Multitool Upgrades in No Man's Sky: Modules, Slots, and Builds Explained

A stock multitool is a blank chassis. The thing that mines asteroids of gold, melts pirate squadrons, and turns a walk through the woods into a units faucet is not the tool you bought — it is the upgrade layer you installed on it. And the upgrade system rewards players who understand it disproportionately: two tools of identical class and type can differ by half again in performance purely from module choice, placement, and slot discipline.

Last updated: August 22, 2026, current through patch 6.50. This is the system guide — how modules, slots, and bonuses interact. For what to install on a specific tool, see best multitools, weapon modes, or mining beam builds.

The Three Layers of a Multitool Build

Layer	What it is	Where it comes from
Core technologies	The base Mining Beam, Scanner, Boltcaster, etc.	Installed by default or crafted from blueprints
Upgrade modules	Class-graded boosters per family (C/B/A/S)	Technology merchants — stations and the Anomaly, priced in nanites
Slots	Technology slots vs general slots; supercharged slots	Ships with the tool; expandable at station cabinets and the Anomaly

Technology slots hold tech and modules; general slots hold anything, at reduced tech efficiency — a fine overflow valve, never the plan. Supercharged slots are the highlighted technology slots every tool carries a few of, and they are the most valuable real estate on the grid.

Rule One: Three Modules Per Family, Then Stop

Each technology family — Mining Beam, Boltcaster, Scanner, and so on — accepts its core technology plus up to three upgrade modules. The fourth module of the same family contributes nothing: no stat gain, one fewer slot. Every properly built tool is therefore an exercise in choosing families, not stacking one:

• A combat tool takes three modules of its main weapon family (boltcaster or neutron cannon, per weapon modes), plus three of a backup or utility family.
• A scanner tool takes three Scanner Upgrades plus its analysis tech — the build that makes an experimental print money.
• A mining tool takes three Mining Beam Upgrades plus heat management tech — the deep dive is mining beam upgrades.

The limit is why slot counts matter less than players fear: three families times three modules plus cores fits comfortably in a good tool’s technology grid.

Rule Two: Adjacency Is Free Performance

Modules of the same family perform better when placed adjacent to their core technology and to each other. The game communicates this the moment you move a module — stats shift live in the install screen. The discipline it asks for:

1. Install the core technology.
2. Cluster its three modules in the surrounding slots, touching the core and each other.
3. Keep families in contiguous blocks — a “checkerboard” grid of scattered modules is the most common self-inflicted nerf in the game.

Plan the grid before you install: cores and their module blocks first, supercharged slots reserved, general slots left for overflow.

Rule Three: Supercharged Slots Go to Your Identity

Supercharged slots multiply whatever sits in them. The allocation question — “which single module most defines this tool?” — has a build-specific answer:

• Scanner tool: the strongest Scanner Upgrade. This is the difference between a good payout and an absurd one.
• Combat tool: the strongest damage module of your primary weapon family.
• Hybrid/royal-style builds: the family you actually use most — resist spreading supercharged boosts across two families unless you genuinely split time evenly.

Buying Modules: Where and How

Technology merchants on space stations sell module stock for nanites, refreshed per system — and, as with everything, wealthy systems stock better classes. The Space Anomaly’s multitool merchant is the guaranteed baseline stock when a route disappoints. Practical shopping:

1. Bring nanites — hundreds for A-class, more for S-class stock. Our nanite farming guide covers the standard earning loops.
2. Check the class letter on offer per family before buying; a C-class module is placeholder gear, S-class is the destination.
3. Buy duplicate families across systems when hunting a better roll — module stats vary within a class band, so veterans replace good modules with slightly better good modules.

Two Reference Builds

The money scanner (on an experimental):

Grid region	Contents
Supercharged slots	Strongest Scanner Upgrade
Technology block 1	Scanner core + remaining Scanner Upgrades, clustered
Technology block 2	Mining Beam core + three Mining Beam Upgrades (the working tool still has to mine)
General slots	Shield and utility overflow

The dissonance fighter (on a sentinel multitool):

Grid region	Contents
Supercharged slots	Strongest primary damage module
Technology block 1	Primary weapon core (boltcaster or neutron cannon) + three upgrades, clustered
Technology block 2	Mining Beam line for the resource loop
General slots	Health/shield tech overflow, teleporter utility

Mistakes That Cost Real Performance

• Scattering modules and forfeiting adjacency — the silent, universal error.
• Installing a fourth same-family module — pure slot waste.
• Supercharging a utility instead of your build’s identity module.
• Buying a prettier tool before upgrading the current one — an A-class tool with disciplined modules beats an S-class tool with none, a point worth internalizing before any royal hunt.
• Neglecting the scanner on general-purpose tools — scanner modules pay for all the other modules.

The upgrade layer is the same across every tool type in the game, which is the good news: learn it once, and every tool you ever buy — station, outlaw, or harmonic camp — gets built right the day you buy it.