Finding Sandworms and Tornadoes in No Man’s Sky Origins Update

For those unfamiliar to No Man’s Sky, the game is a procedurally generated survival/exploration game that lets you explore a seemingly endless universe, hopping from planet to planet on your spacecraft coming across unexpected alien species and some truly awe-inspiring sights. The Origins update adds in some truly breathtaking creatures such as giant planetary sandworms as well as extreme weather conditions such as tornadoes!

How To Find a Sandworm On Your Own

I spent the last couple of days hunting down these rare creatures by starting exploration mode and traveling to as many planets as I could.

I explored extremely humid planets, frost plants, and even paradise planets to no avail. A quick look into the No Man’s Sky subreddit made it apparent that the sandworms are indeed a random event and can appear on any planet, however, most people had encountered these pesky worms in the planets with extreme radioactivity – this was my que. I loaded up my starship and set off to find a planet with high radioactivity.

As I stepped onto the inhabitable planet, the low visibility and plummeting toxicity protection levels didn’t do any favors for my confidence in finding the sandworm. The planet itself was unlike any I had seen. Most of the planet was covered in red glowing plants and fauna – the terrain was mostly canyons and high cliffs.

Thanks to the added variety included in the new Origins update, planetary exploration has been given a much-need jolt of excitement for the unknown. If I am not successful in finding the sandworm, at least I got to discover some truly magnificent and weird-looking planets in the process.

I was able to spot the sandworm. I consider myself one of the lucky ones to have spotted a sandworm on random chance. From the various forums I’ve visited, gamers report that there is a very slim chance to actually come across one of these. The sandworm did not disappoint, the creature is massive and fast, I would suggest summoning your spacecraft if it isn’t nearby to be able to keep up with the giant worm. Luckily there is a way to see these majestic creatures without having to rely on sheer luck.

To summarize here are some tips to help you find a sandworm on your own:

• Instead of playing in Normal mode, by starting a game in Creative mode, you will be able to avoid the survival elements of the game such as resource management so you can focus solely on exploring the various planets without worrying about running out of hyperdrive fuel.
• Look for rare planets such as paradise planets, arid planets, and dry radioactive planets as these are more likely to contain varied flora, fauna, and alien species.
• As you’ll be playing on Creative mode, use your hyperdrive as much as possible to be able to travel to further solar systems.

  

Finding Sandworm Through Coordinates

This method is a tried and tested method to summon yourself a sandworm by using portals found on the various planets. By entering a particular coordinate of a planet where other players have found a sandworm, you can teleport to that location. Exit your spacecraft, this will trigger an autosave – load up that save again and you should be able to see the sandworm appear into your game. The chances of this being successful is high but having said that, there is a slight chance the event won’t trigger. The below image is the coordinates to a planet that contains a sandworm.

If you aren’t aware of portals and using coordinates, don’t worry – let us give you a simple guide to finding them.

As mentioned previously, every planet contains a portal – to find a portal you have to first pinpoint the location of a monolith. This won’t be easy as planets can be quite big. Having an upgraded scanner can help find the monolith quicker and easier. Use the scanner and tag the nearest monolith in-game. Traverse towards the monolith. Once found interact with the monolith to get the location of the planet’s portal.

Now that you know where the portal is, make your way to the location and enter the above-given coordinates into the portal. Make sure you put it in the right order to be able to teleport to the planet that contains the sandworm.

How To Find Your First Tornado

With the sandworm out of the way, it was now time to focus on finding us a tornado. This was going to be very tricky as there is no shortcut or sure-shot way of triggering a tornado event in No Man’s Sky. Having said that, there was no harm in giving it a try. I had decided to set off and find myself a world that has extreme weather anomalies with lots of rain and radioactivity. Possibly by narrowing down the types of planets I would visit – maybe I could raise my chances of finding a tornado.

Here are some of the steps you can take to increase your chances of encountering tornadoes:

• Look for planets that are high in radioactivity as these planets tend to have constant storms. The more the storms the more the chances to find yourself a tornado.
• The new origins update has added infested planets. These planets are dangerous inhospitable planets with high toxicity levels. These planets seem to have a high chance of thunderstorms and extreme weather anomalies. Be sure to be on the lookout for these planet types.
• Explore beyond your current system. Use your hyperdrive to travel to further solar systems and explore planets far and wide to get the most variety possible when hunting for planets with extreme weather anomalies.
• Try to avoid moons, freezing and low gravity planets as these planets are less likely to have storms and weather variation.

Here’s a video by YouTuber DadGuy as he showcases one such tornado encounter in No Man’s Sky.

Do let us know in the comments if you find yourself one of the lucky ones who have come across a tornado event. Happy hunting!

Takeaways From No Mans Sky Origins Update

No Man’s Sky: Origins proves itself successful as an impressive and extensive overhaul of the universe. If sandworms and tornadoes weren’t enough the update also adds volcanos and other fascinating planetary elements in addition to tweaking the UI and upping the variety of the game world. Props to Hello Games for never giving up on No Man’s Sky and making it the success story it is today against all odds.