How to get more merits in Void Bastards

Published , by Sam Chandler

Merits are the main form of currency in Void Bastards. This paper currency is found all over the galaxy and getting as many merits as possible makes life a lot easier.

How to get more merits

Merits are needed to unlock containers in Void Bastards, which often contain parts for crafting.

As a client trying to repair your ship, you will need to use merits for various services as you explore the nebula. These services can be purchasing healing services, using radiation treatments, purchasing food, and even opening up locked doors or loot crates. However, if you don’t have enough merits, these services and loot will be unavailable.

Whenever you die in Void Bastards, you lose all the merits you had acquired. Thankfully, whenever a new client is rehydrated, they receive a care package containing a few merits to get them started.

Aside from these starter merits, you can find merits in ships and in the nebula. Hidden around the various ships you visit will be merits just sitting there. An item that is sitting outside of a container will be sparkling, this includes merits. Look for these sparkles floating up from the item – this is especially useful in ships where all the lights are off.

Merits Prizes are a guaranteed drop of merits and can be easily found in the star map.

As for finding merits in the nebula, they are even easier to acquire. As you jet from ship to ship, you may notice some of the nodes aren’t ships at all. Sometimes, they will be bullet crates, food crates, and even random merit prizes. These merit lotteries contain a random amount of merits ranging between two set amounts. To see how many merits you might win, highlight the merit prize and look under “benefits”. All you need to do is jet to the merits and they’re all yours.

While there are no abilities to boost the merits you earn, there are ways to reduce how many merits you need to spend. The Merit Badge is a tool that can be crafted on the workbench that offers a 10% chance for authorisations to be entirely free. Similarly, by crafting and upgrading the Padded Jacket, you can increase your health, which should help you save on healing stations as well as food consumption.

Thankfully, merits aren’t needed in crafting, so don’t worry too much about blowing through whatever merits you have on you. But for those who want to get more merits, keep your eyes peeled for Merit Prizes and any tools that might help reduce the cost of ship services in Void Bastards.