No Man’s Sky Expedition 18 Redux Relics Guide & Start Tips

• What is Expedition 18 Redux: Relics?
• How to Start Expedition 18 Redux in No Man’s Sky
• Early Preparation Tips for Relics
• Phase 1 – First Steps and Basic Excavation
• Phase 2 – Field Work and Companions
• Phase 3 – Advanced Digs and Planet Hopping
• Phase 4 – Deep Excavation and Cooking Bones
• Phase 5 – Final GPS Dig and Profit from Fossils
• Final Phase and Expedition Rewards
• How ItemD2R.com Supports Your Gaming Life
• Quick FAQ: Relics Expedition

What is Expedition 18 Redux: Relics?

Expedition 18 Redux, also known as Relics, is the rerun of one of No Man’s Sky’s community expeditions. It focuses on archaeology: digging up ancient bones, assembling skeletons, studying planets and creatures, and fighting mysterious stone guardians. If you missed Relics when it first appeared earlier this year, this Redux is your chance to collect all expedition rewards for your main saves.

Like other expeditions, Relics is time-limited and split into several phases, each packed with milestones. Completing milestones unlocks cosmetic items, inventory upgrades, rare resources, and a final unique reward that transfers to other saves through the Quicksilver-styled reward system.

How to Start Expedition 18 Redux in No Man’s Sky

Starting Relics works exactly like previous expeditions, but it’s easy to miss if you haven’t done one before. Follow these steps:

• Play on a save that has access to spaceflight (you’ll get this automatically with a fresh expedition save).
• Fly your starter ship into space and trigger the option to summon the Anomaly once it becomes available.
• Enter the Anomaly, land your ship, and exit the cockpit.
• Walk to the large hub area near the entrance and look for the glowing Expedition Terminal.
• Interact with the terminal to view Expedition 18 Redux: Relics, including all phases and rewards.
• Select the expedition and confirm to begin your dedicated Relics expedition save.

Once the expedition is active, your mission log will show Relics milestones instead of the usual story. The game will also place markers for key objectives like the GPS dig sites, making it easier to stay on track.

Early Preparation Tips for Relics

Relics is very doable even for newer players, but a bit of preparation makes the expedition smoother and less grindy:

• Repair and fuel your starter ship early: Many milestones require you to visit multiple planets and GPS dig sites, so mobility is essential.
• Upgrade your Multitool: Terrain manipulation and combat are both important. Aim for a decent mining beam and terrain manipulator to handle excavation tasks.
• Install Hazard Protection: Fossil-rich planets often have harsh biomes. Extra hazard modules and a good supply of sodium make long digs safer.
• Scan everything: Scan minerals, plants, and creatures as you explore. You’ll need discoveries for several milestones and you also earn Units.
• Check mission text carefully: Some tasks are simple but sound vague (like "search 10 dug samples"). The log and on-screen hints usually point you in the right direction.

With that groundwork done, you can move phase by phase through the expedition without feeling rushed.

Phase 1 – First Steps and Basic Excavation

Phase 1 introduces the basic archaeology loop: find your ship, dig up relics, and start working with fossils. Here’s a breakdown of each milestone and how to clear it efficiently.

Echoes of the Past – Locate Your Starship

When you spawn in the expedition, you’ll be on foot. Use your scanner to find the marker for your crashed starship. Reach it, interact, and begin repairs. Completing this step progresses the expedition and sets up your mobility for future milestones.

Exhibition Admission – Collect Ancient Artifacts

Use your Analysis Visor to find buried relic icons on the starting planet. These often appear as "Buried Technology Modules" or other subterranean markers. Use the Terrain Manipulator to dig them out and loot the containers. After collecting enough artifacts (usually just a handful), the milestone will complete.

The Dig I – Report to the GPS Field Office

Each "Dig" milestone sends you to a GPS dig site. Your log will show a custom marker leading you to a location staffed by expedition NPCs or a dedicated structure. Fly or run there, land nearby, and speak to the designated contact to "report" and finish the step.

Junior Field Agent – Collect a Complete Fossil

Relics revolves around ancient bones. Locate "Ancient Bones" sites with your visor on planets that show them as key resources. Dig at the marked spots to obtain bones of varying rarity. A "complete fossil" is usually a higher-value find; keep excavating until you obtain one that triggers the milestone.

Do Not Disturb – Defeat an Ancient Guardian

Ancient guardians are hostile constructs that spawn when you disturb certain relic sites or interact with specific mission objects. Stay mobile, use your Multitool’s weapon mode, and use cover around terrain bumps. Defeating the guardian completes the milestone and often yields good loot.

Ancient Avian – Reassemble an Avian Skeleton

Once you’ve collected fossils, you may eventually obtain multiple pieces belonging to an "avian" (birdlike) creature. Some planets and dig sites are biased toward specific fossil types. Keep digging bones, then use an appropriate terminal or inventory interaction to reassemble a named avian skeleton. When it’s fully reconstructed, you’ll clear this objective.

Rock Hound – Discover 6 Minerals

Whenever you land on a planet, look for mineral nodes—rocks with scanable outlines. Scan them with your Analysis Visor to register them in your discoveries. Scan at least six unique mineral types to complete Rock Hound. This is a passive milestone you’ll likely finish naturally as you explore.

Phase 2 – Field Work and Companions

Phase 2 expands your responsibilities: more digs, more fossils, and a dash of exploration, combat, and pet adoption.

The Dig II – Report to the Second GPS Dig

A new GPS dig marker will appear in your log. Travel to the indicated system and land at the dig site. Talk to the mission contact or interact with the required console to log your report and complete The Dig II.

Associated Field Agent – Collect a Complete Fossil

This follows the same pattern as Phase 1’s fossil milestone. Continue visiting worlds with Ancient Bones and excavate until you obtain another complete fossil. You’ll likely want to keep high-value fossils for later milestones that ask you to sell or trade them.

Bygone Biped – Reassemble a Biped Skeleton

Just as you did with the avian skeleton, focus on planets that yield fossils from bipedal species. Collect the necessary fragments and use the appropriate interface to reconstruct the full skeleton. When the assembled item is recognized as a complete biped, the milestone unlocks.

Descendants – Discover 6 Creatures

On each planet, use your visor to scan local fauna. Flying, ground, and subterranean creatures all count. Scan at least six unique creatures across your travels. Check the planet’s Discovery list to see how many remain undiscovered on that world.

Uprooting – Eliminate 6 Hazardous Flora

Hazardous flora includes snapping plants, spitting sacs, and similar hazards marked with red danger icons. Shoot them with your Multitool or destroy them via melee. Removing at least six of these threats will complete Uprooting and make your dig sites safer.

Domestic Relatives – Adopt 1 Companion

Using Creature Pellets or other appropriate bait, feed a wild creature and then adopt it as a companion through the interaction prompt. You can then summon and customize your new pet, which can help you find resources and keep you company during long expeditions.

Bytesized – Analyse 3 Recovered Data

Recovered data typically comes from buried technology or other relic caches. Once you loot them, head to a base computer or the relevant analysis terminal (often on the Anomaly or at the dig sites) to convert them into usable blueprints or items. Analysing at least three pieces of recovered data completes this milestone.

Phase 3 – Advanced Digs and Planet Hopping

By Phase 3, you should be comfortable with digging and scanning. This section nudges you to travel wider, document wildlife, and engage with the in-game economy a bit more.

The Dig III – Report to the Third GPS Dig

As before, your log points to a new dig site. Travel there, land, and speak with the field office or interact with the mission object. These steps not only progress the story but often give you tools or resources to speed up later tasks.

Senior Field Agent – Collect a Complete Fossil

Relics wants you to repeatedly show mastery of fossil hunting. Continue targeting Ancient Bones hotspots. Investing in scanner upgrades can reveal more bone sites per scan, making this faster. Once another complete fossil is acquired, this milestone clears.

Former Four Legs – Reassemble a Quadruped Skeleton

This time you need a quadruped (four-legged) skeleton. As with earlier skeleton milestones, gather the proper fossil pieces and reconstruct them into a full skeleton. If you feel stuck, try different bone planets, since fossil types can be biome-dependent.

Snapshot in Time – Take a Photo of 3 Ground Creatures

Equip your in-game Photo Mode or use the camera from the quick menu. Find ground-based fauna (not flying) and take clear photos of three different species. The game tracks photo objectives as you capture images, and you can use this opportunity to grab scenic shots of your dig sites as well.

Wading In – Land 7 Fish

This milestone encourages some aquatic exploration. Travel to planets with oceans or large lakes, then use the appropriate fishing or interaction systems (depending on the expedition settings) to capture fish. Landing seven fish completes Wading In and adds some variety to all the bone hunting.

Release Palaeobotany – Discover 10 Planets

By now, you should have a functional starship and perhaps some basic warp capabilities. Visit different star systems and land on at least 10 unique planets. Simply setting foot on a planet and letting the discovery register is enough for this milestone.

An Arm for a Leg – Exchange Fossils with a Collector

Locate a fossil collector NPC at a space station, trading post, or a dedicated mission location. Interact and trade one or more fossils. You may get nanites, Units, or other relics in return. Completing a single successful exchange triggers the milestone, but you might want to trade extra fossils if they’re low-value duplicates.

Phase 4 – Deep Excavation and Cooking Bones

Phase 4 is where the expedition leans into big digs and some fun cooking-related objectives. Expect to move a lot of terrain and gather far more bones than you strictly need.

The Dig IV – Report to the Fourth GPS Dig

Follow the log to the fourth GPS dig site, land, and check in with the field office. By this point, you’ll have a clearer story about the ancient species you’re investigating, and you’ll gain more resources to handle the most demanding milestones.

Principle Field Agent – Collect a Complete Fossil

Keep excavating bone sites until you complete yet another fossil. Because later milestones require a large number of bones, you’ll likely be digging constantly anyway, so this one tends to finish itself.

Reassembled Reptile – Reassemble a Reptilian Skeleton

This milestone asks for a reptilian skeleton. Search for planets that seem to feature reptilian fossil descriptions in their bone drops. As you gather enough compatible fragments and reassemble them, the reptilian skeleton will count toward this goal.

Deeper Underground – Excavate 2,600 Units of Terrain

Use your Terrain Manipulator to carve out large chunks of rock and soil. You can simply dig tunnels or clear out wide pits on a fossil-rich world. Watching your mining beam’s charge is important, so keep it refueled. Once you’ve excavated around 2,600 units of terrain, this milestone triggers.

The Archaeologist – Excavate 55 Ancient Bones

This milestone is a marathon. Focus on planets marked with Ancient Bones as a secondary resource. Use the visor to locate bone icons and dig them up one by one. Aim for several bone runs in a row, and consider marking dense areas with custom waypoints so you can return later. After you’ve unearthed 55 bones, The Archaeologist completes and you’ll be sitting on a big pile of fossils.

Hearty Stock – Whip Up a Delicious Bone Broth

With so many bones in your inventory, you can turn some into culinary experiments. Use a cooking device such as a Nutrient Processor and follow a bone broth recipe (bones combined with appropriate liquids or ingredients). When you successfully cook a recognized "bone broth" dish, you finish this milestone.

Bone Appetit – Serve Up a Bone to Cronus

Cronus is the cooking connoisseur aboard the Anomaly. Bring him your bone broth or another bone-based dish and offer it for evaluation. After he tastes and rates your creation, the Bone Appetit milestone is complete—and you might earn a nice payout in the process.

Phase 5 – Final GPS Dig and Profit from Fossils

Phase 5 wraps up the expedition’s story while asking you to confront more guardians, investigate memory stones, and finally cash in your fossil hoard.

The Dig V – Report to the Final GPS Dig

Head to the last GPS dig site indicated in your mission log. This is the climax of the excavation storyline. Land, interact with the mission objects, and talk to any NPCs present to log your final report.

Master of Bones – Collect a Complete Fossil

The title says it all: one last complete fossil. By this point you’ve probably acquired several extras; turning in this milestone can sometimes be instant if you’ve already picked up a complete fossil while doing other tasks.

Fixed Forerunner – Reassemble a Protoform Skeleton

Protoform skeletons are associated with more mysterious or advanced ancient species. Continue digging on appropriate worlds and look for fossil descriptions mentioning protoform traits. Once you assemble the full skeleton, you’ll earn the Fixed Forerunner milestone and another piece of lore for your expedition.

Nose in the Dirt – Search 10 Dug Samples

While using your Terrain Manipulator, you’ll often expose small objects or containers hidden beneath the surface. Interact with these "dug samples"—they might contain minerals, data, or curiosities. Searching at least ten of these completes Nose in the Dirt, which pairs neatly with all the terrain excavation you’re already doing.

Written in Stone – Investigate 3 Memory Stones

Memory stones are unique monolithic objects tied to the expedition’s narrative. Your log will point you toward systems where these stones can be found, or you may discover them while tracking other objectives. Interact with at least three memory stones, listen to their stories, and you’ll finish this lore-heavy milestone.

Stone Ghosts – Defeat 3 Ancient Guardians

Earlier you only had to defeat one guardian; now you must take down three. Revisit relic sites or dig locations where guardians are likely to spawn. Upgrade your weapon and consider bringing shield or health-rich equipment. Fight carefully—using terrain to break line of sight—until three guardians have fallen.

Rags and Bones – Sell 2,500,000 Units Worth of Fossils

All those bones you’ve hoarded finally pay off. Visit a space station or trading post and sell fossils at the Galactic Trade Terminal or to NPC traders. Your goal is to reach a total of 2.5 million Units in fossil sales. Prioritize rare and valuable fossils for this purpose, and keep in mind that this amount is cumulative—it doesn’t need to come from one transaction.

Final Phase and Expedition Rewards

Once every milestone in Phases 1–5 is complete, the expedition’s final phase unlocks automatically. There usually isn’t a complex task here; instead, it confirms you’ve finished the entire Relics journey and permits you to claim the expedition-exclusive rewards.

To claim them:

• Return to the Anomaly.
• Visit the Quicksilver-style Expedition Reward Station near the Nexus.
• Redeem your Relics rewards on the expedition save.
• Log into any other save (Normal, Survival, etc.) and pick up those rewards at the same station, as long as you completed the expedition on at least one account save.

These rewards often include unique cosmetics, custom titles, special decorations, and sometimes exclusive companions or ship-related items. They are a big draw for completionists and long-term players.

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In short, while Relics asks you to dig for ancient bones and piece together lost civilizations, ItemD2R.com helps ensure that, when you switch to other games, you’re not starting from scratch financially every season. It’s a way to keep your overall gaming time focused on the content you enjoy most—raids, matches, or expeditions—rather than the repetitive grind for virtual currency.

Quick FAQ: Relics Expedition

How long does Expedition 18 Redux: Relics take?

The time required depends heavily on how efficiently you dig bones and travel between planets. Most players can clear it in a few dedicated sessions, while completionists or casual explorers might spread it over several days. Start early in the event window so you’re not rushed.

What happens if I miss the Redux window?

Once an expedition’s Redux ends, you can’t earn those rewards again until Hello Games decides to re-run it. That’s why it’s worth prioritizing Relics while it’s active, especially if you want the unique cosmetics and titles.

Is Relics suitable for new players?

Yes. The expedition structure provides clear objectives, guided routes, and generous rewards that can make normal saves easier afterwards. Just pay attention to hazard protection, ship maintenance, and your mission log, and you’ll be fine.

Any tips for fighting ancient guardians?

Keep moving, use cover, and upgrade your Multitool weapon whenever possible. Don’t be afraid to retreat, recharge shields, and re-engage from a better angle. Sentinels may show up if you cause too much destruction, so manage your threat level as well.

Follow the steps above phase by phase, and you should be able to complete Expedition 18 Redux: Relics comfortably within the event period, securing all rewards for your broader No Man’s Sky journey.