No Man's Sky: Beginner-to-Advanced Guide

A practical guide to surviving your first planet, getting off-world, earning Units and Nanites, and making the most of the 2026 updates — including COSMOS (7.0), with its owned space stations, hulk salvage, and orbital bases.

Researched September 2026 — current as of the COSMOS (7.0) update (September 9, 2026) and the "Our Journey Continues" 10th-anniversary Expedition. Live games change; check the linked sources if something differs.

Quick Start

• Pick a game mode on purpose. Normal is the intended experience. Relaxed softens survival. Survival and Permadeath are harsh. Creative removes costs. Custom lets you tune individual rules.
• Fix your ship and scan everything. The opening tutorial walks you through repairing your crashed starship. Press the scanner often — it highlights resources and points of interest.
• Keep three bars topped up: Life Support (Oxygen, Sodium, Di-hydrogen Jelly), Hazard Protection (Sodium), and your Mining Beam/tech charge (Carbon, Ferrite Dust, and so on).
• Follow the story missions early. Artemis/the main quest line unlocks core blueprints, the Space Anomaly, Portals and base-building essentials. Don't skip them for the first dozen hours.
• Build a base with a Base Computer early. It gives you a safe save point, storage and farming.
• Visit the Space Anomaly (the Nexus). Once unlocked, summon it from your Quick Menu in space. It has the Quicksilver shop, Construction Research, multiplayer missions, and more.
• New in COSMOS: after warping, open the new Star System Map from the Quick Menu. It reveals space points of interest — Derelict Hulks, Deep-Space Outposts, stations — that start new missions. New saves get a short "Signals" tutorial for it.
• Upgrade inventory slots constantly. Exosuit slots come from Drop Pods on planets and the Space Station/Anomaly. Ship and Multi-Tool slots can be bought at stations.
• Salvaged Data (from buried tech modules) is your blueprint currency for base parts at the Construction Research terminal.
• Don't panic about Sentinels. Heat builds when you mine or shoot things they protect. Break line of sight, or fly off-planet, to lose them.

Controls (PC Defaults)

Action | Key

Scanner | C

Analysis Visor | F (hold)

Quick Menu (summon ship, Exocraft, Anomaly, Star System Map) | X

Inventory | Tab

Jetpack | Space (hold)

Melee | Q

Multi-Tool primary | Left mouse

Sprint | Shift

Rebind anything in Options; controller support is complete.

Core Resources and Currencies

Resource | Where | Main uses

Carbon / Condensed Carbon | Plants, trees | Mining Beam fuel, crafting

Ferrite Dust / Pure Ferrite / Magnetised Ferrite | Rocks, refining | Building, tech repairs

Oxygen | Red plants | Life Support

Sodium / Sodium Nitrate | Yellow plants | Hazard Protection

Di-hydrogen / Di-hydrogen Jelly | Blue crystals | Life Support, Starship Launch Fuel

Tritium | Space asteroids | Pulse Engine fuel

Chromatic Metal | Refine copper, cadmium, etc. | Warp Cells, tech

Antimatter / Antimatter Housing | Crafted (blueprints from story) | Warp Cells for the Hyperdrive

Salvaged Data | Buried tech modules (scan with Analysis Visor) | Base blueprints

Currency | Earned from | Spend on

Units | Selling items, missions, trading | Ships, Multi-Tools, freighters, goods

Nanites | Scrapping upgrade modules, missions, discoveries | Tech upgrades and blueprints

Quicksilver | Nexus missions, Expeditions, community events | Cosmetics and base decor at the Anomaly

Getting Off the Ground: The First Hours

• Repair the ship's Launch Thruster and Pulse Engine using the tutorial steps.
• Craft Starship Launch Fuel (Di-hydrogen Jelly plus Metal Plating) to lift off; keep spares.
• Mine Tritium from asteroids to fuel the Pulse Engine.
• Follow Artemis to a Space Station. Buy inventory slots there when you can.
• Build the Hyperdrive and craft Warp Cells to jump systems.
• At the station, learn to use the Galactic Trade Terminal and mission board.
• When the story unlocks it, visit the Space Anomaly and grab its free blueprints.

Main Activities

Exploration

Scan planets from orbit and on foot for flora, fauna and minerals — uploads earn Nanites and Units. Planets vary by biome, weather, Sentinel level, and rarity. Worlds Part I and Part II (2024–2025) added gas giants, water worlds and much more varied terrain, so look for new planet types in older systems.

Starships

Class | Strength

Fighter | Combat

Hauler | Cargo space

Explorer | Hyperdrive range

Shuttle | Cheap, flexible

Exotic | Rare, stylish

Solar | Solar sail speed boost

Sentinel Interceptor | Anti-grav, strong weapons (earned from Sentinel ships)

Living Ship | Grown from a Void Egg quest

Corvette | Custom-built, multiplayer-capable ships from Voyagers (6.0) — COSMOS adds a Tractor Beam utility part

Ships and Multi-Tools have classes (C, B, A, S). S-class is best, but you can upgrade class at stations.

Freighters

A capital ship arrives after you help a freighter under pirate attack in space; buying one gives you mobile storage, frigate fleet expeditions (for Units and loot), and a place to build. Larger capital freighters cost millions of Units but can sometimes be claimed for free from a rescue event.

Base Building and Settlements

Build anywhere with a Base Computer. Farm plants for passive resources; build refiners, storage containers, teleporters, and eventually industrial setups. Settlements (from Frontiers) let you oversee a community you manage for ongoing income.

COSMOS added orbital bases: you can build free-floating bases anywhere in space, on natural asteroid platforms or in empty volume, using new corridor parts and many station decoration modules from the Construction Research Terminal.

Pets and Xeno Arena

You can adopt companions with Creature Pellets. The Xeno Arena update (April 2026) lets you raise, train and battle creatures in holo-arenas found in space stations — rare creature abilities give exploration a new purpose.

Salvage and the Gravitino Coil

The Remnant update (February 2026) added the Gravitino Coil, a gravity-gun module for your Multi-Tool. Grab salvage and debris, load it into trucks and haulers, and bring it to industrial yards for rare resources.

The Swarm (May 2026)

The Hive of Glass appeared in the skies. Players were sorted into three factions by a personality test and cooperate on a war effort tracked in the Anomaly and on the Galactic Atlas site. This update also brought the game's biggest space battles.

COSMOS (7.0): What's New in Space

Feature | What it means for you

Star System Map | Quick Menu map of planets, station, and deep-space points of interest

Derelict Hulks | Huge wrecks to strip for tech and cargo. Scan first for the best-value parts — tear too much and the hulk's structural integrity fails and it melts down/explodes

Deep-Space Outposts | Alien-run facilities: process rare minerals, trade with the quartermaster, take salvage/material recovery contracts for standing and rewards

Station Directorship | Prove yourself to local authorities to become director of a Space Station; decorate the lobby, add rooms, dress the exterior

Galactic Alliances | Directors can found alliances with names and banners. You can join up to three alliances; alliance stations get quick teleporter access and there are activity leaderboards

Orbital Bases | Build free-floating bases in space

Tractor Beam | Corvette part that pulls physical cargo into the hold; pair it with the Gravitino Coil to salvage hulks

A good loop in 7.0: warp in, check the Star System Map, scan a hulk, strip high-value chunks with the Gravitino Coil into your Corvette's Tractor Beam, then sell or process the haul at an Outpost while doing its contracts.

Expeditions

Expeditions are limited-time seasonal runs on a fresh save with themed goals and rewards you keep on all saves. "Our Journey Continues" (launched September 17, 2026) celebrates ten years of NMS. Its rewards include framed artworks of classic update covers, a bobblehead cockpit companion, the Starbound v0.27 Multi-Tool, a golden Rasamama S36 (the original starter ship), and a vintage Sentinel Interceptor. Play the expedition before it ends — rewards come from its milestones.

Making Money

• Early: scan and upload discoveries, sell valuable minerals, and do space station missions.
• Mid game: farm resources at a base and craft them into higher-value products (the Stasis Device chain is a classic high-value craft). Buy low and sell high between systems with different economies.
• Freighter frigate expeditions: passive Units and loot while you play.
• COSMOS: hulk salvage plus Outpost contracts is a strong new income loop.
• Nanites: scrap unwanted upgrade modules, dig up buried tech, and do Nexus/Anomaly missions.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Letting Hazard Protection drop in storms. Duck into a cave, your ship or a building.
• Wasting inventory on raw resources. Refine them and use storage containers at your base.
• Selling blueprints-critical items. Keep Salvaged Data, Storm Crystals and Ancient items until you know their use.
• Ignoring the Space Anomaly. It hosts free upgrades, multiplayer missions and the Construction Research terminal.
• Tearing a hulk apart blindly. Too much stripping causes a meltdown — scan first and take the valuables.
• Warping with no fuel plan. Carry Warp Cells and Launch Fuel.
• Not saving before risky moves. Restore points and your ship act as save points; Permadeath has no second chances.

Advanced Tips

• Economy scanners show system wealth and conflict levels on the Galaxy Map — trade and shop accordingly.
• Multi-Tool and ship upgrade modules are best stacked three of the same type in adjacent slots for an adjacency bonus.
• Supercharged slots boost modules placed in them — put your best upgrades there.
• Portals let you jump between planets across the galaxy with glyphs; coordinates are widely shared by the community.
• The Galactic Atlas site tracks community events and the Swarm war effort.
• Cross-save and cross-play are supported across PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch/Switch 2, Steam Deck, and VR — you can carry progress between platforms.
• Custom game mode is great for testing base designs or a relaxed second save.

FAQ

Is No Man's Sky still getting updates? Yes. Hello Games has shipped 41 named updates as of September 2026, the latest being COSMOS (7.0). All are free.

What's the best game mode for beginners? Normal. Relaxed if survival feels stressful.

How do I become a Space Station director? The COSMOS patch notes say you must "prove yourself to the local authorities" of a station; the exact steps are delivered in-game, so follow the station's mission prompts.

How do I get a freighter? Warp a few times, and a freighter under pirate attack will appear. Rescue it and the captain offers the ship — sometimes free.

Can I play with friends? Yes. Multiplayer, cross-play and cross-save are supported. Corvettes can be crewed together.

Do Expedition rewards carry over? Yes. Rewards unlock on your account and can be claimed on other saves.

Sources

• No Man's Sky: COSMOS update page
• Steam news: No Man's Sky COSMOS (7.0) (September 9, 2026)
• Steam news: "Our Journey Continues" 10th Anniversary Expedition (September 17, 2026)
• Steam news: The Swarm (May 27, 2026), Xeno Arena (April 8, 2026), Remnant (February 11, 2026)
• Galactic Atlas
• No Man's Sky on Steam