You’re mid-exploration on a frozen ice planet, tracking a rare S-class creature you spotted from your ship, when your thermal protection starts blaring. You fumble through your inventory, and your stomach drops: you’re completely out of sodium. If you’ve ever been stuck in this frustrating, avoidable situation, you already know how critical this common resource is to every part of No Man’s Sky gameplay, from survival to base building. If you’re wondering how to get sodium in No Man’s Sky consistently no matter where you are in the galaxy, these tested, player-vetted methods will keep your stores full for every adventure.
How to Get Sodium in No Man’s Sky From Planetary Surface Foraging
Foraging is the first method you’ll use to get sodium when you start the game, and it remains a reliable fallback even when you have endgame gear. You don’t need any special upgrades to collect raw sodium from planetary surfaces, just your basic mining laser or even your fist for small flora. Red, glowing crystalline outcrops are the most reliable foraging source of raw sodium, and they spawn on every single planet type, from barren dead worlds to lush tropical biomes, so you never have to travel far to find them if you know what to look for.
You can also collect small amounts of sodium from red, bulbous plants scattered across most biomes. Punching these plants gives you 1-2 units of sodium each, no mining laser required, which is perfect for emergency top-ups if your tool is out of power or you’re being chased by hostile fauna. If you upgrade your mining laser to have a better yield mod, you can get up to 50% more sodium per deposit, which cuts down on foraging time significantly. The only downside to foraging is that it’s slow if you need hundreds of units for base building or long exploration trips.
Passive Sodium Farming for Long-Term, Zero-Effort Stockpiles
Once you have a permanent base set up, you don’t have to spend time foraging for sodium ever again. There are two main passive farming methods that let you build up huge stockpiles of sodium without lifting a finger after initial setup. Sodium harvesters pull 50 units of raw sodium every 10 minutes from the planet’s atmosphere, and they only require a small power source to run. You can place up to 6 harvesters per base, which adds up to 1800 units of sodium per hour, more than enough for all your survival and base needs.
You can also farm sodium by growing Sodium Root plants in hydroponic trays. You can get Sodium Root seeds from space station trade terminals, or by harvesting wild sodium plants on planetary surfaces. A full hydroponic tray of 16 Sodium Root plants gives you 256 units of sodium every hour, and you can stack dozens of trays in a single base building room if you need massive amounts of sodium for crafting or trading. If you build your base on a radioactive, frozen, or toxic planet, all sodium harvesters will produce 20% more per cycle, since these biomes have higher atmospheric sodium levels. I have 4 harvesters on my main frozen base, and I haven’t had to go foraging for sodium in over 40 hours of gameplay.
Fast Sodium Acquisition Methods for Emergency Restocks
If you need a lot of sodium in a hurry, foraging or passive farming might be too slow. These fast methods work anywhere in the galaxy, whether you’re on a planet, in space, or far from your main base:
- Purchase sodium from space station trade terminals or visiting NPC pilots: Most terminals carry 500-2000 units of raw sodium at a time, for just 12 units each, which is extremely cheap even for new players who only have a few thousand units saved.
- Refine sodium from other common resources: You can combine 2 units of di-hydrogen and 1 unit of carbon in a medium or large refiner to get 1 unit of sodium. This is perfect for deep space trips, since you can mine di-hydrogen from asteroids and carbon from any organic ship cargo.
- Loot sodium from abandoned buildings, reward crates, and planetary outposts: Every abandoned structure has at least 2 storage crates that often hold 50-100 sodium each, plus you can find extra stacks in employee lockers inside manned planetary outposts.
Buying sodium from trade terminals is the fastest method if you have even a small amount of units saved up, since you can buy 2000 units in 10 seconds, enough for hours of exploration in harsh biomes. Refining is a great backup if you’re stranded without units, since di-hydrogen and carbon are two of the most common resources in the game. Looting is a nice bonus when you’re already exploring abandoned buildings for other rewards, so you don’t have to go out of your way to get extra sodium that way.
Pro Tips to Avoid Running Out of Sodium Mid-Adventure
Even if you know all the best ways to collect sodium, it’s easy to run out when you’re focused on exploring, building, or fighting pirates. These simple tips will help you avoid the dreaded dead hazard protection alert when you’re far from a safe spot.
Always keep a stack of at least 200 sodium in your exosuit’s quick slot bar so you can top up your hazard protection without digging through your inventory in a panic. I also keep a small stack of refined sodium nitrate in my quick slots, since it gives 4x the charge of raw sodium, so I don’t have to top up as often during extreme storms.
Upgrade your exosuit’s hazard protection modules to reduce sodium consumption by up to 70%, which means a single stack of sodium will last you 3 times longer than with the base module. You can buy these upgrades from space station technology vendors, or find them in reward crates on planetary surfaces. I also mark every large sodium deposit I find with a custom purple beacon, so I can fast travel back to it whenever I need to restock before a long exploration trip. This small habit has saved me from dying to storm damage more times than I can count.
Sodium isn’t the flashiest resource in No Man’s Sky, but it’s the backbone of almost every survival and base building mechanic in the game. Taking a few minutes to learn how to get sodium in No Man’s Sky and build a consistent stockpile will make your time exploring the galaxy far less stressful, and let you focus on the fun parts of the game, like finding rare creatures, building epic bases, or trading for that S-class freighter you’ve had your eye on. Try out the different methods to see what works best for your playstyle, and you’ll never have to panic when your hazard protection alert starts blaring again.
