I still remember my first 10 hours in No Man's Sky running around confused, wondering why I couldn't build my first hyperdrive without that shiny, rainbow-hued material everyone kept mentioning. I wasted almost two hours trying to trade for it at my first space station before I figured out how simple it is to make yourself. If you're stuck trying to figure out how to get chromatic metal in No Man's Sky, you're far from alone. This core crafting resource is required for everything from base building parts to interstellar travel gear, and a lot of the game's early tutorials skip over exactly where to find it reliably. I've put over 300 hours into the game across three different saves, so I've tested every possible method to farm this resource fast, no matter what stage of the game you're in.
How to Get Chromatic Metal in No Man's Sky Early Game (No Advanced Gear Needed)
If you're still working through the opening tutorial and haven't unlocked a hyperdrive yet, you don't need fancy gear to get all the chromatic metal you need. The only tool you'll need is the portable refiner you unlock right after fixing your ship's launch thrusters, plus a basic mining beam for your multi-tool. The fastest early-game method uses activated copper, a resource you can find on most planets orbiting yellow starter stars.
First, scan planets from your ship while you're in your starting system. You'll see activated copper listed in the resource panel for any planet that has it, so you don't have to land to check. Once you find a suitable planet, land and pull up your multi-tool scanner to locate nearby deposits. Activated copper shows up as a bright orange icon on your scanner, so it's hard to miss. Mine at least 50 units of it, grab 25 carbon for refiner fuel, and pop both into your portable refiner. You'll get 50 units of chromatic metal in less than 60 seconds, with a 1:1 conversion ratio.
Early game pro tip: You can also pick up small chunks of chromatic metal from looting damaged machinery and planetary ruins, but this is inconsistent and only works for small amounts. I still use this method if I'm on a new save and need a quick 100 units to build my first hyperdrive, since I can usually find an activated copper deposit within 10 minutes of spawning. Don't waste regular non-activated copper on this though, it has a 2:1 conversion ratio that wastes half your mined resources for no benefit.
Best Mid-Game Methods for Large-Scale Chromatic Metal Farming
Once you unlock your first hyperdrive and can travel between different star systems, you can scale up your chromatic metal production to cover all your long-term needs. The biggest upgrade comes from accessing higher-tier activated metals found in non-yellow star systems. Red systems have activated cadmium, green systems have activated emeril, and blue systems have activated indium. All of these have the same 1:1 conversion ratio to chromatic metal, but their deposits are significantly larger than activated copper ones.
The most low-effort method by far is building an automated activated indium farm in a blue star system. First, find a planet with large activated indium deposits, then place a base computer near the biggest deposit you can find. Set up 3 to 4 mineral extractors directly on the deposit line, connect them to a bank of supply depots, and power the whole setup with solar panels and batteries. You don't have to stay nearby for the extractors to work, so you can go off and do quests or explore, then come back every few hours to collect thousands of units of activated indium. Run that through a couple of large refiners, and you'll have thousands of chromatic metal in one go.
One activated indium farm of 4 extractors can produce enough chromatic metal to last you for months of gameplay, so it's worth the 30 minutes it takes to set up. I set up my first activated indium farm 2 years ago, and I still haven't run out of chromatic metal on that save, even after building three massive bases and upgrading 4 different multi-tools. If you don't want to build a farm, you can also find crashed freighters on planets that often have 50 to 200 units of chromatic metal in their storage containers, no refining required.
Common Mistakes to Avoid When Gathering Chromatic Metal
Even experienced players make these mistakes when farming chromatic metal, and they can cost you hours of wasted time. I've made all of these myself at one point, so learning to avoid them will make your farming runs way more efficient:
- Wasting regular non-activated metals on refining: Regular copper, cadmium, emeril and indium give a 2:1 ratio when refined into chromatic metal, which means you're throwing away half of your hard-mined resources for no reason. Always prioritize activated variants whenever possible.
- Ignoring your scanner's resource filter: Most new players don't know you can set your multi-tool scanner to filter specifically for activated metal deposits, so you don't waste time wandering around looking for them. You can unlock this filter by spending one nanite on the scanner upgrade tree in your inventory.
- Forgetting to fuel your refiners before you leave: If you're running a large refining operation for chromatic metal, there's nothing worse than coming back 2 hours later to find your refiner ran out of fuel 10 minutes after you left. Always fill your refiner's fuel slot with condensed carbon, which lasts 10x longer than regular carbon, before you walk away.
- Trading for chromatic metal at space stations: You'll pay 2-3x the actual value of chromatic metal if you buy it from NPC traders, and it's almost always faster to mine and refine it yourself unless you have a huge surplus of units and need 10 units right now for a quest.
You can sell extra activated indium for a huge profit at space stations, so your chromatic metal farm can double as a unit farm if you have extra raw material. I usually keep 20% of my activated indium for chromatic metal production, and sell the rest for enough units to buy S-class ships and upgrades whenever I want.
Creative Uses for Extra Chromatic Metal You Might Not Know About
Most players only use chromatic metal for hyperdrive parts and basic base building, but it has a ton of underrated uses that make farming extra well worth it. If you've got a big stockpile sitting in your storage, you can put it to work to make your gameplay way smoother. For example, it's a key component for upgrading your multi-tool's damage and scanning range. Upgrading your multi-tool to S-class can take up to 500 chromatic metal, but it makes mining and combat way easier, so you'll spend less time grinding resources later on.
It's also a core ingredient for warp cells, which you'll need if you're traveling long distances across the galaxy or working through the main story quest. I usually keep a stack of 50 warp cells on my ship at all times, so I never get stuck in a system without fuel for jumps. You can also use chromatic metal to repair damaged freighters you find drifting in space. If you repair a freighter's core systems, you can often get the entire ship for free, saving you tens of millions of units you'd spend buying one from an NPC trader.
If you play multiplayer, chromatic metal is one of the most requested resources from new players, so you can trade extra stacks for rare mods and ships with other players in public lobbies. I've traded 500 units of chromatic metal for an S-class explorer ship before, which would have cost me 12 million units if I bought it from an NPC. You can also use chromatic metal to customize the color of your base building parts, letting you create unique, iridescent base designs that stand out from standard metal builds.
At the end of the day, learning how to get chromatic metal in No Man's Sky doesn't have to be a frustrating grind if you use the right methods for your current progress level. If you're just starting out, stick to activated copper deposits near your starting system until you can unlock better starship drives. Once you're able to travel to higher tier star systems, a single activated indium farm will cover all your chromatic metal needs for the rest of your playthrough. Don't be afraid to experiment with different farming methods too, you might find a hidden trick that works even better for your playstyle.
