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No Man's Sky's limited-time event—Expedition—is one of the most exciting modes offered by Hello Games. Expeditions are a brilliant medium to create a unique story, introduce new game mechanics, and provide an experience that wouldn't be possible to enjoy through the regular game.
Since the introduction of Expeditions, there have been 11 iterations, each with unique features. While some were brilliant and loved by the No Man's Sky community, others were a bit lackluster.
This article will rank all No Man's Expeditions from best to worst.
Note: This article is subjective and solely based on the author's opinion.
Ranking all 11 No Man's Sky Expeditions from best to worst
1) Expedition 4: Emergence (October 20, 2021 to November 22, 2021)
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Hello Games blew the community out of the water with the fourth Expedition, Emergence. Right before Halloween, the developers dropped what one could call No Man's Sky's perfect Expedition.
Emergence had a solid narrative that spanned through all five Phases. Its theme was extremely well executed, introducing a new type of planet. The user interface was refreshing, with unique resources and collectibles. This Expedition was an action-packed adventure for everyone who participated in it, and everything felt coherent.
The rewards were great, too: there was a Jetpack Trail based on the Expedition's theme, a helmet cosmetic, a companion egg that gave you a flying worm, and many more. Being one of the best, if not the best, chapters, Emergence takes the top spot.
2) Expedition 6: The Blighted (April 4, 2022 to May 24, 2022)
The Blighted came around the time of The Outlaws update and brought the pirate systems to No Man's Sky. The Expedition gave us a wonderful experience of the pirate life, wherein all five phases had a coherent theme.
From rescuing freighters from pirates to deep-diving in the oceans to recover lost treasures, The Blighted had a wide array of enjoyable missions.
We also had to deal with intergalactic pirates, so we had to jump from one galaxy to another. This opened an alley for people who are usually secluded in the Euclid Galaxy to venture out and discover new worlds.
The rewards were not too shabby either. A unique starship trail, a well-designed cape, a floating cube, and more added spice to the Expedition that was already solid by itself. So, an amazing theme sprinkled with exciting rewards puts this Expedition at second on this list.
3) Expedition 8: Polestar (July 27, 2022 to September 6, 2022)
July 2022 embraced The Endurance update in No Man's Sky along with its corresponding Expedition, Polestar. Endurance brought Freighters for players, and it tightly held hands with the update as it was entirely based around Freighters.
You weren’t allowed to build any planetary bases. So, you had to build a Freighter base and do most of the tasks from it. Even your starship would be so damaged that it would be more convenient to travel using your Freighter than repair the broken-down craft.
Besides Beachhead, this Expedition was the simplest. Most milestones were peaceful and laid back. You wouldn't need to upgrade anything in your multitool or Exosuit, which goes to say how leisurely The Endurance was for everyone in No Man's Sky.
This Expedition came with a new style of narrative, and you discover a unique technology in your Freighter that creates black holes. Using this, you would have to travel across galaxies.
Having implemented a lot of the recent features in No Man's Sky, this Expedition was really enjoyable, and thus, it is at number three
4) Expedition 2: Beachhead (May 17, 2021 to May 31, 2021)
This Expedition was fairly short-lived compared to the usual duration of others in No Man's Sky. In fact, Beachhead is the shortest one released by Hello Games.
The first few chapters felt like a watered-down version of The Pioneers Expedition. However, things got spicy from Phase 5. Beachhead was the first Expedition to see the introduction of Encrypted Milestones, adding a sense of mystery and pushing players to quickly run through all the missions in this Expedition in No Man's Sky.
The final milestone was a big surprise for everyone as it was a brilliant crossover with Mass Effect. It required players to summon the Normandy into the game and is one of the best moments in the game.
Besides this highlight, the rest of the rewards were a tad bit underwhelming. Thus, we have placed Beachhead in fourth place.
5) Expedition 3: Cartographers (September 8, 2021 to October 17, 2021)
Cartographers was kind of odd as it didn't bring any new lore or gameplay mechanics. The premise of this iteration of No Man's Sky’s Expeditions was surprisingly unique.
You had to spend most of your time on a single toxic planet and work with friends to fix a ship broken down to a state almost beyond repair.
You could not buy ships or fly around much on your own. It was a true terrestrial test and pushed your survivability to full throttle. Besides this, the numerous crashes made this Expedition more difficult. The main ways to save your progress—Save Points and getting out of the ship—caused most of the crashes.
Since this chapter did not have a lot to offer in terms of the story or new mechanics, it takes the number five spot.
6) Expedition 1: The Pioneers (March 31, 2021 to May 16, 2021)
This was the first taste of what Expeditions would be like in this game. One would expect the first chapter to be enjoyable, but it was quite the contrary.
The missions in The Pioneers Expedition were astronomically difficult, and it was a grind fest for those who participated. You had to complete tasks like collecting 50 Storm Crystals, defeating 50 Sentinel Ships, and finishing 15 Fleet Missions.
To maximize the Expedition's play time, Hello Games made this chapter a bit too difficult for players who had just come to enjoy No Man's Sky. So, we've put this Expedition at this spot on the list.
7) Expedition 7: Leviathan (May 25, 2022 to July 6, 2022)
The Leviathan Expedition was released as a standalone variant and greatly impacted the No Man's Sky community. While most Expeditions are known for their linear introductory methods that accustomed new players to the game mechanics, Leviathan was far from being beginner friendly.
To begin with, Leviathan was a Permadeath Expedition. So, dying meant losing all your progress and starting from scratch. This factor would not be much of a challenge in the normal game, except Hello Games took the difficulty to a whole nother level.
Every Rendezvous Point was a literal death trap. There were ambushes ready to catch you off guard at the worst possible moments, which wasn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, it made the Expedition a lot more fun and refreshing.
Besides the difficult aspect of this Expedition, Leviathan brought a lot more to the table. You would get a lot of weapon upgrades, and the rewards were generous overall, putting The Leviathan at number seven on this list.
8) Expedition 5: Exobiology (February 24, 2022 to April 4, 2022)
This Expedition followed the Sentinel update, which completely overhauled ground combat and added a lot more types of Sentinels in No Man's Sky.
However, Exobiology did not include any content related to the Sentinel update. There was no Sentinel gameplay nor any mechanic regarding the same. This made the Expedition feel very disconnected from the main game.
Furthermore, Exobiology did not add anything to No Man's Sky to make up for this issue. There was no new lore or game mechanic that made Exobiology stand out from the rest of its kind. While it did feel like Pioneers 3.0, Exobiology had a theme.
You would have to interact with more wildlife in this game than you would otherwise do. This way, you would have a chance to bond with the various life forms in the game.
The rewards of this Expedition were interesting, introducing posters as rewards. You would also get an exotic Jetpack Trail, a royal Companion Armor, an exotic Sentinel Bag, and a Sentinel Quad as your companion.
All rewards were related to the Sentinel update, but the Expedition itself was anything but related to the Sentinels. So, while the Sentinel Quad was a dream-come-true reward for many, Exobiology was a disappointment. As a result, we have placed this Expedition at number eight.
9) Expedition 9: Utopia (February 23, 2023 to April 4, 2023)
Like one of the previous entries, the Utopia Expedition was very laid back, and none of the milestones posed a challenge for the players. The missions were straightforward; consequently, much of the playtime felt boring.
There was not a lot of exploration or grinding that you had to do. While the Expedition isn’t the worst, it is simple and feels a bit repetitive. This did not sit well with a lot of the players.
The prizes were the best thing to take home from the ninth Expedition in this game. From a Darth Vader-looking headgear to the Utopia Speeder starship, the rewards that you get from this expedition are beyond generous. You even got a robot companion to have with you at all times.
As a result, Utopia finds itself at number nine on this ranked list of Expeditions in No Man's Sky.
10) Expedition 10: Singularity (June 8, 2023 to July 12, 2023)
Singularity has been one of Hello Games’ weirder releases in No Man's Sky. It had a staggered launch, and players encountered numerous progress-delaying bugs. Even though the release of this Expedition was not the best on this list, it was enjoyable.
Singularity came with a fascinating narrative that bore huge potential. However, it was somewhat obscured by numerous bugs and community drama.
We got to see several new space encounters and gameplay mechanics while playing this Expedition. However, the praises were cut short by repetitive milestones. While Expeditions are meant to be enjoyable, the tasks in this one felt more like chores than something to look forward to.
The theme, narrative, and characters do make the Singularity Expedition exceptionally coherent in No Man's Sky, but it has a few pitfalls. Thus, we have put this Expedition at number 10 on this list.
11) Expedition 11: Voyagers (August 31, 2023 to October 16, 2023)
The Voyagers Expidition has treaded on the world of No Man's Sky in some ways you would wish it hadn’t. This Expedition was launched a week after Hello Games dropped the Echoes update.
Like a lot of the other Expeditions, the milestones in Voyagers felt a bit repetitive. While this one wasn’t bad, it was definitely underwhelming. Expeditions either have a brilliant narrative to engross the players or come with many missions that increase the playtime.
Voyagers falls in the latter, and as a result, it feels tedious and uninteresting, to say the least. You would not take home a novel experience after completing this Expedition. You would only feel good about the various rewards associated with Voyagers.
However, just rewards won’t help an Expedition qualify as wonderful or enjoyable. Since Voyagers feels repetitive and underwhelming with minimal engagement, it has found its place in the last spot on this list of Expeditions in No Man's Sky.
