Nanites are a secondary currency in the No mans sky universe. Mainly spent on upgrade modules They are not as easy to get as you might think. But that's why i'm here to show you how to get them. Including my own personal experiences on each method.

There are many ways to make nanites. but this guide will cover what i did to get maximum nanites.

This section covers what you can do in a refiner of almost any size to make nanites. I recommend a large refiner for maximum potential outcomes. (And less time wasted!)

5 Runaway mold ----> 1 Nanite every 1.5 sec output

35 Platinum ----> 1 Nanite every .6 sec output (Expensive)

1 Hexite + 1 Faecium ----> 1 Nanite every .5 sec output (Both come from animal droppings)

25 Pugneum ----> 1 Nanite (Inefficient, 10 for a whole stack of Pg)

1 Larval core ----> 50 Nanites (Efficient but can be dangerous)

1 Hadal core ----> 50 Nanites (Less common, But still efficient and dangerous)

1 Salvaged Technology ----> 15 Nanites (Not a bad way, but not that great either. Average)


Pros: Can make nanites just using your everyday materials.
Cons: some refiner inputs can be dangerous to acquire for the user.

An Arguably funner way to collect nanites, This way requires A battle ready starship or a Grenade launcher multitool. Don't forget about shields!

Robbing freighters of their goods is a good way to start on this one, Because some of the pods can contain a fair amount of nanites. and the rest can be sold or used in refining new things.

Pros: Good way to get nanites and bonus materials for bases and refiners.
Cons: Good weapons cost a lot of nanites to upgrade. Destroys lifeform reputation.

P.S. I recommend upgraded cyclotron ballista. It makes things easier



The next method is Killing sentinels, this is the tactic i mainly use because they just keep on coming for the most part and that grenade launcher upgraded or not f**ks up sentinel armor. I recommend strong exosuit shields for this as you need it for taking hits.

Pros: Each wanted level 5 wave of sentinels can give you around 90 - 200 nanites.
Cons: Have to wait (or be very fast) when leaving the planet or sentinel starships will come after you. Can also blow up yourself with the grenades. Be careful!

This new feature added in a recent update allows the scrapping of bought starships, allowing one to get its scrap worth and then selling them. Making a lot of units at one time.

However. the upgrade modules can sell to be 100-1500 Nanites at a nanite vendor. Class does seem to matter somewhat regarding the quality of scrapped vessel. From my experience it seems to be that exotics and S class ships provide the most modules.

Pros: Can free up space on a freighter, can provide upgrades or a high amount of nanites. It also seems to provide storage augmentations for synthetic vessels, which can increase inventory
Cons: Requires a sacrifice of your chosen starship. don't do this with your favorite starship!

Warning: Contains opinions

This section is to note down what i think is the most profitable way to get nanites. as well as some other methods not listed.

Refining: Larval cores.
This is my favorite refining method of getting nanites. It has a really high core to nanite ratio. (1:50) And it isn't that hard to get a lot of cores.

Fighting: Killing sentinels
I did this method for a long time and i can definitely say it works. They drop a high amount of nanites and you don't really have to move too much for this one.


Other methods.
These were not listed due to not giving a lot of nanites at once, but can still be done.

Fixing damaged machinery. (Post beyond this actually now has a chance of giving you A or S class module. worth it and gives around 60 nanites)
Opening abandoned terminals. (Gives an okay amount of nanites, About 120-160)
Selling upgrades to nanite vendors. (Not worth selling high class upgrades)
Completing missions. (Pretty good on nanites, It can just be difficult)
Exploring crashed freighters. (They can be found here. Amount unknown)
Feeding animals. (I never tested this but they can be found this way)
Uploading discoveries. (I have done this. Only effective in large amounts though. Also expensive warp cell wise)

Anything that i made a mistake on and want to point out? Feel free to comment and like if you want!