No Man's Sky: Base Location Guide

The thing about No Man’s Sky is that there are a million ways to play. Playing over the weekend I wondered if the way I play the game is similar to how others play. No Man’s Sky is such an expansive game that this question was completely valid. I decided to make a series of posts about No Man’s Sky and how I play, because it might be different than others and I might have some insight into the game and how it works that you might not have considered.

How do you find a good site for a base?

The first thing to consider for your No Man’s Sky base location is if the system you are in has a good economy. If the system has a one-star economy I don’t even consider building there unless a planet within the system has an interesting ecosystem with unique features or is anomalous.

Build bases in three-star systems whenever possible. Those stars indicate the economic strength of the system. There are three levels. The adjectives used to describe them in the system description can vary.

Weak Economies: ★	Medium Economies: ★★	Strong Economies: ★★★
Declining Destitute Failing Fledgling Low Supply Struggling Unsuccessful Unpromising	Adequate Balanced Comfortable Developing Medium Supply Promising Satisfactory Sustainable	Advanced Affluent Booming Flourishing High Supply Opulent Prosperous Wealthy

No Man’s Sky economy strengths and descriptors

My System is Strong, What Next?

No Man’s Sky Base Location Scenario 1: Trading Post / Minor Settlements

Sometimes I set up bases next to trading posts or by a minor settlement so I can pop over and access a galactic trading terminal. Of course, you can build one yourself once you have the blueprint unlocked. However, having early access to a trading terminal has several benefits. Each galactic trading terminal tends to have slightly different goods, so if you’re stocking up on materials it’s good to hit as many as possible. When I build bases I run out of ferrite dust and pure ferrite all the time, and it’s a cheap enough resource that I buy it up when trading terminals have it in stock.

Trading posts are also beneficial when doing trading runs. Each star system has an economy type. Each economy type has certain trade goods for sale, and other galaxies will buy those goods at good prices. Lots of profit! So when I am doing trading runs I buy as much product as possible before warping to a system that will pay well for those supplies.

Minor settlements also sometimes give you a mission to complete. For those reasons, it’s a good option to choose to establish your base near one of those, or at the minimum set a save beacon down at the trading post so you can get back to it without using a map to plot your course.

No Man’s Sky Base Location Scenario 2: Scanning for the Perfect Spot

Another option that is probably more beneficial in the long run is to find the best sites for your No Man’s Sky base by scanning for Electromagnetic, Deep Mineral, or Gas hotspots. So, follow those scanners and find the ideal spot. When you have found what you’re looking for, set your base up within that region. That way your bases can have extractors and supply depots working nonstop to gather the materials that become so important to keep up a supply of later in the game.

Mineral, Gas, and Electromagnetic deposits are also graded on a system, with C being the worst and S being the best. So you might want to search for a while to find better deposits and set up your base near those.

Common Scenario:

“Help! I set up a base and then later found a deposit pretty far from my base computer. What can I do now besides set up another base? “

So, if you need to extend the boundary of your existing No Man’s Sky base there is a hack you can do to make your base much, much bigger so you can set up extractors farther away. Travel to just before the boundary, where you can still open the base-building menu. Make sure you’re close to the edge though, you will maximize the effectiveness of this trick if you are right on the edge.

Then, place a solid cube. I recommend using solid cubes for this because they only use 20 ferrite dust, which is probably the smallest investment for a building there is. Using this method you can extend your base-building capabilities for a while. Once you reach the boundary again, do the same thing again and place a solid cube. You can repeat this process until you reach your hotspot. Then place down the extractors you want and run the supply pipe back to your base and Supply Depots.

Please note that the further your extractor is from your base the less it will produce. So if your hotspot is pretty far away it’s probably a good idea to just set up a new base just for extracting purposes.

Once You’ve Decided

Once you have your computer down, your base set up, and extractors going, it’s time to profit! Your base location is very important to your success in the game, and following this guide can help you immensely in choosing the best location possible for your base on a planet.