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The new 15th Aquarius Expedition in No Man's Sky has brought some awesome rewards (I can feel Bioshock vibes!). And, today, I've prepared a guide on how to finish it in less than four hours — fast and efficient!

This is Aiming4Gaming, and today we're aiming for efficient gaming!

TL;DR

I know that some people prefer watching videos over reading text guides. If you're one of them, here's a video version of this guide where I explain each step in action.

If you prefer text guides, it's right below!

Disclaimer

First of all, a disclaimer: this expedition is hard! Primarily because it’s centered around fishing – with random mechanics involving random catches of varying quality.

And yes, most milestones require you to fish. You’ve been warned!

The fishing itself is simple: cast your rod, wait for a fish to be attracted to the lure, then ignore the yellow glow and hold the left mouse button when you see a green glow. After that you’ll catch a random fish—or sometimes something else. That’s it.

Now, prepare to do this at least 100 times across different planets to complete the expedition! There are a few tricks to increase your chances of catching what you need, and I'll cover that later in this guide.

Preparation (Optional)

If you're planning to bring something from your main save, I recommend the following:

1. Salt, Carbon, Oxygen, Sodium, Ferrite, and Chromatic Metal
2. Magnetized Ferrite and Crystal Sulphide
3. Nutrient Processor
4. Magnetic Resonator, Metal Plating, and Tritium to craft Magpulse Lure
5. Mordite, Phosphorus, and Di-Hydrogen to craft Spicy Chum
6. Optionally: Amino Chambers, Ion Batteries, and Lubricants to craft Bionic Lure

You can also buy most of this stuff from stations if you want to speed things up.

The guide

1. Start your expedition, and if you haven’t brought anything with you, document everything around and mine basic resources such as carbon and oxygen.
2. Locate and reach your starship to complete "Casting Off." The reward for this milestone is a free personal refiner module. Mine some copper and refine it into chromatic metal.
3. Repair your starship and go to space to finish "Blue Yonder," which rewards you with a free hyperdrive unit.
4. Craft some warp cells and warp to the first fishing spot system. Visit the marked planet, find the location, and interact with The Angler’s Cache to complete "Gone Fishing: 1."
5. The reward allows you to craft a fishing rig, which you must make to finish "Toe In The Water."
6. Then, start fishing in any water pool on this planet.
7. By the way, use chromatic metal as fishing bait to improve fish quality! This will also complete "Taking The Bait."
8. Catching any trash completes "The One That..."
9. Catching an uncommon fish completes "Hook, Line & Sinker."
10. Catching 5 fish completes "Wading In," which rewards you with nutrient processor plans.
11. Craft the processor and cook any fish to complete "Catch Of The Day."
12. Catching 7 uncommon biome-specific fish on this planet completes "In Hot Water."
13. At this point, start looking for armored clams to collect 15 living pearls and complete "Pearls of Wisdom."
14. Meanwhile, dive 50 units below the surface to complete "Freediving."
15. Next, teleport to the system with Secret Fishing Spot 2, visit the corresponding planet, and interact with the Plague to complete "Gone Fishing: 2."
16. Fish up the message in a bottle on this planet and read it to complete "Message in a Bottle," which unlocks fishing bait recipes.
17. At this stage, I recommend mining some creatures for Mordite, buying the remaining materials from stations, and crafting Spicy Chum for a higher chance of catching better fish for quests!
18. Also, craft Magpulse Lure and use it during storms to eventually complete "Fins of Thunder."
19. Catching three night fish completes "Night Fishing."
20. Step deeper into the water and release three fish from your inventory to finish "Freedom of the Sea," which rewards you with Exo-Skiff plans.
21. Catching three daytime fish completes "Sun On The Water," which rewards you with craftable component plans.
22. Install the Exo-Skiff module and summon it from the vehicle menu to complete "Pondskipper." You’ll receive a couple of lures. By the way, you can store fish in the Exo-Skiff.
23. Warp to the system with the "Gone Fishing: 3" mark, but first, visit a nuclear planet in this system. Casting into deep water here will complete "The Inky Depths."
24. Catching three colossal fish completes "The Lunker."
25. Catching four uncommon irradiated fish completes "Feed Water."
26. Now visit Secret Fishing Spot 3 to complete "Gone Fishing: 3."
27. If you’re lucky, you might catch a legendary fish and complete "Myths of the Deep."
28. On this planet, I also found a 100kg underwater creature, which completed "Abyssal Wonder!"
29. Eventually, you’ll catch a bottle on this planet. Open it to complete "Tales of the Waves," unlocking automated traps. Craft and place three traps on this planet.
30. Meanwhile, build an underwater base with a Deepwater Chamber, Watertight Door, and Moon Pool Floor to complete "Child of the Sea."
31. Collect 5 uncommon ice biome-specific fish to complete "Ice Cold."
32. Catch 100 fish to complete "Wading In Again."
33. Sell your fish for 500,000 units to complete "Fresh Sell Fish."
34. I also placed more automated traps on previously visited planets to speed up the milestone related to them. Collecting 13 fish from these traps completes "The Lazy Fisherman."
35. Warp to the system with Secret Fishing Spot 4, visit the settlement, and interact with the terminal to complete "Gone Fishing: 4."
36. Go fishing on this planet and eventually you’ll catch another bottle and finish "Call of the Water."
37. Reach Fishing Spot 5 and find an underwater structure to complete "Gone Fishing: 5."
38. Eventually, you’ll catch the final bottle on this planet and finish "The Angler Rests."
39. Now, use 5 Bionic Lures from previous milestones (or craft more if needed) to catch the legendary Angler and complete "Scales of Fire," the final milestone of this expedition!
40. Finally, summon the Space Anomaly, visit the expedition terminal, end the expedition, and enjoy your awesome rewards!

Conclusion

I hope with this guide you have achieved what you were aiming for today!

Also, here's the list with all my guides for reference:

1. NMS Liquidators Expedition 14 In 3 Hours - Full Guide
2. NMS Adrift Expedition 13 In 4 Hours - Full Guide
3. NMS Omega Expedition 12 In 4 Hours - Full Guide
4. How to Get the S-Class Dreadnought in NMS | No Man’s Sky 1-Minute Guide
5. How To Find a PERFECT Activated Indium Farm Planet In NMS

Anyway, thank you for reading up to this point, and see you next time! 🌟