Part of the Combat series:

Combat Guide Hub: Start here.

Space Combat & Dogfighting Guide: Ship combat fundamentals.

Quick Answer

Yes, PvP exists in No Man's Sky, but it is a minor, unstructured part of the game. Two players in the same session can shoot each other on foot or in space.
There is no PvP mode, no arena, no matchmaking, no ranked ladder, and no leaderboard. Nothing in the game is built around fighting other travellers.
Killing another player awards nothing meaningful. There is no bounty, no loot pool, no progression tied to it.
Most players go hundreds of hours without ever meeting a hostile player, because the universe is enormous and the population is scattered thinly across it.
You can remove the possibility entirely by turning off network play in the game's Network settings, or by limiting your session to invited friends.
Combat that actually pays out is PvE: Sentinels, pirate raids, and freighter Dreadnoughts.

Overview

No Man's Sky was designed as a co-operative exploration game, and the multiplayer layer was added with that in mind. Player-versus-player damage is possible because players share the same physical space and carry the same weapons they use on Sentinels and pirates, not because Hello Games built a competitive system on top of it. Treat PvP as an emergent side effect of shared worlds rather than a feature with rules, and the rest of this makes sense.

PvP Exists, but It Is Deliberately Minor

When two players occupy the same instance, their weapons work on each other. A Boltcaster shot on foot or a Photon Cannon burst in space registers as damage. That is the whole of it.

What does not exist is everything that normally surrounds PvP in other games. There are no duel invites, no scored matches, no arenas or battlegrounds, no matchmaking queue that pairs you against a stranger, no seasonal rankings, and no rewards for a kill. You cannot loot another player's inventory. You do not gain units, Nanites, or standing. A player you defeat simply respawns at their ship or the nearest save point and carries on.

That absence is the point. Combat design effort in No Man's Sky goes into scripted and procedural threats, which is why the Sentinel escalation ladder has five wanted levels and PvP has none.

Where PvP Can Actually Happen

PvP requires other players to be present, which narrows the situations considerably:

On foot. If another traveller lands near you on a planet, their multi-tool can hit you and yours can hit them. This is the most common form, usually near heavily-visited coordinates that have been shared online.

In space. Ship weapons work on other players' ships in the same system. Space is where the occasional dogfight between strangers happens, since ships are easier to spot at distance than a figure on a planet surface.

In shared sessions with friends. If you have deliberately grouped up through the multiplayer with friends flow, everyone in the party can damage everyone else. Friendly fire during a Sentinel fight is far more common than intentional PvP.

The Space Anomaly acts as a social hub where travellers gather, trade, and pick up missions, rather than as a combat zone. In practice, encounters with strangers anywhere are uncommon. Crossplay widened the pool of players you can meet, but the galaxy is still vast enough that running into anyone by accident is a notable event.

Situation	Can PvP happen?	How to opt out
Single-player with network play disabled	No	Already opted out
Solo exploration with network play on	Yes, if a player finds you	Disable network play in Network settings
Public session on a busy shared planet	Yes	Leave the system or turn network play off
Space around a populated system	Yes	Warp elsewhere or play offline
Co-op session with invited friends	Yes, friendly fire applies	Play solo, or agree not to shoot each other
Popular community coordinates	Yes, highest chance of any location	Avoid publicly shared coordinates

How to Opt Out Completely

The reliable answer is to stop other players from joining you at all. In the game's settings menu, the Network options let you turn network play off, which puts you in a session no one else can enter. You keep your saves, your base, and all progression. Nothing in the campaign, expedition content aside, requires another player.

A middle option is to keep network play on but restrict your session so only people you invite can join. You still get co-op with friends and lose the possibility of a stranger arriving unannounced.

There is no separate toggle that leaves multiplayer on while making you invulnerable to other players. Opting out means controlling who is in your session.

Handling Griefers

Deliberate harassment is rare, but it happens, usually at well-known shared locations. Everything below is about removing yourself from the situation:

Leave. Pulse to another planet or warp to a different system. The other player almost never follows, and the moment you are out of range the encounter is over.
Reload a save. Quitting to the main menu and reloading drops you into a fresh session.
Block and report. Use your platform's block function and the in-game reporting tools. Blocking prevents that player from appearing in your sessions.
Turn network play off. The permanent fix. Flip it back on when you want company again.

Do not retaliate by chasing or camping someone. It escalates a situation you can simply walk away from, and it makes the game worse for everyone in the instance.

Where Combat Actually Rewards You

If you want fights that feed your progression, the game points you firmly at PvE:

Sentinels drop Pugneum, Combat Supplies, and upgrade modules, and clearing a full alert reveals a Sentinel Pillar.
Pirate raids on freighters give salvage, standing with the freighter's owner, and mission rewards. Outlaw systems push this further with smuggling and higher-risk trading.
Dreadnoughts and capital ships are the highest-value combat encounter in the game, dropping large salvage hauls and, if you disable one properly, a capturable freighter.

Time spent building a combat ship pays back against these targets. It pays back nothing at all against another traveller.

FAQ

Is there PvP in No Man's Sky?

Yes, in the narrow sense that players in the same session can damage each other. There is no dedicated PvP mode, arena, matchmaking, or ranking system, so it is best understood as an incidental possibility rather than a feature.

Can other players kill me?

They can, if you are in a multiplayer session and they are nearby. Death costs you your carried inventory until you recover your grave marker, the same penalty as dying to a Sentinel or a hostile creature. Your base, ships, and progression are untouched.

How do I turn off PvP?

Turn off network play in the Network section of the settings menu, which stops anyone from joining your session. Alternatively, restrict your session to invited friends only. There is no standalone "disable PvP" switch.

Are there PvP rewards or ranks?

No. Defeating another player gives no units, Nanites, standing, loot, or progression, and no record of it is kept anywhere. Nothing in the game tracks player kills.

What do I do about griefers?

Leave the system, reload your save, block and report the player through your platform's tools, or turn network play off. Disengaging works because the galaxy is large and nobody can track you across it.

Key Takeaways

PvP is possible in No Man's Sky but unstructured, unrewarded, and rare. It is a novelty, not an activity to build toward.
No arena, matchmaking, ranking, or reward system exists for fighting other players, and none is planned into the game's design.
Disabling network play removes the possibility entirely with zero cost to your progression.
Griefing is best answered by leaving, reloading, or blocking, never by escalating.
Sentinels, pirates, and Dreadnoughts are where combat investment actually pays off. Start at the Combat Guide Hub if you want fights worth preparing for.

No Man's Sky PvP Explained: How It Works & How to Avoid It