

The aggression of the Sentinels and their dedication to pursuing the player is entirely linked to the player's wanted level. Sentinels will normally act passively towards the player unless they witness them violating a universal law (such as killing an animal unprovoked, or over-mining a planet's resources). If the player makes an attempt to alter the environment while they are around, they will not hesitate to defend their "garden". They are, in essence, the "gardeners" of the No Man's Sky universe. Sentinels act as the workhorse machines of The Atlas, and police the actions of those within the universe. They were created to balance the efforts and actions of the player with the procedurally generated ecosystem.

The Sentinels in No Man's Sky are a species of self-replicating, non-organic machines. Sentinels will only attack if you are attempting to make changes to the area they are residing in, provoking them by messing with the wild life or terrain, or exploring a planet with rare resources.
