No Man's Sky recently released on Xbox One, and players are excited to experience the complexity, scale, and detail that its randomly-generated worlds offer. However, before exploring at will, you'll need to survive the perils of your starting planet long enough to repair your ship. We made a full beginner's guide to help you get through most early obstacles, but there are some other things you should be prepared for, too.
Use what your ship offers you
It's tempting to immediately venture far from your starting point, but your best bet is to stick close to your ship as long as you can. Though it's functionally nothing but a piece of scrap since it needs extensive repairs, that doesn't mean it can't be used as shelter. Violent wildlife, relentless storms, and a toxic atmosphere are all serious threats early on in No Man's Sky, but hiding in your ship gives you a way to hide from or avoid all three.
Let the environment work for you
Once you've exhausted the resources that surround your ship, you will eventually be forced to investigate farther out. This is dangerous because of prolonged exposure to threats, but you can use your surroundings to minimize risks. Various forms of plant life will almost always be useful for creating restorative items to regain lost health, and if you figure out what animals native to your planet eat and feed them some, they'll become friendly with you and highlight points of interest.
If you get attacked by predators or pesky robotic sentinels, or simply need to get away from a storm, caves can serve as emergency shelter. When inside of them, most enemies won't detect you and you'll be unaffected by weather conditions, which allows your shields a chance to recharge.
Get yourself a weapon
While having a solid grasp on how to detect and avoid hostile threats will usually let you remain hidden, there are instances where conflict is simply inevitable. Whether you stumble across a pack of angry carnivores or accidentally let a sentinel see you mining, you'll need a way to defend yourself.
Your best bet is to craft a boltcaster, which functions as a single-fire laser weapon. To make it, you'll need 25 units of both Iron and Plutonium. The former can be commonly found inside rock formations, while the latter resides within large red crystals. Plutonium is a little harder to find, but there's usually a decent amount of it around the outside of your ship. You need more of it to charge your boltcaster if it runs out of energy, though, so don't fight unless it's absolutely necessary.
Your thoughts
What do you think of No Man's Sky? Do you agree with the advice I've offered? Let me know.
Read: Hands-on with No Man's Sky for Xbox One
No Man's Sky is available now on Xbox One for $49.99.
