No Man'due south Sky may but have a score of 71 on Metacritic, but it has come up a long way since its launch in 2016, with plenty of updates that finally let the game live upwards to those initial promises, bringing an experience that's absolutely worth delving into.

All the same, when y'all boot up the game and enter the vast, endless universe of No Human'south Sky, things can get a little daunting. Still, with a niftier send to pilot, a fleet at your disposal, a handy fire-arm to keep you condom in the near hostile of environments, and enough greenbacks to nab the resource you demand, the tension tin be eased. So, hither are some ways to earn units in No Homo'southward Sky.

Updated on October 1, 2021, by Richard Horton: Thanks to the continued support of the developers and a thriving community, No Man's Sky has managed to remain an agile and enjoyable game in the years since its initial launch. The trouble is that players need resources to make the about of all the new content that'due south been added, and in No Man'southward Sky, that means money. But every bit fun as information technology is to frantically wander the stars, it doesn't earn players the units they need to purchase new ships and items. Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to make money in No Man's Heaven, so it won't exist long before you lot tin can beget the starship of your dreams.

15 Refine Basic Materials

No Man's Sky Active Portable Refiner On An Arid Planet

One of the best ways to make coin in No Human's Sky is also i of the most often overlooked and that's refining materials. Information technology's particularly effective in the early stages of the game once you have the use of a portable refiner to plough basic resources into more valuable versions of themselves.

Ferrite Dust is a nifty example of this. It's easily available and has a base value of 14 units. Put some in a portable refiner and information technology will become Pure Ferrite with a value of 28 units. Refine this Pure Ferrite and it volition become Magnetised Ferrite with a value of 82 units. That'due south almost half-dozen times its original value. Work with big plenty quantities and you'll be making hundreds of thousands of units in no fourth dimension at all. And it gets even easier when tools like the medium refiner become available to you lot and allow more than efficient production of these valuable resources.

14 Quests And Nexus Missions

No Man's Sky Vykeen Quest Giver On A Space Station

Side-quests are the lifeblood of every open up-world game'southward economy and only because No Homo'due south Sky spans an unabridged universe doesn't mean information technology is whatsoever dissimilar. Head to the nearest infinite station and speak to the Mission Listings Agent to catch a few jobs. They normally just pay in the tens of thousands of units merely you can complete multiple at once for a bigger payout.

Merely if yous desire a bigger payout, summon the Space Bibelot and caput inside to The Nexus. Here y'all'll find multiplayer missions (they can also be completed solo) which payout thousands of nanites or hundreds of thousands of units. Plus, they offer valuable goods as a secondary reward too, making them all the more worthwhile.

13 Gold / Silver / Platinum

No Mans Sky Polo the Gek Space Anomaly

When you lot finally take to the skies and get off the hellspawn tutorial earth yous're thrust into right off the bat, you'll encounter asteroids in spades, and shooting them with the ship guns or mining beams can net some adequately decent early on game rewards in the form of Gold, Argent, and Platinum - you'll too become Tritium, which you'll want to keep a stock of to fuel your ship. While these precious metals are used in crafting, it's not something you'll have to worry nigh for a while if you're but starting out, and then shoot those rocks all y'all can.

Similarly, you are able to scan planets while in space - just look directly at them and striking the browse push button to larn about the planet. You tin can and then easily bank check if any nearby planets take these metals on them. If they do, caput downward to the surface and spotter on foot for deposits using your analysis visor. Y'all'll presently be able to assemble up a plentiful amount of these metals, that you can then sell for a not half-bad price at the space stations. These aren't the quickest methods, but certainly a starting point.

12 Chlorine Farming

No Mans Sky Planet Orange Sky

Still, if the basic riches of the galaxy aren't bringing in plenty units to go yous that sweet spaceship you lot want or a new blaster to take down sentinels, so you're better off going for more than circuitous methods such as making a chlorine loop factory. It's not hard to get chlorine in No Man's Sky — all it takes is a refiner, some oxygen, and a little table salt. Salt can exist found from planetary deposits, and then scan the planets from infinite to cheque.

Ready up a medium refiner in your base of operations of selection and refine some salt mixed with oxygen, which will net yous some chlorine. And so, add together the chlorine dorsum into the refiner and mix it with even more oxygen - this will multiply the chlorine significantly. Repeat this step, as soon you'll have a growing amount of chlorine. Throwing together 250 chlorine with 500 oxygen gets you lot 1,500 chlorine. Dumping that chlorine with 3,000 oxygen will so get yous 9,000 chlorine, or roughly 5 million units. Set upwardly multiple refiners defended to this process and y'all'll be gear up for life.

xi Freighter Expeditions

No Mans Sky Freighter Space Ship Asteroids

Early game coin and an alternative system to work towards - all of a sudden, that 10 million unit ship at the infinite station doesn't seem so pricey, merely whilst all of that is going on, a fleet at your control to get some extra cash tin be the cherry on top. There's a take a chance when jumping from system to system that you'll see a freighter under siege by pirates and, if you exercise, the helm volition happily retire and forgo his freighter to you lot.

Once you are the captain of your own freighter, you lot can gradually expand your fleet and ship your workers on expeditions. When flying through space and near other fleets, you can move closer to a frigate (the smaller ships surrounding a freighter) to open up a comms channel - here, yous will be able to hire them and add to your armada. Then y'all can manage them from the command deck of your freighter and organize missions, non dissimilar the way that Assassin'south Creed: Brotherhood and Black Flag let you send assassins or pirates on timed missions in the background to become you cash while y'all gallivant around the open up world. It's slow, but it'south a complimentary bonus.

10 Raid Trading Fleets

No Man's Sky Orange Fighter Approaching Blue and Black Freighter

Space piracy might non be the most upstanding style of earning your way in the universe of No Man'south Heaven, but when y'all demand to make coin fast it's a guaranteed way of netting a few hundred thousand units of valuable items, assuming your ship survives beingness attacked by Sentinel starfighters.

All you have to do is notice a nearby freighter fleet and open up fire on their cargo pods. When their wellness hits zero, whatever valuable material or item they were transporting will announced in your ship's inventory. Even so, be wary non to assail the frigates that environs the larger freighters as each one you lot destroy volition lose you a point of standing with the dominant species of the star organisation.

ix Whispering Eggs And Larval Cores

No Mans Sky Whispering Eggs

If yous have always stumbled across an abandoned edifice or a life-incompatible planet on your travels in the endless worlds of No Man's Sky, you have likely come upon whispering eggs. These nests usually have a off-white few of these eggs around which, when broken, summon some nasty monstrosities that will be out for blood - yours, particularly.

However, it'south worth the hassle of tangling with the biological horrors every bit whispering eggs comprise larval cores that tin be sold for a pretty toll of roughly 70,000 units each. You can either run from them, fight them off, or build up some walls for protection. Just comport in mind that the larval core will only be around on the floor for a few seconds afterwards the egg is destroyed, so y'all will have to choice it up quickly.

8 Gravitino Assurance

No Mans Sky Gravitino Balls Sentinel

Gravitino balls aren't the near profitable of shiny objects in the universe of No Man's Sky, simply they are easy to find and virtually-impossible to miss given that they glow blindingly bright when you are near them. The best place to notice them is a planet with loftier sentinel action - they guard them well and will go hostile when you pick one up, so be wary that a fight will probable ensue.

Once you've nabbed some gravitino balls and tucked them away in your backpack, merely loftier tail away from the sentinel hordes and utilize your scanner to notice the adjacent batch. Grab enough and you lot tin make a decent amount at the terminal. Don't bother fighting the sentinels, equally they will only ship stronger forces - instead, hop in your ship and fly above the footing for a bit without leaving orbit. Soon subsequently, they'll give up looking for you lot.

7 Derelict Freighters

No Mans Sky Desolate Freighter Official Screenshot

Derelict freighters are eerily similar to Expressionless Space, so expect horror galore. They were added in the Desolation update and they tin be explored to discover both units and nanites - two unlike currencies in the game. You can tackle these with friends or solitary, but expect to be creeping around dark and abandoned halls that faced an unclear demise.

To find a Derelict Freighter, the bit dealers are your go-to, as they sell Emergency Broadcast Reciever for v million units, increasing in toll with each one you purchase on the same day. It'due south not cheap, merely when y'all make it, yous're probable to find enough loot for a turn a profit. If that'south too much of an investment, though, Helios on the Space Anomaly gives out a gratuitous Emergency Broadcast Reciever once per week.

6 Crashed Ships

No Man's Sky Crashed Ship On Frozen World

Spend plenty fourth dimension in No Man's Sky and you're certain to encounter distress signals. Some will be downed freighters or a citizen in peril, but other times you lot'll observe a crashed and damaged ship. Spend a minimal amount of resources fixing up these downed ships past repairing simply the launch thrusters and pulse engine, and so accept them to the nearest space station.

Once yous arrive, caput to the Starship Outfitting Concluding and scrap the ship. You'll receive a reduced amount of the ship'southward value due to the damage but still several hundred thousand units, and an added bonus of some free ship upgrades that can be used or sold for nanites.

5 Broken Mechanism

No Mans Sky Tutorial Space Ship Broken Machinery Orange Planet

Finding units is all fine and dandy simply not everything in No Man's Sky tin be bought with that form of currency, then where exactly is the best-guaranteed place to get nanites? In that location's cleaved machinery which tin can be institute on about every planet or there are the same larval cores and freighters.

Your very get-go set of broken machinery can be found by your ship correct at the tutorial world, but y'all may take missed how to scoop the nanites out of it — remove the goop or rust or any else is blocking up the system and some cash will puddle out for you. Refine the slime into living slime and that can then be refined into nanites. Information technology's a slower method, but with how much of this cleaved mechanism you'll be running into, it's worth mentioning.

4 Albumen Pearls

No Mans Sky Albumen Pearls on red planet

Caves are filled with goodies and so it's not just the surface that'll be your source for riches. Deep down in the caverns, you might come across some valuable pearls, among many other potential treasures and relics. While you lot tin find a few different things that tin can exist found, nosotros're going to focus specifically on the Albumen Pearls.

They're found fairly easily past means of the Analysis Visor or scanner - though information technology does hateful y'all'll have to interact with some slightly disturbing Humming Sacs to go them. Nevertheless, the pearls within can be worth effectually ten,000 units each, and so gathering them in bulk can be a way to make some quick greenbacks. They're indicated by a diamond icon on your visor, which is fitting since they fetch quite a nice price at the terminals.

3 Galactic Trading

NMS Galactic Trade Terminal

Every Infinite Station in No Man's Sky has a galactic trade concluding on it. You tin also find them in some small-scale buildings and at on-planet trading posts. They permit you lot to buy and sell all manner of things, of which you lot'll no doubt be familiar with if y'all're trying to brand a fortune. However, yous can make use of the economies of each system every bit you travel, which can earn you plenty of units at a fast pace.

Unremarkably, the top of the trade menu will feature some complex items that yous don't have much need for - produced tech or local components, that sort of matter. Accept a look through them and notice something with a high value, only at a low trade rate (this will be listed underneath the detail in the same carte). Buy these items in bulk, and then head over to some other arrangement'southward Space Station. In one case in that location, cheque to see if you lot tin sell these items for a profit. If non, proceed hopping systems until y'all tin can - it won't have long. after a few runs, you'll run into your units increasing at a rapid rate.

2 Ancient Bones

No Mans Sky Volcano

If a planet has aboriginal basic, cease what y'all're doing and get downward on the surface and start searching for buried treasure modules. They don't stack, so make sure y'all take plenty of room in your inventory, but the pay-off is worth it as they can fetch a price from roughly fourscore,000 to 2 million units each - or even more than depending on the rarity.

There are three variants - blueish: common, purple: rare, and aureate: legendary. They're abundant when you detect a planet that houses them, so your best bet is to gear up a camp that you can teleport to whenever you need some quick cash. This method is perfect for players who are new to the game also - a short while of using your Analysis Visor to locate them and some quick earthworks, and you'll be good to go.

1 Salvaged Technology Information

No Mans Sky Atlus Interface Entrance

Salvaged data is used to research base-building schemes and the like, whether that'southward the starting teleporter, underwater structures, or decorative pieces like a sweet curved sofa - but eventually, you lot'll no longer demand them. This will be much later, every bit at that place is an abundance of structures and furnishings for y'all to unlock, just it is inevitable that you volition have them all.

Once y'all're no longer finding a demand for Salvaged Data, they are still absolutely worth going out on the hunt for with your terrain manipulator. In bulk, they tin bring in millions of units at a fourth dimension. Their value, combined with how easy they are to find since they're needed to research essential blueprints, suddenly makes them an incredibly easy style to accumulate units - they're on pretty much every single planet.

NEXT: No Homo's Sky: Where To Discover Salvaged Technology Data

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