Storm Crystals are some of the most valuable items in No Man’s Sky, but it can be hard to know how to get them in such a massive universe. These crystals are an important crafting component in some high-level recipes, which is a big reason that many players seek them out. After all, crafting is almost as important in NMS as it is in Minecraft. Players who have no use for them as a crafting material will still want to snag them whenever they can since they’re worth so much as a trade good. Here’s everything you need to know about how to get (and use) Storm Crystals in No Man’s Sky.
Getting Storm Crystals in No Man’s Sky
The universe of NMS is huge, which can make finding a resource like Storm Crystals difficult. Though it’s possible to get them from Derelict Freighter crates, Nexus missions, and by other means, the odds are low. Your best bet is to find them on planets instead. These crystals don’t appear on every planet, however, so you may need to explore a different star system to find them. Specifically, you need to find a planet with Extreme Weather. These are more commonly found in star systems with a higher Spectral Class (such as systems with a blue star rather than a yellow one), so start your search there.
Locate Activated Metal To Find Storm Crystals
The planet you’re looking for will have an Activated metal of some kind. These metals include Activated Copper, Activated Cadmium, Activated Emeril, and Activated Indium. You can check for the presence of these resources by scanning the planet from your ship. That way you’ll know exactly where in NMS to look for Storm Crystals.
Collecting and Using Storm Crystals
Once you’ve landed, use your Analysis Visor to locate the Storm Crystals. Your visor will tell you how far away you are from the crystals, as well as what direction they’re in, making collecting them easy. If you scan your surroundings and don’t see any crystals, use your ship or an Exocraft to travel a bit, then land and repeat the process. As their name suggests, you can only find Storm Crystals during a storm. If the weather is calm, you’ll need to wait until a storm hits. Storm Crystals are easy to spot because they glow bright white.
Crafting Recipes
Once you have Storm Crystals, you can use them in several late-game crafting recipes. They might not be a nifty sci-fi staff, but the rewards are still worthwhile. Whether you’re using them as a fuel source or to create high-tier components, Storm Crystals are more than worth the effort to acquire. Specifically, you can use this resource in the following recipes:
- Antimatter Reactor
- Environment Control Unit
- Icarus Fuel System
- Warp Hypercore
To summarize, here are the steps you need to follow to get Storm Crystals in NMS:
- Upgrade your ship’s hyperdrive and travel to a blue star system to improve your chances
- Travel to a planet containing an Activated Metal such as Activated Copper
- Land and use your Analysis Visor to detect Storm Crystals during a storm
- Travel to the Storm Crystals and collect them
No Man’s Sky is available for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5,
