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You can be a space pirate in No Man’s Sky starting today

No Man’s Sky‘s latest update is intruding on Sea of Thieves‘ territory. Titled Outlaws, the game’s 3.85 update is fairly straightforward, giving players access to a bounty of new content that expands its space combat and gives players the chance to become the Monkey D. Luffy of the cosmos.

No Man's Sky Outlaws Update Trailer

With space being so big, the law can’t reach every corner. As such, some star systems have fallen under outlaw control. These new systems have their own merchants and contraband items, as well as mission agents. Players looking to make some cash can take these contraband goods and smuggle them into regulated systems to sell for a sizable profit. Of course, authorities will try and stop smugglers with probes, but players will be able to stop any investigations with Cargo Probe Deflectors, a new defense measure.

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Players who want to get more into the looting and plundering aspects of space piracy will have more incentive to do so thanks to an increase in profit available for attacking trader ships or freighters. However, anyone who takes one of these predatory actions will have to deal with the consequences. Sentinel interceptors will attack anyone interfering with planetary trade routes, and as usual, the player’s reputation will go down. The latter issue can be dealt with thanks to forged passports though, which can be presented at Station Cores to restore reputation.

Aspiring pirates won’t have to fight alone either. Players can now recruit roaming pilots into their own squadron. These wingmen will automatically warp to the player when they enter space combat and can even be managed. Each pilot’s skills, traits, and battle statistics can be inspected, and if they aren’t up to snuff, pilots can even be trained.

Today’s update for No Man’s Sky adds even more features on top of an expansion of available illegal activities, like new cloth physics and another Expedition. Following the game’s first major patch of the year, it seems that developer Hello Games has no intention of slowing down.

Otto Kratky
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Otto Kratky is a freelance writer with many homes. You can find his work at Digital Trends, GameSpot, and Gamepur. If he's…
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