. If you find a pilot that you like but they aren’t on a high enough tier for you, you don’t have to lose all hope because you’re actually able to upgrade pilots, using Nanites. However, it is obviously cheaper to just find an S-class pilot from the get go so that you won’t have to spend any Nanites trying to upgrade them to fit your liking. Here it is important not to just turn a blind eye to the pilots that are low tiers because they might still have stat combinations that you want, making them some worth pilots to invest your hard earned Nanites into.
Using Squadrons To Your Advantage
Squadrons are actually able to help you out during your battles in a number of different ways, not only do they add some extra pressure to the target by firing on them but they can also help you by drawing their fire, which can be extremely helpful in the situations where you are greeted with a lot of enemy shops that you just weren’t prepared for. Here are some of the ways that you can get your squadron to help you out during your battles:
- Whenever you enter combat or get attacked, your Squadrons will almost always jump to your location automatically to help you out without the need for you to do anything.
- There is also a “Summon Squadron” function that you can use to especially request that your Squadron come join you wherever you are in space. (The “Summon Squadron” function is located within the “Summon Freighter and Squadron” section of the interface when you’re out in space).
When you’ve summoned your squadron and after you’ve finished your battle then they’ll still stick around for a little while and bask in your victory before they go and disperse again. When you have your squadron with you then you’ll also be able to do some fancy aerobatic tricks with your pilots as they’ll do barrel rolls at the same time as you so you can do some pretty cool stuff.
Final Words
In conclusion the Squadrons themselves aren’t actually powerful or have a lot of combat strength on their own, but if you are able to find some strong pilots scattered across space then you can get quite a big advantage in these situations.
Not only is the combat process more fun with a Squadron but actually going out and trying to find rare stat combinations and then taking these pilots from the bottom and upgrading them to reach their full potential is also a really fun experience.
