Early Resources — What to Gather and Where
There are really only about six resources you need early on. Memorising where each one comes from removes most of the wandering.
Resource categories and refining recipes are covered in Resource Categories and Refiners and Refining Recipes. This page answers the narrower question: “I need this now — where is it?”
Where things come from
| Resource | Found in |
|---|---|
| Ferrite Dust | Rocks |
| Carbon | Trees |
| Sodium | Yellow flowers (every planet) |
| Oxygen | Oxygen-rich plants (every planet) |
| Di-hydrogen | Large blue crystals (every planet) |
| Cobalt | Caves |
| Copper | Large mineral deposits |
Oxygen, Sodium, and Di-hydrogen are on every planet. Wherever you land, those three are available — which makes them the baseline of survival.
Scanner and Analysis Visor do different jobs
Easy to conflate, but they’re not interchangeable.
Scanner — marks nearby survival resources. This is the button you hit when Sodium or Oxygen is urgent.
Analysis Visor — finds distant points of interest, and scans things for information.
- Spots buildings and supply caches from afar. Those locations are rich in resources and information.
- Used on rocks and plants, it reveals bonus materials, yielding extra resources when harvested.
- It’s also how you find large mineral deposits like Copper.
- Anything seen in the visor can be pinned and tracked after you lower it.
- Creatures marked with a red paw are predators. Identify them from a distance.
Different tools unlock different resources
| Tool | What it’s for |
|---|---|
| Mining Beam | Most resources |
| Terrain Manipulator | Copper from resource deposits — Awakenings walks you through this order |
| Advanced Mining Laser | The largest Di-hydrogen crystals, among others |
| Haz-Mat Gauntlets | Certain special resources |
The Advanced Mining Laser and Haz-Mat Gauntlets are learned aboard the Space Anomaly. If a big crystal simply won’t break early on, it’s a tool problem.
Warning: Sentinels respond to all planetary harvesting. Don’t gather while being observed. (They only start appearing from your second planet onward.)
Two refine ratios to remember
Only two matter early:
- Ferrite Dust → Pure Ferrite : 1:1
- Copper → Chromatic Metal : 2:1
The Hyperdrive alone eats 125 Chromatic Metal, so when you find a Copper deposit, take more than you think you need.
Launch fuel — the misconception
This is where sources contradict each other, and the game is the one causing it.
Launch Thrusters take Uranium or Starship Launch Fuel.
| Fuel | Recharge |
|---|---|
| Uranium | 2.5% per unit |
| Starship Launch Fuel | 100% per unit |
Starship Launch Fuel is made from Di-hydrogen — 40 Di-hydrogen + 1 Metal Plating in your inventory, or several refiner recipes.
Deuterium does not fuel launch thrusters. The in-game description says “specialised, Deuterium-derived fuel is required to recharge thruster”, but Deuterium isn’t on the actual recharge list. Flavour text disagreeing with mechanics. Deuterium is a separate resource, refined from Di-hydrogen with Tritium or Silicate Powder.
Saving fuel
- Using a landing pad or a designated landing spot costs no launch fuel.
- Conversely, summoning your ship from the quick menu always deducts one launch’s worth, wherever it was.
- Launch cost varies by ship type — the Explorer is cheapest at 12.5%. See The Nine Starship Types.
Early priorities
- Ferrite Dust — the substrate of nearly every repair and craft. See a rock, mine it.
- Sodium — the lifeline for hazard protection.
- Oxygen — for life support. Scanning plants with the visor often surfaces it as a bonus material.
- Di-hydrogen — launch fuel and Life Support Gel.
- Cobalt — grab it while you’re in a cave recharging protection.
Your inventory fills fast. In the game’s own words — “Not everything is immediately useful. Prioritise the materials to maintain your Exosuit. Advanced products can always be found again.”