How to use the Cloaking Device in No Man’s Sky

As one of many new features introduced to the game in the recent Sentinel update, the Cloaking Device offers up a very welcome addition to your armory. The clue is very much in the name, with this Multi-Tool upgrade giving you a brief, and quickly recharging, burst of cloaking technology, which can be a great way of avoiding those frequently annoying Sentinel drones.

How to unlock the Cloaking Device in No Man’s Sky

As long as you’d played enough of the game to access the Space Anomaly, you can head there to find the blueprint for the Cloaking Device added to the Multi-Tool Research trader’s inventory, for the price of 80 Nanites. To build it, you’ll need 2x Solar Mirrors, 3x Ion Batteries, and 1x Wiring Loom ― the first two can be bought or crafted at no huge cost (Solar Mirrors need 40x Gold, 30x Silver, and 25x Chromatic Metal; Ion Batteries require 10x Cobalt and 5x Ferrite Dust). If you’re short on a Wiring Loom, you’ll have to buy one from your nearest trading terminal. Once you’ve pooled the resources and completed construction, you then simply need to open up your Multi-Tool, install it into an empty inventory slot, and you’re ready to go.

How to activate the Cloaking Device in No Man’s Sky

The device is added to your Multi-Tool weaponry (so, NOT the Terrain Manipulator) as an ‘Alt’ usage, much as your Combat Scope or Forcefield. In the same way as those items, it can be activated at any time with a quick button press (on consoles, this is by holding the left shoulder). The device gives you a little under 10 seconds of cloaking as its maximum at any one time, with a similar duration for it to recharge for repeated use. Although it drains your life support for power, the amount is nominal, so you can certainly get your money’s worth without too much concern for your health.

There is a caveat to using it. It will instantly deactivate if you use any weapon or even just your jetpack. However, you still get a decent amount of time to get yourself a good distance from any Sentinels that might be attracted to you snatching up a Gravitino Ball or breaking open the door to a guarded research facility, or any other enemies you encounter on your travels. If you do go looking for combat, it’s also a handy trick to get the drop on your enemies by flanking around them undetected. However you choose to use it, the Cloaking Device is definitely an upgrade worth adding to your arsenal.