Quick Answer
Upgrade for safety and income before vanity. A stronger scanner, better hazard protection, more inventory, launch efficiency, and a comfortable multi-tool usually help more than buying the first expensive ship you see.
Upgrade order
| Priority | Upgrade | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Scanner income and analysis upgrades | Turns exploration into steady money |
| 2 | Hazard protection and movement comfort | Keeps every planet route less punishing |
| 3 | Exosuit and ship inventory | Stops material juggling from slowing progress |
| 4 | Launch thruster and pulse engine efficiency | Makes planet hopping and mission cleanup cheaper |
| 5 | Multi-tool mining and combat comfort | Speeds resource routes and reduces sentinel panic |
| 6 | New starship purchase | Worth it once you know your storage, class, and role needs |
Buying checklist
- Check whether you need cargo space, damage, hyperdrive range, or style.
- Avoid spending all units if you still lack basic suit slots and survival modules.
- Keep the old ship only if you understand storage and retrieval; otherwise simplify.
- For multi-tools, prefer a tool that supports your actual loop: scanner income, mining, or combat.
Common mistakes
- Buying a cool ship, then lacking units for inventory, materials, or blueprints.
- Ignoring scanner upgrades even though they fund early exploration.
- Installing random modules without checking adjacency and overloaded technology.
- Keeping too many ships/tools before you understand how to manage them.