Money makes the galaxy go ‘round in No Man’s Sky, which is finally available for PS4. By the game’s second quest, you’re going to need to start saving up money—tens of thousands of credits to even get out of the first system. And soon, you’ll need to buy far, far more expensive things, including Atlas Stones, suit upgrades and million-credit ships. And that’s just in the first system or two! How you going to get all that bread, you ask? Honestly, it’s pretty easy. Money is shockingly easy to come by in No Man’s Sky—if you know what you’re doing.

How To Make Lots Of Money In No Man’s Sky

Here’s the short version of how to make lots of money in No Man’s Sky: Mine a lot. Mine for the right things. Don’t sell them for cheap. It’s really that easy. In the first few systems, when you first get the hyperdrive or before you even have it, the most valuable resources include Emeril, Gold, Titanium, the rare Chrysonite, and to a lesser extent Copper and Heridium. Neutral resources tend to be the most valuable, followed by oxides (although you mileage may vary by system).

Another general rule: Focus on minerals, not on artifacts and other knick-knacks. Most of these aren’t that valuable, although some can be worth a good 25,000 or 50,000 apiece. And that sounds nice, but these items don’t stack, not even with others of the same type. And one 50,000-credit item is worth a lot less than a stack of 500 Emeril in the starship (that’s worth about 150,000 in the system I’m in). Luckily, in the post-patch version of the game, you can see the value of each item right out on the field. The key is: Don’t assume a rare artifact is actually worth much compared to a big stack of juicy Gold.

Secondly, don’t worry too much about selling off stuff you might need later. The description for each item gives you a sense of how rare it is, and anything below “Rare” is pretty well ubiquitous. Even rare objects seem to be available enough on the appropriate planets. Most of all, your inventory space is so limited—and space is so unlimited—that you shouldn’t hoard minerals just in case you need them later. You can get more. And you can make better use of money than of minerals you’re hoarding for tech you may not even have yet—or may not even have space for in your ship.

Finding valuable minerals, thankfully, is the easy part of getting rich in No Man’s Sky. All you need is your ship and a good supply of Plutonium so you can take off and land regularly. Most planets and moons have big deposits of certain minerals; some even have them giant arches, giant pillars, or huge floating rocks made out of rare minerals. These are highly visible as you fly around above the surface, so keep an eye out for them. If it’s a valuable mineral, go to town. Keep repairing your mining laser until you’ve taken the whole thing or are out of space. Repeat until you’re rich.

It’s really as simple as that—and now, in the game’s early days, it’s a better way to get rich than arbitrage. You should still be careful to only sell minerals in a system that are worth above the Galactic Average, and hold onto others for a nearby system. But you’ll make more money in No Man’s Sky in less time by mining than by buying goods for 5% less and selling them elsewhere for 5% more. Wait to do that until later in the game, when we know what’s really valuable. One exception: If you see a star next to an item in a merchant’s trading screen, it’s going for substantially higher margins than usual. In that case, you should definitely offload your entire supply if you can spare it.

And, lastly, upload all your discoveries to the Galactic Atlas! It’s a quick and easy source of extra credits. Any other good money-making tips?