No Man's Sky: How To Start New Autophage 'They Who Returned' Mission

No Man's Sky continues to evolve with the release of the Echo update. One of the latest additions in the Echo update is a new race of mysterious beings called the Autophage. They are also known as “They Who Returned”, and they have a hidden story that you can unlock and explore.

However, many players are struggling to start the Autophage mission, and there seems to be some confusion about the requirements and the steps to trigger it. In this article, I will share my experience and tips on how to start the new Autophage story in No Man’s Sky.

How To Start the Autophage Story in No Man's Sky

The Autophage story isn’t very obvious or easy to come across. There won’t be any notifications or prompts to initiate it. Instead, you’ll have to do some exploration and discover it on your own.

To begin, complete one of the story missions in No Man’s Sky. It doesn’t matter which one you choose, as long as you reach its conclusion. Personally, I finished the Atlas Path. You can also complete the Artemis Path or the Starbirth quest.

After finishing one of these story missions, warp to a desolate system. A desolate system is one that lacks a space station, lifeforms, and planets with atmospheres. You can locate these systems by using an Indium Drive or an Emeril Drive on your starship and searching for systems with red or green stars.

Upon warping to a desolate system, you should receive a message on your communicator from an unknown source. The message will read something like, “We see you. We are waiting.” This indicates that you’ve triggered the Autophage story.

For more No Man's Sky news, be sure to check out our dedicated section or take a look at some of our Guides & Tutorials just below:

SETTINGS GUIDES - 

How to Use Save Editor In No Man’s Sky | How To Change Camera View in No Man’s Sky |

How To Play Multiplayer Co-Op With Friends | When Is No Man’s Sky Coming To Mac?

FARMING GUIDES - 

How to Farm Nanites | How To Farm Salvaged Frigate Module

GAME GUIDES -

How To Get Free S-Class Freighter | How To Get Harmonic Brain | How To Get Echo Locator | How To Find Portals and Unlock Glyphs | How To Get An Exocraft | How To Get Atlas Pass | All Refiner Recipes | How to Increase Starship Storage | How to Get the Heat Capacitor | How To Find Space Stations | How to Get Cadmium | How To Get Creature Pellets | How To Get Activated Copper | How To Craft Chromatic Metal | How To Find Black Holes | How To Repair Crashed Sentinel Interceptor Starships | How To Get Sentinel Interceptor Starships | How Big is No Man's Sky Map