No Man's Sky is a space simulator with an impossible number of galaxies and planets for you to discover and explore. You'll be spending dozens of hours in new star systems looking for quests and objectives to take your gear and loot to the next level. You can make the process of finding valuable systems easier with the Economy Scanner in No Man's Sky.
The Economy Scanner is a long-range sensor technology upgrade that will help you survey nearby systems without having to visit them. Today, we look at how to craft the Economy Scanner and how to use it in No Man's Sky.
For more No Man's Sky guides, learn how to get a S-Class Sentinel Ship and how to get your own Exocraft.
What is an Economy Scanner in No Man's Sky?
The Economy Scanner is an upgrade to your ship that lets you scan and check the state of the local economies of nearby star systems. It will let you know the buying/selling modifiers for each star system, alongside the types of materials that are in demand in the local system.
Using the Economy Scanner allows you to find star systems, which will let you purchase your required material at discounts or sell your goods at higher prices. It's an excellent upgrade that will save you some precious warp cells as you'll be able to check a system's economy without having to directly visit it yourself.
How to craft No Man's Sky Economy Scanner?
You need to get your hands on the Economy Scanner blueprint and then craft it at the Starship Research NPC.
Find Economy Scanner blueprints
You can purchase the Economy Scanner blueprints from the nearby Anomaly's spaceship blueprint vendor, and this will cost you 150 Nanite Clusters.
You might also get the Economy Scanner blueprints from a Crashed Ship. Crashed Ships are points of interest on planets. You can follow the distress beacon and interact with it to gain a random reward. Also, interact with the damaged machinery nearby for a chance at a free new module.
Craft Economy Scanner
To get the Economy Scanner upgrade for your ship in No Man's Sky, you need to talk to the Starship Research NPC onboard the Space Anomaly. Once you land at the Space Anomaly, head to the stairs on the left and go towards the rotunda that has all the NPCs that sell you blueprints. Look towards the left and talk to the Starship Research NPC.
To unlock the option to craft the Economy Scanner, you first need to craft the Teleport Receiver. For the Teleport Receiver, you need Antimatter x1 and Wiring Loom x3.
Here are the materials you need to craft and repair the Economy Scanner in No Man's Sky.
- To craft the Economy Scanner, you need Microprocessor x5 and Wiring Loom x1.
- To repair the Economy Scanner, you need Microprocessor x3 and Wiring Loom x1.
- You can dismantle the Economy Scanner and receive Microprocessor x3 + Wiring Loom x1.
Economy Scanner - How to use
To get the basic star system economy scanning functionality from the Economy Scanner, you need to head into the star system map and hover over the system you wish to scan. You'll see the option to "Expand" at the bottom of the system's description. Press the relevant key, and you'll see the additional information listed next to the system's economy.
The Economy type dictates the kind of resources being produced in this system and what they'll pay extra for. The buy and sell values displayed show the buying and selling deviation compared to the galactic average. The stronger the economy, the more likely you are to find higher rarity items such as S-tier ships.
Another use for the Economy Scanner is the ability to use it from your ship while flying and locating the nearest Trading Outpost. Go to the Utilities menu while in flight and select the option to "Scan for Tradepost". This will mark the nearest Tradepost, and you can head directly towards it.
Also, learn how to get money fast and how to get a pet companion.