I spent my first 20 hours of No Man's Sky hopping between barren rock worlds and toxic ice biomes, wondering where all the glowing underwater landscapes I saw in pre-release trailers were hiding. I sifted through dozens of forum threads and tested every scanner trick I could find until I nailed a consistent process for how to find ocean planets in No Man's Sky, and now I build 90% of my permanent bases half-submerged in bioluminescent alien seas. Ocean planets aren't just pretty to look at either; they hold some of the rarest resources in the game, zero aggressive flying sentinels in most cases, and make for perfect hidden outposts if you play multiplayer.
What to Look For When You Want to Find Ocean Planets in No Man’s Sky
First, it helps to know what you’re searching for before you start warping between systems. Ocean planets (often labeled as "water worlds" in scanner readouts) are defined as planets or moons with 90% or more of their surface covered in liquid or frozen water. You don't have to stick to temperate, tropical water worlds either; frozen ice planets with vast liquid oceans under their surface count too, and often hold rarer resources than their warmer counterparts.
Your first stop is the galaxy map, and you’ll want to prioritize yellow star systems (F, G, and K class) first. These systems have the highest spawn rate for habitable, non-extreme ocean planets, making them the best starting point for new players. When you select a system on the galaxy map, you’ll see a full list of planets and moons in that system before you even warp. Keep an eye out for the water world marker in this list, as it will tell you immediately if a system has an ocean planet without you having to waste warp fuel to check.
Systems with 5 to 6 total planets and moons have the highest odds of spawning an ocean world, so skip small systems with only 1 or 2 planets unless you’re specifically chasing rare exotic biomes. If you see a system labeled as having "unexplored exotic worlds," it’s worth a quick warp even if it doesn’t list a water world upfront; exotic ocean planets with floating islands or glowing purple water often don’t show up in pre-warp scan results.
Use Your Starship and Exocraft Scanners to Narrow Down Candidates
Once you warp into a system that looks promising, run a full system scan with your starship’s scanner immediately. All water worlds and ocean moons will pop up with a bright blue icon and the "Water World" descriptor as soon as the scan finishes, so you won’t have to guess which planets to visit first. Always scan all moons alongside planets, because some of the best ocean worlds in the game are small moons orbiting gas giants, and many players skip over them entirely by only scanning main planets.
When you land on a suspected ocean planet, pull out your Analysis Visor as soon as you exit your ship. The visor will show you the full planet’s terrain breakdown, including the percentage of land vs water coverage. If it shows 70% or more water coverage, you’re almost certainly on an ocean planet, even if you spawned on a small island. Don’t write off a planet just because you see a small patch of land; most ocean planets have at least a few tiny islands scattered across their surface.
Before you go deep diving, make sure you have the Aquatic Scanning upgrade installed on your Analysis Visor. This upgrade cuts scan time for underwater resources and fauna by 50%, and it also highlights hidden underwater caves and resource deposits from much farther away. It only costs a few Ferrite Dust and Carbon to craft, so it’s worth making before you start your ocean planet hunt. If you spawn on a planet that says it has water but you’re surrounded by desert, just fly your starship 5 to 10 minutes in any direction; you’ll hit the global ocean soon enough, as some ocean planets have a few large landmasses even if water makes up most of their surface.
Pro Tips to Avoid Wasting Time on False Positives
Not every planet that lists "water" in its description is a true ocean planet. A lot of terrestrial planets have small lakes or scattered rivers, but don’t have the global ocean you need for building large underwater bases or farming deep-water resources. Watch for these common red flags to avoid wasting time on planets that don’t fit what you’re looking for:
- The planet descriptor says "continental" or "terrestrial" instead of "water world" in your system scan results
- Your initial Analysis Visor scan shows more than 30% land mass coverage across the planet surface
- You encounter large, continuous mountain ranges or desert biomes that stretch for more than 10 minutes of flight time
If you run into any of these red flags, you’re better off moving to the next planet or moon in the system instead of wasting time searching for a large enough body of water. That said, frozen water worlds count as ocean planets even if their entire surface is covered in ice. You can dig through just a few feet of ice to reach massive, warm liquid oceans underneath, and these frozen ocean worlds often have far fewer aggressive predators and less sentinel activity than temperate ocean planets, making them perfect for Survival mode players.
If you’re specifically looking for a tropical ocean planet with no ice, filter out systems with cold or frozen biome tags in the galaxy map before you warp. You can also check the planet’s temperature rating in your starship scan results to make sure it’s warm enough for liquid surface water before you land.
What to Do Once You Find Your Perfect Ocean Planet
The first thing you should do when you find an ocean planet you love is mark it with a custom waypoint on your galaxy map. It’s incredibly easy to lose track of a great system when you’re jumping around completing Nexus quests, so a custom label like "Glow Ocean Base" will help you find your way back whenever you want. If you’re playing multiplayer, you can share the system coordinates with your friends so they can visit or build their own bases alongside yours.
If you’re visiting the ocean planet to farm resources, the most valuable drops you’ll find are Hydrogen, Salt, and Cryogenic Shards. Hydrogen and Salt spawn in shallow waters and can be farmed in bulk for crafting fuel and building materials, while Cryogenic Shards only spawn in deep ocean trenches 100+ meters below the surface. You’ll need a Nautilon exocraft to reach these depths safely, as the water pressure will crush your life support system if you dive too deep without proper upgrades.
Ocean planets are also perfect for hidden bases if you play on public multiplayer servers. Most players don’t take the time to scan underwater for bases, so you can store all your valuable resources and build large farms without worrying about other players interfering. If you’re a completionist, ocean planets have some of the rarest fauna in the game, so scanning all the aquatic life on a single ocean planet can net you hundreds of thousands of units and dozens of Nanites from Nexus fauna scanning quests.
Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find a great ocean planet on your first few warps. I’ve had playthroughs where I jumped through 12 different systems before finding a bioluminescent tropical ocean world with no sentinels, and it’s still my main base three playthroughs later. Once you get the hang of how to find ocean planets in No Man's Sky, you’ll wonder how you ever played the game without building at least one underwater outpost. Take your time, use your scanners properly, and don’t forget to check those gas giant moons – you never know what hidden seas you might find.
