If you’ve ever stood in front of a glowing activated indium deposit, hammering away with your default mining laser while your hazard protection ticks down and a pack of aggressive fauna creeps up behind you, you know how frustrating slow mining can be in No Man’s Sky. I spent my first 20 hours of gameplay stuck with the basic tool, wasting tonnes of ferrite dust on repairs and missing out on high-value resource runs because I couldn’t break through hard mineral veins fast enough. Learning how to get advanced mining laser in No Man's Sky didn’t just make mining less tedious—it let me start building the freighter fleet and fully upgraded exosuit I’d been dreaming of months earlier. This guide walks you through every step you need, no vague lore hoops or hidden requirements you’ll miss halfway through.
Prerequisites You Need Before Starting the Unlock Process
You can’t just unlock the advanced mining laser 10 minutes into your first playthrough, and that’s intentional. The tool is designed for mid-game players who have already gotten the hang of basic exploration and resource gathering. I tried rushing the unlock on a fresh save once and ended up stuck for three days because I didn’t have the right milestones unlocked first.
Before you start the process, make sure you have these bases covered:
- Access to the Space Anomaly: You’ll need to complete the first few main story missions until you’re prompted to summon the Anomaly, usually after you visit your third star system. If you haven’t gotten the summon option yet, just keep following the Artemis path and it’ll pop up soon.
- 120,000 Units saved up: The blueprint itself costs Nanites, but you’ll need a solid chunk of units to buy the rare resources required to craft it if you don’t already have them in your inventory.
- Multi-tool with at least one free technology slot: You can install the laser on any multi-tool, but you don’t want to have to delete a useful upgrade like the scanner boost to make space for it, so plan ahead.
- At least 100 Nanites in reserve: The blueprint costs 80 Nanites, so keeping a little extra gives you room to pick up a small upgrade for it at the same time if you find a good deal.
You don’t need any special ship upgrades or exosuit modules to unlock the laser, but having a hauler with extra inventory space will make gathering the crafting materials far less of a hassle. I’d also recommend clearing your main inventory of any useless junk before you head to the Anomaly, so you don’t have to toss resources halfway through the crafting step.
Step-by-Step Process to Get the Advanced Mining Laser in No Man’s Sky
Once you’ve checked off all the prerequisites, the actual unlock process only takes about 15 to 20 minutes if you already have the required resources on hand. I’ve done this on four different saves now, so this path is confirmed to work even after all the latest game updates.
First, summon the Space Anomaly and head to the Technology Merchant stall on the lower level, right across from the Iteration: Helios NPC. The merchant sells all multi-tool upgrade blueprints, and the advanced mining laser will be listed under the "Mining Tools" tab. Buy the blueprint for 80 Nanites, and you’ll see the full list of crafting requirements pop up on your screen immediately.
The crafting requirements for the laser are: 100 Chromatic Metal, 2 Carbon Nanotubes, and 1 Sodium Nitrate. If you don’t have these already, you can pick all of them up from the Anomaly’s trade terminal if you have extra units, or farm them yourself in 10 minutes or less. Chromatic Metal is made by refining any rare metal like copper or cadmium, Carbon Nanotubes are crafted from 50 Carbon each, and Sodium Nitrate is refined from regular Sodium you can collect from red plants on almost any planet.
Once you have all the resources, open your multi-tool inventory, select the free slot you reserved earlier, and craft the advanced mining laser. It’ll activate immediately, no extra calibration or quest steps required. I recommend testing it out on a nearby rock as soon as you leave the Anomaly to make sure it’s working properly—you’ll notice right away how much faster it breaks even hard, dense materials.
Top Upgrades to Pair With Your Advanced Mining Laser for Maximum Efficiency
The base advanced mining laser is already a huge upgrade over the default tool, but you can make it even more powerful with a few cheap, easy to find upgrades. I tested every possible mining laser upgrade combination last month when I was grinding for 10,000 activated indium to build my new base, and these are the only ones worth investing in.
First, pick up the Mining Laser Heat Sink upgrade from the Technology Merchant. The base advanced laser overheats after about 10 seconds of continuous use, which can slow you down when you’re mining large deposits. The heat sink upgrade doubles the amount of time you can use the laser before it overheats, and it only costs 40 Nanites and a handful of common resources to craft and install. The advanced mining laser already has a built-in 30% higher resource yield than the default tool, so pairing it with a yield boost upgrade will let you get even more resources per deposit.
Next, add a Mining Speed Boost module if you can find one from a space station merchant or a wrecked multi-tool. Even a C-tier speed boost will cut your mining time by another 20%, and S-tier ones can cut it in half. Just make sure you install it right next to the advanced mining laser in your multi-tool inventory to get the adjacency bonus, which makes the upgrade even more effective.
If you do a lot of mining on hazardous planets, the Silent Mining upgrade is also worth picking up. It stops the laser from making loud noise that attracts aggressive fauna, so you won’t get jumped by predatory creatures halfway through mining a rare deposit. I used to carry a weapon with me on every mining run before I installed this upgrade, now I don’t even bother bringing extra ammo most of the time.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Using Your New Mining Laser
Even with the advanced mining laser, it’s easy to make small mistakes that cost you time, resources, or even the tool entirely if you’re not careful. I’ve made all of these mistakes at least once, so you don’t have to.
The biggest mistake I see new players make is forgetting to install a protective upgrade before mining radioactive or corrosive resources. The advanced laser cuts through those materials so fast that you’ll get a huge blast of radioactive or corrosive dust right in your exosuit if you don’t have the right hazard protection upgrade installed. I once lost half my exosuit health in 2 seconds mining uranium on a radioactive planet because I forgot to install the radiation resistance upgrade before landing.
Another common mistake is using the laser to break containers or loot crates. The advanced laser deals way more damage than the default tool, so it’ll usually destroy the contents of the crate instead of letting you pick them up. If you see a loot crate, switch back to your default mining mode or use your melee attack to break it open, so you don’t lose out on valuable units or rare items.
You also don’t want to install too many mining upgrades in a row without checking your power usage. Every upgrade draws a small amount of power from your multi-tool’s battery, and if you have too many installed, your laser will drain the battery in seconds when you use it. Stick to 3 or 4 mining-related upgrades max, and you won’t run into this issue.
At the end of the day, learning how to get advanced mining laser in No Man's Sky is one of the most impactful mid-game upgrades you can unlock, no matter what your playstyle is. Whether you’re a casual player who just wants to build a nice base, or a hardcore player grinding for the best possible multi-tool in the galaxy, this upgrade will save you dozens of hours of tedious mining time. If you get stuck at any step, just take a quick break and double check that you have all the prerequisites unlocked—there are no hidden tricks to this unlock, just clear steps that work for every player. Once you have it installed, you’ll wonder how you ever played the game without it.
