Part of the series:

No Man's Sky Beginner's Guide (2026): Start here for a full overview of your first hours.

Early Game Checklist: What to Do First: A step-by-step checklist to follow after you land.

Game Modes & Difficulty Settings Explained: Pick the right mode before you start.

Quick Answer

Don't leave your Portable Refiner behind. Always pick it up after use.
Expand your Exosuit inventory early and often; cramped slots slow everything down.
Use the Analysis Visor to scan fauna and flora for passive Units and Nanites.
Follow the main story (Artemis Path). It unlocks essential blueprints and mechanics.
Never ignore your fuel levels; running dry strands you mid-mission or in deep space.
Avoid starting on Survival or Permadeath until you understand the core systems.
Place technology upgrades adjacent to the related core system for bonus synergies.

Overview

No Man's Sky throws you onto a broken ship with minimal explanation and trusts you to figure it out. That freedom is part of the charm, but it also means new players routinely repeat the same costly mistakes. Wasted hours, empty wallets, and stranded ships are avoidable if you know what to watch out for.

The 12 Mistakes

1. Picking Survival or Permadeath on Your First Run

Both modes punish mistakes that you don't yet know exist. Survival mode depletes Life Support and Hazard Protection faster, and death is more punishing. Permadeath wipes your save entirely on death.

Start in Normal mode. It still has survival mechanics (you'll need Oxygen for life support and Sodium for hazard protection), but at a pace that lets you learn before you're penalized. You can always switch to a harder mode later. If you want even less pressure, Relaxed mode disables Life Support drain entirely, letting you focus on exploration and building without survival stress. See our Game Modes & Difficulty Settings guide for a full breakdown.

2. Leaving Your Portable Refiner Behind

The Portable Refiner is among the most important tools in your early game. New players craft one, use it briefly, and then leave it sitting on the ground when they move on. Effectively throwing away a crafted item.

The Refiner is deployable technology, which means you can pick it back up and store it in your inventory to deploy again anywhere. To retrieve it, point your reticle at it and hold the interact button (Square on PlayStation, X on Xbox, middle mouse on PC). Always collect it before you leave a planet or move to a new area. Note that you need a free inventory slot to pick it up, so clear space before attempting to retrieve it. Our Crafting & Refining Basics guide covers the full recipe list.

3. Ignoring Inventory Slots

Starting inventory space is painfully small. Players who put off expanding it spend enormous amounts of time making short runs back to their ship to drop off resources, or worse. Discarding valuable materials because there's no room.

You can expand your Exosuit at the Exosuit Upgrade Station found in space stations (one slot purchasable per station, per system), at Drop Pods found on planets, and through crafted Expansion Modules. Your ship and multi-tool can also be upgraded over time. Prioritize Exosuit slots first since you carry your inventory on foot. Check the full breakdown in our Exosuit upgrade guide.

4. Putting Technology Upgrades in the Wrong Slots

The inventory system separates Cargo slots (for raw materials and items) from Technology slots (for upgrade modules). New players frequently buy technology upgrades and accidentally install them in cargo slots, where they do nothing.

Always confirm you're in the Technology tab before placing an upgrade module. Beyond the right tab, placement matters: technology upgrades placed adjacent to the core system they enhance receive a significant bonus multiplier. Group your Jetpack, Life Support, and Scanner upgrades near their core systems for noticeably better performance.

There is also a small number of Supercharged Slots (marked in purple) in each technology inventory. Placing an upgrade in a supercharged slot multiplies its effect substantially. Prioritize your most-used technologies, such as Life Support or your preferred weapon, for these slots. See the full breakdown in our Best Technology Upgrades & Supercharged Slots guide.

5. Never Using the Analysis Visor

The Analysis Visor, activated by holding the scan button on your multi-tool, is one of the fastest ways to earn both Units and Nanites in the early game, and most beginners barely touch it.

Scanning fauna (creatures) rewards Units immediately. Scanning flora and minerals also provides Units. Once you've scanned every creature on a planet, uploading the full set from the Discoveries menu adds a Nanite bonus on top. Note that Scanner upgrade modules increase the Units you earn per scan; the Nanite reward comes from uploading discoveries, not from the scanner modules themselves. Our Analysis Visor scanning guide has the full strategy.

6. Neglecting the Main Story

No Man's Sky gives you total freedom, and many new players take that as a cue to ignore the Artemis Path storyline entirely. This is a mistake. The story missions progressively unlock key blueprints, game mechanics, and access to the Anomaly (the multiplayer hub), none of which are handed to you automatically.

Skipping the story means you may spend hours trying to progress without the tools the story was designed to give you. You don't have to rush it, but dip back in regularly. It also provides the context that makes the game's lore far more engaging.

7. Running Out of Launch Thruster Fuel

Your ship's Launch Thruster requires Starship Launch Fuel to take off. Every launch costs fuel, and if you deplete it completely you are grounded, unable to leave the planet, until you gather more. This is a jarring experience mid-exploration.

Starship Launch Fuel is crafted from Di-hydrogen and Ferrite Dust (among other recipe variants), so neither ingredient is hard to find, but players often fail to top up fuel until it's too late. Keep an eye on the gauge, and always have crafting materials on hand to refuel. If you're stranded, check cave floors and surface outcroppings for Di-hydrogen crystals (glowing blue nodes) and surface terrain for Ferrite Dust.

8. Settling Permanently on the Starting Planet

The first planet you spawn on is almost never the best place to set up a long-term base. Starting worlds vary wildly: some are hostile, resource-poor, or have aggressive Sentinels that make mining a constant battle.

Explore several systems before committing to a base location. Lush planets with low Sentinel activity and good mineral deposits are generally ideal for beginners. Learn what to look for in our Best Base Locations guide. Building a base takes time, and you want that investment on a world that works for you.

9. Ignoring the Space Station on Every Jump

Every space station is a hub of services, and new players often fly in, trade a few items, and leave without taking advantage of everything available. Each station has:

An Exosuit Upgrade Station for adding one inventory slot (once per system)
A Cartographer who sells planetary charts to crashed ships, ruins, and alien structures
Mission boards offering Units, Nanites, and blueprints
Technology merchants with upgrade modules

Making a habit of fully working a space station before jumping to the next system accelerates your progression substantially.

10. Not Keeping Core Resources in Stock

Three resources underpin survival and are constantly consumed: Oxygen (Life Support), Sodium (Hazard Protection), and Di-hydrogen (Launch Thruster fuel). Selling all of your stock to make quick Units leaves you vulnerable.

Maintain a comfortable reserve of each. Oxygen is found from plants with a red glow on most worlds. Look for bright red flora that glows in low light. Sodium grows as yellow plants. Di-hydrogen appears as blue crystals, often near cave entrances. If you'd prefer to buy rather than forage, trade terminals at space stations stock all three.

11. Skipping Scanner and Movement Upgrades

New players often invest their Nanites in weapon upgrades and overlook two of the most impactful systems: the Scanner (which multiplies Unit rewards from scanning discoveries) and movement tech (Jetpack, Sprint boosters, and the Exocraft).

The melee-jetpack boost technique (sprinting, pressing the melee button, then immediately firing the jetpack) gives you dramatically faster ground movement with no upgrade required. Hello Games has embraced this as a legitimate movement tactic, and it remains among the most effective ways to cross terrain quickly. Pair it with Jetpack capacity upgrades and you spend far less time trudging across landscapes.

Scanner upgrades pay for themselves quickly through improved scanning income, making them one of the best early Nanite investments alongside Life Support.

12. Playing Multiplayer Too Early (or Avoiding It Entirely)

Co-op play introduces some friction for brand-new players: completing the opening tutorial with a friend active can cause resource conflicts and may interfere with early progression. Finish the opening tutorial solo so the game can properly establish your save.

That said, once you're past the opening hours, multiplayer is genuinely valuable. The Anomaly is accessible to all players and hosts regular community missions, vendors for Quicksilver rewards, and easy access to experienced players who can answer questions or share resources. Don't treat No Man's Sky as strictly solo or strictly multiplayer. Both modes offer distinct advantages at different stages of the game.

FAQ

Should I start with Normal mode or is another mode fine for beginners?

Normal mode is the right call for almost everyone new to the game. It preserves meaningful survival mechanics without being punishing enough to end runs before you understand the systems. Relaxed mode disables Life Support drain entirely if you simply want to explore and build without survival stress. It's a legitimate choice, not a lesser one.

How do I know if I've placed a technology upgrade in the right inventory?

Open your inventory and confirm you're looking at the Technology tab, not the Cargo tab. Technology tabs display installed modules with colored icons and show adjacency bonuses when upgrades are grouped near related systems. If you see a raw number count rather than an upgrade icon, you're in Cargo.

Can I move my Base Computer if I built it in the wrong place?

You can move a Base Computer within the current boundary of your base, but you cannot relocate the base to a new position or planet without deleting it entirely. Deleting a Base Computer removes the base and returns some, but not all, crafting materials. Scout your location before committing: check for nearby resources, Sentinel activity level, and whether the planet type suits your plans. Our Base Computer & Base Boundary guide covers the full rules.

What is the fastest way to earn Nanites as a beginner?

Scanning all fauna on a planet and uploading the complete set from the Discoveries menu is one of the best early Nanite sources. Scrapping unwanted technology modules also yields Nanites. For a full ranked list, see the How to Get Nanites Fast guide.

Why do I keep running out of Hazard Protection?

Hazard Protection depletes faster on extreme worlds (extreme cold, heat, toxicity, or radiation). Sodium and Sodium Nitrate both refill it. Sodium Nitrate is the refined version and refills more per use. Craft Thermic Layers, Ablative Armor, or the relevant hazard shielding technology to passively reduce drain. Our Survival Guide covers all protection systems in detail.

Key Takeaways

Always pick up your Portable Refiner: it's reusable and valuable; make sure you have a free slot before retrieving it.
Expand Exosuit inventory at every space station visit; don't delay this.
Use the Analysis Visor on every planet for Units from scanning and Nanites from uploading discoveries.
Follow the Artemis Path: it unlocks blueprints you need sooner than you think.
Keep fuel and Oxygen reserves topped up; running empty is entirely avoidable.
Place technology upgrades correctly: adjacent to core systems, and use supercharged slots wisely.
Start in Normal or Relaxed mode and work your way up once you're comfortable with the systems.

No Man's Sky: 12 Common Beginner Mistakes to Avoid