Do i lose the ability to play the normal game if i join the exhbdition

[[They/Them] ChesseTheWasp]

The game doesn't explain how it works anywhere and the wiki is outdated and full of misinformatoin.

[rovaira2]

You can start a new save and then click expedition. There is also a way to start an expedition from an existing save in the multiplayer hub selecting items you want to bring with you, but I haven't tried that method yet.

[Kex]

No, you won't lose the ability :)

You have two options:

1. Go to the anomaly with your current save and start the expedition from the terminal there. You can switch back and forth between the expedition and your normal save until you have completed the expedition.

2. Start a new game and pick the expedition. When you have completed the expedition this save will turn into a normal save, separate from your current save.

Picking the first option will let you bring stuff from the expedition back into your normal save, like money, nanites, items, tech, ship, multitool, etc.

[Mr. Bufferlow]

You can jump back and forth between an Expedition and your regular save. It works, but I am not sure I would trust it as a several switch back kind of deal. It seems pretty solid but everything does until it breaks.

The expedition is not radically different than playing your normal save it just has specific tasks and locations and is time limited. When I switched it was more to see if actually worked than any real need to play my regular save.

[mister_lobos]

pretty much every video guide i've watched said it is safer to start a new game for the expedition, when it's over you can either continue that save, or return to your original save and collect the rewards in that save.

[[They/Them] ChesseTheWasp]

will the freighters and settlements i claim in the exhbidition overwrite my main save when the exbiditon ends

[GenSec39]

You lose nothing by joining expedition from main save. And nothing will be overwritten. On top of that - everything you've done during the expedition (literally everything) will be converted into money/nanites/quicksilver and transfered to you main save after you complete expedition.

Before the end of the expedition you can also take valuable resources or items FROM the expedition to your main save. As well as active multi tool and starship.

Also, if you start expedition from existing save, you can make preparations by taking valuable resources with you TO the expedition.

With all abovementioned - starting expedition from new save is simply not profitable anymore.

And yeah, it is never a bad idea to make a back up of your game save folder . Before expedition. After. From time to time.

[Ninefinger]

I created this script to do a backup and launch the game through steam. Just create a text file and save as .bat

@echo off

:: Path to No Man's Sky save files
set NMS_SAVE_DIR=%AppData%\HelloGames\NMS

:: Backup directory
set BACKUP_DIR=%AppData%\HelloGames\Backups

:: Timestamp for the backup
set TIMESTAMP=%date:~10,4%%date:~4,2%%date:~7,2%_%time:~0,2%%time:~3,2%%time:~6,2%
set TIMESTAMP=%TIMESTAMP: =0%

:: Create backup directory if it doesn't exist
if not exist "%BACKUP_DIR%" mkdir "%BACKUP_DIR%"

:: Create the backup
xcopy "%NMS_SAVE_DIR%" "%BACKUP_DIR%\NMS_Save_Backup_%TIMESTAMP%" /E /I /H /Y

:: Wait for 5 seconds to ensure the backup completes
timeout /t 5 /nobreak >nul

:: Launch No Man's Sky through Steam
start "" "steam://rungameid/275850" 

or if you jsut want it to only make a save and not launch the game then just delete the wait and the launch bit at the bottom

[Comradovich]

Right, the extremely pedantic version of how to play an Expedition from an existing save using the Anomaly:
1. Before you start, make sure the ship you want to take with you is the active ship on your save, and also make sure the MT you want to use in the Expedition is equipped. Then make an autosave to lock these in.
2. We go to the Anomaly, and behind the Nexus cube is a terminal that shows the current active expedition and has an option to start loading up technology, (mods and prepackaged items from your inventory), as well as just regular inventory items, like Carbon or Ferrite Dust. So, an S class Hyperdrive mod, (or a packaged up boltcaster), will go in the row of technology; but a Carrier AI Fragment to find sentinel ships, (or any other inventory item), would go in the bottom rows of general inventory.
3. When you have everything you want to take with you loaded up into the kiosk, go ahead and start the expedition. You will begin with whatever ship/MT combo the Expedition normally starts with. As soon as you can access the Anomaly, do so and visit the kiosk. Now you can take those transferred items with you, and make copies of your chosen ship and multitool. Once you make the copy, it should set this new copy as your active ship/MT, and whatever you had equipped is now an additional ship/MT in your summoning menus.

Take note: Ship and MT are special, you're making copies and bringing them into the Expedition. Everything else exists as a single item, meaning plan on packing out anything you packed in if you still want to use that when you're done with the Expedition. Don't take your only copy of that Incinerator to the Expedition and leave it on a random MT when you finish, 'cuz that sucker's gone for good now.

So, we finished, now what?
1. We're going to again equip the ship we want to take back with us to normal save as well as the MT we might want a copy of. (You will be copying these items for a fixed nanite cost once you get back to your normal save, you can make multiple copies of the ship if you've got the nanites and the expedition is still running).
2. Back at the Anomaly, we're going to fill the kiosk again with all of the items that we want to pack back out of this Expedition run. When everything looks good, and you've double checked that you claimed all of the Expedition rewards, (DON'T FORGET TO DOUBLE CHECK), then click the button to end the Expedition on the kiosk.
3. The game will now convert your entire inventory that isn't in the kiosk into either credits or nanites, it will also credit you for any quicksilver you've earned on the Expedition. You will see these totals playing out on a completion screen. Note that you also get paid for finishing normal milestones as well, (like if you ranked up your Korvax words learned for example).

*Best practice is to scrap every single ship and MT you have on your Expedition character but the one you're planning on taking back with you before you end at the kiosk just in case it ignores these*

4. When it's done paying you out, you'll find yourself back in your normal save. I believe it starts you on the Anomaly. If not, go there and hit the kiosk up.
5. You can now look on the kiosk and reclaim your items. You will notice that you have the option to copy your Expedition ship and Expedition MT. You should be able to make multiple copies of these items if you have the nanites.


If instead you decided to start a new game to play through the Expedition, you can ignore all of the preceding steps. It's just like starting a new game from scratch.
1. Pick a save slot, and when it prompts you for what kind of save, choose the expedition.
2. Play through the Expedition as normal, and at the end it will convert your Expedition save into a normal save game without erasing, converting, or transferring anything. You end up in a normal game state with the same MTs, ships, inventory, freighter, discoveries, quicksilver total, any bases you made, etc. Nothing should be lost other than the Expedition tab has disappeared from your Esc menu.
3. From this point forward, it's a normal save game.

Either way, you have unlocked items for yourself at the Account level. Meaning that every new save you make can visit the quicksilver merchant on the anomaly and claim all the unlocked rewards. So, if you unlocked the Starborn Runner, every new save going forward can pick up their own Starborn Runner on the Anomaly. Works exactly the same with Twitch Drops, all saves you have on the Account get the drop. If you have old saves when you finish an Expedition, the Account level unlocks also apply to them, just visit the quicksilver merchant and start claiming. You only get one copy of each item from the Quicksilver merchant per save slot. The exception is if you did the Expedition from a regular save game, in which case you can go crazy copying that saved ship and MT until you run yourself out of nanites or the Expedition window ends.