Nebula Exploration in Void Bastards Void Bastards guide, tips
Last update: 13 June 2019
On this page of our guide to Void Bastards we have put together the most important information about traveling in the nebula. You will learn, amongst other things, on what principles the exploration of the game world takes place and what dangers await the controlled character.
- Map of Nebula
- Playing missions
- Depths Of The Nebula
- Other locations on the Nebula map
- Warp Key and Wormholes.
- Threats
- Death of your character and its consequences
Map of Nebula
The world map in Void Bastards is two-dimensional. You always start your journey through the nebula at the ship called the Ark (Void Ark). You must start your flight to the right and you can choose the fields you want to reach along the way. Each flight to a different field consumes 1 piece of fuel and food. The current stock level is displayed in the STATUS tab and is worth looking at frequently.
Instead of flying to another field, you can also choose the alternative option Rest to organize your rest. This will allow you to restore more health points before starting a new mission, but each rest consumes 1 piece of food.
The map of the nebula mainly shows other ships. The vast majority of them have opponents on board, but large vessels cannot move or attack a controlled S.T.E.V. unit. So you can treat them in terms of location that can be visited.
You can check every enemy ship before you reach it - just use the cursor key to select it. This is what you should pay attention to:
- Are there strong opponents on the ship? Heavily guarded ships should be avoided unless they are carrying a really valuable loot.
- Are there any valuable items on the ship? Consider docking especially on ships that offer the possibility of finding crafting parts.
- Are there any difficulties on the ship? They are marked in red and may refer to closed doors or numerous environmental hazards. Avoid ships with too much difficulties.
- Will the exploration of the ship be facilitated? Facilities are green in color and may include, for example, more oxygen or offline protection systems. It's an incentive to dock.
- Are there unique devices on the ship? Try, above all, to visit these ships, where you can find med stations and machines for manipulating genes.
Playing missions
After you have arrived at the dock with the ship you can select the Dock option to start the docking procedure. In the Loadout menu you must select one item of each type and it is worth to select them according to the type of enemies.
You can complete a mission only by reaching the lock indicated on the map. It is worth remembering this especially if you have a small supply of oxygen in your mission. You cannot return to visited ships, so always try to locate as many parts and other valuable loot as possible. When you return from the mission, a summary window will appear. The loot will be added to the "global" pot.
Depths Of The Nebula
As you play your campaign, you will gradually reach next levels of Nebula Depths - 2, 3, 4 and 5 (the lowest possible level). Visiting these levels is required in order to gain parts for crafting quest items, and each level is occupied by stronger opponents.
The transitions between different depth levels are symbolized by ladder icons. Travelling to the bottom of the map allows you to reach the next level, but you can always return to the previous Nebula Depth level by going up for a change. We advise you to decide on such a step if your opponent causes big problems. Once you've returned to the previous level, you can more easily collect supplies or parts for some of your undiscovered projects.
Other locations on the Nebula map
Explorable enemy ships are not the only static objects that appear on the nebula map. Keep track of all newly discovered locations, as almost all of them have their own unique properties. In most cases, it is an opportunity to obtain a large amount of supplies - they can be parcels with credits, ammunition or crafting materials. A unique variety of location are the Krell-Mart ships, which serve as a marketplace. When dock such a ship you can buy supplies and sell unwanted goods.
Not all sites have a positive character. Avoid mines, which can take up a lot of health points at the moment of direct impact. You don't have to visit hermits. Thanks to such a visit you can get a new part, but this is at the expense of losing food and it can get you into serious trouble (risk that the character will starve). Flying Gene Twisters also provide a lot of randomness. When you contact them, you can gain a new Trait at the cost of losing one of your own. This exchange doesn't necessarily have to please you, and it's safer to stay away from them.
Warp Key and Wormholes.
Default ship is S. T. E. V. it can only enter adjacent fields, but there are two exceptions to this rule. The first exception is the Wormhole. They will teleport the ship to a random field on a nebula map, so you don't necessarily have to profit from it.
The second exception is the Warp Key, which you can find on enemy ships. Each key is disposable and allows you to "teleport" to any location of your choice. This can be very helpful in avoiding emerging risks and in saving fuel and food supplies by bypassing less profitable vessels.
Threats
Other flying objects may appear on the map of the nebula and some of them pose a threat to you. We are talking, in particular, about space pirates and Void Whales. Avoid stopping with them in the same fields, or you could get into trouble. This is particularly important in the case of whales that may eat year ship. You skip confrontations by traveling in distant fields or by finding torpedoes that automatically destroy enemy objects.
Encounters with whales and pirates are discussed in more detail in the FAQ chapter of our guide.
Death of your character and its consequences
If you lead to the death of a hero, you will return to the Ark and as a result you have to start exploring the nebula again. Important information is that you will not lose progress related to the projects that you have managed to develop. The game will assign you a new prisoner and take away the usual supplies, i.e. ammunition, food or fuel.
The exception to the rule described above is campaign with the Ironman setting on. It guarantees only one life and the death of a controlled prisoner means the end of the game. After that, you have to restart the game from a scratch.