Part of the series:

No Man's Sky Starships Guide (2026): Hub for every ship type, class, and hunting method — start here.

Starship Types Explained: Compare all six ship categories before you commit.

How to Get Quicksilver (and What to Spend It On): Farm the currency you need to buy the Void Egg.

Quick Answer

Buy a Void Egg from the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion aboard the Space Anomaly for 3,200 Quicksilver.
Place it in your primary starship inventory and pulse through space until an unknown ship contacts you, starting the Starbirth mission.
The quest unfolds over roughly 4–5 real-world days because each biological component has a ~24-hour maturation timer.
You'll grow five organic parts (Neural Stem, Pulsating Core, Fragile Shell, Growing Singularity, and a Soul Chamber) then use a portal to reach the birth planet.
Living Ships always spawn at S-Class, need no standard launch fuel, and can reach blue, green, and red star systems without special drives.
You can only complete Starbirth once per save. Extra Void Eggs trigger a space encounter that costs 10,000 Nanites to claim the hatched ship.
Living Ships use Biological Upgrades only. Standard tech modules cannot be installed.

Overview

Living Ships are among the most visually distinctive vessels in No Man's Sky: organic, asymmetrical craft that breathe, pulse, and grow rather than hum with conventional electronics. Unlike every other ship type, a Living Ship is not purchased, found crashed, or spotted in a space-station hangar. You grow one from an egg over the course of nearly a week.

Introduced in the Living Ship update, the Starbirth mission remains one of the game's most atmospheric questlines: part treasure hunt, part incubation diary. The effort is real, but the payoff is a permanent S-Class ship with unique capabilities that no other class can replicate. If you're already comfortable with warping and portals, this guide gives you everything you need to complete it without frustration.

If you're still early in your playthrough and haven't unlocked the Space Anomaly yet, work through the early game checklist first: the Anomaly appears after a few warps, and the Starbirth quest demands access to portals and a solid Quicksilver supply.

Step 1 — Earn 3,200 Quicksilver and Buy the Void Egg

Quicksilver is the Space Anomaly's exclusive currency. It cannot be purchased. Only earned through:

Daily Nexus missions (the glowing orange terminal inside the Anomaly)
Weekly Nexus missions (community weekend events, which offer larger payouts)
Random Pulse Engine encounters while flying through star systems

Once you have 3,200 Quicksilver, find the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion inside the Space Anomaly. Buy the Void Egg from her shop. It looks like a glowing, dark orb with a faint heartbeat.

Tip: If you're short on Quicksilver, see our Quicksilver farming guide for the fastest ways to stack it up through Nexus missions and community events.

Step 2 — Activate the Void Egg (Pulse Drive Trigger)

Place the Void Egg in your primary starship's inventory: not your Exosuit, not a freighter. It must travel with you.

Fly away from the Space Anomaly or a space station and engage your Pulse Drive for several minutes. You're waiting for a scripted Space Encounter: an unidentified ship will approach and make contact, the Egg will react, and the Starbirth mission will appear in your mission log.

If nothing triggers:

Try pulsing in a different system.
Turn off multiplayer (some players report this resolves the bug).
If the quest log shows Starbirth but gives no waypoint, use the red swirl icon in the mission log to reset it.

Step 3 — Follow the Clues and Grow the Components

This is the heart of the questline. The Void Egg provides poetic, riddle-style clues pointing you toward planets in nearby or specific star systems. Use your ship scanner and Analysis Visor to locate the marked structures (monoliths, ancient ruins, anomalous formations) on the described planet type.

At each location you'll collect a raw organic component and begin its maturation. Each piece takes approximately 24 hours of real-world time to mature. You cannot rush it.

Component	Mature Form	Approximate Wait
Neural Stem	Mature Neural Stem	~24 hours
Pulsating Core	Mature Core	~24 hours
Fragile Shell	Hardened Shell	~24 hours
Growing Singularity	Singularity Core	~24 hours
Soul Chamber	(no maturation needed)	Immediate

You do not need to stay logged in during the wait. Log in the next day, check your inventory, the component will have matured, then follow the next clue.

Total minimum time: 4–5 real-world days.

Step 4 — Use a Portal to Reach the Birth Planet

Once all components are ready, the Starbirth mission will give you a 12-glyph portal address. You'll need a working portal and at least 12 glyphs unlocked to enter it. See our portal and glyph guide if you haven't unlocked enough yet.

Travel through the portal to the designated planet. The egg's host body, a crashed or dormant Living Ship, will be waiting at the marked coordinates. Interact with it to trigger the birth sequence, which assembles all your grown components into your new ship.

After the birth, the ship may need minor repairs before it's flight-ready.

Step 5 — Claim Your Living Ship

The newly hatched Living Ship will appear at the site. Claim it as your active ship. It is automatically S-Class: every Living Ship spawns at the highest class, so there's no hunting or re-rolling required.

You can now call it from your communicator or switch back to your other ships freely.

Getting Additional Living Ships

Starbirth can only be completed once per save file. If you want more Living Ships afterward:

Buy another Void Egg from the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion (still 3,200 Quicksilver).
Pulse through space to trigger a Space Encounter. This time a Fallen Host will appear relatively quickly.
Pay 10,000 Nanites to claim the Living Ship from the encounter.

If you reject the initial offer, your Void Egg returns to your inventory and you can pulse in a different system for a new encounter. Each encounter produces a procedurally generated Living Ship, so patience here can land you a more visually appealing design.

Living Ship: Strengths and Weaknesses

Living Ships are not straight upgrades over conventional ships. They're a different tool with a distinct trade-off profile. Understanding this before you start the questline helps you decide if one fits your playstyle.

Strengths

Always S-Class: no class hunting required.
No standard launch fuel needed: Living Ships recharge their launch organ (Neural Assembly) using Oxygen, Mordite, or Condensed Carbon instead of Starship Launch Fuel.
Built-in warp range: can access red, green, and blue star systems without installing Cadmium, Emeril, or Indium Drives.
Fast weapon recharge: the two innate weapons (Spewing Vents and Grafted Eyes) reload quickly.
Unique aesthetic: procedurally generated organic shapes unlike any standard ship class.

Weaknesses

Biological Upgrades only: standard upgrade modules cannot be installed. You must use organic tech, which comes from Spawning Sacs and Psychonic Eggs obtained via Organic Frigate expeditions or occasionally from Living Ship space encounters.
Limited weapon variety: only two innate weapons (Spewing Vents and Grafted Eyes) with no craftable alternatives.
Inventory expansion is slow: Storage Augmentations don't work. Slots expand only through Spawning Sacs, which require sending Organic Frigates on fleet expeditions.
Learning curve: organic tech naming and upgrade logic differ enough from standard ships to be confusing at first.

If combat variety and fast inventory expansion are priorities, you might prefer an Exotic or S-Class fighter instead. Living Ships reward players who value uniqueness and long-term investment over raw flexibility.

FAQ

How long does the Starbirth questline take?

The absolute minimum is about 4–5 real-world days because each organic component has a hardcoded ~24-hour maturation timer. There is no known way to skip or accelerate these timers. You can complete your daily play, log off, and return the next day, no need to stay online during maturation.

Can I do Starbirth on a brand-new save?

Technically yes, but you'll need to unlock the Space Anomaly first (appears after a few warps), earn 3,200 Quicksilver, unlock enough portal glyphs, and have a working portal. Most players are better positioned to start this quest in the mid-game after completing the main story missions and building a solid resource base. Check the beginner's guide if you're just starting out.

What if the Void Egg doesn't activate when I pulse?

Make sure the Egg is in your active starship's inventory, not your Exosuit or freighter hold. Pulse for several minutes. If it still won't trigger, try warping to a different system and pulsing there. Turning off multiplayer also resolves this bug for many players.

Can I have more than one Living Ship?

Yes. After completing Starbirth, each additional Void Egg (3,200 Quicksilver each) triggers a Fallen Host space encounter and costs 10,000 Nanites to claim. You can own multiple Living Ships the same way you own multiple standard ships. Just add them to your fleet roster.

How do I upgrade a Living Ship after getting it?

Living Ships use Biological Upgrades that come in the form of procedurally rolled organic tech. The primary sources are Spawning Sacs (for slot expansion) and Psychonic Eggs (for technology upgrades), which you obtain by sending Organic Frigates on fleet expeditions. They can also occasionally be obtained from Living Ship space encounters. Standard upgrade modules and Storage Augmentations do not work on Living Ships.

Is a Living Ship good for combat or exploration?

Living Ships lean toward exploration thanks to their built-in warp range and no standard launch fuel requirement. For dedicated combat, the limited weapon selection puts them behind specialized fighters. They shine most as an explorer's companion or a novelty ship for players who enjoy the organic aesthetic, not as a pure combat or hauling platform.

Key Takeaways

The Void Egg costs 3,200 Quicksilver from the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion in the Space Anomaly.
Pulse through space with the Egg in your active ship's inventory to trigger the Starbirth mission.
The questline takes 4–5 real-world days due to component maturation timers (~24 hours each).
Five components must be grown: Neural Stem, Pulsating Core, Fragile Shell, Growing Singularity, and a Soul Chamber (the Soul Chamber requires no maturation).
A portal with at least 12 glyphs unlocked is required to reach the final birth planet.
Every Living Ship spawns as S-Class automatically.
Starbirth can only be done once; additional Living Ships cost 10,000 Nanites per Void Egg after the first.
Living Ships cannot use standard upgrades. Expansion relies on Spawning Sacs and Psychonic Eggs from Organic Frigate expeditions.
The Neural Assembly (launch thruster) recharges with Oxygen, Mordite, or Condensed Carbon, not standard Starship Launch Fuel.
For a broader look at every ship category, return to the No Man's Sky Starships Guide hub.

No Man's Sky: How to Get a Living Ship (Starbirth Questline)