No Man's Sky is perfect for those seeking an entirely open-world space adventure with space pirates, alien lifeforms, and endless galaxies. Players can choose their path or follow along the many missions, which include hunting, crafting, and discovery for rewards.
Self-sufficiency is a massive part of No Man's Sky, and players can purchase or craft almost everything they need to travel. From Starship fuel to building materials, there are tons of items that will be used over and over again. That said, it's sometimes best to avoid purchasing certain things in order to save Units.
6 Life Support Gel
Life Support Gel can be used to refuel Life Support systems, and since it is efficiently crafted, players do not need to spend their hard-earned Units on it. The Life Support systems are vital if players want to survive on any planet; they are the first line of defense whenever players take damage before they start losing actual health.
Dangerous weather storms, wildlife, and Sentinels can hurt Life Support when encountered. When needed, Life Support can be charged up with Oxygen, Life Support Gels, or Dioxite. Oxygen and Dioxite are found commonly on planets, but Life Support Gel must be crafted or bought. Players need Di-Hydrogen Jelly and Metal Plating to craft it or they can use one of the alternatives.
5 Starship Launch Fuel
The Starship launch thrusters run out of fuel every time players take flight straight from the ground. Since they will be traveling almost at all times, refueling will be required regularly. If the thrusters run out of juice, players must use Starship Launch Fuel to get them up and running again.
Starship Launch Fuel can be bought from a Galactic Trade Terminal, but the crafting ingredients needed to make it are easily found on most planets. The valuable fuel is made with Metal Plating and Di-hydrogen. Di-hydrogen grows in crystal form on planet surfaces and can be gathered with the mining tool along with Ferrite Dust, which is required for Metal Plating.
4 Glass
Glass is used in the general construction of technology and buildings. Players can purchase, craft, or refine materials to get ahold of Glass in No Man's Sky. While buying Glass will be tempting, players should utilize their other options first. Refining is the easiest way to stack large amounts of it since crafting it requires Frost Crystals, only found on icy planets.
Players can use a Portable, Small, Medium, or Large Refiner to make Glass. Refiners can be built using the construction tool if players have blueprints. To use a Refiner to make Glass, players can insert Silicate Powder in the Input and fuel the machine. Silicate Powder is harvested using the Terrain Manipulator, and once it begins processing, players will have Glass.
3 Chromatic Metal
Chromatic Metal builds, crafts, charges, and upgrades various resources and technologies. It is a concentrated and condensed version of a stellar metal made in a Refiner. Stellar metals include Copper, Cadmium, Emeril, and Indium, found in natural deposits on varying planets.
As players approach a planet, they can scan it to see if it has any common stellar metals. After landing, the Analysis Visor can be used to pinpoint the deposits. Each one has a corresponding color that will be visible on the surface. To harvest a stellar metal, players must use the Terrain Manipulator. Then, they can place the metal inside a Refiner to make Chromatic Metal, which negates the need to buy any.
2 Carbon Nanotubes
Carbon Nanotubes are commonly used for upgrades and construction, particularly for advanced technologies such as Microprocessors. Carbon is the key ingredient inside Carbon Nanotubes and is found on most planets. Carbon is not to be mistaken for Condensed Carbon, which appears in larger rocks and red crystals.
Whenever players scan a planet with their general scanner, they will see all nearby Carbon sources. They can also hover their Mining Beam over rocks and plants to see if they have small amounts of Carbon. Carbon Nanotubes require 50 units of Carbon each and are crafted straight from the inventory. If players are patient and willing to explore, they can avoid buying Carbon Nanotubes altogether.
1 Tritium
Tritium is an essential element for space travel. It is one of the primary fuels for the Pulse Engine on the Starship, which considerably increases the travel speed of the ship. The space between planets uses real-time, so it can take hours or even weeks to move from world to world without Warp or Pulse Speed.
The Pulse Engine slowly runs out of fuel as players use it, and when it hits zero, it must be recharged for it to be used again. Tritium and Pyrite can be used to refuel the Pulse Engine. Pyrite is rare, but luckily, Tritium is found all over space inside the Asteroids floating near planets. Players can use the scanner to detect it or start shooting rocks and will likely find it in abundance. It's pretty hard not to encounter Tritium while exploring space, so players should always aim to acquire it through exploration rather than buying some.
No Man's Sky is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
