Part of the Resources & Crafting series:
- Resources & Crafting Guide Hub: Start here.
- Refiner Recipes Reference: Turn these into something better.
Quick Answer
- Materials sort into five families: common elements found everywhere, localised elements tied to a planet type, atmospheric gases pulled from hotspots, stellar metals tied to star colour, and crafted or refined products.
- Colour is the fastest field guide. Red plants give Carbon-family material, yellow plants give Sodium, blue crystals give Di-hydrogen, and cave walls give Cobalt.
- Localised elements (Paraffinium, Phosphorus, Dioxite, Ammonia, Uranium, Pyrite) each come from one planet biome, so finding the right planet matters more than searching harder.
- Stellar metals are gated by star colour: yellow systems have Copper, red have Cadmium, green have Emeril, blue have Indium. All four refine into Chromatic Metal.
- Curiosities (Gravitino Balls, Vortex Cubes, Storm Crystals, Larval Cores) are pure value items with no crafting role, and several carry a risk attached to picking them up.
- Nanite Clusters and Quicksilver are currencies, not materials. They buy upgrades rather than feed blueprints.
Overview
Almost every lookup about a No Man's Sky material boils down to two questions: where do I get it, and what is it for. The tables below answer both, grouped by how you actually acquire things rather than alphabetically, because the acquisition method is what you need in the moment.
Where a quantity or ratio matters, check the in-game preview instead of trusting any list. The refiner shows its output the moment you load a single unit, and blueprint screens show exact costs. Ingredient lists here are deliberately given without amounts so they stay correct across patches, and the crafting and refining basics guide covers the interfaces themselves.
Common Elements
Available on essentially any planet, in any system, from the first hour onward.
| Resource | Where to find it | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Carbon | Any flora: trees, bushes, plants. Mining Beam | Fuel for portable tech, refiner fuel, base crafting |
| Condensed Carbon | Refine Carbon | Denser fuel, ingredient in Antimatter and many crafts |
| Ferrite Dust | Rocks, boulders, and rubble on any surface | Base building parts, Metal Plating |
| Pure Ferrite | Refine Ferrite Dust | Higher-tier base parts and structures |
| Magnetised Ferrite | Refine Pure Ferrite with a cobalt input (check preview) | Advanced base tech and components |
| Sodium | Yellow-flowered plants and Sodium crystal clusters | Recharges hazard protection, Deflector Shield fuel |
| Sodium Nitrate | Refine Sodium | Concentrated hazard protection, tech crafting |
| Oxygen | Oxygen-bearing flora, marked by the Analysis Visor | Life Support fuel, and the refiner's stack-multiplier catalyst |
| Di-hydrogen | Blue crystal formations on planet surfaces | Launch Thruster fuel via Di-hydrogen Jelly, refines into Deuterium |
| Cobalt | Crystal growths on cave walls and ceilings | Refines into Ionised Cobalt, base tech |
| Ionised Cobalt | Refine Cobalt | Higher sale value, advanced crafting |
| Tritium | Mine asteroids in space with ship weapons | Pulse Engine fuel, refines into Deuterium with Di-hydrogen |
| Rusted Metal | Crashed freighter debris fields and wreck sites | Refines back into Ferrite Dust |
Localised Elements by Planet Type
Each of these appears as mineral deposits on one biome. If you cannot find one, you are on the wrong planet rather than looking in the wrong place.
| Resource | Where to find it | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Paraffinium | Lush / verdant planets | Alloy production, trade good |
| Phosphorus | Scorched planets | Alloy production, trade good |
| Dioxite | Frozen planets | Alloy production, trade good |
| Ammonia | Toxic planets | Alloy production, trade good |
| Uranium | Radioactive planets | Alloy production, trade good |
| Pyrite | Barren and desert planets | Alloy production, trade good |
Plant-based harvestables follow the same biome logic and can be grown in base planters or a Bio-Dome once you have the seeds.
| Resource | Where to find it | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Star Bulb | Lush / verdant planets | Cooking, crafted products |
| Frost Crystal | Frozen planets | Refines into Glass, cooking |
| Cactus Flesh | Barren and desert planets | Cooking, crafted products |
| Solanium | Scorched planets | Cooking, crafted products |
| Gamma Root | Radioactive planets | Cooking, crafted products |
| Fungal Mould | Toxic planets | Cooking, crafted products |
| Marrow Bulb | Caves, on any planet type | Cooking, crafted products |
| Mordite | Killing creatures | Cooking, crafted products |
Atmospheric Gases
Gases are not mined by hand. Scan for a gas hotspot with the Survey device on your Analysis Visor, then place a Gas Extractor on it and supply power. Output rate depends on the hotspot's strength rating, which the survey readout shows before you build. See the power and industrial extractors guide for wiring and storage.
| Resource | Where to find it | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen | Gas Extractor on a Nitrogen hotspot | Refines into a high-value gas product, trade good |
| Sulphurine | Gas Extractor on a Sulphurine hotspot | Refines into a high-value gas product, trade good |
| Radon | Gas Extractor on a Radon hotspot | Refines into a high-value gas product, trade good |
The three gas-derived products are Unstable Gel, Thermic Condensate, and Cryo-Pump. Load one unit of a gas into a refiner to confirm which product it feeds in your version.
Metals and Stellar Elements
| Resource | Where to find it | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Copper | Deposits on planets in yellow star systems | Refines into Chromatic Metal |
| Cadmium | Planets in red star systems (needs a Cadmium Drive to reach) | Chromatic Metal, better yield than Copper |
| Emeril | Planets in green star systems (needs an Emeril Drive) | Chromatic Metal, higher yield |
| Indium | Planets in blue star systems (needs an Indium Drive) | Chromatic Metal, highest yield of the four |
| Activated Copper / Cadmium / Emeril / Indium | Large mineral formations on planets in the matching star colour | Sell directly for large sums, or process for Chromatic Metal |
| Chromatic Metal | Refine any of the four stellar metals | Hyperdrive upgrades, base tech, most mid-game blueprints |
| Activated Quartzite | Planets orbiting purple stars | Refines into Chromatic Metal at a strong rate, and repairs the Exocraft Summoning Station |
| Silver | Asteroids and planetary mineral deposits | Sale value, refines into Gold |
| Gold | Asteroids and planetary mineral deposits | Sale value, occasional crafting ingredient |
| Platinum | Asteroids and planetary mineral deposits | Sale value, occasional crafting ingredient |
| Pugneum | Dropped by destroyed Sentinels | Sentinel-related crafting, sale value |
Activated metals are the backbone of passive income. A Mineral Extractor parked on an Activated Indium hotspot fills silos while you play elsewhere, covered step by step in the Activated Indium mining base guide.
Curiosities and Valuables
These carry no crafting requirement in most recipes. They exist to be sold or converted into currency.
| Item | Where to find it | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Gravitino Ball | Surface objects on certain planets | High sale value. Harvesting wild ones alerts Sentinels; base-grown ones do not |
| Vortex Cube | Surface objects, common on Exotic worlds | High sale value |
| Storm Crystal | Harvest during storms on extreme-weather planets | Very high sale value |
| Larval Core | Whispering Eggs near abandoned buildings | High sale value, but harvesting spawns hostile creatures |
| Runaway Mould | Mould deposits, most reliably around abandoned buildings | Refines into Nanite Clusters at a poor ratio |
| Tainted Metal | Derelict Freighters | Refines into Nanite Clusters at the best ratio in the game |
| Salvaged Data | Buried caches located with the Survey device, dug up with the Terrain Manipulator | Unlocks base building blueprints at the Construction Research Station |
| Salvageable Scrap | The remains of a fallen satellite. Flagged on a planet's information panel when you scan from space, then pinpointed on the surface with the Analysis Visor | Marks a Salvage Container. Dig it out with the Terrain Manipulator, destroying every Protective Casing before the container itself |
| Salvaged Frigate Module | Derelict Freighters and frigate expedition rewards | Unlocks and builds freighter base technology |
| Nanite Cluster | Refining junk, mission rewards, scanning, damaged machinery | Currency for technology upgrades and modules |
| Quicksilver | Nexus community missions on the Space Anomaly | Currency for cosmetics and decorative items |
Nanites are the bottleneck on almost every build, and the fastest routes are covered in the nanite farming guide. Quicksilver runs on a separate economy explained in the Quicksilver guide, and storm harvesting has its own risk profile in the Storm Crystal farming guide.
Legacy curiosities
A few items sit in inventories doing nothing, which is exactly why people look them up.
| Item | Where it came from | What it does now |
|---|---|---|
| Myth Beacon | Expedition Two: Beachhead, bought from the Quicksilver Synthesis Companion for 80 Quicksilver | Nothing. It was tied to Nada's research into patterns in Gek, Korvax, and Vy'keen myths and broadcast a signal echo. That function was retired, so it is now a keepsake |
If you are holding one, you have not missed a puzzle. Items from old past expeditions sometimes outlive the event that gave them a purpose.
Crafted Components
Blueprints for most of these come from Manufacturing Facilities and Operations Centres. Ingredient amounts are shown on the blueprint screen.
| Item | How to make it | Main use |
|---|---|---|
| Metal Plating | Craft from Ferrite Dust | Repairs, base parts, higher components |
| Carbon Nanotubes | Craft or refine from Carbon | Component in many tech and trade goods |
| Glass | Refine Frost Crystal | Base windows, domes, and components |
| Microprocessor | Craft from Carbon Nanotubes and Chromatic Metal | Feeds Circuit Boards and advanced tech |
| Amino Chamber | Craft from Metal Plating, Chlorine, and Condensed Carbon | Component in the Medi-Pod, Plasma Launcher, Teleport Chamber, Automated Feeder, and Bionic Lure |
| Circuit Board | Craft from Microprocessors | Advanced technology and high-value trade |
| Superconductor | Craft from a Manufacturing Facility blueprint | Advanced components, strong sale value |
| Quantum Computer | Craft from a Manufacturing Facility blueprint | Top-tier trade good |
| Aronium and other alloys | Refine a localised element together with a metal in a Medium Refiner | Trade goods and inputs for advanced components |
Alloys include Aronium, Herox, Lemmium, Magno-Gold, Geodesite, and Grantine. Each pairs one localised element with a metal, so load a single unit of each and read the refiner preview to confirm the pairing.
Progression Items
| Item | Where to get it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Atlas Pass v1 | Blueprint acquired through early story and mission progress | Opens v1 sealed doors and small locked containers in buildings |
| Atlas Pass v2 | Blueprint from mission and facility rewards (varies) | Opens v2 doors and containers |
| Atlas Pass v3 | Blueprint from mission and facility rewards (varies) | Opens v3 doors and containers, the highest tier |
| Antimatter | Crafted, and given as story rewards | Half of a Warp Cell |
| Antimatter Housing | Crafted from common metals | The container half of a Warp Cell |
| Warp Cell | Combine Antimatter and Antimatter Housing | Fuels the starship Hyperdrive for one warp |
| Di-hydrogen Jelly | Craft from Di-hydrogen | Refuels Launch Thrusters |
| Cadmium / Emeril / Indium Drive | Craft with Chromatic Metal and the matching metal | Unlocks travel to red, green, and blue star systems |
| Factory Override Unit | Reward from Manufacturing Facilities and related missions | Forces open a facility door to claim a blueprint |
| Portal glyphs | Speak to Travellers, then visit the grave location they mark | Each grave grants one of the 16 glyphs needed to dial portals |
| Knowledge Stone | Small stones scattered on planet surfaces | Teaches one word of Gek, Korvax, or Vy'keen |
FAQ
What is the most valuable resource?
By raw sale price per unit, Storm Crystals and the activated stellar metals sit at the top, with Activated Indium the most practical because it can be extracted automatically. By usefulness, Chromatic Metal wins, since it gates hyperdrive upgrades and a long list of base and ship technology.
Where do I find Nitrogen?
Nitrogen cannot be mined by hand. Scan for gas hotspots using the Survey device on your Analysis Visor, then build a Gas Extractor on a Nitrogen hotspot and power it. Which gas a hotspot yields is fixed per location, so a planet that only shows Radon hotspots will never give you Nitrogen. Keep scanning across planets until the readout names the gas you want.
What are Gravitino Balls for?
They have no crafting role. Their purpose is sale value. Harvesting them in the wild triggers a Sentinel response, so the safe approach is growing them at a base, where no penalty applies.
How do I get Activated Indium?
Reach a blue star system, which requires an Indium Drive on your starship. Activated Indium then appears as large surface formations on planets there. Mine it by hand for a quick payout, or scan for a mineral hotspot and build a Mineral Extractor with silos for a hands-off supply.
What is the difference between Carbon and Condensed Carbon?
Condensed Carbon is refined Carbon at a two-to-one ratio. It performs the same jobs in a denser form, so it fuels portable tech longer per unit and appears as an ingredient in recipes where plain Carbon will not substitute.
Key Takeaways
- Identify the family first. Common element, biome-locked element, gas hotspot, star-colour metal, or crafted product tells you the acquisition method immediately.
- Biome-locked elements and plants are a travel problem, not a search problem. Note which planet types you have nearby and revisit them.
- Chromatic Metal is the central conversion point of the early and mid game, and higher-tier stellar metals give more of it per unit consumed.
- Curiosities exist for income. Treat Storm Crystals, Gravitino Balls, and Larval Cores as risk-versus-payout decisions rather than crafting inputs.
- Verify quantities in game. Refiner previews and blueprint screens are always current for your version, while any written list eventually drifts.