No Man's Sky guide: Atlas stones, warp cells, anti-matter and easy farming tips

No Man's Sky doesn't go out of its way to explain itself. Luckily, we do.

No Man's Sky is all about exploring, and developer Hello Games envisioned an experience in which you slowly uncover and come to understand the game's systems alongside the universe itself.

An admirable end goal in theory - but we've got very busy lives and don't want to spend six minutes searching every menu looking for the save button.

Hence, our No Man's Sky guide: a work in progress collection of tips and tricks for getting started, getting upgrades, and getting out of your origin system.

Because No Man's Sky starts every player in a unique location, we can't hold your hand and walk through your initial experience. What we can do is explain what's going on: what you're supposed to be doing, how to get started doing it, the easiest ways to get the resources you need, and more.

No Man's Sky is a big game, with a lot of interacting systems to master. The tactics that work early on may not be what you need in endgame, and there's no telling what further secrets will be uncovered. At the moment we're focused on helping you get started, find rare or just obscure resources, and work out what in the heck is going on. Let us know if you have a particular question we can help with.

We expect to be updating our No Man's Sky guide for a long time to come, so keep it locked with a bookmark for all the details as they surface.

No Man's Sky guide: the basic how-to's

In this section we'll be listing a bunch of early game guides and tips. No Man's Sky doesn't come with a manual, and not everybody will immediately grok its beautiful but daunting menus. It will all be second nature to you very soon, but for now? Don't be afraid to accept a little help.

• 11 essential tips to survive, farm and thrive in space

  Exosuit, spaceship, inventories, crafting, landing and trading - it's all a bit obtuse. Let us explain the basics for you so you don't waste time drifting amongst the stars. Unless of course, that's exactly what you want to do...

• How to get and use Atlas Stones to create an Atlas Pass

  One of the most basic necessities of distance travel, an Atlas Pass is most easily obtained by following the Atlas Path when you begin a new No Man's Sky game. But even if you do opt for the guided experience, it's not totally clear how to get hold of one of these vital items, or the components needed for one - and if you don't get one, you'll be missing the vast majority of the game.

• No Man's Sky: find a Warp Reactor and upgrade your hyperdrive

  You've made it through the early tutorial missions but the centre of the galaxy seems no closer than before. Speed your progress through No Man's Sky's mid-game with this not-exactly-well-explained upgrade path.

• No Man's Sky: farm ships, blueprints and more with Bypass Chips

  You want stuff, and you want it know. Don't just wander from planet to planet hoping something turns up; systematically search to fill your boots with loot. Even one planet has everything you need to master No Man's Sky.

No Man's Sky resource farming

At different points in your No Man's Sky experience you'll find yourself jonesing for different resources; different combinations of cash and crafting components are required to upgrade your ship and your multi-tool in order to make your experience smoother. Because No Man's Sky starts everyone off in a different location, we can't just point you at the most easily exploited planets, but we can explain the best ways to get hold of some of the most commonly-used items.

• Need money in No Man’s Sky? Here’s an easy way to farm units

  As in life, so in No Man's Sky: you need money, and you need it now. Don't bother searching for chests or collecting low-value resources to trade: go right for the motherlode with our guide to finding and trading the most expensive items in No Man's Sky.

• How to easily farm Thamium9, one of the most used elements

  No matter what your approach is to No Man's Sky, you're gonna need Thamium9 sooner or later. Is it a real thing? If it is, I hope we have a lot of it here on Earth, because in space they are utterly reliant on it. Fill your boots with our farming guide.

• How to find and craft Antimatter

  A requirement to even create the Hyperdrive Fuel needed to travel across the galaxy in a timely fashion, Antimatter is one of the first major crafting hurdles any budding space explorer is likely to face. Here's how to get it.

• How to get Warp Cells for Hyperdrive Fuel

  If you wanna get across the galaxy at speed, you need fuel for your brave little spaceship that could. Warp Cells are the first stop on your journey to Hyperdrive Fuel, an absolutely essential resource. Don't leave your home system without it.

• How to get Iridium

  A vital resource used to craft better ship components, Iridium is quite rare. Here's an explanation of where you're most likely to find some.

• Where to find Copper

  Copper is a useful resource that isn't exactly uncommon but is found in very specific circumstances. Allow us to guide you through what they are.

• No Man's Sky: how to get Omegon and other exotic materials

  Efficiently gather some of No Man's Sky's rarest resources while upgrading your ship and collecting all sorts of treasures with this one-stop farming method.

No Man's Sky tips and tricks

This section of our No Man's Sky guide is devoted to things that wouldn't go anywhere else very important tips and tricks for advanced players. Here is where we'll put little things that make your life easier, make you laugh, and save you time - probably. It's a work in progress.

• Wanna go fast? Use this nifty trick in No Man’s Sky called the Jetpack Dash

  The running speed in No Man's Sky is underwhelming at best, and a massive pain in the patootie if you want to be less charitable in your description. This little workaround will get you across planets at a much faster clip, and while it does take a bit of timing to pull off, with practice it becomes second nature.

• No Man’s Sky has a curious resource-doubling cheat - here's how to do it

  While it's sure to be quickly patched, No Man's Sky has a bug/exploit currently that lets sneaky players cheat to double their resources - and you can do it more than once. Here's all about that, and how to do it while it lasts.

• No Man's Sky: how to get a 48 slot ship without paying through the nose

  Sick of throwing away precious resources in favour of single-stack key items, shuffling gear back and forth between your inventories, and generally faffing about? Force your way up to the biggest cargo hold and never worry about it again for about six minutes.

We'll be adding many more pages to our No Man's Sky guide as we make mistakes, figure out what the heck we're doing, field your questions and more. Let us know what you'd like to see next, and we'll see what we can do.