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No Man's Sky is an open-world experience all about space travel. It didn't do too well upon release but seems to be slowly increasing in popularity thanks to the recent Outlaws update. This is primarily due to the addition of Outlaw Stations, Solar Ships, and the ability to recruit a squadron.
Such a squadron will protect the player in combat and will aid them whenever the player desires it. This can be incredibly useful thanks to the new and improved space combat introduced in the update. However, actually getting a squadron and pilots can be a challenging aspect when the player doesn't know how to do it. Here's the best way to get some allies to the ship's side.
Buy A Freighter
The first thing the player will need to do is get to a point in the game where they can buy a Freighter. Thankfully, this can be achieved by simply going through the main story until players stumble on a battle between some enemy ships and a Freighter. Engaging in that fight and saving the Freighter will grant the player access and ownership of the ship in question.
Once the Freighter has been achieved, the player is welcome to look into purchasing another or simply keeping the one they have. To start recruiting a Squadron all the player needs is a Freighter, it doesn't really matter which one.
Enter The Main Room
Once the player has the Freighter they will need to enter it, leave their smaller ship, and head towards the main room. The main room looks like a relatively open space with a large circular machine in the middle, often portraying a planet. It's a bit of a maze but players will get used to its layout soon enough.
This room is where other NPCs or members of the crew are likely to stand but is also where players can view their fleet and squadron as well as manage it.
Manage Squadron
When the player selects the main console in the middle of the room three options will come up: Manage Fleet, Manage Squadron, and Leave. When players want to view their pilots or before they begin recruiting they will need to select the Manage Squadron button.
This should then bring the player up into a menu containing four slots. If the player doesn't have any pilots yet then all the slots will be locked and empty. Once a few pilots have been recruited, they can be found and managed here.
Buy The Slots
As previously mentioned, if this is the first time the player is looking at the pilots and they haven't recruited any, all the four slots will be locked. They can be relatively expensive to unlock, using Nanites rather than Units. It's recommended the player completes missions and saves up for a while before unlocking, although players can unlock one at a time if a slower progression is desired.
Once unlocking the slots they will still remain empty as players will still need to go and recruit pilots but the option will then be available. Luckily recruiting pilots is much easier than many expect.
Find A Pilot
Finding a pilot that players like can be a challenge, especially when they are looking for a certain race or overall design. There may need to be a strong element of patience or a lot of flying around depending on the player's preference. Nevertheless, to recruit a pilot players must first find one.
Pilots can be found where most NPCs land their ships. Essentially, recruiting a pilot is finding one of the NPCs players would usually speak to when buying a ship and instead asking them if they want to join the fleet. Head to Space Stations, wait for ships to land on the player's base or the Freighter, and head towards them before they fly away.
Speak To The Pilot
After the player has found the NPC they like simply head up to them and press the relevant button to speak to them. Rather than offering to trade or making an offer on their starship select the Recruit Lifeform To Squadron selection.
This will bring up the pilot and their ship's statistics to see if the player wants to invest. It's worth going for a higher-rated ship and pilot but if players just want to recruit something and upgrade later then simply press the Recruit Pilot button and it will add the NPC and their ship to the player's squadron.
Next time they get into battle or need a helping hand they can expect to see this pilot fighting alongside them. There is also the ability to customize and upgrade them later on but it's recommended the player does this when they get some higher-level pilots or it might be a bit of a waste.
No Man's Sky: Outlaws is available now on PC, macOS, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch.