How to Get Rich Fast in No Man’s Sky… WITHOUT Cheating!

No Man’s Sky has undergone a tremendous transformation since its launch nearly a decade ago.

With continuous support and remarkable updates from Hello Games, the universe is more alive—and more rewarding—than ever.

However, for new and returning players, one age-old question remains: How do you get rich fast in No Man’s Sky, without cheating?

1. Understanding Game Modes and Settings

Before you get rich, you need to choose the best game mode for your play style. No Man’s Sky offers several options:

• Normal Mode: Intended as the baseline experience; manageable difficulty, balanced economy, and full progression.
• Relaxed Mode: Easier survival, less aggressive environment—great for gathering and exploring without stress.
• Creative Mode: Unlimited resources; ideal for building, but not relevant if you want true progression and profits.
• Survival Mode: More challenging and punishing—higher rewards, but risky for beginners.
• Custom Mode: Lets you tweak individual settings; useful for crafting a personalized challenge.
• Expeditions: Seasonal or limited-time events, often with special rewards. Some expeditions can help you jumpstart your wealth, as unique milestones may grant rare resources or bounties.

Recommendation:

For new players aiming to get rich legally and quickly, start in Normal or Relaxed mode. These modes strike a good balance between challenge and reward, and all wealth-building strategies apply here.

2. Getting Started: From Survival to Scanning

When you first find yourself on a random, hazardous planet, your initial steps are crucial—not just for surviving, but for laying the foundations of your future financial success.

Immediate Survival Concerns

• Seek Shelter: Caves offer you respite from hazardous weather and regenerative protection. Use these safe spots to recover and plan your next move.
• Resource Stockpile: Start gathering sodium (yellow plants), oxygen (red plants), dihydrogen (blue crystals), carbon (from most plants), and ferrite (from rocks). These are crucial for survival, but also serve as the basic ingredients for trade goods and crafting.

Movement Hack

Save time traversing terrain by combining a melee attack (Q on keyboard or right bumper) with your jetpack. You’ll surge forward instead of leaping upward—making resource runs and exploration much faster.

Multi-tool: Your Primary Profit Tool

Your multi-tool starts out basic, but it’s your main instrument for mining valuable resources and scanning flora and fauna.

Push the mining beam close to overheating for maximum efficiency, but don’t let it burn out completely—this’ll help gather resources faster, boosting stockpiles for trade.

3. Early Game Resources: What and Where to Farm

Every planet is different, but some resources are always profitable and necessary:

Carbon

• Fuels your mining laser and is used in many crafting recipes.
• Found in nearly every plant.

Ferrite

• Essential for crafting, especially in building bases and repairing equipment.
• Harvest from rocks.

Oxygen

• Vital for life support and crafting.
• Prioritize red-glowing plants for big yields.

Sodium

• Used to maintain your hazard protection.
• Seek yellow-glowing plants and cave marrow (can be refined into sodium).

Cobalt

• Found mostly in caves, and combines with ferrite to craft ion batteries (valuable both for survival and as trade commodities).

Dihydrogen

• Blue crystals, key for crafting launch fuel and life support gel.

Cave Marrow & Salvage Data

• Cave marrow bulbs can be refined for sodium; salvage data (buried tech modules) is a prime early-money maker.

Tip:

Repair your scanner right away! Use it to highlight valuable resources with simple icons (H for dihydrogen, NA for sodium, O2 for oxygen). As you progress, install your analysis visor and terrain manipulator for further profit.

4. Upgrade Your Tech—And Profits

Getting rich in No Man’s Sky is not just about grinding resources—it’s about investing in better tools and maximizing efficiency.

Tool and Ship Classes

• Beginners are stuck with C-class multi-tools and ships (slow, limited storage, basic capabilities).
• Upgrade to B-class or higher by interacting with vendors at trade posts and space stations, or through quest rewards.

Module Placement Matters

Tech modules and upgrades must be placed adjacent to their base technology for maximum efficacy.

For example, hazard upgrades next to hazard protection. Rearranging your technology for optimal layout means you get the full benefit of upgrades you discover—a mistake many new players made in their early hours.

Analysis Visor

Install this module as soon as possible. Scanning and cataloging flora and fauna early is a steady source of Units—the game’s main currency.

Every new discovery gives you a credit bump, which adds up very quickly!

5. Base Building: Storage, Upgrades, and Passive Income

A base isn’t just shelter—it’s your command center for amassing (and storing) wealth.

Key Blueprint Unlocks

Follow the Base Computer Archives quest line for storage containers, base building pieces, and vital technologies like biofuel reactors and teleport modules. These become your long-term profit boosters.

• Storage Containers: Avoid inventory clutter, allowing you to collect and refine more profitable items.
• Biofuel Reactor & Teleport Module: Early access means you can travel between bases and stations easily, saving fuel and time.
• Research Terminal: By trading in salvage data, you’ll unlock new base features AND have the option to sell this data for bulk Units.

Salvage Data: Legit Gold Mine

• Farm buried technology modules (marked with your analysis visor), dig them out with your terrain manipulator, and either use or sell salvage data for a quick early fortune.

6. Profitable Exploration: Scanning, Trading, and Salvage Data

The Power of Scanning

Each new discovery of a plant or animal nets you Units. This seems slow at first, but cataloging everything pays off big—especially as you upgrade your scanning tech for bigger rewards.

Scan before harvesting nodes for extra secondary resources (which can be sold for a premium).

Resource Refining

Use your portable refiner to process raw minerals into higher-value products—double or even triple the value of certain stones and elements before selling.

Planet Hopping for Riches

Once your ship is repaired, system-hop to new planets for fresh resources, new scanning opportunities, and undiscovered trade outposts—all ripe for exploiting.

7. Space Stations and Trade Posts

Space stations and planetary trade posts are the heart of the No Man’s Sky economy:

• Sell rare resources and refinables at merchant stands.
• Buy trade goods if you spot a bargain—some stations have booming economies for specific product types.
• Upgrade storage: Talk to the NPCs for exosuit and multi-tool slot upgrades (essential for collectors).
• Language Learning: Befriend alien races for improved deals and advanced trade options. Regular interactions yield rare items and discounted prices over time.

Pro Tip:

Monitor market prices—buy low, sell high! Some systems pay huge bonuses for specific goods, making interstellar trading an advanced, but highly lucrative, pursuit.

8. Advanced Strategies: Expeditions, Missions, and Exocraft

As you progress:

Expeditions and Missions

Seasonal expeditions can grant unique rewards, rare items, and fast Units. Complete quest lines for major payouts.

Fleet Management

Later in the game, acquiring a freighter and building up your own fleet can generate passive income by sending ships on missions for Units, Nanites, and goods.

Exocraft

Assemble ground vehicles (Exocraft) to harvest planetary resources at scale, collect rare minerals, and explore hostile terrain—maximize your haul and profit!

9. Tips, Tricks, and Common Mistakes

Don’t Loot Everything

Inventory is limited—focus on valuable or stackable resources, refine the rest, and avoid getting bogged down by junk early on.

Prioritize Upgrades

Invest salvage data in storage, energy, and transport tech FIRST. Don’t waste it on components (like batteries or solar panels) you’ll get free through quests.

Fuel Management

Always keep a healthy supply of dihydrogen and launch fuel. Stranded ships mean wasted time—and missed opportunities.

Market Timing

Station prices fluctuate. Trade wisely, and diversify your products to avoid market collapses.

10. Summary & Sustainable Growth

Getting rich in No Man’s Sky is all about combining smart resource gathering, technology optimization, and market savvy. Here’s a quick recap for success without cheating:

• Master your multi-tool: scan, mine, and refine for higher yields.
• Farm salvage data: sell it or invest in critical upgrades.
• Build bases strategically: enable fast travel, storage, and passive income opportunities.
• Upgrade ships and tools: higher class means bigger profits.
• Exploit planetary diversity: new discoveries equal Units; unique planets offer special resources.
• Trade but don’t hoard: turn over your inventory quickly for maximum profit.
• Engage with missions and expeditions: aim for rewards, not just resources.
• Fleet management and exocraft: boost long-term income with advanced systems.

No Man’s Sky is a sandbox of endless possibility; with these strategies you can become one of the galaxy’s richest travelers—without ever resorting to exploits or cheats.

Start by prioritizing scanning, salvage data, and market trading. Build up your tech and inventory, expand into missions and expeditions, and always keep your eye open for the next big score.