Making money has never been easier in No Man’s Sky thanks to the “Atlas Rising” 1.3 update. There’s a brand new economy system in play, and you can use devices to tell the wealth level of a planet and what sells for the most cash with the touch of a button. It isn’t exactly clear how this “economy” stuff works when you first start exploring, so we’re going to break it down.
The Economy Scanner is the most helpful upgrade. Using it drops an overlay while exploring with your ship, and shows the economy type for all the nearby planets on your map. Similar colors go hand-in-hand, and you can buy low and sell high depending on the color of your Economy Scanned planets. The wealth level is another important factor, and wealthier systems can help you make the big bucks.
More No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rising guides on Gameranx:
- No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rising – How To Fast Travel | Portals Guide
- No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rising – How To Join Friends Online | Co-op Guide
- No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rising – How to Start The Story | Awakening Mission Guide
Atlas Rising – How to Get Rich Quick
The Economy System introduced in the “Atlas Rising” 1.3 update adds more complexity to the trading system in general, and offers better methods for earning huge amounts of cash, or “units” as they’re called in No Man’s Sky. You can quickly flip trade goods for over 1,000,000 units at wealthy stations, but you’ll need to make some preparations first.
Upgrading Your Ship | The Economy Scanner
The Economy Scanner is a powerful device you can attach to your ship to make trading much easier. To get one, check vendors until you find the Economy Scanner Blueprint. This is random, so just keep checking until you stumble into one.
- Economy Scanner Blueprint – Crafting:
- 200~ Thamium
- 200~ Heridium
Install the Economy Scanner on your ship to gain the Economy Filter Overlay in the Galactic Map. Now every planet will appear with a certain color — the colors each indicate a different type of economy.
Galactic Map – Economy Types
There are 7 types of Economies, each denoted by a specific color. Each economy will sell a certain type of resource low, and buy a certain type of resource high. [These entries are subject to change as we figure out what makes each economy type unique.]
NOTE: The more of a single item you sell to a system, the value of that item will decrease.
- Red: Power Generation
- Fuel & Isotopes sell high.
- Cyan: Nano Construction
- Crafted Nano Trade Goods sell high.
- Orange: Mining Industry
- Ores can be purchased cheaply, but sell low.
- Yellow: Manufacturing Industry
- Raw Materials and Ore sell high.
- Green: Trading & Shipping
- Trade Goods & Commodities sell high.
- Blue: Science & Research
- Crafted Scientific Trade Goods sell high.
- Purple: Ore & Mineral Processing
- Ore & Ore-Related Crafted Products sell high.
Planet Wealth & Farming Tips
Certain planets have higher wealth — and the wealthier a system, the more you can earn by selling commodities. Wealthier systems also have better classes of ship; you can find S-Class Ships and purchase them in stations at lower prices in a wealthy system.
- Farming Tips
- S-Class Ships have the best stats and storage, so these are recommended for trade and travel.
- Setup your base in a cluster of wealthy systems that compliment each other. Find an Orange system near a Red / Purple system to make travel and selling at high prices easier.
- Farming plants at your base and crafting Trade Goods can be very, very lucrative.
- Craft, collect or purchase Trade Goods — Circuit Boards and Liquid Explosive now sell for incredibly high prices in some economies.
- Combine ores and plants into Trade Goods instead of selling them raw for huge cash bonuses.
It’s pretty straightforward when you know what to do and how it all works. There’s still lots of mystery to this system. If we learn more, we’ll update this article with any new details.
