If you’ve just booted up No Man’s Sky for the first time, you’ve probably realized you’re stuck on your starting star system until you unlock one critical piece of ship tech. You can explore every planet in your initial system, but you’ll never see the full galaxy until you get the interstellar travel tool that makes the whole game open up. We’re breaking down exactly how to get hyperdrive in No Man’s Sky, no fancy tricks or late-game resources required, even if you’re a total beginner.
What You Need Before You Learn How to Get Hyperdrive in No Man’s Sky
You don’t need to grind for dozens of hours or find rare hidden resources to unlock your first hyperdrive. The entire process is tied to the early main story mission called “Awakenings”, so you won’t have to wander aimlessly looking for the blueprint. Before you get started, make sure you’ve checked off these simple pre-requisites:
- Completed the first 3 Awakenings mission steps, up to the prompt that asks you to prepare to leave your starting planet
- Collected 50 Ferrite Dust and 20 Metal Plating to build any missing construction tools you might need
- Unlocked and fully charged your Analysis Visor to scan for nearby resources and points of interest quickly
- Fixed your ship’s basic launch thrusters and pulse engine, so you can travel between planets in your starting system
If you accidentally skipped a story step, just open your mission log, pin the Awakenings mission, and follow the on-screen waypoint. It will lead you directly to the NPC that hands over the hyperdrive blueprint, no extra work required. I skipped this step my first playthrough and spent 3 hours wandering a frozen planet looking for a hyperdrive blueprint, so trust me, just follow the main quest first.
Step-by-Step Process to Unlock and Build Your First Hyperdrive
Once you have the blueprint from the Awakenings mission NPC, you’ll need to collect a small set of resources to build and install the hyperdrive on your ship. First, double check that you have at least one free technology slot on your ship’s inventory, otherwise you’ll have to dismantle a damaged, unused tech part to make space before you can install it. That’s a common mistake that wastes a ton of extra resources if you don’t plan ahead.
You’ll need two core resources for the hyperdrive itself: 125 units of Heridium and 50 units of Chromatic Metal. Heridium is the bright blue, column-shaped rock that sticks out of most planet surfaces, and your analysis visor will mark it with a bright blue icon when you scan. For Chromatic Metal, you’ll need to build a portable refiner first (you get this blueprint super early in the Awakenings mission too) and process 100 units of Copper, which you can find in large rock deposits marked with orange scan icons.
Once you have all resources, open your ship’s inventory, navigate to the empty technology slot, and select the hyperdrive to install it. You’ll get a pop-up confirmation once it’s installed correctly, and the Awakenings mission will update to walk you through powering it for your first jump.
First Hyperdrive Jump: What to Do Next to Avoid Headaches
Your hyperdrive won’t work right out of the box, you need to power it with a Warp Cell first. The Awakenings mission gives you the blueprints for both Antimatter and Antimatter Housing, the two components you need to craft a Warp Cell, so you don’t have to buy one from a vendor for a ridiculous price. You can find all the resources to make your first Warp Cell on your starting planet, so you don’t have to travel anywhere to craft it.
When you’re ready to make your first jump, open your galaxy map, and filter for star systems that are marked as “habitable” or have a B-tier or higher economy rating. Your base hyperdrive only has a maximum jump range of 100 light years, so don’t waste time picking a system farther away than that, it won’t work. I always save my game right before making a first jump, because I once spawned right next to a roaming pirate fleet and got blown up before I could even navigate away, losing all the resources I spent building the hyperdrive.
After you make your first successful jump, you’ll unlock the next set of story missions that let you access better hyperdrive upgrades and travel to more dangerous, resource-rich star systems. Don’t panic if you end up in a system with hostile sentinels or harsh weather, you can always jump back to your starting system if you need to restock on basic resources.
Easy Hyperdrive Upgrades to Boost Range and Performance
The base hyperdrive is pretty limited, with only 100 light years of jump range, so you’ll want to upgrade it as soon as you can to access more of the galaxy. The easiest way to get upgrades is to buy hyperdrive upgrade modules from the technology vendor at any space station. S-class modules give the biggest range boost, but even B or A class modules will make a huge difference for early game travel.
If you install multiple hyperdrive upgrades, make sure you place them next to each other in your ship’s tech inventory to unlock adjacency bonuses. Stacking three S-class hyperdrive upgrades next to each other can boost your total jump range by up to 40%, which lets you travel to faraway systems without having to make multiple stops. You can also unlock special hyperdrives later in the game, like the Cadmium, Emeril, and Indium drives, that let you travel to red, green, and blue star systems that have rare, high-value resources.
If you’re playing in survival or permadeath mode, always carry at least two extra Warp Cells in your inventory at all times. I learned this the hard way when I jumped to a dead star system with no resources to make Antimatter, and had to reload a save from 2 hours earlier because I couldn’t jump back out. It’s a small precaution that saves you a ton of frustration later.
Now that you know how to get hyperdrive in No Man’s Sky, you can stop being stuck in your starting system and explore the 18 quintillion planets the game has to offer. Don’t stress if you make a mistake along the way, I’ve lost count of how many times I forgot to stock up on Warp Cells or picked a system too far away to jump to. The best part of No Man’s Sky is wandering and finding weird, uncharted planets, so take your time and enjoy the journey.
