How to Use Mineral and Gas Extractors

Learn how to set up and use Mineral and Gas Extractors in No Man's Sky. Find hotspots, manage power, and optimize storage with Supply Depots for efficient resource farming.

Before using Mineral or Gas Extractors, you must acquire the Survey Device upgrade for your Analysis Visor. Purchase it from Iteration: Eos on the Space Anomaly. Craft it using 3 Magnetic Resonators, 1 Quantum Computer, and 2 Wiring Looms. This adds Survey Modes to your Analysis Visor: Power, Mineral, and Gas. The Mineral and Gas modes are crucial for finding extraction sites.

When using Mineral or Gas Survey Modes, you might initially see a “No Nearby Hotspot” message. Travel across the planet and periodically use the Analysis Visor. Eventually, you’ll see a “Hotspot Proximity” message indicating the distance to a Concentrated Gas Cloud or Deep-Level Mineral Deposit. The type of resource depends on the planet; scanned planet overviews can hint at available minerals. Activated minerals are typically found on stormy planets. Once found, the site will appear on your compass.

To set up an extractor, you first need a Base Computer to claim a base in the area. Then, build the appropriate extractor (Mineral or Gas). You will also need a power source. Electromagnetic Generators are ideal if you're near an Electromagnetic Power hotspot. Otherwise, Solar Panels are a good alternative. For continuous extraction, especially overnight, connect Solar Panels to Batteries to store excess power.

Connect multiple extractors at the same site using Electrical Wiring to share a single power source. Use Supply Pipes to connect extractors for increased efficiency.

An extractor can store 250 units of the extracted resource by default. To increase storage capacity, build a Supply Depot and connect it to the extractor with a Supply Pipe. Each Supply Depot adds 1,000 storage slots. You can connect multiple Supply Depots to a single extractor or build more for additional extractors.

There's no limit to the amount of resources you can extract from a site, but extraction stops when all connected storage is full. You can build numerous extractors and Supply Depots for efficient resource farming. Alternatively, visit the site periodically to collect resources and store them elsewhere to keep extraction running.

Consider the class tier of the extraction site (C, B, A, or S), which is visible when you identify it with the Analysis Visor. Higher class tiers generally offer higher resource concentrations and faster extraction rates. If you're not satisfied, you can deconstruct your setup and move to a different site to find a higher tier.