In No Man’s Sky, Resources are mined and broken down into their chemical elements. These elements can then be combined to create new items or upgrades, or you can choose to sell them on the open market. It’s very important to know which types of elements are needed for certain actions, like fueling your ship or keeping your Mining Beam charged. This guide discusses all the elements in the game and includes some handy tips to help you succeed.
There are five divisions of the periodic table in No Man’s Sky: Oxide, Silicate, Isotope, Neutral, and Precious. The color listed with each division below can be found on the element’s icon background, and you’ll also use these colors when identifying certain resources after scanning an area.
Oxide Elements (Yellow)
These elements are commonly used in crafting and recharging defensive technologies. You can find them in rock formations and asteroids. Oxide elements include Iron, Sulfur, Titanium, and Zinc.
Silicate Elements (Blue)
Silicate elements are combined with other elements for crafting purposes. These elements can be found in rock formations, caves, and certain types of flora. The Silicate elements are Chrysonite, Heridium, Platinum, and Silicon. It’s worth nothing Heridium can be scavenged from destroyed Sentinels.
Isotope Elements (Red)
These elements are commonly used to fuel or recharge technology, including ships, weapons, shields, mining equipment, and hyperdrives. They can also be combined with other elements for crafting. You can find Isotope elements in a wide variety of locations. You can find Carbon in trees, plants, and other vegetation, and you’ll be able to collect Thamium9 from asteroids. Plutonium is obtained from red crystals inside caves.
Neutral Elements (Green)
Neutral Elements are mainly used in crafting, and you can find them in rock formations. These elements are Aluminium, Emeril, Iridium, Copper, Gold, and Nickel.
Precious Elements (Purple)
Precious elements are very rare, and you can earn some serious profit from selling them. Omegon and Calium are both Precious elements.
Tips
- Each element has a maximum amount that it can be stacked, making inventory management extremely important.
- Carbon and Iron seem to be the most common minerals. Use these to keep your Mining Beam, Boltcaster, and Exosuit charged.
- When selling elements at outposts or space stations, make sure to look at the resource’s percentage markup. Sometimes, it’s worth selling somewhere else to earn more units.
For any additional No Man’s Sky questions, feel free to stop by the No Man’s Sky Wiki on Gamepedia for information on ships, your multi-tool, and more.
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Brianna Reed
Brianna engages with the Gamepedia community through editorial content and social media. When she’s not busy tweeting about gaming news, she enjoys playing tabletop games, spending time outdoors, and binge-watching sci-fi.