If you’ve spent any time playing No Man’s Sky, you already know nanite clusters are one of the most valuable resources in the game. They let you upgrade your ship, multitool, and exosuit, unlock rare blueprints, repair damaged tech, and even buy exclusive customization items from the Space Anomaly. A lot of players, especially new ones, struggle to stock up enough to cover their needs, and end up wasting hours on low-yield grind that doesn’t pay off. After 300+ hours of play across every major update, I’ve tested every possible way to earn this currency, and this guide breaks down the best methods for every playstyle and game stage. You’ll learn how to get nanite clusters in No Man’s Sky without skipping the parts of the game you actually enjoy.
How to Get Nanite Clusters in No Man’s Sky Early Game (For New Players)
When you first spawn on a random planet, you won’t have access to fancy gear, freighters, or high-level missions, so you’ll need to stick to low-effort, low-risk methods to build your first nanite stash. These methods require nothing but the basic analysis visor you get within the first 10 minutes of play, so you can start earning right away.
Always scan every new creature and plant you find when you explore a new planet. The first time you scan a unique species or flora type, you’ll earn 50 to 200 nanites immediately, and you’ll get an extra bonus when you upload the discovery to the galactic registry. I’ve earned over 1,000 nanites in under an hour just by fully scanning a small, low-risk planet with lots of unique life, no combat required.
You should also keep an eye out for damaged machinery, knowledge stones, and ancient data terminals scattered across every planet. Interacting with these will usually give you 20 to 100 nanites each, plus you’ll often get free technology blueprints on top. Don’t ignore abandoned buildings either: looting the crates inside almost always gives you a handful of unwanted upgrade modules you can sell to the tech dealer at any space station for 50 to 150 nanites each, instead of wasting them on low-tier upgrades you’ll replace in a few hours.
That means you don’t have to grind anything in the early game. Just explore naturally, scan everything new you come across, and sell any extra upgrades you don’t need, and you’ll have enough nanites to upgrade your basic gear before you even visit your first space station.
High-Yield Mid-Game Nanite Farming Methods You Can Scale
Once you’ve got a basic freighter, a decent multitool, and a few hours of play under your belt, you can move on to higher-yield methods that let you earn hundreds, even thousands of nanites per hour. These methods take a little more setup, but they pay off way faster than early game scanning, and you can scale them to fit how much time you want to invest.
Run derelict freighters in higher economy systems for the most consistent mid-game returns. You can buy a derelict freighter beacon from the anomaly for a few million units, and each run takes 10 to 15 minutes to complete. You’ll earn 500 to 2,000 nanites per run from looting cargo pods, plus you’ll get dozens of upgrade modules you can sell for even more. You’ll also get free freighter crew, rare resources, and sometimes even free S-class ship upgrades as a bonus, so it’s worth doing even if you don’t need nanites that badly.
There are a few other mid-game methods that work really well depending on your playstyle:
I prefer the tainted metal method when I don’t feel like running derelicts. All you have to do is find a sentinel pillar, fight off a few waves of sentinels, and loot the piles of tainted metal left behind. One stack of 9999 tainted metal refines into almost 200,000 nanites, and you can process it in the background while you explore or build on your base. Just make sure you have at least three large refiners set up to speed up the process, otherwise you’ll be waiting a long time for the refining to finish.
End-Game AFK Nanite Methods for Passive Income
When you’re deep into the end game, you probably have more units than you know what to do with, but you still need nanites for S-class upgrades and rare blueprints. The best end-game methods let you earn nanites passively, so you don’t have to grind every time you need to buy a new upgrade for your ship or multitool.
Build a nanite farm using runaway mould and large refiners if you want fully passive income. Runaway mould spawns in large quantities around abandoned sentinel camps, and you can set up a base with automatic extractors to harvest it 24/7, no input required. You can refine 1 unit of runaway mould into 20 nanites, so a full extractor setup will generate tens of thousands of nanites per week without you having to lift a finger. I’ve had a runaway mould farm running for 6 months now, and I’ve never had to grind for nanites since I set it up.
Another easy end-game trick is to convert your excess units into nanites. Units are incredibly easy to earn in the end game with activated indium farms, so you can buy as many upgrade modules as you want from space station tech dealers, then resell them for nanites. It’s not the most efficient method, but it’s great if you have a huge stockpile of units and don’t want to waste time farming other resources.
Participate in weekly community research missions from the Space Anomaly too. These missions usually require you to do simple tasks like scan a few creatures, deliver a small stack of resources, or complete a single expedition, and they reward 2,000 to 10,000 nanites per mission, plus exclusive customization items and rare blueprints. They only take 10 to 20 minutes to complete each week, so it’s a no-brainer to do them even if you don’t need nanites right now.
Common Nanite Farming Mistakes to Avoid
Even if you’re using the best methods, it’s easy to waste time and nanites if you’re making these common mistakes. I’ve made all of these myself over the years, so avoiding them will save you dozens of hours of unnecessary grind.
The first mistake is wasting nanites on low-tier C or B class upgrades. These upgrades are cheap, but they’re way less effective than A or S class upgrades, and you’ll end up replacing them within a few hours of play. Save your nanites for high-tier upgrades, it’s worth the wait.
Another mistake is selling rare alien artifacts or navigation data for nanites. These items are way more valuable for trading for rare S-class ships, multitools, or freighters, or for unlocking rare coordinates for hidden planets and bases. Only sell common resources and unwanted upgrades for nanites, keep the rare stuff for better uses.
Upgrade your analysis visor as early as possible to get 2x more nanites per scan. A lot of players skip this upgrade because it costs a few hundred nanites, but it pays for itself within an hour of scanning new creatures and plants, and it will keep giving you extra nanites for the rest of your playthrough.
Finally, don’t force yourself to use a farming method you hate. If you don’t like fighting sentinels, don’t farm tainted metal. If you hate running derelict freighters, stick to scanning or settlement missions. The whole point of the game is to have fun, so pick a method that fits your playstyle, and you’ll never feel like you’re grinding.
No matter what stage of the game you’re in, there’s a nanite farming method that fits your schedule and playstyle. You don’t have to spend hours doing repetitive tasks you hate to stock up on the resources you need. Whether you’re a new player just learning how to get nanite clusters in No Man’s Sky, or a veteran looking for passive end-game income, these methods will help you build up a huge stash fast so you can spend more time exploring the galaxy, building bases, or playing with friends.
