No Man’s Sky: How to Start Expedition 22 – Timing and Phase 3 Guide

Expedition 22 in No Man’s Sky starts from the Space Anomaly, not from trial and error in the save menu. The current Swarm event flow is straightforward once the prerequisites are clear: finish the base tutorial and survival onboarding, travel to the Anomaly, dock, and launch the expedition from the Nexus terminal. Before you confirm, move any items you want to carry over into the expedition transfer space. The expedition runs on separate progression, so this pre-launch step is the main place players lose efficiency. After that, the two systems that matter most are the eight-hour mission rotation and the faction contribution categories that drive the event forward.

Start Expedition 22 from the Anomaly after the tutorial

If the Expedition 22 option is missing, the usual problem is not the event itself. It is account state. Current guides agree that you need to clear the opening tutorial or survival onboarding far enough to access the Space Anomaly first. Once that is done, the launch path is effectively Space Anomaly - Dock - Nexus terminal - Expedition 22. Do not spend time restarting the game or remaking a save if the expedition does not appear immediately; advance the normal early-game objectives until the Anomaly is unlocked.

This matters because Expedition 22 is tied into the Swarm update’s community systems. Your faction assignment, mission contributions, and global progress tracking connect through the Anomaly and the wider Galactic Atlas tracking, so the event is designed around that hub. Treat the Anomaly as your command center. If you are unsure what to do next at any point in the expedition, returning there is usually the correct reset.

Do the pre-launch prep before you press confirm

The cleanest start comes from five minutes of preparation. Expedition progression is separate enough that unplanned launches create unnecessary shortages later, especially when the first useful mission window is already running.

• Move any materials you want to keep into the expedition transfer area before launch.
• Prioritize broadly useful resources over niche trade goods or decorative items.
• Leave yourself inventory space for early expedition rewards and mission pickups.
• Check Options - Network and disable PvP if you want zero risk from crowded expedition systems.
• If you play solo, trim multiplayer distractions before entering the event rather than during a timed mission window.

For transfer choices, the general rule is simple: fuel, survival materials, and core crafting resources save more time than luxury inventory. Early expedition friction usually comes from running short on basics, not from lacking rare collectibles. The exact ideal loadout varies by play style, but materials that keep your ship moving, your suit stable, and your first tech installs affordable are the highest-value carries.

The faction quiz is cosmetic, so do not optimize it

Shortly after launch, Expedition 22 gives you a brief faction-selection quiz tied to the Swarm update’s new three-way community conflict. The important point is not the wording of the answers. Current public guides indicate there is no correct or wrong answer and no verified mechanical penalty attached to your choice. In practice, that means you should answer and move on.

There is some public uncertainty around the exact faction names and around whether assignment is fixed, personality-based, or partly randomized. Some coverage identifies teams such as Royal, Sage, and Weaver; other reports only confirm that one of three factions is assigned. What is consistent across guides is the part that affects your route: the quiz is cosmetic enough that restarting to chase a preferred outcome is wasted time. Your real impact comes from the missions you complete afterward, not from trying to game the questionnaire.

How the 8-hour mission timing should shape your run

The Swarm expedition uses rotating mission windows, with current reporting describing them as eight-hour rotations. That changes how you should structure a session. The mistake is to pick a personal goal first and then ignore the live board. The efficient route is the reverse: check the current window at the Nexus, identify which mission category is active, and then align your next block of play with that rotation if it also advances your expedition milestones.

• Start each session at the Anomaly, not in the field.
• Read the current mission category before leaving the hub.
• Prioritize objectives that advance both your expedition phase and your faction contribution.
• If the rotation looks close to changing, use the remaining time for short turn-ins, inventory cleanup, crafting, and reward claims rather than a long detour.
• When a new window begins, reassess instead of autopiloting into the previous activity type.

This timing discipline matters most in a community event because a bad hour compounds. If you spend the active window on unrelated farming, you slow your personal progress and also miss the period when your effort contributes most cleanly to the live board. By contrast, if you check the Nexus at the start of every session and after every major turn-in, you keep your run synchronized with the expedition instead of fighting it.

What Purge, Sabotage, and Restoration mean for faction contributions

Expedition 22’s contribution categories are not just flavor labels. Purge, Sabotage, and Restoration are the practical lanes through which your activity feeds the faction war effort. Public reporting confirms that these action types affect faction scores, but the exact hidden weighting is not well documented. Do not assume one category is permanently best. Use them as matching tools.

Purge

Purge is the direct-combat lane. When the active rotation emphasizes clearing hostile targets, swarm fights, or straightforward destructive pressure, Purge-type activity tends to fit. This is the right lane when your loadout is already stable, your ammunition and shields are comfortable, and your current milestones reward kills or battlefield clears. If your gear is weak, forcing Purge early can waste resources fast.

Sabotage

Sabotage is the disruption lane. These tasks are usually best treated as targeted objective work rather than raw farming. If the expedition is asking for specific hostile interference, node disabling, or mission outcomes that are more about precision than endurance, Sabotage windows are where efficient players make up time. This is often the cleanest choice when you are adequately geared but do not want the resource drain of repeated frontline combat.

Restoration

Restoration is the recovery and rebuild lane. In practical terms, this is often the safest category for undergeared characters, players still stabilizing inventories, or anyone trying to convert mission time into both contribution and infrastructure. If you need resources, salvage, repairs, or research-related progress, Restoration windows tend to have the best overlap with basic account stabilization. When in doubt during the early and middle phases, Restoration is often the least punishing way to stay productive.

The guiding rule is simple: pick the lane that overlaps your current bottleneck. If you need combat progress and already have the tools, do Purge. If you need precision objectives, do Sabotage. If your run is under-supplied, do Restoration. Because the exact backend score values are not fully documented, overlap is more reliable than guessing hidden efficiency.

Why Phase 3 stalls so often

Phase 3 is where many runs stop feeling linear. By that point, the expedition is no longer just onboarding you into the event. It expects you to juggle your personal milestone chain, faction contribution windows, and a minimum level of gear readiness. Most stalls come from one of three patterns.

Combat-first players stall by overcommitting to Purge

If you push every active window through combat just because combat is visible and immediate, Phase 3 starts to feel expensive. Ammunition, repairs, and shield recovery stack up. The fix is to stop reading the board as a constant call to fight. Use Restoration or Sabotage windows when they overlap your missing tech, salvage, or progression steps. Claim expedition reward tech as soon as it solves a current gate; do not sit on useful unlocks while grinding more enemies than you need.

Builder and explorer players stall by overpreparing

A different Phase 3 problem is excessive setup. Some players keep farming, sorting, or stockpiling long after they have enough to continue. In a timed event, this is inefficient. Once your launch fuel, protection, and core installs are stable, stop polishing the save and return to the Anomaly board. The expedition rewards consistent turn-ins more than perfect inventory aesthetics. Free slots and functional tech matter; hoarded side materials usually do not.

Solo players stall because network settings are left in a bad state

Expeditions concentrate players in the same spaces, and default network settings are not always aligned with a clean solo route. If you do not want interference, check Options - Network before Phase 3 gets busy. Disabling PvP is the obvious setting, but the larger point is to remove friction before accepting a timed or combat-sensitive assignment. Handling this inside the mission window is wasted time.

Nanite shortages turn small delays into a wall

Another common Phase 3 stop point is upgrade economy. If a mission begins to assume a stronger multitool, exosuit, or ship state, do not spend nanites on speculative sidegrades. Prioritize the one upgrade that fixes the current problem. Current community advice also points toward using obvious expedition-adjacent nanite sources rather than wandering off into unrelated grinds, especially duplicate upgrades or other rewards you can convert quickly. The aim is not a perfect build. It is to meet the next requirement with the least detour.

A clean early route that avoids most wasted time

1. Finish the base tutorial until the Space Anomaly is unlocked.
2. Go to the Anomaly and open the Expedition 22 launch point at the Nexus terminal.
3. Transfer useful materials before confirming the start.
4. Set network and PvP preferences before entering active expedition space.
5. Complete the faction quiz without trying to min-max the outcome.
6. Claim the earliest easy rewards and install only the tech that solves immediate bottlenecks.
7. Check the current mission window at the Nexus before leaving the hub.
8. Choose Purge, Sabotage, or Restoration based on overlap with your active expedition needs.
9. Return to the Anomaly after major completions and reassess when the window rotates.

The stable order is so fixed: unlock the Anomaly, transfer before launch, ignore faction-answer min-maxing, route your session around the active eight-hour window, and use Phase 3 to solve bottlenecks instead of forcing constant combat.