Keep on reading this guide if you want to know how to start farming in No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rises, what types of products you can farm quickly, and which ones will make you the most amount of units (in-game money).

How to Start Farming and Making Money in No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rises

Step 1: Build a Base

Farming in patch 1.3 is not as simple as it was before, and making units is now a bit more complicated process. But as always, you will need a base, either on your home planet or a personal freighter, where you can set up a Galactic Trade Terminal.

You can farm necessary agricultural substances, and then use them to craft products that can be sold through the terminal on your home planet. However, you should never sell too much of the same product at once, otherwise, the prices will go down significantly, as well as your income.

Step 2: Build Hydroponics Trays and/or Bio-Domes

So as soon as you have your base ready, hire a Gek from one of the systems as a farming consultant so you can acquire an agricultural terminal that will allow you to farm all the available substances.

If you’re setting up a farm on a planet, then you can also build a Bio-Dome so that you’ll have a more suitable place to grow all your crops. But if you’re more inclined to set up a farm on a freighter, then you will be limited to hydroponic trays only.

Bio-Domes can be built using a new Atlas Rises Bio-Dome blueprint and the following resources:

Titanium x80 Glass x5 Living Glass x2

Hydroponics Tray can be built using a corresponding blueprint and the following resources:

Iron x25 Zinc x5

Now, trays also require fuel in the form of carbon isotopes to grow substances, so it is highly advisable to use them only for crops that grow quickly. Everything else should be planted on your planet base, either in the domes or in the ground – if the environment of the planet is suitable enough.

In any case, the next most important thing to understand is what substances to farm, what types of products to craft, and how to sell them for the largest profit.

Agricultural Substances and Products in No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rises

Different crops have different growing times in NMS – some are fast and can grow in a matter of minutes, while others take up to an hour to grow. You can grow all of them at the same time to get the most out of each substance and maximize your time and effort, so start with the plants that have the shortest growth periods and move on from there.

You can also acquire seedlings for these farmable plants from your Gek farmer NPC and start growing the necessary substances for crafting advanced agricultural products right away. 

Here’s a quick breakdown of each farmable plant, along with how long they take to grow, what products they’re used in, and how much you can sell those products for: 

Mordite

Farmable plant: Carrion Root Growth time: 6 min Used in products: Acid (Mordite x25, Fungal Mould x600)

Acid can be sold separately for about 200,000 units or you could use it to craft Liquid Explosive that can be sold for about a million units each, which also requires Unstable Gel made from Cactus Flesh.

Cactus Flesh

Farmable plant: Echinocactus Growth time: 8 min Used in products: Unstable Gel (Cactus Flesh x200) Poly Fibre (Cactus Flesh x100, Solanium x200) Insulating Gel (Cactus Flesh x20, Fungal Mould x20)

Cactus Flesh can be farmed on its own for producing Unstable Gel that sells for about 80,000 units. If you want bigger profit, then you will need more substances for Poly Fiber that costs 200,000 units each.

You can then use Poly Fiber to produce Circuit Boards that have a market value of 1,000,000 units.

Coprite

Farmable plant: Coprite Orb Growth time: 10 min Used in products: Explosive (Coprite x40, Solanium x40) Lubricant (Coprite x50, Gamma Root x400)

The only product with a real market value here is Lubricant, which goes for around 150,000 units. This is the maximum profit you will get for farming Coprite.

NipNip Buds

Farmable plant: NipNip Sprouts Growth time: 12 min Used in products: GekNip (NipNip Buds x1)

This delightful plant is used in the production of a favorite Gek food – the so-called Gek Nip, which can be sold for 20,000 units each.

Gamma Root

Farmable plant: Gamma Weed Growth time: 12 min Used in products: Lubricant (Coprite x50, Gamma Root x400) Non-ferrous Plate (Marrow Bulb x20, Gamma Root x50)

Just like Coprite, Gamma Root is best used for crafting Lubricant. But it can also be used in Non-Ferrous Plates that are often applied in base-building  –and sell for around 30,000 units.

Solanium

Farmable plant: Solar Vine Growth time: 14 min Used in products: Poly Fibre (Cactus Flesh x100, Solanium x200) Explosive (Coprite x40, Solanium x40)

Frost Crystal

Farmable plant: Frostwort Growth time: 15 min Used in products: Glass (Frost Crystal x250)

Glass is another great item to craft that sells for about 30,000 units, and the whole process of farming the crystal takes only 15 minutes.

Fungal Mould

Farmable plant: Fungal Cluster Growth time: 16 min Used in products: Acid (Mordite x25, Fungal Mould x600) Insulating Gel (Cactus Flesh x20, Fungal Mould x20)

Gravitino Ball

Farmable plant: Gravitino Orb Growth time: 20 min Used in products: N/A

Gravitino balls are very rare and valuable items that can be found naturally or simply farmed and sold for 10,000 units each.

Albumen Pearl

Farmable plant: Albumen Pearl Orb Growth time: 20 min Used in products: N/A

Similar to Gravitino Balls, this item is a stand-alone commodity that goes for 30,000 units on the market.

Star Bulb

Farmable plant: Star Bramble Growth time: 30 min Used in products: N/A

This exotic gemstone sells for 2,500 units, which isn’t much, but one plant produces 25 of these gemstones, so in 30 minutes, you will get 62,500 units.

Sac Venom

Farmable plant: Venom Urchin Growth time: 40 min Used in products: N/A

A poisonous and rather expensive element that can be sold for 7,000 units per item.

So Which Substances Should You Farm?

As you see, the most profitable substances are Mordite, Cactus Flesh, Fungal Mould, and Solanium, as they can help you craft two of the most expensive products in the game: Liquid Explosive and the Circuit Board.

So, if you decide to invest time in farming in No Man’s Sky, whether it’s farming on your own personal freighter or building a bio-dome on a hospitable planet, then consider these substances as the most valuable ones. 

Come back soon for more No Man’s Sky: Atlas Rises guides at GameSkinny!