No Man's Sky 2022: Difficulty levels No Man's Sky 2022 Guide
Here you will read about the difficulty levels in No Man’s Sky – normal mode, survival mode, permadeath, creative and expedition.
Last update: 05 October 2022
No Man's Sky has a few modes that can be treated as difficulty levels. This page focuses on survival mode, permadeath, creative mode and expedition.
You select a game mode after starting the game and selecting a new save slot. Remember that you can't change the game mode while playing. If you want to choose a different, you will need to start from the beginning.
Normal
This is the original game mode that came with the launch-day version of No Man's Sky. In the normal mode, the gameplay's difficulty is regular and the technology and construction costs are default. All achievements are available in this mode.
At the very beginning, the character will appear near a crashed ship and your task will be to gather resources needed for getting the ship back on tracks.
Death in this mode means that you go back to the place of your temporary parting with the world of the living and can retrieve the lost equipment. If you die in space, you can reclaim the items with a ship. It could need repairs, though.
This mode was prepared with beginners in mind - players, who want to learn the game's mechanics and enjoy No Man's Sky without the need to laboriously accumulate resources or difficult combat.
Survival mode
At the very beginning of the game, the character appears in the middle of a planet, pretty far away from the ship. You need to collect the resources and manage them reasonably in order to reach the ship safely.
The costs of items and technologies are significantly increased, which obviously makes modding the ship and the base bit more tricky. Additionally, the resources on planets in the survival mode were considerably limited.
In survival mode, all enemies have more health points and deal more damage so defeating them is a lot harder.
If you die in survival mode you will lose all resources you are carrying. This stands true for equipment and all resources on the ship. You will also respawn in a remote location, far from the ship.
This mode is meant for players who are experienced with No Man's Sky. Playing here is much more difficult and more complex. The mode is advisable for players, who have built everything they could in the normal mode and are craving for a more challenging experience.
Permadeath
The permadeath mode considerably increases the power of fights with enemies in No Man's Sky. Just as in survival mode, the resources are reduced and costs increased.
If you die in the permadeath mode, you cannot go back to the game. You can save & quit at any point.
The mode is designed for players expecting a difficult game and expecting to die. This isn't for newbies.
Creative mode
In the creative mode, you can't complete and story missions or get any achievements.
The players in the creative mode have unlimited health points. This allows you to freely explore the game world.
In the creative mode, there are no construction costs, so you can freely enjoy the game and get creative.
The mode caters to the players, who like to build bases and other structures available in the game. There's no combat and no enemies, which makes it all the more convenient for newcomers, who are only starting to find their way about the world.
Expeditions
Expedition mode consists of time-limited events that take place one after another in a specified place. This way, players can start travelling together. Each expedition consists of a few milestones that can be completed in any order. Finishing them will give you specific rewards.
The difficulty level during an expedition can change from normal to survival. At the end of an expedition, players can convert their save file to continue playing it.
Expedition mode is recommended for more advanced players since it doesn't have a tutorial. The game encourages players to travel together, and the rewards in this mode are extremely valuable.