Pirate Dreadnought

The subject of this article is from the Aquarius update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 22 October, 2024.

Seize-dreadnought-2-1040w — A Pirate Dreadnought fleet

Pirate Dreadnought is a hostile freighter in No Man's Sky.

Summary[]

Pirate Dreadnought is a type of freighter in No Man's Sky that can be encountered in space at a space battle after warping into a system. A Pirate Dreadnought battle can only be triggered if you own a freighter. Some star systems always spawn a pirate dreadnought when you warp in. This will only happen in 3-star conflict or outlaw systems.

Appearance[]

The Dreadnought is the most visually complex freighter in the game, with it being the latest model since the Sentinel and Capital ships. The textures are the same used on the newest space stations from the Orbital update. It has multiple glowing fins at the bottom, resembling a viking ship. The Dreadnought has a trench on either side which contain the ship's shield generators.

Pirate Frigate[]

Pirate Frigates are a type of frigate in No Man's Sky that can be obtained by defeating a Pirate Dreadnought. Once you have defeated a Pirate Dreadnought, its accompanying frigates will become available for purchase.

Pirate Frigates are similar to combat frigates. They are armed to the teeth and are perfect for dangerous missions that other Frigates might not survive. They can be sent on expeditions, and you can buy, repair, fuel, level up, and use them.

However, sending them on high-difficulty level expeditions can still damage them. Therefore, sending this frigate together with other frigates is still the best way to go.

Dreadnought's Modules[]

Warp Drives[]

The Dreadnought Warp Drive consists of 4 engines that can be destroyed. When the hull is under 70% and/or all anti-freighter cannons have been destroyed, the Dreadnought will warp to another star system after charging its warp drive for 30 seconds. Once charged, it will warp away unless all four warp drives are destroyed. If the warp drives are all destroyed and either of the warp criteria are met (sufficient hull damage/anti-freighter cannons destroyed), the dreadnought will surrender.

Torpedos[]

Torpedoes are the weapons of the Pirate Dreadnought. They take 10 seconds to fire. During this 10 second countdown, some torpedoes can still be fired, as it is a countdown until all torpedoes are fired, NOT until the torpedoes are fired. They can be destroyed with your ship's weapons.

Shield Generators & Fuel Rods[]

The Dreadnought is equipped with several shield generators to protect itself from attacks. Each shield generator generates 20% shield power and can be seen on the HUD. The shield generator can be destroyed, and when it is, a fuel rod is exposed that can be destroyed by the player, dealing about 7% damage to the dreadnought, even if the shield is up.

Dreadnought Battle[]

Upon entering a system, there is a chance to be a freighter battle between a dreadnought and a civilian freighter if you currently own a freighter. The Dreadnought appears to be being used by Pirates and the player's task is to destroy the Dreadnought. The dreadnought will immediately fire at the freighter, dealing damage to the freighter. The Dreadnought's shield and hull bar will be displayed on the HUD.

If the player intends to destroy the dreadnought, the first step is to to fly through the shield toward the rear half of the dreadnought. There are two trenches which contain five shield generators each, one on the left and one on the right side of the ship. These shield generators are found on the top half of the Dreadnought. Fly through the entrance to destroy the shield generator, but be careful as the torpedoes launched by the pirate frigates can do massive damage to the civilian freighter if not shot down before impact.

Once all the shield generators have been destroyed, the dreadnought will be vulnerable. Your final step is to damage the dreadnought, you can find the exposed fuel rods to deal significant damage. As mentioned above, each fuel rod will do about 7% damage to the dreadnought when it is destroyed. After destroying the dreadnought, you will receive a substantial reward for your assistance. However, if the normal freighter is also destroyed, you will only receive the dreadnought's scrap.

If the player intends to disable the dreadnought, the first step is to destroy the warp drives which can be found at the rear end of the dreadnought, below the main deck. Afterward the player can either follow the steps above, or they can destroy all the large anti-freighter cannons on top of the main deck. It is important to do so, as the dreadnought escapes when their hull is below 70% or when the civilian freighter is destroyed.

It's important to note that the player should not attack the warp drives if they intend to destroy the dreadnought for its S-tier module reward, as the dreadnought will provide no apparent reward for its destruction once the warp drives have been disabled.

Here is the simplified steps to destroy the Dreadnought:

1. Destroy the warp drive to prevent them from escaping. They are located at the rear end of the Dreadnought.

2. Destroy all of the shield generator to render the Dreadnought vulnerable. They are located at the trenches of the Dreadnought's rear half which contains five shield generators. each.

3. Damage the Dreadnought until it is destroyed using the weapons you have. Remember, you destroy the exposed fuel rod to do a 7% damage.

4. (Optional) If the Dreadnought surrenders, board the Dreadnought and demand a purchase. If you don't want one, do step 3.

Acquirement[]

As of the Omega update, the Dreadnought can surrender when its health is low enough or all the anti-freighter cannons have been destroyed and the player can demand control of the freighter or a reward. The player can also simply destroy the dreadnought as usual. The reward usually consists of 5-10 million units.

If the player has summoned the Dreadnought and is in combat, the pirate freighter will fire its anti-frigate lasers at starships and its anti-freighter cannons at hostile freighters such as Sentinel Capital Ships. While this will not damage the capital ship if its shield generators are intact, the anti-freighter lasers will destroy the Sentinel ship hull in one shot, making it very useful in defeating a Sentinel patrol. This will however NOT drop the Carrier AI fragment, which is the primary reason for hunting them.

Release History[]

Echoes - Added as a hostile freighter.
Omega - Can now be claimed by the player.

Additional Information[]

If you board a surrendered Dreadnought, but you refuse to take the Freighter and instead destroy it, you will only receive the Units from the Bounty. You will also be unable to recruit the Pirate Frigates to your Fleet.

Just tested this: you can still recruit the frigates if: Dreadnought surrender, you approach a frigate to buy it and then land on Dreadnought and either take the bounty or the Dreadnought. The frigates are gone if you only seize the Dreadnought without interacting with frigates.

Gallery[]

A Pirate Dreadnought firing turret toward friendly freighter.
Shooting down shield generators.