12 No Man's Sky tips for those who already have their head in the game
No Man's Sky tips for those who already have their head in the game
No Man's Sky players who have mantled the initial learning curve probably look back and laugh at those early few minutes when the inventory screen looked like the Matrix and it took three tries to find the scan button.
But now you're a master of No Man's Sky's little foibles. You know how to farm the resources you need. You're gathering ever-better upgrade blueprints and your inventories are expanding You're well on your way to the Galactic Centre - or you're plonked down exploring the planets that call to you, ticking off their flora and fauna like a tourist hitting the must-sees. Surely there's nothing left to learn?
You might be surprised by this collection of advanced No Man's Sky tips, which includes some choice items from our No Man's Sky guide. Strap on in.
Use landing pads like a pro
Many alien structures have landing pads attached and it's really worthwhile using them: if you set your ship down on a landing pad, your cargo will be accessible when you interact with aliens or Galactic Trading Network terminals inside the buildings. No more running back and forth with loaded pockets!
To land on a landing pad successfully, fly slow and low (hold L2) and tip the camera down so you can se the pad. Hold Square when you're good and close - four white arrows will highlight the pad when you're within range, and you'll be set down right on point.
By the way, landing pads are also launching pads - you can get off the ground without using any of the fuel in your launch thrusters. Not a hugely important fact given the abundance of Plutonium crystals near points of interest, but nice regardless.
Upgrade your Multitool for combat and destruction
Most players realise they can add a Boltcaster to their Multitool right from the get go, which does a great deal more damage to enemies and structures than the mining beam (like, so much more). But there are other upgrades worth checking out which are even better than those which improve the efficiency of the Boltcaster.
For starters, you may want to grab a grenades module. Some of the more high-end ones are ridiculously powerful, but even the most basic version will get you through a door a lot quicker than a Boltcaster will, which is paramount if the Sentinels are particularly zesty where you are.
Later on, look for the Railshot Adaptor. This glorious beast is an alternative to the Boltcaster, converting the mining beam itself into a powerful weapon while retaining its use as a resource tool - no need to switch between the two fire modes, as with the Boltcaster. Loaded up with a few complementary upgrades, this is the best tool for any job - way better than the Boltcaster.
Even with upgrades it does overheat quickly, but we've got some info on that, too...
Bypass overheating and cool downs while mining
You know how your mining beam overheats if you use it too long? It's more an annoyance than an inconvenience, but it's still a pain and sitting there waiting for the Multitool to cooldown isn't any better.
Well, good news: turns out the cooldown bar draining away is just a visual effect. As soon as it begins to empty, start mining again and you'll notice it resets to zero and begins to fill again. Suddenly it makes sense that the overheat timer and cooldown drain are the same amount of time, doesn't it? One of them isn't real.
By the way, if you've installed the Railshot Adaptor you have less need for grenades and the Boltcaster, so you should might dismantling these upgrades and installing those which make your mining beam more efficient instead.
Advanced Scanner and Analysis Visor tips
If you have a nice big Multitool inventory, it's worthwhile using upgrading your scanner occasionally, as it does a lot more than just tell you the red crystals by your foot are the same as every other red crystal you've seen in the past 40 hours. Look for green icons indicating the location of rare and valuable items like Albumen Pearls and Vortex Cubes, which is one way to farm units in No Man's Sky. The more range your scanner has, the more you can see in one sweep.
Another tool it's easy to overlook is the Analysis Visor. You've probably already noticed and leveraged the fauna indicators, but did you know it's also useful for combat? It serves as both iron sights and even a sniping scope; hold down L2 and aim for more precise Boltcaster strikes. Even better, if you keep a target in your sights briefly the icon will change, indicating auto-aim has been engaged - as long as you can keep your crosshair fairly close to the target, aim assist will ensure you hit. Perfect for taking down zooming Sentinels and flying creatures.
Use map beacons and Bypass Chips to quickly locate points of interest
You've probably worked out that the blue question mark icons you see on planets lead to all kinds of points of interest, but did you know there's a better way to find them than by flying around randomly?
What you want to do is find a map beacon. These are not the beacons you use at save points, but distinct objects identified by a beam of orange light shotting into the sky. You usually find them among structures at points of interest.
Craft and spend Bypass Chips to farm these map beacons for points of interest; each one can be accessed as many times as it takes to fill out the area around you. Boom! Blueprints, crashed ships, and aliens for days. If you're lucky, you can max out your inventories without even leaving your first planet - see the subsequent slides for details.
Max out your Exosuit inventory by farming Drop Pods
The best way to make yourself more powerful in No Man's Sky is to get some high-end upgrades on your Exosuit, and for that you're going to want a lot of inventory slots. To do this, you need about several million Units; visit a space station and see which items the Galactic Trade Network is offering a bonus on to quickly raise cash when necessary.
Head down to any planet and use the map beacon and Bypass Chip farm described in the previous slide, but only ever choose "Shelter". Repeat until you accumulate a couple of drop pod markers; the waypoint system seems to cap out at three sites of this type, so don't be greedy. Ignore other kinds of waypoints.
Each drop pod will offer you an Exosuit upgrade - one extra inventory slot. The first one is free, and the prices then increase with each upgrade. Save after upgrading, clear your available drop pods, then return to the map beacon and look for another set of drop pods to rinse and repeat until you run out of money.
You can do something similar with Multitools if you like - just look for Beacons with advanced lifeforms and outposts instead of Shelters with drop pods. Again, you'll need a lot of cash.
Get a 48 slot ship, with or without the the Gek Transmission Tower exploit
Ships are expensive in No Man's Sky, but that extra inventory space makes a huge difference both to cargo and upgrades. Although the beautiful ships aliens fly around are tempting, there's another way to upgrade your ride so you can fill your hold with goodies and upgrades.
The secret is to land on a planet and farm No Man's Sky ships to get a 48-slot ship. This system relies on the fact that crashed ships are always one better or worse than your current vehicle, so you can just force your way up the ranks at no cost bar time.
Hello Games is probably going to patch the Gek Transmission Tower exploit if it hasn't already, but for now you can get this done much more quickly if you're lucky enough to be near a Gek planet. If not, just head back to the map beacon between each Transmission Tower.
Farm crashed ships for Omegon and other rare resources
So you already know all about how to force-upgrade your ship without spending money, but did you know there's another very good reason to farm crashed ships?
Whether you want a crashed ship or not, you should put all your stuff in it and accept the transfer, then break down all the upgrades in whichever ship you're not keeping and fly off in the other one.
As the rarity of the ships increases, so to does the quality of its upgrades - and the materials you receive for breaking them down. This is by far the easiest way to get Omegon and other exotic elements in No Man's Sky without spending oodles of money. That link has a more detailed description of how to employ this farm.
Forget farming and head for the Galactic Centre
Wait, what? Didn't we just tell you you can get everything you need on your starting planet using the farming methods described above?
Yep, you sure can - but it's a lot faster the closer you get to the Galactic Centre. Although you always have a chance to find something better than what you've got, that chance seems to increase as you approach the Galactic Centre.
Take for example crashed ships. A newly discovered crashed ship will always have either one more or one less slot than your current vessel. On your starting planet, you'll spend a lot of time looking at crappier ships. Closer in, the chances of finding a better one increases.
This seems to apply to all loot, so if you want the best upgrade blueprints you better travel. Finish the first few quests and get moving as soon as you can.
Scan flying creatures when ... they're not flying
One last animal to collect before your planetary discoveries folder is complete - and it's a bloody bird. You trek after your quarry for minutes, repeatedly staring at it down your Analysis Visor - but you get nothing in return. What's an interstellar explorer to do?
Shoot it, and the scan the corpse. Yeah, don't worry; we're mad too.
If a Sentinel catches you shooting at non-hostile animals you'll be in trouble, but you can use this to your advantage; on any planet with a reasonable Sentinel presence, a drone will appear to investigate a kill. So if you can't see the animal you just shot, wait a few seconds and look for the Sentinel scanning beam to pinpoint the corpse.
Be smart about resources and power sources
In the beginning, most No Man's Sky players hoard heaps of common resources, because they don't know what's worth holding on to. A few hours in and you're no doubt past that; you know what you need to keep on hand, and what can be thrown away and replaced with valuable trade goods.
But! You may still be making things harder for yourself than you realise. Forget using Carbon to power your Multitool and Life Support; Thaumium9 is where it's at. Fill your ship's hold with a couple of thousand pieces of Thaumium9 (you can stack 500 pieces in one ship's inventory slot) before landing on a planet, and use it for everything. No more burning down trees to keep your mining beam alight. You only need Plutonium to get back to space, so don't worry about spending all your Thaumium9 on the ground
Additionally, once you've upgraded your hazard protection with a few add-ons you can keep it full even on very dangerous planets using Iron. Yes, Iron: that stuff lying around everywhere you almost never use. Grab some and craft a Shield Plate, then apply it to your hazard upgrades. No need to carry around anything extra there.
Don't forget about crafting if you're short on cash
While we're on the subject of resources, it's all too easy to forget that you have a decent source of quick cash at your fingertips, via the crafting menu. Whenever you visit a Galactic Trade Network on a planet surface, check to see if it's offering a good price of bonus on a craftable item.
There are plenty of mid-level products you can craft from very common components, so it's easy to fill your inventory with them just by wandering around any regular old planet. Craft a whole bunch at once and then cash them in for Units.
One of the best recipes for this trick is Magmox - although it doesn't sell for as much as some of the rarer products, it requires only Carbon, Plutonium and Thaumium9, which you should have loads of or easy access to at all times.