No Man’s Sky: Polestar Walkthrough (Expedition 8)

All expeditions are the small stories, with it’s own start and end, and limited in time.
All achievements from expeditions will be available in all saves on your account. So you can play main game, then step aside to play expedition, then return to main game with new achievements (or play Expedition-based story – it will be converted to Survival mode after the end). All Phase rewards can be redeemed across all save games from the Space Anomaly’s Quicksilver Synthesis Companion

To start an expedition you need click “Play game” – select empty save slot “New game” – Select “Community expedition”

Expeditions usually have some limited functionality.

In this expedition:
1) You will not be able to use warp drive of your ship. Warp will be available only aboard Freighter.
2) You will not be able to build a base until you finish the expedition.
3) You will need to build a lot of rooms. You will get blueprints for them from missions, so i sugest to complete missions one-by-one.

Feel free to add comments – I will update this manual accordingly

Mission 1 – Log 1: Emergency
Speak with the Captain, select “Access Ship’s Log”

Mission 2 – All hands on desk
Open inventory with “TAB” key, switch to Freighter with “A” – “D” keys, and repar Atmospheric Control Unit. You already have all material needed, so just click on it, it will open repair window, then click on all damaged components.
For this mission you will get Repair kits – I advise to use it to fix Freighter’s Matter Beam

Mission 3 – Planetside
Go to hangar, enter your ship, fly and land to nearest planet.

Mission 4 – A well-oiled machine
Install a Refiner Room on your ship. Press “Z” to enter a build mode, select Refiner room, build it somewhere. You will get blueprints from previous mission, so remember to collect mission’s rewards.
You can not enter build mode on freighter’s bridge, so enter central corridor. (Highlited with green lamps. Left and right leads to Landing zone)
In my game “Refiner Room” was build automatically, after I complete Mission 2. I think it is a bug.
Anyway, you will need to finish Mission 3 to get blueprints of Refiner Room.

Mission 5 – Engage engines
Warp to a new system aboard your Freighter.
Come to main holotable on your Freighter and open “Freighter Warp Map”.
With “Left” and “Right” arrows select “Destination: Expedition route” and follow the highlighted path to the next system.

Mission 6 – Supercargo
Install a Storage Room on your ship. You will get blueprints from mission 4.
Press “Z” to enter a build mode, select Storage room, build it somewhere.

Mission 7 – Galactic catalogue
Install an Interstellar Scaner.
Open inventory with “TAB” key, switch to Freighter with “A” – “D” keys, and press “E” on any free place to install new technology. Select “Interstellar Scaner” – you will get blueprints from previous mission

Mission 8 – Rendezvous 1
You need to reach the first Rendezvous point aboard your Freighter.
Come to main holotable on your Freighter and open “Freighter Warp Map”.
With “Left” and “Right” arrows select “Destination: Expedition route” and follow the highlighted path to the target system.
In target system enter your spaceship and follow the mission’s marker. Fly around and find crashed freighter. Land on it.
Or land anywhere and use scaner “F” key in Target Sweep mode to find the end point.

Don’t forget to salvage all cargo pods of crashed freighter

Collect Phase 1 rewards

Mission 1 – Log 2: Into the black
Activate the mission and warp travell to hilighted system. Read Captain’s log again after you reach target system.

Mission 2 – Rendezvous 2
Reach the second rendezvous point, the same way as first:
You need to reach the Rendezvous point aboard your Freighter.
Come to main holotable on your Freighter and open “Freighter Warp Map”.
With “Left” and “Right” arrows select “Destination: Expedition route” and follow the highlighted path to the target system.
In target system enter your spaceship and follow the mission’s marker. Fly around and find crashed freighter. Or land anywhere and use scaner “F” key in Target Sweep mode to find the end point.
This time tee freighter is underwater, in frozen sea, so you will need modules with protection from Cold and Underwater. Land closer to it – community guys already created a lot of landing zones arount it.
Swim to main computer and this will finish the mission.

Mission 3 – Drop Protocol
Construct an Orbital Exocraft Materializer room on your Freighter.
Blueprints – from Mission 1
BTW don’t hesitate to build Roamer Geobay on nearest planet – this will give you access to Roamer exocraft on any system and planet. Roamer with installed Advanced Signal Booster (can be purchased on Space Anomaly) can be used for search of Drop Pods to increase your inventory

Mission 4 – Freedom of the seas
Construct Nautilon Chamber on any planet underwater. This will give you access to Nautilon submarine on any system and planet.
Blueprints – from Mission 3
BTW, Nautilon’s scaner will allow you to search for sunken ships – restore them and you can get better ship, or just sell them.

Mission 5 – Across Infinity
Construct a Teleport Chamber on your Freighter
Blueprint for it can be obtained after completing Mission 2

Mission 6 – The engine of life
Scan 20 plants. Land on planet, press “F” key, find “Unidentified plant” and scan it holding left mouse button until completition. Repeat on other lants and other planets.

Mission 7 – The air we breathe
Construct a Double Cultivation Chamber on your Freighter.
Blueprints – from Mission 6

Mission 8 – Hospitality
Visit another player’s Freighter’s base.
Not hard, but need some attention.
1) you need someone in the group – find him on space station and invite to group. Or press “Esc” – “Options” – “Network” – “View nearby players list” – use “E” to invite players to group.
2) use “X” key – Summon vehicles – Summon Freighter – Dismiss Freighter
3) only one freighter from group is allowed to be seen for you, so after you dissmiss yours you will be able to land on Freighter of your teammate.
4) After you get achievement, don’t forget to summon your Freighter back and allow your friend to land to it.

Mission 1 – Log 3: homesick
Activate the mission and warp travell to hilighted system. Read Captain’s log again after you reach target system.
You will get a lot of decoration blueprints for this mission

Mission 2 – Rendezvous 3
This mission is in the same system, so just enter your spaceship and follow the mission’s marker. From the orbit you can see sunken crashed freighter. Land near it, call Nautilon and swim to the center of crashed freighter.
If you lose it, land anywhere and use scaner “F” key in Target Sweep mode to find the end point.
After reading log, search nearby containers for salvage. Use scaner “F” key to find containers (not mandatory, but good bonus).

Mission 3 – Power and industry
Construct a Stellar Extractor room on your Freighter
Blueprints – from mission 2

Mission 4 – Wing commander
Recruit 3 pilots to your squadron.
1) On your Freighter use fleet/wings menu on holotable to purchase 3 slots for wingmans.
2) Visit any station, talk with pilots near landed ships, offer them to join your squad.
You will need 11,5k nanites to open 3 wingman slots, so I advise to find some bases with “nanites” in name on first rendezvous, and hunt for “Runaway mould” – it can be refined to nanites in your Refinery room on freighter. Or you can hunt sentinels and sell looted upgrades from them (mostly useless)

Mission 5 – Galactic defender
Shoot down 16 pirates. You can meet them during your journey, or you can get missions for hunting pirates on space station. On pirate stations you can get missions for pirate nests with 5-6 pirates in one place. The higher “Conflict level” of the system – the more pirate attacks.
This mission will unlock all ship’s weapon systems.

Mission 6 – Called by the stars
Complete 8 fleet expeditions. Longest mission.
1) Build several Fleet command rooms on your Freighter
2) Fly around to find free Freighters with frigates-satelites. Look for frigates with money sign – fly to them, open comm channel when asked with “X” key, and hire them to your fleet. You need 8 frigates in your fleet.
3) talk with oficer near holotable and send ships to expeditions (look for fastest expedition and send 1 ship per expedition for fastest completition)
4) after the expedition ends – visit Fleet commeand rooms and finish fleet expeditions.

Mission 7 – Farseer
Construct a Scaner Room
Blueprints – from mission 3

Mission 8 – Home comfort
Construct a Galactic Trade Room on your Freighter
Blueprints – from mission 7

Mission 1 – No going back
Read the 4th entry in ship’s log.
Activate the mission and warp travell to hilighted system. Read Captain’s log again after you reach target system.

Mission 2 – Reasch Rendezvous 4 point
This mission is in the same system, so just enter your spaceship and follow the mission’s marker.
From the orbit you can see sunken crashed freighter. Land near it, call Nautilon and swim to the center of crashed freighter.

If you lose it, land anywhere and use scaner “F” key in Target Sweep mode to find the right direction.
After reading log, search nearby containers for salvage. Use scaner “F” key to find containers (not mandatory, but good bonus).

Mission 3 – Stardust
Mine 50 asteroids. Just fly to any asteroid field and destroy 50 small asteroids.

Mission 4 – Reclamation
Find and restore a crashed ship.
You can purchase Planetary charts with Emergency cartografic data on Space station to find crashed ship. Or you can use scanning ability of Minotaur exocraft with advanced scaner. Or you can find monitoring station on the planet, solve the puzzle and get coordinates.

Mission 5 – Recycling
On Space station visit Ship upgrade terminal and select to recycle your ship. This will recycle your current ship, so visit planet, press “X” key and summon the ship you don’t need, then fly to the Space Station aboard it.

Mission 6 – Prospector
Analyse 15 minerals. Land on planet, press “F” key, find “Unidentified mineral” and scan it holding left mouse button until completition. Repeat on other minerals and other planets.

Mission 7 – Gold like sand
Colect 9.000.000 units
Easy and simple. You can search for buried treasures/ancient bones, or find another player’s base with free resources and sell them.

Mission 1 – Log 5: horizons
Activate the mission and warp travell to Kariash system. Read Captain’s log again after you reach target system.

Mission 2 – Rendezvous 5
Reach final rendezvous point:
This mission is in the same system, so just enter your spaceship and follow the mission’s marker.
From the orbit you can see sunken crashed freighter. Land near it, call Nautilon and swim to the center of crashed freighter.

That is the last rendezvous mission. You wil get Homewold Repeater device and unlock 2 last missions in this phase.

Mission 3 – A life beneath the sky
Scan 25 unknown creatures on different planets using “F” key scaner. Nothing to add here.

Mission 4 – Mission control
Expand you fleet of frigates to 8. Fly around to find free Freighters with frigates-satelites. Look for frigates with money sign – fly to them, open comm channel when asked with “X” key, and hire them to your fleet.

Mission 5 – Deep sleep cruise
Make contact with the others. You will get detail only when complete Rendezvous 5 mission
Activate Homewold Repeater device, fly in to space and activate Pulse drive. A few moments later you will recieve message thas you met something. Stop, and you will see “Life Raft” spaceship, and Sentinel ship nearby. Try to contact with it with “X” key, read the story. Then fly away and escape sentinels.

You will get Singularity Engine plans for last mission.

Mission 6 – Superluminal
Install the Singularity Engine on your Freighter.
Speak with freighter’s commander and activate Singularity Engine.
After arrival you will complete Expedition 8

Just collect all Phase rewards.
This will unlock Hyperdrive for your ship and Base Computer.

Some hints:
1) Freighter is bugged, so it can build rooms itself where it wants. Just be careful.

2) You can use Roamer exocraft to quickly increase your inventory size. Just visit Space Anomaly and purchase advanced scaner for it. Install it on Roamer, enter it and use “X” key menu to select scaner -> search for Drop Pods.
Fly to Drop Pod, repair it, increase your inventory, press “X” key to summon Roamer again, repeat.

3) You can use Nautilon the same way as Roamer, to find sunken ships. Land on surface near it, summon Nautilon and swim to your new ship. Each ship has Distress Beacon sphere nearby, where you can select resources or technology. Also each ship may be higher class than you active ship, or have more cargo space. So claim ship, fix engine and thrusters, enter Nautilon, search for next ship, enter you new ship and fly to the next one. Repeat until you think it’s enough.

4) You can not build a base until the end of expedition, but if you strongly need binding point on some planet – purchase Settlement Charts on Space station, land on planet, use chart and find settlement, and become Overseer – you will have teleport on this planet after building an office

5) to escape from sentinels you can fly to the planet, land on it (you may need to kill followers). This will switch space combat to land combat. Then just run away drom drones, or dig in to the planet and hide util timer ends.