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Back in the early days ofNo Man’s Sky, once a Sentinel Dreadnought warped in you knew the party was over. That’s all changed as of the Interceptor update. Now you can take the fight to these big brutes and win.
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But don’t expect Sentinel Dreadnoughts to go down without a fight. You’ll have to blast your way through waves of Sentinel Interceptors before a Dreadnought warps in, and then waves more once it arrives. That’s a lot of firepower to deal with, but with the right tactics and the right equipment, you can take these behemoths down. Here’s how to kill a Sentinel Dreadnought in No Man’s Sky.
Getting A Sentinel Dreadnought To Spawn
Before we even discuss strategy, let’s go over how you can evenget a Sentinel Dreadnought to spawn.
You’re going to need toget to the highest wanted levelin order for a Dreadnought to warp to your system. This meansfirst angering the Sentinels somehow–either by taking resources from a Sentinel-guarded planet, or shooting a space station or civilian freighter.
There are loads of ways toget the Sentinels mad, so just pick your favorite space crime. Once you’ve got the Sentinels riled up, it’s time to fight.You’ll need to destroy four waves of Sentinel Interceptorsbefore the Sentinel Dreadnought will warp in, and when it does, you’re in for a hell of a fight.
If you started your Sentinel fight on the ground, hop in your ship and head tp space. Dreadnoughts only appear in space combat.
Sometimes Sentinel Dreadnoughts won’t appear even at tier-five wanted levels if you started off by shooting at the local station. This is probably a bug, but for this reason, it’s best to find a Sentinel-infested planet and start your fight by shooting a drone.
Preparing Your Ship
To take down a Sentinel Dreadnought,you’re gonna need a top-of-the-line vessel capableof dishing out even more punishment than it can take. Preparations are essential before heading into this fight.
At a minimum,you should havean S-class shipwith shields and weaponsfully upgraded with S-class modules. It’s best tobring a combat-focused vessel, so leave your shuttles and haulers in your hangar. Fighters, Exotics, Solar Ships, Living Ships, and the new Sentinel Interceptors are your best bet.
Use whatever weapon you prefer, although thePositron Ejector, Infra-Knife, and Photon Cannon seem most effectiveat taking down fighters and destroying Sentinel Dreadnought turrets.
A full squadronis definitely helpfulfor dealing with the swarms of Sentinel Interceptors you’ll have to face both before and during your fight with the Sentinel Dreadnought. Be sure they’re in tough fighters too, so they don’t get taken out.
Finally, and perhaps most important, be sure tohave plenty of sodium and/or Shield Batteries handyto recharge your shields when they inevitably go down. Living Ships will need Pugneum to recharge their shields, so remember that if you’re taking a Living Ship into combat.
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Fighting The Sentinel Dreadnought
Once you’ve fought your way through four waves of Sentinel Interceptors,the Sentinel Dreadnought will warpin with yet more Interceptors to deal with. Although the Dreadnought will spawn more, it’s probably best to thin the herd andkill a few Interceptors before focusing on the Dreadnought itself
You can fly a short distance away from the Dreadnought to deal with the Interceptors. This takes you out of range of the Dreadnought’s cannons, so you can pick off the Sentinels without having to deal with them.
With the Interceptors at least temporarily gone, it’s time to go after the Dreadnought’s defenses.Both sides of the Dreadnought’s hullhave a number ofPhase Beam Cannon turrets that can be targeted and destroyed. Doing so lets you engage the Dreadnought without needing to worry about return fire.
There are also a few turrets near the chin of the Dreadnought. Don’t forget to destroy these too!
With the turrets gone, you cansafely aim your weapons at the Dreadnought. If the Dreadnought launches more fighters, you can deal with them or ignore them for your squadron to handle.
The Dreadnought has alotof health, soexpect to be blasting away for a while. You’ll be able to see your progress on the Dreadnought’s small health bar.Be sure you’re at the ideal distance for your weaponsto ensure maximum DPS.
It might take you a minute or two, but eventually, the Dreadnought’s health will deplete, and it’ll blow up ina very satisfying explosion. And for all your hard work,you’ll be rewarded with a Dreadnought Fragment AIthat can be usedto locate a crashed Sentinel Interceptor.
