No Man’s Sky Guide: How the Economy Works

No Man’s Sky’s universe has more than just an impossibly large amount of planets, alien races, and animal species. It also has a thriving economy that you can contribute to and become a part of. The best part is that it’s more than just some store or menu you go into to dump your useless cargo. There are a few intricacies to the economy that will treat you well if you understand them.

Knowledge

One thing that is very valuable in No Man’s Sky’s universe is knowledge. Languages, animal species, plants, planets, star systems, you name it and someone would pay you something for it. Whether it’s Units, supplies, or more knowledge, it can always be leveraged.

It’s not entirely clear why the Galactic Library is willing to pay top dollar for your discoveries, but it’s not something you should question. You’re doing your part by scanning everything and uploading it all to the database. As knowledge spreads, other players will be able to see what you’ve discovered and that can help them on their travels as well, keeping the wheel turning. 

Commodities

Scattered throughout the universe are what are known as Commodities. It’s sort of an odd term if we’re being honest, as they refer to relics that you can stumble upon throughout your travels. They each have some type of significance to science, religion, or one of the several races you can meet in No Man’s Sky.

Their sell rates vary on the galaxy and/or star system you find yourself in. Different aliens have interest in different knowledge and research so you’re best to shop around your wares.

Resources

These are at the core of No Man’s Sky economy and the ones you’ll need to study if you hope to succeed in trading for big Units. This is where the economy shows its depth and versatility. The most common resources in the game are elements. There are many and they each fall under specific categories based on how they’re used.

Just like in the real world, where you try to trade these resources matters. If you go somewhere rich in Gold and try to sell them some more, they will offer you a lower price, the inverse is also true. It’s very “supply and demand.” In order to make a fortune you’ll need to study the planets you visit and pay attention to what you find and don’t find. This will help you figure out what kind of Cargo you should bring to the star system. 

Understanding Prices

Speaking of supply and demand, you can get an inkling of what is most demanded in an area based on its pricing, or rather the number above the price. Each thing in the market has a percentage detailing the current price’s deviation from the Galactic Average. That means you can tell if you’re making a great profit, breaking even, or selling cheap.

Green when selling means demand is high and you’re able to sell for more money. These are the resources you always want to sell. Gold Stars denote items in extremely high demand where you can get double or even more of the resources standard value.

What you really want to pay attention to is the menu where you purchase things from. Green here means that those items are in low demand  so they’re just trying to offload stock. You can get some pretty good resources at a steal this way and the haul them over to a stay system you know will appreciate them.