No Man's Sky is a game that continues to grow and improve, with the latest prism update adding new content and enhanced graphics. The interstellar sandbox has only gotten better since its initial release, offering a vast galaxy with countless planets to explore.
In a game with so many possibilities, one thing every player will need is money. Buying resources and crafting materials from vendors is often much more expedient than gathering them by hand, especially when building large structures or bases. Units are one of the three main currencies in No Man's Sky, alongside Nanites and Quicksilver. As well as buying new items and building supplies, units can also be used to buy powerful ship upgrades.
Updated December 12th, 2021 by Russ Boswell: No Man's Sky continues to see consistent updates and tweaks that have steadily transformed it into the game that players were hoping it would be when it was first released. Developers have done a great job sticking with the title through the good and bad and more and more players are flocking to the release every day. These new players will likely want to amass as many units as possible when starting out as currency goes a long way in No Man's Sky. To better showcase some of the best No Man's Sky credit farms and how to make a ton of units in No Man's Sky, the following list has been updated.
10 Hunt Random Creatures Early On
There are a ton of ways to make units in No Man's Sky but some methods require players to have upgraded tools or specific know-how. A lot of the best money-making schemes and practices are reserved for those that have progressed a little way into the game itself but there are still some things that players can do to make a substantial amount of units early on.
One good example is hunting. Players can simply eliminate the fauna on any planets they come across (using the Mining Beam) and collect the meaty chunks they drop. A stack of these chunks sells for upwards of 50,000 units. The only downside is that animals won't respawn frequently enough to make this a lucrative long-term money-making option.
9 Nab Whispering Eggs For A Huge Payout
Opening Whispering Eggs is a great way to earn some quick (and abundant) cash but many players find themselves overrun by Biological Horrors whenever they try to effectively mine these nodes and the Larval Cores that lie inside. Thankfully, some players have discovered a way to grab the goodies without having to slay waves of enemies.
Take, for example, Twitter user SmellyFerret and their farming method. By finding an abandoned building (by scanning planets) and then putting a 4x4 wall around a cluster of eggs, players are able to mine another nearby egg outside of the walls in order to proc the Biological Horror event. Players are then free and safe to mine the cluster they enclosed in walls without the threat of being attacked. Rinsing and repeating this method on other planets can net players a massive profit in no time.
8 Complete Missions & Sidequests
The Nexus is a multiplayer hub area added to the game in the Beyond DLC. Here, players can share missions and offer rewards for completing them. There are four types of Nexus mission, offering a variety of different payments from rare items too large sums of units.
NPCs will also offer units in exchange for completing their sidequests. Polo the Gek is a reptilian scientist found on the Anomaly. He will award the player with amazing upgrades for their ship, Exosuit, and multitool, in exchange for completing research tasks. If players already have good gear, they will receive payments in units instead.
Nexus Missions And Their Rewards
- Regular Missions: Items, Units, or Nanites
- Daily Quicksilver Missions: 250 Quicksilver
- Encrypted Missions: Units, Nanites, and sometimes rare items
- Weekend Missions: 12oo Quicksilver
7 Scan Items & Sell The Data
One of the simplest ways to get rich quick in No Man's Sky is to scan items with the multitool. In order to do this players will need to modify their tool with the Analysis Visor upgrade, which can be purchased from vendors or crafted from 50 iron.
For every item scanned, the player will receive a small sum of units, with bonuses for scanning every animal, item, and waypoint on a given planet. Once players have scanned the items, they can name and upload their discoveries for additional units. This is a great way for players to explore the galaxy while also generating lots of cash.
6 Find Buried Treasure
One of the many incredible aspects of No Man's Sky is its scale. The game's universe contains an incredible number of planets, so players shouldn't expect to be able to explore them all. Planets come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and each planet type offers its own unique flora and fauna.
Once players have the analytics visor for their multitool, they will be able to detect ancient burial sites. These are collections of bones concealed beneath a planet's surface, which players can excavate using the terrain manipulator. They can then sell ancient bones to certain vendors in exchange for units.
Different Types Of Bones And How Much They Are Worth
- Common: 250-500 years old, with a base value of 50,000 to 110,000 each
- Uncommon: 600-1100 years old, with a base value of 200,000 to 650,000 units
- Rare: 1400 to 3000 years old, with a base value of 700,000 to 1,700,000 units
5 Visit Stormy Planets To Harvest Crystals
While some worlds are relatively benign, others can be very hazardous. Players may encounter dangerous native wildlife or extreme climates that can only be traversed with specialized equipment. If players want to venture into storms, they will need to upgrade their exosuits' hazard protection.
Once players have the analytics visor, they will be able to locate storm crystals. These luminescent rock formations are only found in active storms, often inside derelict freighter containers. Not only are they useful for a number of crafting recipes, but harvesting lots of storm crystals will turn a hefty profit for players in need of units.
4 Sell Advanced Technology
In order to find more advanced equipment, players will need to obtain salvaged data and trade it for new blueprints. Never throw away extra items or equipment, as anything that can't be used can be sold for more units.
Buying and selling technology is a great way to turn a quick profit. The rarer the gadget, the higher the price. Some equipment can't be crafted and has to be bought from vendors instead. However, given how varied the game's economy is, it is easy to make lots of units buying up tech from one system and trading it in another. (Doing this with the Wiring Loom will actually break the Galactic economy.)
Valuable Techs Include
- Statsis devices
- Fusion Igniters
- Quantum Processors
- Portable Reactor
- Mind Control Device
3 Mine Asteroids For Gold
A player's most valuable asset in No Man's Sky is their spaceship. There are many different types of ship to choose from, including cargo freighters and combat vessels. Asteroid mining is a great way for players to earn units without ever leaving the comfort of the cockpit.
Players don't need any specialized equipment to gather resources from asteroids, as they can be broken apart with even the most basic weaponry. When destroyed, these rocky clusters of space debris will drop Tritium, which can be converted into ship fuel, as well as other valuable elements.
Different Types Of Asteroids And What They Drop
- Small Asteroids drop Tritium, Silver, and Gold and also have a small chance of dropping Anomaly detectors, Gold Nuggets, and Tritium Hyper Clusters.
- Large Asteroids can be destroyed partially or fully, and are bountiful sources of Silver and Gold.
- Crystal Asteroids are the rarest type players can encounter, and can be mined for Platinum.
2 A Quiet Life Of Mineral Farming
As players progress through No Man's Sky, they will find that they need more and more materials for crafting new items and building better bases. As well as being used for construction, elements and resources can also be sold for units at any vendor.
In order to farm valuable resources, players will need to be able to build mining machines, which they can place over natural deposits. They will also need silos for storing materials after they have been extracted. Some elements are worth more units than others, but with a little luck, mineral farming can be an easy way to become an interstellar millionaire.
1 When All Else Fails, Resort To Piracy
In No Man's Sky, the player is truly free to do whatever they want, be it taming and milking alien creatures or embarking on scientific expeditions to find unexplored planets. There is also the option for more adventurous players to go rogue and raid other ships as a swashbuckling space pirate.
Destroying ships will cause them to drop all of their cargo, so it can be collected and sold later on. Attacking neutral vessels will cause the sentinels to become alerted and attack the player until they can escape or hide in a trading port. Cargo freighters often provide the best loot, Keep in mind, though, that the player's notoriety increases they may have to jump between systems to avoid being caught.