How Many Ships Can You Have in No Man‘s Sky 2023?
In the massive procedurally generated universe of No Man‘s Sky, amassing a fleet of unique and specialized starships is one of the ultimate end-games for many travelers. So a common question asked is – just how many ships can you own?
In 2023, you can now have a maximum of 12 starships in your No Man‘s Sky fleet!
This is an increase from the previous limit of 6 ships imposed by freighter hanger space. However, some limitations still apply:
- Only 6 ships can be actively stored on your freighter at one time
- Additional ships beyond 6 can be quickly swapped into your active fleet
In this comprehensive guide, I‘ll cover everything you need to know about acquiring, managing, and upgrading a 12-ship armada in NMS!
Fleet Size Increased in Recent Updates
The ability to amass 12 ships is thanks to the Waypoint and Fractal updates released in 2022/2023. Prior to these updates, travelers were limited to 6 ships on a single save file due to freighter hanger restrictions.
But Hello Games listened to the community‘s desire for larger fleets and increased the limit. Now interlopers can spend even more time tracking down their perfect fleet!
How to Get 7-12 Ships
Getting those first 6 ships is straightforward – purchase, salvage and repair, or trade up until your freighter hanger is full. But how do you expand beyond that?
The process takes advantage of a workaround – summoning a ship to a planet‘s surface. Here are the steps:
- Summon one of your current 6 ships to a planet‘s surface
- After a short time, additional ships will start landing at trade posts/space stations
- Claim and repair any desired ships to purchase and add them to your fleet
- Quickly swap newly acquired ships via the quick menu or freighter
Using this method, you can continuously claim ships without needing additional physical storage space. And thanks to the quick summoning options, swapping ships in and out is seamless.
Tips for Expanding Your Fleet
- Prioritize high economy systems for richer inhabitants and more S-Class/Exotic ships
- Use transmission towers to locate crashed ships for repairing and claiming
- Once you hit 6 ships, only ground summon when ship hunting to avoid despawning
What‘s the Deal With 48+21 Slots?
If you spend any time browsing information on ships, you‘ll likely come across references to "48+21" slots or similar. What does this mean?
In short, it refers to:
- 48 general/cargo slots – for storage and technology
- 21 technology slots – specialized section just for installable upgrades
So a 48+21 slot ship has 48 general slots for bulk storage, products, installation of some upgrades AND an additional 21 just for technologies. This maximizes the upgrade capabilities.
Max Inventory Sizes by Ship Class
| Ship Type | Max General Slots | Max Tech Slots |
|---|---|---|
| Haulers | 48 slots | 21 slots |
| Fighters | 38 slots | 21 slots |
| Explorers | 38 slots | 21 slots |
| Exotics | 20 slots | 21 slots |
| Shuttles | 28 slots | 14 slots |
| Living Ships | 30 slots | 0 slots |
As you can see, Haulers have the most potential general/cargo slots. So if storage is important, those are good candidates for upgrading to 48.
Exotics have high bonuses and solid speed but less overall storage. These make great daily drivers that still pack a punch!
How to Upgrade Ships for More Slots
Outside of Haulers and Exotics, you‘ll need to upgrade other ships to reach their maximum inventory potential using storage augmentation modules:
- Purchase modules from Scrapyard Dealers on Space Stations
- Receive Storage Augmentation as derelict freighter rewards
- Refine Storage Augmentation via Fleet Command Room onboard freighters
Applying the modules permanently increases a ship‘s storage capacity by +1 slot per module. So it will take some work to upgrade a 15 slot C-Class Fighter to a 38+21 S-Class beast!
Having nanites on hand is also key as applying the modules gets more expensive each time. But for travelers willing to put in the effort, you can customize all your ships precisely how you want them.
Well, that covers the core details on ships limits and customization in NMS 2023! Let me know if you have any other questions – happy to provide additional tips from my hundreds of hours exploring the universe. Safe travels, fellow gamers.
