No Man’s Sky Utopia Expedition – A Complete Breakdown

Hello Games is kicking off 2023 with a universe-sized bang, by adding a brand-new expedition to No Man’s Sky. This one is called Utopia, and it puts a huge focus on base-building, as you’ll be claiming planets and settlements for the mysterious Utopia Foundation.

This one has some interesting twists. For one, most of it takes place in a single star system, which creates some problems for Interlopers. Since this is a dead star system, you won’t be able to make space station-hopping part of your journey, which also means you’re options for applying your inventory upgrades are super limited (you can apply those when you earn them, but you won’t be able to claim them at a space station like you normally would). You’re also prevented from getting a freighter for a majority of this expedition, and you can’t summon the Nexus either (which would give you access to all previously earned expedition/Twitch rewards).

If you’re looking for a little guidance in your own Utopia expedition — or you’re just looking for a comprehensive list of rewards without having to log into the game — I’ve got you covered. Here’s my complete breakdown of the Utopia expedition in No Man’s Sky.

Phase 1

Completion reward:

• Factions Poster plans
• Night Squad Poster plans
• Planetary Base Poster plans

Foundation

Objective: Establish a base.

You can complete this pretty much as soon as you spawn into the world. Simply press up on the D-pad to open your construction menu, then select the Base Computer. You should already have one in your inventory, so you don’t even have to farm the components. Once it’s placed, activate it by selecting the “Claim Base” option.

Now you have to build a few things. You need to place 4 Timber Floor panels in a square, then build 7 Timber Wall panels and a Timber Arch for an entrance. Top it off with 4 Timber Roof Corners to complete the shelter.

Note that you will need Carbon for all of this, which you can harvest from any plantlife in the area. You’ll also need some Ferrite Dust for the roof panels, which you can harvest from rocks.

Once you’ve built these components in the shape of a house (see the above image for reference), you should complete the Milestone.

Reward:

• Pre-Packaged Personal Refiner Unit
• Copper x200
• Analysis Visor Plans

Provisions

Objective: Prepare supplies for your journey:

• Analysis Visor
• Boltcaster
• Survival Essentials

The Analysis Visor can be constructed in one of your Multi-Tool slots once you’ve completed the previous milestone. It just requires Carbon Nanotubes, which can be made from 50 carbon.

The Boltcaster takes a bit more work, as you’re going to have to refine some copper. Thankfully, you should have 200 copper from completing the previous milestone. You should also have a module that lets you install the Personal Refiner on your Exosuit. Install the refiner, then stick the 200 copper into it, using carbon as fuel. You’ll make 100 Chromatic Metal. Now, make 3 Carbon Nanotubes from 150 carbon, and you can install the Boltcaster in a Multi-Tool slot.

The Survival Essentials are Projectile Ammunition and Life Support Gel. The Projectile Ammunition is made from Ferrite Dust, which can be farmed from rocks. The Life Support Gel is made from Di-Hydrogen Jelly (which is crafted from Di-Hydrogen) and Ferrite Dust. The tutorial text also mentions Ion Batteries, but I was able to complete this Milestone by only crafting the Projectile Ammunition and Life Support Gel.

Reward:

• Base Teleport Module plans
• Ion Battery x5
• Life Support Gel x5
• Powerful Mining Beam Upgrade Module

Ground Control

Objective: Upload a base to the Utopia project.

Once you’ve completed the first Milestone, simply go back to your Base Computer, activate it, and choose the “Upload Base” option. This will upload your base, and the Utopia Foundation will reward you with some loot.

Reward:

• Paraffinium x100
• Pre-Packaged Advanced Mining Laser Unit
• Geobay Blueprint Pack

Planet Link

Objective: Deploy an Exocraft.

For completing the Ground Control Milestone, you should have been rewarded with bllueprints for three different Exocraft Geobays. The game seems to want you to craft the Nomad Geobay, which is the cheapest of the three. You’ll simply need:

• 5 Metal Plating
• 2 Ion Battery
• 50 Paraffinium

You should have the Ion Batteries for completing the Provisions Milestone, and the Paraffinium from completing the Ground Control Milestone. That means you just need the Metal Plating, which can be crafted from Ferrite Dust.

As soon as you build the Geobay, you should pop the Milestone.

Reward:

• Hermetic Seal plans
• Supreme Exocraft Engine Upgrade
• Condensed Carbon x256
• Powerful Movement System Upgrade

System Link

Objective: Locate and repair your starship.

This is the first thing you’ll learn to do in No Man’s Sky, so I probably don’t need to walk you through it. But if you’re struggling, what you need to do is locate the ship icon, which looks like this:

Simply follow that to find your starship. Note that if you use your Exocraft, you might complete the Scenic Route Milestone on your way to your ship.

I should point out that before you leave your base, you should craft the components you’ll need for your ship. That is Di-Hydrogen Jelly, Hermetic Seal, and Metal plating. See, there’s this weird mechanic in Utopia where you can only craft these components while in a Utopia base. It’s kind of annoying, but there’s not much you can do about it besides just follow the rules.

Once you’ve arrived at your starship, you’re going to have to repair some components before you can take off. The Launch Thruster requires 50 Pure Ferrite and 1 Di-Hydrogen Jelly, and the Pulse Engine requires a Hermetic Seal and a Metal Plating. Hopefully you read the previous paragraph and crafted them before you left your base.

Once you’ve repaired your starship, you should complete the Milestone.

Reward:

• Starship Launch Fuel plans
• Suspicious Packet (Tech)
• Banned Launch Thrusters Upgrade
• Starship Launch Fuel

Scenic Route

Objective: Travel by Exocraft 2,000u.

Once you’ve completed the Planet Link Milestone, simply hop into your Exocraft and go for a ride. Once you’ve traveled 2,000u, you’ll pop the Milestone.

Reward:

• Pre-Packaged Icarus Fuel System Unit
• Supreme Exocraft Engine Upgrade
• Exocraft Technology Blueprints Pack

Outpost Alpha

Objective: Register the settlement of the 1st planet.

Once you’ve completed the previous six objectives, simply select the Outpost Alpha Milestone and follow the prompts. You can do this sooner if you’d like, but it’s way easier once you have your ship.

Once you’ve selected the Milestone in your Log, you should see an icon appear that looks like this:

Simply navigate to that icon in your starship. Note that once you land, you won’t be directly next to the outpost; you’ll still need to locate it using Target Sweep mode on your Analysis Visor. That should be triggered automatically when you go into scanning mode (L2 on PS4/PS5) close enough to the target location, then pressing left or right on the D-pad to change the scanner type to Target Sweep.

Now follow the directions shown by the scanner, and you’ll find the waypoint. Once you arrive, you’ll need to interact with a terminal to trigger the milestone.

By the way, this should be found on your starting planet. That planet should be called New Kehille, and it’s in the Bakkin system.

Reward:

• Triple Burst Firework x12
• Inventory Slot x3
• Planetary Chart
• 1,200 Nanites

Phase 2

Completion reward:

• Holographic Friend plans

Outpost Beta

Objective: Claim the 2nd planet for Utopia.

Once you complete the first Phase, you can basically repeat the same process as you did for the first outpost. Select Outpost Beta as your active mission, then follow the markers and use your scanner once you’re in place. Activate the terminal to trigger the Milestone.

For the record, the second planet is called Pehaelump.

Reward:

• 1,000 Nanites
• Utopia Supply Drop Beta
• Craftable Components plans

Assignment Beta

Objective: Receive your instructions from the Utopia Foundation.

For completing Outpost Beta, you should be rewarded with an item called the Utopia Supply Drop Beta.

Go into your inventory and open this package to find the Settlement Coordinates Beta. Open this to plot a route to a settlement on your current planet. This should complete the Milestone.

Reward:

• Advanced Habitation Module plans
• Salvaged Data x12
• Utopia Build Station plans

Settlement Beta

Objective: Found a Utopia base on the planet Pehaelump.

All you have to do is put down a Base Computer, use it to claim an area, then start building a base. The tricky part is that this time the game doesn’t provide a Base Computer; you’ll need to make one yourself. That means you’re going to need a whole lot of Chromatic Metal. To get it, mine copper and then refine it in your Personal Refiner. If you need help finding copper, here’s a guide that should give you the basic knowhow.

The other thing you’ll need is Pure Ferrite, which you can mine from rocks or refine from Ferrite Dust.

Now just start building a base. I believe you just need to place 8 parts to move on, so building the classic house shape you built before will be more than enough to complete this objective. Once you’ve built something, go to your Base Computer and upload your base to complete the Milestone.

Reward:

• Utopia Exosuit Station plans
• Glass Habitation Module plans
• Glass x64

Ironclad

Objective: Learn an upgrade from a Utopia Exosuit Station.

You should have the Utopia Exosuit Station Blueprints as a reward for completing the previous Milestone. Once you have those, you can build the station from 40 Chromatic Metal and 25 Magnetized Ferrite. If you don’t have the Magnetized Ferrite on you, you can make it by refining Pure Ferrite (which you can make by refining Ferrite Dust).

Once you build the station, interact with it to bring up a list of Exosuit upgrades. Simply buy one (they cost Nanites) to proceed. I advise against the Haz-Mat Gauntlets, because you’re going to earn those later on anyway.

Reward:

• Supreme Movement System Upgrade
• Supreme Scanning System Upgrade
• Phosphorus x150
• Airburst Engine plans

Albumen Spawn

Objective: Harvest 5 Humming Sacs.

Humming Sacs are cabbage-like plants that house Albumen Pearls. They can generally be found in caves, but you can sometimes locate them with your scanner from the surface. The icon looks like this:

And the Humming Sacs themselves look like this:

If you get lucky like I did, you can find these clustered together in a clump and get all five in one location.

You simply need to peel five of them open and remove the Albumen Pearls from inside.

Reward:

• Haz-Mat Gauntlet plans
• Runaway Mould x4,048
• Pre-Packaged Optical Drill Unit
• Supreme Defensive Systems Upgrade

Companionship

Objective: Adopt an animal companion.

This one is simple. Craft some Animal Pellets from carbon (remember, you need to be at a Utopua base in order to craft anything), then feed them to an animal. Interact with that animal to bring up a menu that allows you to adopt it as your companion.

Reward:

• Powerful Defensive Systems Upgrade
• Inventory Slot x3
• Life Support Gel x5

Caldera

Objective: Reach a volcanic crater.

For this Milestone, you simply have to climb to the top of a volcano. Volcanoes shouldn’t be difficult to locate on this planet, because they’re pretty much everywhere, but triggering the Milestone can be a little bit finnicky. You’ll want to get close to the lava flow in the top of the volcano without dying in the lava. And be careful, because the heat can kill you super quickly if you’re not being careful.

Reward:

• Supreme Hazard Protection Upgrade
• Repair Kit x3
• Pure Ferrite x999
• Carbon x999

Phase 3

Completion Reward:

• Fearsome Visor customization

Outpost Gamma

Objective: Claim the 3rd planet for Utopia.

This one should be pretty self-explanatory by now. Set Outpost Gamma as your active mission, follow the marker, use your scanner to home in on the exact location, then use the terminal.

This planet is called New Sesto, and it’s in the same star system as the others.

Reward:

• 1,200 Nanites
• Utopia Supply Drop Gamma
• Pre-Packaged Pulse Spitter Unit

Assignment Gamma

Objective: Receive your instructions from the Utopia Foundation.

You’ve done this all before. Simply open your Supply Drop Gamma, then activate the coordinates, then follow them to their endpoint to complete this Milestone.

Reward:

• Decorative Base Parts Set
• Condensed Carbon x512
• Pre-Packaged Airburst Engine Unit
• Pre-Packaged Cloaking Device Unit

Settlement Gamma

Objective: Build a base on planet New Sesto.

Again, you’ve already done this on the previous planet, so you should have no trouble doing it again here.

Reward:

• Portable Exocraft Research Station plans
• Pre-Packaged Amplified Cartridges Unit
• Powerful Underwater Oxygen Upgrade x2

Advanced Mechanics

Objective: Learn an upgrade from a Portable Exocraft Research Station.

This one should be self-explanatory at this point. Simply build a Utopia Exocraft Station at your base, then use it to buy one Exocraft upgrade blueprint of your choosing.

Reward:

• Nautilon Chamber Plans
• Repair Kit x5
• Supreme Exocraft Boost Upgrade

Fauna Marine

Objective: Discover 3 aquatic creatures.

This one is pretty easy. Simply find an ocean on the planet (like half of New Sesto is water, so that should be easy), then dive in and start scanning creatures. I was super lucky with this one and found three underwater creature types within like 30 seconds of finding the ocean, but this is RNG, so you might not be so lucky. If you don’t find all three right away, move to another location and try again.

Reward:

• Ion Battery x20
• Cyto-Phosphate x800
• Curly Coral plans

Pearls of Wisdom

Objective: Collect 3 Living Pearls.

Living Pearls can be found inside Armoured Clams, which will always be underwater in an ocean. They can be located using your scanner. The icon looks like this:

Once you find one, use your mining laser to pry it open, then snatch the pearl inside. Be careful, because if you aren’t quick enough, the clam will snap shut, dealing damage to you.

Once you successfully harvest three pearls, you’ll complete the Milestone.

Reward:

• Marine Shelter
• Cable Pod
• Oxygen x512
• Nautilon Advanced Equipment Blueprints

Local Delicacies

Objective: Prepare Cocoa and Pilgrim’s Tonic.

Now you’re going to need to do some cooking. To start, you’re going to need to craft a Nutrient Processor in your base. Then, you have to find specific ingredients in the world that you will then refine in your Nutrient Processor.

Impulse Beans refine into Bittersweet Cocoa, and Star Bramble refines into Pilgrimberry, which refines into Pilgrim’s Tonic.

So, I’ll lay it out like this:

Impulse Beans –> Bittersweet Cocoa

Star Bramble –> Pilgrimberry –> Pilgrim’s Tonic

Impulse Beans and Star Bramble can be found on lush planets (and New Sesto is a lush planet). Harvesting Star Bramble will require you to have the Haz-Mat Gauntlets equipped. You can actually see these things on your scanner, and they’ll be marked with a wheat icon, as shown in the image below.

Once you refine some Bittersweet Cocoa and some Pilgrim’s Tonic, the Milestone should be complete.

Reward:

• Supreme Scanning System Upgrade
• Inventory Slot x5
• Assortment of cakes

Flora Magenta

Objective: Document 8 plant-life on the planet New Sesto.

This is pretty self-explanatory. Simply scan 8 unique types of plant-life on New Sesto. Note that underwater plant-life counts as well, so if you’re struggling to find 8 on land, you can always finish up your expedition by heading underwater and scanning some more plants.

Reward:

• Storage Container plans
• Supreme Scanning System Upgrade

Phase 4

Completion reward:

• Robo-Warden Companion Egg

Outpost Delta

Objective: Claim the 4th planet for Utopia.

This is the same process as the previous planets, only this time you’re going to planet Idalth XIV.

Reward:

• 1,400 Nanites
• Utopia Supply Drop Delta
• Pre-Packaged Personal Forcefield Unit

Assignment Delta

Objective: Receive your instructions from the Utopia Foundation.

This is the same as before. Simply open up your Utopia Supply Drop Delta (earned by completing the previous Milestone), then use the coordinates to find the general area, and your scanner to pinpoint the precise location.

Reward:

• Pre-Packaged Paralysis Mortar Unit
• Inventory Slot x4
• Banned Defensive Systems Upgrade

Settlement Delta

Objective: Found a Utopia base on planet Idalth XIV.

You’ve done this before! Just build a base and upload it, like you did on the previous planets.

Reward:

• Utopia Multi-Tool Station plans
• Salvaged Data x21
• Supreme Pulse Spitter Upgrade x2

Omni-Tool

Objective: Learn an upgrade from a Utopia Multi-Tool Station.

You’re getting good at this by now! Build the Utopia Multi-Tool Station in your base, then buy at least one upgrade from it.

Reward:

• Repair Kit x6
• Wiring Loom x10
• Ion Battery x25

An Acquired Taste

Objective: Prepare Syrupy Viscera.

This is somewhat similar to the Local Delicacies Milestone, only the ingredients are a bit harder to find. You’ll need:

• 3 Cactus Flesh
• 3 Larval Core
• 3 Flesh Ropes

The Cactus Flesh comes from Echinocactus, which can be found pretty easily across Idalth XIV. They’ll show up on your scanner, similar to Star Bramble. Also like Star Bramble, you’ll need to have the Haz-Mat Gauntlets equipped.

The next two ingredients will actually be harvested during The Cleanse and Parasites Milestones, so read those descriptions to see how to proceed further.

Once you have the basic ingredients, you’ll need to start refining. Here are the steps:

• Cactus Flesh –> Cactus Nectar –> Processed Sugar
• Flesh Rope –> Gelatinous Membrane
• Gelatinous Membrane + Larval Core –> Nightmare Sausage
• Nightmare Sausage + Processed Sugar –> Syrupy Viscera

Reward:

• Detoxified Slime plans
• Terrifying sample
• Horrific Flesh Helmet customization

The Cleanse

Objective: Advanced Assignment [Purge a site of biological horrors].

You must complete the Outpost Delta Milestone to reveal the objective and rewards for this Milestone.

Once you reveal this one, you can set it as your active mission. Then it will guide you to a site where you’ll find a bunch of biological horrors. When you arrive at the site, you’ll need to disturb the eggs around the structure to summon the swarm. Note that each egg will drop a Larval Core, which you can pick up if you’re quick enough. You’re going to need at least three of these to complete the previous Milestone.

Once you’ve summoned the swarm, find a way to escape until you get a message saying the swarm has subsided. At that point, you can enter the facility and activate the terminal inside. Follow the prompts on the terminal to reveal the next location.

This will send you off to a derelict space station. If you use the terminal there, you’ll be able to purchase something called the Construction History.

I’m not sure if the price is randomized at all, but for me it only cost 31 Units. Once you make the purchase, the Milestone should complete.

Reward:

• Forbidden Exosuit Module
• Vile Spawn x3
• Supreme Launch Thrusters Upgrade

Parasites

Objective: Purge 8 Hungering Tendrils.

For this, you’re going to have to find Titan Worm Burrows. You can see them on your scanner, but they’re pretty rare.

You can also use Target Sweep mode to detect if there are any in the area, then follow the pulse to the location of a Titan Worm Burrow. Some burrows have only one worm, but others have several. For every worm you kill, you’ll be rewarded with a Flesh Rope. You have to kill eight of them to complete this Milestone.

Also, there is a weird bug where your mission log might tell you that there are no infested planets in your current star system. That’s not true; Idalth XIV is an infested planet.

Reward:

• Hex Core x16
• Supreme Mining Beam Upgrade
• Forbidden Multi-Tool Module

Phase 5

Completion reward:

• Title: Utopia Dignitary
• Utopia Expedition Decal plans
• Utopia Expedition Banner

Outpost Epsilon

Objective: Claim the final planet for Utopia.

Same process as before. The planet is called Endil D2.

Reward:

• 1,616 Nanites
• Utopia Supply Drop Epsilon

Assignment Epsilon

Objective: Receive your instructions from the Utopia Foundation.

You know the drill.

Reward:

• Supreme Hazard Protection Upgrade
• Assorted Agricultural Module plans

Settlement Epsilon

Objective: Found a Utopia Base on planet Endil D2.

Build your base and upload it, just like you did before.

Reward:

• Utopia Ship Station plans
• 3,100,000 Units
• Survey Device plans

Flight Calculations

Objective: Learn an upgrade from a Utopia Ship Station.

Build a Utopia Ship Station, which you should have access to once you’ve turned in the Settlement Epsilon Milestone. Then just buy an upgrade and claim your reward.

Reward:

• Warp Hypercore plans
• Supreme Pulse Engine Upgrade
• Supreme Hyperdrive Upgrade

Eyes in the Mist

Objective: Discover 6 creatures on the planet Endil D2.

This is pretty self-explanatory. You do have to locate all six creatures on the planet for this one, but I didn’t find it to be all that difficult.

Reward:

• Supreme Movement System Upgrade
• Inventory Slot x3
• Mordite x256

Seismology

Objective: Survey for a gas hotspot.

Surveying for gas is actually a super useful game mechanic, which I walk through in my massive guide to farming oxygen. For this current guide, though, I’ll just walk you through the very basics.

First of all, you must construct the Survey Device — you’ll get the plans by completing the Settlement Epsilon Milestone. This needs to be installed in your Multi-Tool.

Once the Survey Device is installed, you’ll have more options in your Target Sweep mode. You want to use the Gas Survey Mode option (if you’re playing on console, you switch scanner modes using left and right on the D-pad).

Now, the next part takes a little bit of luck. You’ll need to use this scanner mode to locate a gas hotspot. If you fire it up and nothing pops. move about 1,000u and try again. Eventually, you’ll stumble across a gas pocket.

Reward:

• Repair Kit x3
• Planetary Chart x5
• Supreme Mining Beam Upgrade

The Next Frontier

Objective: Venture beyond the Utopia system.

Once you’ve done everything you need to do in the Bakkin star system, you can build a hyperdrive and warp to a new system. You’ll have to learn the plans first, but you can do that at the Utopia Ship Station that you just built earlier in Phase 5. Once you reach a new system, the Milestone is complete.

Reward:

• Storage Augmentation x12
• NipNip Buds

Final Reward

Don’t forget to claim each Phase reward individually. Once you do all that, you can claim the ultimate reward, the super-cool Utopia Speeder starship.