KEY POINTS

  • Companions can be tamed by giving them food
  • Creature Pellets can be crafted as soon as they spawn
  • Companion offspring can be genetically modified at the Space Anomaly

Having an animal companion in “No Man’s Sky” can bring a ton of practical benefits while exploring. They can mark hazards, hunt other creatures and even harvest resources.

Taming animals isn’t that complicated of a procedure either, and everyone will be able to get their own companion as soon as they get their priorities sorted out. Here’s how to get a pet in “No Man’s Sky.”

Taming Animals

Almost every procedurally-generated animal in the game can be tamed by walking up to them and giving them Creature Pellets, which are crafted in the exosuits inventory by spending Carbon.

Aggressive animals may still attack players on sight, while the more docile ones may run away once someone gets close. To avoid these, leave pellets on the ground and wait for the target animal to eat them. After this, they should no longer be scared or hostile.

Successfully feeding an animal will allow players to adopt them on the spot.

Plenty of small-medium sized animals can be befriended - No Man's Sky
Plenty of small-medium sized animals can be befriended No Man's Sky

Breeding and Gene Sequencing

Animals may sometimes lay eggs, provided that they are old enough and the love and hunger meters are high. When they do lay an egg, players can take it to the Egg Sequencer on the Space Anomaly.

This will let players genetically modify the companion’s offspring before it hatches. Aspects like personality traits, size, color and stats can be changed by mixing and matching the four catalysts found on the Sequencer.

When the egg hatches, the new pet will have stats relative to the genetic code inserted in the Egg Sequencer.

Companion Customization

Approach a companion to open up a dialogue menu. Here, players can pet, feed, ride or customize their newly acquired animal friends.

The customization menu will have a number of basic options that will allow players to mount items and gadgets like canisters, containers and mining lasers on their companion. One item can be mounted on side of the animal.

Companions will remain completely sentient even after they are tamed. They’ll follow players around, but they will still do things on their own. Companions may scan the environment or occasionally shoot lasers at nearby minerals. These seem to be completely random, though they can be given orders by pointing at objects.