No Man's Sky can be overwhelming at first with its seemingly endless procedurally generated universe, robust crafting system, and often quirky mechanics. The game has come a long way since it first launched to an overwhelmingly negative reception and is often used as a cautionary tale regarding pre-launch hype. Nowadays, however, No Man's Sky is a great example of a game redeeming itself after a disastrous launch thanks to a long list of extensive content updates and facelifts. It continues to attract new players and is now regarded as one of the best space simulators on the market.
As a result, there are many ways to play No Man's Sky these days. For new players and those who have returned to No Man's Sky after a large update, there are a few common community "rules" that have been established in the years since launch. No Man's Sky is a huge sandbox and can be played in many different ways, but there are several considerations that even veteran players might be unaware of.
Use The Smallest Setting With The Terrain Manipulator
The Terrain Manipulator is primarily used to mine resource deposits such as Gold, Silver, Copper, Sodium, and Uranium. The size of the beam can be altered, and hasty players might immediately gravitate towards using the largest setting to gather these useful resources as quickly as possible. In No Man's Sky, gathering resources is key for survival on far-flung and hostile alien worlds, and it seems logical to hit deposits hard and fast to stock up. Yet, it's actually the exact opposite: players who use the large Terrain Manipulator are losing out on a lot of resources.
The small Terrain Manipulator may take a lot longer to chew its way through an ore deposit, but the yield will be much higher. The game never mentions this, but this small change goes a long way in No Man's Sky's immersive gameplay.
Never Leave Your Ship Without Launch Fuel
When exploring planets, players will sometimes stray far from where they landed their ship. So long as the ship has launch fuel, players can conveniently summon it to their location through the quick menu. If not, they will have to make the long haul back to where they parked. While this unwritten rule is especially true for new players, seasoned players should be mindful of it when claiming new ships in No Man's Sky, which is a popular and lucrative pastime for many players.
Launch fuel can be crafted using Di-hydrogen and Metal Plating, the latter of which is crafted from Ferrite Dust. These elements are usually easy to find, so it is best to gather some and top up the Launch Thrusters before wandering too far from one's ship. Alternatively, a player who is visiting a radioactive planet can fill their Launch Thrusters with Uranium. Installing a Launch Auto-Charger once it is available is essential, and it can be purchased on the Anomaly. Exploration may be one of the biggest draws in No Man's Sky, as it is one of the best games to get lost in, but it's no fun having to backtrack large distances.
Easily Escape Combat With The Anomaly
Recent updates have fleshed out space combat, and even veteran players might find themselves trying to escape with their tails between their legs. The Space Anomaly isn't just a multiplayer hub, though, as it doubles as a convenient escape mechanism when No Man's Sky dogfights don't go as planned. Simply summoning the Anomaly from the quick menu for a quick escape can be the difference between life and death.
Extra Oxygen From Hazardous Flora
Hazardous Flora are found on most planets in No Man's Sky. These malicious plants might be annoying, but they can be a great source of Oxygen. Oxygen is used for life support systems and a multitude of crafting recipes, so players will find that they almost never have enough. Mining Hazardous Flora will yield Oxygen, but certain varieties also have Gassy Pods that can be harvested for a higher yield.
The Carnivorous Trap and Bloated Gas Flora are the ones to look out for. Fleet-footed No Man's Sky players will be able to grab all 3 of the red pods that adorn the Bloated Gas Flora before it releases its toxic gas. Carnivorous Trap Flora only has a single gas pod in the center. Tentacle plants unfortunately don't have these extra resource pockets, and the same is true for any Hazardous Flora found underground.
Junk Is Not Junk
No Man's Sky players might find themselves with stacks of Junk resources that are picked up while exploring planets. This description is misleading; Junk items can be refined into useful items. Residual Goop refines into Viscous Fluids, which refines into Living Slime. Living Slime refines into Runaway Mould, which can finally be refined into Nanites at a 5 to 1 ratio. Refining is a key crafting mechanic in No Man's Sky, and with dozens of recipes to learn, this simple refining chain is one that every player should take advantage of to help rack up extra Nanites.
With as vast as No Man's Sky is, there are plenty of more unwritten rules out there, but knowing just a handful should help players along their seemingly endless journey across the universe. The game continues to be one of the most ambitious and epic space sims in existence with many systems and mechanics to learn, and the depth of various mechanics and community interaction with them is proof of that.
No Man's Sky is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
