Following the harsh criticism it received at launch, No Man's Sky has grown into a wondrous, immersive open-world survival game. Themed around space exploration, No Man's Sky takes players to places humanity can only imagine exist in outer space with incredible alien creatures, interesting looking plants and their very own spaceship to travel between planets. It's a great game for those seeking an endless adventure with amazing graphics.

Because of how intricate and complicated the game is, player's survival during space exploration is not guaranteed. From gathering resources to crafting, as well as discovering never before seen objects, No Man's Sky is a massive and complex game. With the game coming to Game Pass this month, many new players may be jumping on to take part in this new experience. Here are some things players should know to keep their space adventure going.

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The First Day

When you start out, the odds will be working against you, and you will lack resources and hazard protection on your starting planet. Keep in mind that the direction you're facing in the beginning is the direction of your ship's crash site, and you won't have to worry about hostile creatures on your first planet.

The first thing you should do is find either a cave, sodium for hazard protection, oxygen for life support or any other materials can be use for crafting later on. While this may seem like a lot to do on the first day, caves are actually great places to find everything you'll need, including tons of oxygen and sodium. Hazardous plants within caves are great resources to mine these, but beware their poisonous clouds. Also gather di-hydrogen crystals, as you'll need them for your ship's fuel.

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Mining

Mining is a major mechanic in No Man's Sky, and there's a trick to using the Multi-tool's mining beam that you should know from the start. The mining beam needs a bit of time to warm up because, while the beam is green, it deals less damage, which in turn collects resources at a slower rate. If heated up to yellow or red, the beam does a lot more damage and gathers resources much quicker.

To heat it up, simply keep firing it. Many players will feather the mining beam's button by letting go for brief seconds so that the ray is constantly in the yellow or red stage. This speeds-up resource gathering and increases your chance at survival. Mining with a red or yellow beam gathers resources two-and-a-half times faster than with a green one. This is especially useful when mining for Ferrite Dust, which is used to fix the multi-tool's Analyzer.

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Analysis

A planet in No Man's Sky.

Another important mechanic, analyzing objects with the Multi-tool allows players to gather a secondary resource or element from one analyzed target. To do this, use Ferrite Dust gathered from rocks to fix the Analyzer, then attach the Analysis Visor. To repair the Analysis Visor, you'll need Carbon Nanotubes, which can be built from 50 Carbon. These won't been too hard to get, as Carbon is a very common resource found from trees.

Once something is scanned, it will be saved in an index, permanently showing the name of the object, the first resource that can be gathered from it and the secondary resource which can be dropped. This makes mining and resource gathering that much more efficient, as the secondary drops can prove very useful. It also gives you lots of information that will help you plan your survival and, eventually, your adventure. Analyzing everything on a planet is a really good way to get to know points of interest or nearby threats.

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Cobalt

In the early stages of the game, Cobalt is one of the most important resources players should gather, as it is the first source of money players can earn. Cobalt can be found in or around the openings of caves, and will initially be seen as an "Unidentified Mineral" in the form of rocks or stalactites and stalagmites. Gathering and selling Colbat will net a decent profit relative to the work put into farming it.

You can use the Units you earn to buy items from aliens, terminals and other markets to ensure your survival in outer space. This includes new starships, resources, products, tool upgrades, exo-suit upgrades and much more. You can also use Colbalt to generate lots of money by crashing the market in terminals by selling large amounts at once, then buying back what you sold at a lower price. Repeat this multiple times to fill your pockets with Units.

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Crashed Ships

After leaving your starting planet, you may come across distress beacon quests that lead you to other crashed ships. These quests can be found at some transmission towers, which will have NPCs and some kind of mathematical or scientific riddle inside that grants quests and rewards.

Once the distress signal is located for the crashed ship, you can travel to the area and repair or investigate it. Repairing the ship is worthwhile if the ship is of a higher class than the starting ship, which in most cases it is. When investigating the distress beacon, always choose the "Inspect Recently Installed Technology" option. It is a great way to discover new ship technology, which will be very useful in the long run.

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