There are a lot of different components and resources you can collect during your long travels in No Man's Sky. There are five different types of resources you can find in your travels, so here's a full list of each element you can acquire, and where you are most likely to find them.
Isotopes
Isotopes are used as a power source, and when your scanner picks them up they will be shown on your HUD as a red lightning bolt. Carbon is the most common isotope you can find, since you can mine any plant life, or even animal life, to collect it. It can be used to power your suit and mining tool, or as a gift to aliens to keep them talking to you. Thamium9 is the next isotope, and it can also be found from very specific plant life on some planets, but your best bet to mine this is by blowing up asteroids in space. You'll go through a lot of it powering up your pulse engine, so stock up when you find a good batch of asteroids. The last isotope you'll find is plutonium, which is somewhat rare. You can find this on planets in the form of red crystal formations, and it can be pretty abundant in caves.
Oxides
Oxides will show up on your scanner as a yellow icon, and they are going to be used to recharge your hazard protection or shields, as well as in a lot of your crafting recipes. The main oxide you are going to encounter is iron, which can be found in rocks and asteroids just about anywhere. This resource is so common that if you ever need to free up inventory space, consider tossing the iron out first. Zinc is a fairly uncommon oxide, that you are going to need as much of it as you can get your hands on. You'll find this in yellow plants scattered around planets, and it's primary use is to craft warp cells, which get you from one system to the next. The last oxide you can find is titanium. This can be found in yellow crystals, much like plutonium, or by killing sentinels. You'll be using it to craft upgrades to your multi-tool, as well as charge up your ships defensive systems.
Silicates
All of the silicates you find will be used to craft advanced technology upgrades for your multi-tool, ship, and exo-suit. They'll show up as a blue icon on your HUD when you scan for them. The first silicate is heridium, which can be hard to find but once you do it is generally a massive pillar of the stuff, so you can pretty easily stockpile large quantities of it. If you are looking for the platinum silicate, then you are going to be wanting to look for small blue flowers. This one can be scarce, so stock up on it when you do see it. Crysonite is the last silicate you can encounter, and the easiest place to find this would be in caves. It will appear as a crystal formation like plutonium, but will be blue rather than red.
Neutrals
Neutrals are probably the best type of thing to mine in order to make units in No Man's Sky. If you find a deposit of them you can generally dig up quite a bit, and they're all worth a fair amount. With all of these, your absolute best bet to find them is by blowing up asteroids in space. They are used in some crafting recipes, generally ones for upgrades to warp drives, so be sure to save some rather than selling any you find. Neutrals include copper, Iridium, nickle, aluminum, gold, and emeril. When scanning for them on planets they will appear on your HUD as a cut diamond.
Precious elements
These are all extremely rare, and will show up on your scanner as a purple icon. If you see it, make sure you go get it because they are worth a lot, and all of them can be used in high end crafting recipes, the best of the best tech. Calium can be found in some plants that seem to be expelling some sort of gas, so make sure you check them all and you might get lucky. Radnox is most often found on planets with extreme climate conditions, and will appear as green globs on the planet's surface. Murrine will appear on planets as a collection of bulbous golden orbs mushed together. Omegon is the rarest of them all, and you can find it in the wild by feeding carbon to creatures on planets, but your best bet to actually find it is to buy it off the galactic trade network whenever you do see it, but be prepared to pay a lot for it.
Hopefully this guild helps you find what you are looking for in order to craft that blueprint you just found! Happy hunting and exploring out there.
Isotopes
Isotopes are used as a power source, and when your scanner picks them up they will be shown on your HUD as a red lightning bolt. Carbon is the most common isotope you can find, since you can mine any plant life, or even animal life, to collect it. It can be used to power your suit and mining tool, or as a gift to aliens to keep them talking to you. Thamium9 is the next isotope, and it can also be found from very specific plant life on some planets, but your best bet to mine this is by blowing up asteroids in space. You'll go through a lot of it powering up your pulse engine, so stock up when you find a good batch of asteroids. The last isotope you'll find is plutonium, which is somewhat rare. You can find this on planets in the form of red crystal formations, and it can be pretty abundant in caves.
Oxides
Oxides will show up on your scanner as a yellow icon, and they are going to be used to recharge your hazard protection or shields, as well as in a lot of your crafting recipes. The main oxide you are going to encounter is iron, which can be found in rocks and asteroids just about anywhere. This resource is so common that if you ever need to free up inventory space, consider tossing the iron out first. Zinc is a fairly uncommon oxide, that you are going to need as much of it as you can get your hands on. You'll find this in yellow plants scattered around planets, and it's primary use is to craft warp cells, which get you from one system to the next. The last oxide you can find is titanium. This can be found in yellow crystals, much like plutonium, or by killing sentinels. You'll be using it to craft upgrades to your multi-tool, as well as charge up your ships defensive systems.
Silicates
All of the silicates you find will be used to craft advanced technology upgrades for your multi-tool, ship, and exo-suit. They'll show up as a blue icon on your HUD when you scan for them. The first silicate is heridium, which can be hard to find but once you do it is generally a massive pillar of the stuff, so you can pretty easily stockpile large quantities of it. If you are looking for the platinum silicate, then you are going to be wanting to look for small blue flowers. This one can be scarce, so stock up on it when you do see it. Crysonite is the last silicate you can encounter, and the easiest place to find this would be in caves. It will appear as a crystal formation like plutonium, but will be blue rather than red.
Neutrals
Neutrals are probably the best type of thing to mine in order to make units in No Man's Sky. If you find a deposit of them you can generally dig up quite a bit, and they're all worth a fair amount. With all of these, your absolute best bet to find them is by blowing up asteroids in space. They are used in some crafting recipes, generally ones for upgrades to warp drives, so be sure to save some rather than selling any you find. Neutrals include copper, Iridium, nickle, aluminum, gold, and emeril. When scanning for them on planets they will appear on your HUD as a cut diamond.
Precious elements
These are all extremely rare, and will show up on your scanner as a purple icon. If you see it, make sure you go get it because they are worth a lot, and all of them can be used in high end crafting recipes, the best of the best tech. Calium can be found in some plants that seem to be expelling some sort of gas, so make sure you check them all and you might get lucky. Radnox is most often found on planets with extreme climate conditions, and will appear as green globs on the planet's surface. Murrine will appear on planets as a collection of bulbous golden orbs mushed together. Omegon is the rarest of them all, and you can find it in the wild by feeding carbon to creatures on planets, but your best bet to actually find it is to buy it off the galactic trade network whenever you do see it, but be prepared to pay a lot for it.
Hopefully this guild helps you find what you are looking for in order to craft that blueprint you just found! Happy hunting and exploring out there.
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram