How to complete A Trace of Metal quest in No Man's Sky

Expect Sentinels during 'A Trace Of Metal' (Image via Hello Games)

Despite No Man's Sky being a relaxing romp through time and space, there are story missions and optional quests that players can participate in if they so choose. Some go beyond a simple “go here and do that” kind of mission.

As players unlock or engage in specific mechanics and points of interest in No Man's Sky, there is a good chance there is a mission associated with it. Depending on what it is, it could be a simple tutorial mission or a full-fledged story. A Trace Of Metal is a mission that falls somewhere in between.

Here’s how to complete the A Trace Of Metal in No Man's Sky for those unfamiliar with the quest.

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Guide to A Trace of Metal mission in No Man's Sky

The mission in question was introduced with the 3.80 update and allows the player to have their own Sentinel companion and a Minotaur upgraded with Sentinel technology upon completion. To trigger the A Trace of Metal quest, players need to have their own Planetary Settlement which they oversee.

Players also need to make sure that there are no outstanding settlement mission objectives that they need to complete. Players also need to be in some other system than the one their settlement is in to trigger the quest and receive a message stating that the Planetary Settlement is under an extreme Sentinel assault.

Upon receiving the communication, players should quickly make their way back to their settlement to deal with the Sentinel raid. Sentinel mechs are involved in the raid and players should be careful while repelling the attack. Once the threat has been dealt with, head over to the Administration Terminal and interact with it to receive a message from Tethys.

Wanting to know more about the Sentinel attack, Tethys will ask players to go back outside and gather an Undamaged Drone Shell from the wreckage. Once collected, players need to visit the Space Anomaly and interact with Tethys. After completing the conversation with Tethys, players will then need to go and talk to Mercury, to get a Portal Phylactery; Gemini, to get a Nanite Filament; and Polo, to get Beads of Glass.

All of them are present on the Space Anomaly. Once players have collected all of them, return to Tethys and get the Sentinel Flare. Players will have to go back to their settlement and test their drone, which they can do by going into their inventory and selecting Activate Flare on the Sentinel Flare.

Once the drone is activated, in a little while it will start running into an error. Upon interacting, players will be given the option to download the coordinates of a Sentinel Pillar, where they will have to go next. Once there, players need to obliterate the Pillar Nodes around it along with any Sentinel guards in the location.

Then, they will have to interact with the Pillar Access Node in the middle, choose the “Permit the integration to continue” option and then “Confirm download.” This will give players the Sentinel Hardframe Right Arm blueprint. At the access node, players will have to initiate a remote memory purge and interact with their drone.

Crafting the Sentinel Hardframe Legs requires 30 Ionized Cobalt, 40 Pugneum, and 1 Hydraulic Wiring. Players can then install it on their Minotaur.

Once the installation is done, players will need to interact with their drone and learn that they have to go back to their settlement because the settlers want to speak to them. Go back and access the Administration Terminal and make the choices you wish to make.

Engaging with the drone again after this will award players with another set of coordinates. This will lead players to a manufacturing facility from whose terminal players will have the option to download the Sentinel Hardframe Legs schematics. At the terminal, choose to transmit the upgrade packet and ask the Sentinel drone who Telamon is.

Sentinel Hardframe Legs require 120 Pugneum and 1 Hardframe Engine which players can then install on their Minotaur. Players will need to go back to their settlement, access the Administration Terminal, select “Debrief Sentinel expedition” and learn that the blueprint for Sentinel Hardframe Left Arm has been found.

Sentinel Hardframe Left Arm requires 50 Chromatic Metal, 40 Pugneum and 1 Hydraulic Wiring. Same as before, this can be installed on the Minotaur. Talk to the Sentinel drone again, who names itself Laylaps and sets the objective to gather a Pristine Walker Brain. Players will need to follow the new marker where they will find a Sentinel Walker.

Players will need to defeat the behemoth and interact with the wreckage to obtain the item. Players will have to go back to the Space Anomaly and talk to Tethys, who will rewire the brain but say it will require something more. and provide Sentinel Hardframe Body blueprint. Players need to get into their spaceship, go out into space and engage the pulse drive around until they detect an anomaly - the Messenger of Atlas.

Engage with the anomaly to present the hacked brain to procure the Radiant Brain which is required to craft the Sentinel Hardframe Body. Along with 1 Radiant Brain, the other items that are required are 1 Antimatter and 1 Life Support Gel. Players can craft it and install it on their Minotaur.

Once done, players can talk to their drone, called Laylaps, once again who will ask to attack another Sentinel Pillar. Players will have to do the same thing as last time, where they destroy the nodes and guards, and then interact with the Access Node. Once there, players can remove Laylaps from the Sentinel records.

Players will have to talk to Laylaps again to complete the entire mission, which will net them the Drone-Friend title.