Horizons 1.5 & 2.0 is the first expansion to Elite: Dangerous and was released on the 15th December 2015. The update also comes with base game update 1.5 – Ships. You do not need to purchase Horizons to have these listed features. Purchasing the expansion gives access to the entire season of updates (2.0 – 2.4). You can get an overview of those Horizons releases, here.
Note: Since this was initially released there have been subsequent changes to the planets and their content. The below does not necessarily reflect the current status of the game.
> 1.5 – Ships
The release of 1.5 – Ships sees the number of ships in the game increase to 30 (31 if you own Horizons). As well as some additional mission types and scenarios.
Ships
- Asp Scout
- Viper MkIV
- Federal Corvette
- Imperial Cutter
- Keelback
- Imperial Fighter (CQC)
> Missions
Several new mission types were added to the game which added some variety to the missions system.
- Crashed ships
- Don’t die missions
- Don’t get scanned missions
- Multi-stage missions
- Missions can be received in space
- Assassination variants
- Contact missions
- Unique cargo missions
- Timed window missions
Additionally there were some scenarios included which require the player to drop into various situations in space.
- Search and rescue scenarios
- Wrecked ships scenarios
- New deep space salvage scenarios
- Distress call scenarios
> 2.0 – HORIZONS
The headline feature of 2.0 is the ability to land your ship anywhere on the airless planets and moons which make up 61% of the in-game total. These consist of four planet types:
- Rocky
- Metal
- Ice
- Rock & Ice
View from above an icy planet. On the planets surfaces there are various installations to visit and in some cases interact with. These include:
- Military bases
- Research Establishments
- Hideouts
- Major star ports
- Mining complexes


- Scanning the surface for materials
- Fighting skimmer defence vehicles (x 4 variations)
- ‘Scanning terminals’ to download data
- Find crashed ships
- Discover points of interest, debris and lost cargo
Once a player has landed on planets they can find materials to refuel, rearm and repair their ships whilst doing the following:
- Scanning the surface for materials
- ‘Hacking terminals’ to download data
- Find crashed ships
- Discover points of interest, debris and lost cargo

Various materials can be found on the planetary surface and synthesised in order to:
- Refuel your SRV
- Repair your SRV
- Reproduce ammunition
- Increase Ship Jump Range
