What should I build first in No Man's Sky?

Start with a Base Computer, a small shelter, a Base Teleport Module, a power source, and a Save Point. After that, add storage, refiners, a landing pad, and a trade terminal as you unlock more parts.

Where is the best place to build a base in No Man's Sky?

The best location depends on the base purpose. Paradise planets are great for scenic homes, trading posts and archives are good for convenience, settlements work for city-style builds, and mineral or gas hotspots are best for resource farms.

Should you build into terrain in No Man's Sky?

It is usually better to avoid building into manipulated terrain because terrain can regenerate and cover parts of your base. Build slightly above ground, use naturally flat terrain, or use natural caves for underground builds.

How do you power a base in No Man's Sky?

Early bases can use a Biofuel Reactor temporarily. A better starter setup is Solar Panels with Batteries. For larger permanent bases, an Electromagnetic Hotspot with generators is usually the cleanest long-term power source.

What are hotspots used for in No Man's Sky?

Hotspots are used for electromagnetic power, mineral extraction, and gas extraction. You need the Survey Device installed on your multi-tool to scan for them.

How many parts can a No Man's Sky base have?

Very large bases can run into upload and save-wide build limits. For most players, the practical advice is to keep functional bases compact, avoid unnecessary clutter, and save large decorative builds for projects you really care about.

Back to No Man's Sky

Base Building Guide

Locations, starter layouts, power, hotspots, and mistakes

No Man's Sky Base Building Guide

Bases can be simple teleport bookmarks, resource farms, scenic homes, underwater hideouts, or massive creative projects. This guide explains how to build your first base, choose a smart location, avoid terrain problems, power your build, organize storage, and expand without creating a laggy mess.

Starter base Base locations

Quick Base Building Tips

Start here if you only want the practical beginner version.

Your first base does not need to be huge. A shelter, teleporter, power source, and clear name are enough.

Avoid building into flattened or manipulated terrain because terrain can regenerate later.

Build slightly above the ground with a ramp or foundation to avoid grass, plants, and terrain clipping through floors.

Gather Salvaged Data before building so you can unlock important parts at the Space Anomaly.

Use Solar Panels and Batteries for normal starter bases, then use Electromagnetic Hotspots for larger permanent builds.

Place a Save Point while building so you can recover from mistakes, crashes, or bad placements.

Name bases by purpose, like Portal Base, Oxygen Farm, Copper Mine, Paradise Home, or Settlement Base.

Keep functional bases compact. Huge bases can load slower and burn through your save-wide part limit.

Your First Simple Base

A starter base is mostly a safe shelter and teleport bookmark. It does not need to be beautiful yet.

Step 1

Place a Base Computer.

Step 2

Claim the base area.

Step 3

Build a small floor, walls, roof, and door.

Step 4

Place a Base Teleport Module.

Step 5

Power it with a Biofuel Reactor early, or Solar Panels and Batteries once unlocked.

Step 6

Add a Save Point.

Step 7

Rename the base based on why you built it.

Starter base mindset

Your first base can be ugly and still be useful. Build something small, power the teleporter, rename it clearly, and improve it later after you unlock better parts.

Preparation

Prepare Before You Build

Most frustrating base projects start because the player begins building before gathering materials, unlocking parts, or deciding what the base is for.

Gather building materials

Timber builds need lots of Carbon. Alloy-style builds need Ferrite Dust. Glass-heavy builds need Frost Crystals or crafted Glass.

Collect Salvaged Data

Dig up Salvaged Data on planets before starting a serious build. Unlock utility parts first, then decoration later.

Unlock key blueprints

Prioritize the Base Teleport Module, power parts, storage, refiners, landing pads, trade terminals, and useful rooms.

Choose a purpose

A scenic home, portal base, mining farm, settlement build, and resource outpost all need different locations and layouts.

How to Claim a Base

The Base Computer defines the claimed area and makes the build yours.

Place the Base Computer

Pick a location, place the Base Computer, then interact with it to claim the area.

Check the build radius

The claimed area gives you a large bubble around the original base center. Use your scanner and base marker to understand distance.

Extend only when needed

Advanced builders can extend outward with placed parts, but beginners should keep early bases compact.

Basic Build Controls

Learn these controls before attempting complicated builds.

Snap Placement

Keeps floors, walls, rooms, and containers aligned. Great for clean beginner builds.

Free Placement

Lets you place parts more creatively when snapping is too restrictive.

Build Camera

Lets you fly the camera around while building, which helps with roof pieces, high areas, and hard-to-reach snap points.

Move and Duplicate

Move keeps a part's color, rotation, and scale. Duplicate saves time when repeating the same piece.

Delete Pieces

Deleting individual parts is slower than deleting the base, but it is better when you want materials back.

Wiring Mode

Used for power, teleport cables, supply pipes, and utility connections. Add an Electrical Cloaking Unit later to hide wires.

Location

How to Choose a Base Location

The best base location depends on what you want the base to do. A scenic home, mining farm, portal base, and settlement build all need different priorities.

Paradise Planet

Scenic home bases

Peaceful planets are great for relaxed builds, views, and screenshots. They are not always best for farms or resource extraction, though.

Trading Post or Archive

Convenience and community builds

These areas offer flat terrain, NPC ships, trade access, landing pads, and a natural social feel.

Settlement

City-style builds

Settlements make bases feel alive because NPCs move around them. Build outside the settlement radius, then extend inward carefully.

Underwater

Scenic protected builds

Underwater bases avoid many terrain-regrowth frustrations and can look incredible with glass and aquatic rooms.

Dead Planet

Sci-fi and space-themed bases

Dead worlds have clear skies and little clutter, making them great for clean sci-fi builds and minimal plant interference.

Resource Hotspot

Mining and gas farms

Build here when the base exists to produce resources. Function matters more than scenery for these bases.

Terrain Regrowth Warning

This is one of the biggest beginner base-building mistakes.

Avoid digging out or flattening a large area and then building directly inside it. Terrain edits can regenerate later, especially around multiplayer sessions or after updates, which can bury rooms, block doors, or push plants and grass through your floors. Use naturally flat land, build slightly above the ground, or use natural caves instead of man-made caves.

Points of Interest

Best Places to Build Near

Building near an existing point of interest can give you flat terrain, visual style, NPC traffic, or useful services.

Wild Base Computers

Useful for naturally pre-flattened areas. They can be harder to find, but they are excellent for clean base starts.

Natural Caves

Better than digging your own cave. Natural terrain is much safer than terrain you remove yourself.

Ruins and Monoliths

Great for lore-themed or ancient-looking builds. Usually more creative than functional.

Outposts

Good beginner locations because they can include flat areas, trading access, and landing support.

Crashed Freighters

Mostly useful for creative builds and atmosphere rather than everyday function.

Floating Islands

Great for stylish builds, but beginners should learn normal building before attempting complicated sky layouts.

Resource and Power Hotspots

Use the Survey Device on your multi-tool to scan for hotspots before placing a resource or power base.

Electromagnetic Hotspot

Best for large permanent bases because generators provide clean power without rows of solar panels and batteries.

Mineral Hotspot

Used for automated mining bases. Pair extractors with supply depots for passive resource storage.

Gas Hotspot

Used for automated gas harvesting, which helps with crafting chains and resource production.

For a normal starter base, Solar Panels and Batteries are fine. For a large permanent base, look for an Electromagnetic Hotspot. For resource farms, place the base around mineral or gas hotspots before you start designing the structure.

Layout

Beginner Functional Base Layout

A useful base should give you fast travel, storage, refining, trading, power, and safe access to your ship before you worry about decoration.

Core Area

Base Teleport Module
Save Point
Storage Containers
Clear walking space

Utility Area

Medium Refiners
Large Refiners
Galactic Trade Terminal
Weapon Rack or useful terminals

Power Area

Solar Panels
Batteries
Electrical Cloaking Unit
Electromagnetic Generator for larger bases

Travel Area

Landing Pad
Optional extra landing pads
Safe teleporter placement
Easy ship access

Essential Base Parts

These are the parts most functional bases eventually use.

Base Computer

Claims the build area and lets you upload, rename, manage, or delete the base.

Base Teleport Module

Lets you leave the base through the teleport network. You can teleport to a base with only a Base Computer, but you need a teleporter to leave from that base.

Save Point

A small but important tool for saving progress during construction.

Storage Containers

The backbone of long-term item organization. Keep them close to the teleporter.

Refiners

Medium and Large Refiners make resource loops, crafting, and money-making much easier.

Landing Pad

Helps your ship spawn in a predictable place and can attract NPC pilots when you add extras.

Power Options

Power starts simple, but planning ahead keeps your base clean.

Biofuel Reactor

Temporary early-game power. Good enough for a tiny teleporter base, but annoying for long-term use.

Solar Panels

Best simple starter power. Easy to set up and reliable when paired with enough Batteries.

Batteries

Store solar power so your base keeps running at night.

Electrical Cloaking Unit

Hides wires when not in build mode. Great for clean bases.

Electromagnetic Generator

Best long-term power for larger bases if you build near an Electromagnetic Hotspot.

Naming, Uploading, and Organizing Bases

Base organization matters more the longer you play.

Name bases by purpose

Use clear names like Portal Base, Oxygen Farm, Copper Mine, Storm Crystal Farm, Settlement Base, or Paradise Home.

Upload important bases

Uploading lets other players see the base when possible. Keep showcase builds under the upload limit.

Do not rely on cross-base networks

Separate bases cannot share power, supply pipes, teleport links, or other connected systems.

Move the Base Computer carefully

You can move the physical Base Computer, but it does not move the original center of the claimed build area.

Limits

Base Limits and Performance

Big builds are fun, but base complexity affects upload eligibility, save limits, and load performance.

Upload limit

Very large bases can become too big to upload. Keep showcase/community bases more controlled.

Save-wide part limit

Your total placed parts across bases and freighter are limited. Decorative clutter counts too.

Load performance

Large or dense builds can load slower, especially on complex terrain or floating platforms.

Delete carefully

Deleting from the Base Computer is fast but may not return everything directly. Delete parts manually if you want more control.

Compact bases are underrated

A small base with storage, teleporting, refiners, power, and a landing pad is often more useful than a huge decorative build that loads slowly and becomes hard to maintain.

Expanding Your Base

Once the core base works, expand one section at a time instead of trying to build the entire dream project in one sitting.

Plant farming wing

More refiners

Supply depot and extractor area

Cooking / Nutrient Processor area

Additional landing pads

Viewing deck

Museum or fossil display

Settlement or archive integration

Underwater room

Portal outpost

For large builds, finish one section fully before moving to the next. This keeps the project from becoming overwhelming and makes it easier to stop with a usable base even if you change direction.

Common Base Building Mistakes

Avoid these and your bases will be cleaner, safer, and easier to maintain.

Building into flattened terrain

Terrain can regenerate and bury parts of your base. Build above ground, on natural flat areas, or in natural caves.

Skipping the Save Point

Save regularly while building. It prevents frustration if the game crashes or a placement goes wrong.

Overbuilding too early

A huge first base often becomes messy, slow to load, and expensive. Start compact and expand later.

Forgetting power planning

Think about Solar, Batteries, or Hotspots before placing everything. Retrofitting power can get ugly.

Not naming bases clearly

Once you have many bases, unclear names become annoying. Label bases by resource, planet, portal, or purpose.

Building a resource base without hotspots

For mining, gas, or large power bases, scan for hotspots before placing the Base Computer.

Keep Going

Next No Man’s Sky Guides

Base building connects naturally to resources, freighters, and beginner progression.