'No Man's Sky' Beginner's Guide: How To Get Started Mining, Building And Fighting Across Your Galaxy

No Man’s Sky is a huge game and there isn’t much structure. This means you may not know what you should be doing or how to do it. Don’t worry, you’ll figure it out soon enough, especially with these helpful tips for beginners.

Scanning

SCAN EVERYTHING! No, seriously, any time you get out of your spaceship, walk around with your scanner up. You can scan plants, animals and even rocks. You can even scan babies of a species as a separate scan from adults. Make sure you keep an eye out for the red dot on something when using the scanner. This indicates you haven’t scanned that object yet.

The more you scan, the more you can upload to the Atlas. Doing this will give you Units, the in-game currency. Basically, the more you scan, the more free money you get.

Exploration

Planets aren’t the safest place to walk around, but are much more navigable knowing some basic tips. For example, if you ever find yourself stuck at the bottom of a deep ravine or cave, simply walk up to a vertical surface, look up and start using your jetpack. The jetpack will not run out if you are against a cliff, so keep using it until you’ve reached the top of where you’re trying to go.

Many planets have hostile environments, with either radiation, toxicity and/or extreme temperature conditions. Your suit can help keep you safe from these, but for a limited time. If you find a cave, going in usually offers protection from some elements like extreme cold. It should be warned though, going into caves can result in you spending more time than you’d like trying to get back out.

When getting to a new planet, try to find an outpost with a landing pad. These are usually at places marked with a ?. Landing at a landing pad will allow you to take off on your ship again without using the lift boosters.

Not all planets are created equal as well. Some will be completely devoid of plant and animal life, while others may not have any points of interest to check out. If you aren’t feeling a particular planet, just move on. There are still tons more to go explore.

Mining

When exploring on planets, you’ll often find huge deposits of a mineral like Emeril or Heridium. If you start mining downward, you’ll often find even more buried beneath the surface. It also helps to use the early mining beam in short bursts so it can go longer without overheating until you install some upgrades.

Planets aren’t the only place you can mine. Be sure to blast apart asteroids in space while flying from planet to planet. These usually have large amounts of minerals like copper, iridium and more.

Combat

Combat can be avoided pretty well if you want to, of can be very easy to find if you’re looking for it. Most animals are passive, but some will come and attack you. Either run away or fight back using your multi-tool.

Installing a Boltcaster to your multi-tool will make it a much more dangerous weapon. Boltcasters are so strong, they can even be used to destory locked doors you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get through. Switch between the mining beam and the boltcaster with the Triangle button.

Sentinels also act as something for you to fight, and can attack you if they catch you mining too much of a certain resource or breaking into a locked shelter. They are generally pretty easy to kill, and don’t really give you anything good. I wouldn’t bother focusing too much on them.

The real danger is with Space Pirates. These guys fly around in ships and attack you. Make sure you have a weapon attached to your ship at all times, unless you’re a runner and not a fighter. Then you’ll want to make sure your different drives are all fueled up. If you can, sell everything valuable at a galactic trading post on the surface to reduce your risk of being attacked. Space Pirates scan your cargo to determine how valuable it is, so the lower the value the better.

Trading

Buying, selling and trading goods is a key pillar to No Man’s Sky’s gameplay. Most outposts and space stations have a terminal where you can buy and sell things. Keep an eye on prices as well, outposts will pay you more or less depending on what you’re trying to sell and where you are. If there’s a green percentage number next to the item, it means you’re getting a bigger payout compared to the average across the galaxy. If it’s a red percentage, you’ll be getting a smaller payout.

Interacting with alien races can be hit or miss, but usually results in something good. Depending on the choices you make when interacting with them, aliens will offer you trades or even straight up give you new things. When offered a different multi-tool or weapon, it’s usually best to take it. I haven’t been offered a lesser multitool than the one I currently had at the time.

If you want to buy a new ship, get ready to save up your cash. Most aliens seem happy to sell you their ship, but most ships seem to cost around 1 Million Units. There are a few who will sell for less, and some who will sell for many more.

Resource Management

I know it sounds super boring, but resource management is one of the most important parts of playing No Man’s Sky. You have a very limited number of slots to store items in, and things tend to fill up fast. Open up your inventory and see if you have any repeats of elements. You can stack elements on each other, and send them to your ship as well.

Some items, like Neutrino Modules, cannot be stacked. These take up extra space in your inventory, and should be either used or sold quickly.

When at stores, don’t buy resources just because they are cheap. It’s best to have one upgrade or item you want to craft in mind, and work towards making that one item first before moving on to the next one. This ensures your inventory will not get cluttered with unnecessary items.

No Man’s Sky Guides

For more information on No Man’s Sky, check out the other guides on iDigitalTimes:

• Space Combat Guide

• Multi-Tool Guide

• AtlasPass V1 Guide

• Elements Guide

• Starship Guide

• Life Support Guide

• Warp Drive Guide

So there you have it, some tips that should help you out at the beginning of your No Man’s Sky adventure. Did any of these help you out? Are you still stuck on something? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.