Crafting, building, and fueling in No Man’s Sky require materials found on the planets and in space. Some of these materials are rarer than others or are only harvested in bulk by combining two or more elements.
The only way to combine materials in No Man’s Sky is to use a Refiner. The main things players will need to refine are minerals, plants, and other natural resources picked up on planets. When a substantial building or upgrade requires something uncommon or dangerous to collect, players can use a Refiner more often than not.
How to Refine Materials in No Man’s Sky
Refining is the process of putting ingredients into a refiner and using it to evolve them into a denser and more valuable material. Refined materials are typically worth more in trades and have a higher concentration for their designated use.
Starship, life support, and multi-tool fuel consist of raw and refined materials but require less refined materials to work at total capacity. Players will want to ensure they maintain specific resources but don’t run out of inventory space, and refining is the best way to avoid wasting materials.
Players must get a refiner to start refining ingredients. There are four types of refiners, including the following:
|
Refiner Type |
Crafting Ingredients |
Description |
|---|---|---|
|
Portable Refiner |
Portable refiners are one of the basic standards of refiners. They turn single elements into more concentrated versions of themselves or transform them into something else entirely. Portable refiners require Carbon or Condensed Carbon to fuel them. |
|
|
Personal Refiner |
|
Personal refiners turn single elements into concentrated versions or something new. They work the same as Portable refiners but are directly attached to the Exosuit. |
|
Medium Refiner |
|
Medium refiners combine two elements and transform them into something else or break down materials into more concentrated versions. Instead of fuel, Medium refiners are attached to base or freight power sources. |
|
Large Refiner |
|
Large refiners combine three elements to create something new. Large don’t require fuel and are attached to base or freight power source to work. |
Players can craft the Portable Refiner early on as part of the base-building missions. Personal, Medium, and Large Refiners require blueprints if players want to craft them. Blueprints can be picked up on planets from crashed ships, facilities, containers, and other places. Players can also purchase them from the Space Anomaly using Nanite Clusters.
No Man’s Sky
- Platform(s)
- Switch, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X, PS4, PS5
- Released
- August 9, 2016
- Developer(s)
- Hello Games
- Genre(s)
- Adventure, Action, Survival
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
