1 Why This Item Matters
The Indium Drive is the final and most powerful hyperdrive upgrade in No Man's Sky's starship technology tree, granting access to Blue star systems classified as O-type and B-type stars on the galactic map. These Blue systems contain the rarest and most valuable resources in the game, including Indium (the highest-tier metal), Storm Crystals (found exclusively on extreme-weather planets in Blue systems), and the highest-density deposits of Activated Indium (the single most profitable mining commodity). Without the Indium Drive installed, Blue systems are completely inaccessible regardless of your fuel reserves or other upgrades — they simply will not appear as selectable warp destinations.
Beyond the obvious benefit of accessing new star systems, the Indium Drive functions as the gateway to the entire endgame economy of No Man's Sky. The metal Indium, which is abundant in every Blue system, refines into Chromatic Metal at a 1:4 ratio — the highest conversion rate of any metal in the game. A single Large Refiner batch of 250 Indium produces 1,000 Chromatic Metal, enough to craft 28 Warp Hypercores or contribute to 2-3 Fusion Ignitors / Stasis Devices. This means that establishing an Indium mining operation effectively eliminates Chromatic Metal as a material bottleneck for every advanced crafting recipe in the game.
The Indium Drive also unlocks access to Activated Indium farming, which is widely considered the ultimate passive income method in No Man's Sky. Activated Indium is a rare form of Indium found only on extreme-weather planets in Blue systems, and it sells for approximately 900 units per piece at trade terminals. A well-built Activated Indium farm with Supply Depots can generate 50-100 million units per real-time day with zero active gameplay required — simply visit your farm every few days to collect and sell. Many billion-unit players attribute their wealth entirely to Activated Indium farms established after installing the Indium Drive.
For explorers and completionists, the Indium Drive is essential for the Journey Milestones related to galactic travel. Visiting all star system types (Yellow, Red, Green, and Blue) is required for several achievements and account-level rewards. Blue systems also have the highest probability of containing exotic planet types — including Bioluminescent, Chromatic Fog, Shattered, and Volcanic worlds — each with unique flora, fauna, and environmental characteristics that contribute to exploration milestones. Without the Indium Drive, you are locked out of approximately 25% of all star systems in every galaxy, along with all the rare resources, exotic discoveries, and economic opportunities they contain.
2 Recipe / Blueprint
The Indium Drive blueprint is learned from the Starship Technology merchant aboard the Space Anomaly using Nanite Clusters. Unlike the Emeril and Cadmium Drives which are learned from the Artemis Path quest line, the Indium Drive must be intentionally purchased once you have accumulated sufficient Nanites. This makes it a deliberate investment in your exploration capabilities.
Blueprint Acquisition
| Method | Location | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase from Technology Merchant | Space Anomaly (Starship Technology section) | 500 Nanite Clusters |
Installation Recipe
| Material | Quantity | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Indium | 250 | Mined from Indium deposits on Blue star system planets |
| Chromatic Metal | 250 | Refined from Copper, Cadmium, Emeril, or Indium |
| Wiring Loom | 5 | Purchased from Galactic Trade Terminals (50,000 units each) |
Installation: The Indium Drive is installed in your starship's Technology Inventory (not General Inventory). It occupies a 1x1 slot. Once installed, it cannot be removed without destroying it — though it can be upgraded to higher-class versions by installing better-quality modules over it.
Drive Synergy Requirements
The Indium Drive does not replace your existing Cadmium Drive and Emeril Drive. In fact, it requires them to function. The hyperdrive upgrade system in No Man's Sky works as a tiered hierarchy:
| Drive | Unlocks | Blueprint Cost | Recipe Complexity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cadmium Drive | Red star systems (K, M-type) | Artemis Path quest (free) | Chromatic Metal + Cadmium |
| Emeril Drive | Green star systems (G, F-type) | Artemis Path quest (free) | Chromatic Metal + Emeril |
| Indium Drive | Blue star systems (O, B-type) | 500 Nanites (Anomaly) | Chromatic Metal + Indium + Wiring Looms |
You must install all three drives to have access to all star system colors. The Indium Drive is installed in addition to your other drives, not instead of them. If you uninstall a lower-tier drive, you lose access to that tier's systems even with the Indium Drive installed. Plan your starship technology inventory layout accordingly — three drive modules occupy 3 slots, plus adjacent hyperdrive upgrades for synergy bonuses.
Adjacency Bonus Optimization
When installing the Indium Drive in your starship technology slots, position it adjacent to your other hyperdrive modules (Cadmium Drive, Emeril Drive, Hyperdrive Core, and S-Class Hyperdrive Upgrades) to receive adjacency bonuses. These bonuses increase your maximum warp range by 10-20% when related modules touch each other along their edges. The optimal layout arranges all three color drives in a row with the Hyperdrive Core and S-Class upgrades flanking them. A well-organized hyperdrive layout with full adjacency bonuses can achieve warp ranges exceeding 3,000 light-years per jump.
Chromatic Metal from Indium (Post-Installation)
After installing the Indium Drive and accessing Blue systems, the primary ongoing economic benefit is Indium refining. The conversion rates are:
| Input (Refiner) | Output | Ratio | Value of Output |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Indium (Portable Refiner) | 4 Chromatic Metal | 1:4 | ~120 units per Indium |
| 1 Activated Indium + 1 Chlorine (Medium Refiner) | 8 Chromatic Metal | 1:8 | ~240 units per Activated Indium |
| 250 Indium (Large Refiner batch) | 1,000 Chromatic Metal | 1:4 | ~30,000 units per batch |
These refining ratios make Indium the single most efficient source of Chromatic Metal, which in turn feeds into virtually every advanced crafting recipe including Warp Hypercores, Circuit Boards, Superconductors, and all Fusion Ignitor / Stasis Device components. Once you have an Indium source, you will never need to mine Copper for Chromatic Metal again.
3 Materials & Locations
Installing the Indium Drive requires materials from Blue star systems — but you cannot access Blue systems without the drive installed. This creates a classic catch-22 that is resolved by purchasing the 250 Indium you need from a trade terminal (cost: approximately 100,000-150,000 units) or receiving it from another player in multiplayer. Once installed, you will mine your own Indium indefinitely. This section covers all materials needed for installation and ongoing use.
● Indium — 250 for Installation
Source: Blue star system planets, or purchased from trade terminals.
Best farming method: For the initial 250 Indium needed to craft the drive itself, purchase from any space station's Galactic Trade Terminal. Indium typically sells for 400-600 units per piece, so 250 units costs approximately 100,000-150,000 units — affordable for any mid-game player. After installation, mine your own Indium from Blue system planets. Indium appears as large blue crystal formations visible from orbit — look for planets with "Metallic" or "Mineral Rich" characteristics in the system scan. Use your Analysis Visor to locate deposits and mine with the Terrain Manipulator. A single large Indium deposit yields 200-500 units. For ongoing mass production, build an Autonomous Mining Unit or Mineral Extractor over an Indium hotspot (use Surveying Mode to find S-Class deposits).
● Chromatic Metal — 250 for Installation
Source: Refined from Copper, Cadmium, Emeril, or Indium.
Best farming method: Use the Medium Refiner multiplication trick: 2 Copper + 1 Chromatic Metal = 6 Chromatic Metal. Starting with 50 Chromatic Metal and 100 Copper, you can produce unlimited Chromatic Metal through iterative refining. If you already have an Emeril Drive and access to Green systems, Emeril refines to Chromatic Metal at 1:3 ratio, providing 750 Chromatic Metal from 250 Emeril — enough for the installation with surplus. Alternatively, purchase Chromatic Metal directly from trade terminals for approximately 30 units per piece — 250 units costs only 7,500 units.
● Wiring Loom — 5 for Installation
Source: Purchased from Galactic Trade Terminals on space stations.
Best farming method: Wiring Looms are a standard trade commodity available at every space station's Galactic Trade Terminal. They cost approximately 50,000 units each, so 5 Wiring Looms cost approximately 250,000 units total. Wiring Looms are also frequently found in cargo drops at Manufacturing Facilities, Operations Centres, and as rewards from freighter fleet expeditions. They are used in dozens of starship, exosuit, and multi-tool upgrades, so purchasing a stack of 20-50 while you are at the terminal is recommended — you will need them for future technology installations.
● Activated Indium — For Refining and Farming
Source: Extreme-weather planets in Blue star systems.
Best farming method: Activated Indium is found exclusively on planets in Blue systems that have extreme weather conditions — look for descriptors like "Extreme," "High Energy," "Supercritical," or "Irradiated Storms." Use your Analysis Visor from the starship to scan the planet surface before landing — Activated Indinite deposits show as dark blue crystalline formations. To farm Activated Indium efficiently: (1) Find an S-Class Activated Indinite deposit using Surveying Mode, (2) Build a small base with a Teleport Module, (3) Place Mineral Extractors on the deposit and connect them to Supply Depots, (4) Power the extractors with Electromagnetic Generators or Solar Panels. A single S-Class deposit with 4 Mineral Extractors produces 4,000-8,000 Activated Indium per real-time hour, worth 3.6-7.2 million units. This is the most profitable passive farm in the game.
● Storm Crystals — Blue System Exclusive
Source: Extreme-weather planets in Blue star systems during active storms.
Best farming method: Storm Crystals appear as tall, glowing pillars on extreme-weather planets in Blue systems, but only during active storms. They cannot be seen or harvested during calm weather. Land on an extreme-weather planet and wait in your starship for a storm to begin (indicated by the hazard protection warning and visual weather effects). During the storm, use your Analysis Visor to scan for Storm Crystal markers — they appear as glowing columns visible from hundreds of units away. Each Storm Crystal harvests for 1 crystal, which sells for approximately 130,000 units. A single extreme-weather planet typically has 10-20 Storm Crystals, worth 1.3-2.6 million units per storm cycle. Use your Minotaur exocraft for harvesting — it is immune to storm damage. Mark your starship for quick returns to wait out the hazard protection drain between crystal harvests.
4 Optimal Route
This route covers the complete journey from purchasing the blueprint to establishing a profitable Activated Indium mining operation in a Blue star system. The full route takes approximately 2-3 hours for setup, after which your farm generates passive income indefinitely.
PHASE 1: Blueprint Purchase and Material Gathering (30 minutes)
- Summon the Space Anomaly (press X on PC, D-Pad Up on console, select "Summon Anomaly").
- Land aboard the Anomaly and locate the Starship Technology Merchant (the vendor selling starship upgrade modules).
- Purchase the Indium Drive blueprint for 500 Nanite Clusters. If you lack Nanites, complete 2-3 Nexus missions first.
- Fly to a wealthy space station and open the Galactic Trade Terminal.
- Purchase: 250 Indium (~125,000 units), 250 Chromatic Metal (~7,500 units), and 5 Wiring Looms (~250,000 units).
- Ensure your starship Technology Inventory has at least 1 free slot adjacent to your existing hyperdrive modules.
- Craft and install the Indium Drive from your starship inventory.
PHASE 2: First Blue System Exploration (20 minutes)
- Open the Galactic Map. Look for Blue-colored stars — these are O-type and B-type systems now accessible to you.
- Select a Blue system within your warp range and warp there. Use a Warp Hypercore for full fuel.
- Upon arrival, scan all planets from space. Look for: (a) planets with "Metallic" or "Mineral Rich" for regular Indium, (b) planets with "Extreme" weather for Activated Indium.
- Land on the most promising planet and use Surveying Mode (press C on PC) to scan for mineral hotspots.
- Identify an S-Class or A-Class Indinite hotspot. Note its coordinates and planetary location.
- If the planet has extreme weather, also note any Storm Crystal pillars you spot during your survey — mark these with Save Beacons for later farming.
PHASE 3: Activated Indium Farm Construction (45 minutes)
- Land at the S-Class Indinite hotspot location.
- Place a Base Computer and claim the area.
- Use Surveying Mode again to locate a nearby Electromagnetic Power Hotspot (ideally within 300 units of the mineral deposit).
- If an EM hotspot is nearby: place 3-4 Electromagnetic Generators to provide 500kP+ of power.
- If no EM hotspot exists: place 8 Solar Panels and 4 Batteries for renewable power.
- Place 4-8 Mineral Extractors directly on the S-Class Indinite deposit.
- Connect all Extractors to a central Supply Depot (or chain of depots) using Supply Pipes.
- Wire power from your generators to the Extractors and Depot.
- Build a Teleport Module for fast travel to your farm.
- Optionally: build a Save Point and a small shelter for convenience.
PHASE 4: First Harvest and Sales (15 minutes)
- Wait 1-2 real-time hours for the Mineral Extractors to fill the Supply Depot (or wait overnight for a massive harvest).
- Teleport back to your Activated Indium farm.
- Collect the Activated Indium from the Supply Depot interface.
- A typical first harvest from 4 Extractors on an S-Class deposit yields 5,000-10,000 units.
- Teleport to a wealthy space station and sell at the Galactic Trade Terminal.
- At ~900 units per piece, 10,000 Activated Indium = 9,000,000 units.
- Purchase a new starship slot, upgrade, or save for an S-Class Capital Freighter.
PHASE 5: Chromatic Metal Factory Setup (30 minutes, optional)
- Expand your Indium farm base to include a Large Refiner.
- Store 1,000 regular Indium (not Activated) in a dedicated Supply Depot.
- When you need Chromatic Metal for crafting: refine Indium at 1:4 ratio in the Large Refiner.
- 1,000 Indium = 4,000 Chromatic Metal — enough for 100+ Warp Hypercores or multiple Fusion Ignitor / Stasis Device components.
- This setup eliminates Chromatic Metal farming permanently. Every unit of Indium becomes 4 units of the most versatile crafting metal in the game.
PHASE 6: Storm Crystal Farming Circuit (Ongoing)
- Mark 3-4 extreme-weather planets in Blue systems within your warp range with Base Computers or Save Beacons.
- During play sessions, periodically warp to these planets during storm conditions.
- Harvest all visible Storm Crystals using your Minotaur (storm-immune).
- Each planet yields 10-20 crystals per storm, worth 1.3-2.6 million units.
- Storm crystals also count as "extreme survival" milestones and award Nanite Clusters.
- Combine Storm Crystal farming with Activated Indium collection for maximum profit per system visit.
5 Gotcha Tips
You need Indium to craft the Indium Drive, but you cannot mine Indium without visiting Blue systems, which requires the Indium Drive. This catch-22 has three solutions: (1) Purchase Indium from any space station trade terminal for ~125,000 units — this is the intended solution and the one recommended by the game designers. (2) Receive Indium from another player in multiplayer — if a friend has the Indium Drive, they can gift you 250 Indium. (3) Refine Emeril if you have the Emeril Drive — Emeril refines to Chromatic Metal at 1:3, and you can use that Chromatic Metal plus purchased Wiring Looms as the non-Indium components, then buy the Indium. Do not attempt to find Indium on non-Blue planets — it does not exist.
Each Supply Depot holds a maximum of 1,000 units of a single resource. If your Mineral Extractors produce faster than you collect, the depot will hit its cap and production will stop. For a farm with 4+ Extractors on an S-Class deposit, you need multiple Supply Depots chained together — each depot feeds into the next, creating a combined storage pool. A typical efficient farm uses 10 Supply Depots (10,000 unit capacity), which fills in approximately 4-6 real-time hours on an S-Class deposit. Plan your collection schedule accordingly: visit your farm every 4-6 hours of real time to prevent production loss. For maximum efficiency, install the depot array underground near your Teleport Module for quick access.
Mineral deposits in No Man's Sky have a finite extraction rate measured in units per hour. An S-Class Activated Indinite deposit provides approximately 800-1,200 units per hour per Mineral Extractor. However, the deposit itself does not deplete — extractors will produce at this rate indefinitely. The only limitation is your storage capacity (Supply Depot size) and power supply. This is why Activated Indium farming is considered infinite passive income: once your farm is built, it generates wealth forever with no ongoing material costs. The only maintenance required is ensuring your power generators remain operational and collecting from your depots before they reach capacity.
Selling large quantities of Activated Indium at a single space station will crash the local market price, reducing your per-unit profit by 30-50% after selling 10,000+ units. Three strategies prevent this: (1) Multi-station route: Mark 5-6 wealthy systems and sell 5,000 units at each station before moving to the next. (2) NPC ship sales: Sell to starship pilots who land at the station — their buy prices are unaffected by terminal saturation. (3) Own a Trade Rocket: The Trade Rocket item allows you to summon a trading terminal anywhere, with its own independent market. Rotate between your Trade Rocket and station terminals. With any of these strategies, you can sell unlimited Activated Indium at maximum price.
The extreme-weather planets that host Activated Indium and Storm Crystals are genuinely dangerous. Hazard Protection drain can reach 10-15% per second during severe storms, killing unprepared players in under 10 seconds. Always equip S-Class Hazard Protection upgrades for the relevant hazard type (Radiation, Toxic, Cold, or Heat) before landing. The Minotaur Exocraft is immune to all environmental hazards — use it for all surface activities on extreme-weather planets. If you must exit the Minotaur, build a quick shelter with the Terrain Manipulator or carry 20+ Ion Batteries for emergency Hazard Protection recharges. Storm Crystals only appear during active storms, so you must expose yourself to the hazard — plan your crystal routes between known shelter points.
Activated Indium farms can be shared across all players in a multiplayer session. If you visit another player's farm, you can collect from their Supply Depots just as they can — the resources are not depleted from the owner's storage. This means multiplayer groups can visit each other's farms in rotation, multiplying everyone's income. Many community players intentionally build their farms near Portal locations and share the Portal address on the NMS Coordinate Exchange, allowing thousands of players to visit and collect. If you use a community-shared farm, remember that Supply Depots have independent instances per player — collecting from a shared farm does not reduce what the owner or other visitors receive.
There are two different machines for automated mining, and they work differently. Mineral Extractors must be placed on Survey Hotspots (found with Surveying Mode) and connect to Supply Depots — they produce 250-1,000+ units per hour depending on hotspot class, with effectively infinite duration. Autonomous Mining Units can be placed on any mineral deposit without surveying, but they produce only 50 units per 10 minutes and must be manually emptied. For a serious Activated Indium farm, Mineral Extractors on S-Class hotspots are the only viable option — Autonomous Mining Units are too slow and labor-intensive for mass production. Do not confuse the two when planning your farm.
6 Free Benefits Along the Way
Installing the Indium Drive and establishing a Blue system presence unlocks a cascade of benefits that touch every aspect of your No Man's Sky gameplay. The initial investment of 500 Nanites and ~400,000 units pays for itself thousands of times over through the economic and exploration opportunities that Blue systems provide.
Infinite Chromatic Metal Supply
Once your Indium farm is operational, Chromatic Metal becomes effectively free. At a 1:4 refining ratio, every Activated Indium collection run produces enough Chromatic Metal for months of crafting. This eliminates the single most common bottleneck in the entire crafting system. Warp Hypercores, Fusion Ignitors, Stasis Devices, Circuit Boards, Superconductors — every recipe requiring Chromatic Metal becomes instantly craftable without farming. The Medium Refiner multiplication trick becomes unnecessary because you have a direct, unlimited source of the highest-quality metal in the game.
Billion-Unit Passive Income
A well-built Activated Indium farm generates 50-100 million units per day completely passively. Within a week of establishing your farm, you will have accumulated 350-700 million units — enough to purchase any S-Class Capital Freighter (the most expensive item category at 100-500 million units) and still have hundreds of millions remaining. This wealth eliminates all economic constraints from your gameplay. Every S-Class starship you encounter, every rare multi-tool, every expensive trade commodity — all become instant purchases without consideration of cost. Economic freedom is the single most transformative benefit of the Indium Drive.
Exotic Planet Discovery
Blue systems have the highest probability of containing exotic and anomalous planet types. Bioluminescent worlds where all flora glows at night, Chromatic Fog planets where the atmosphere shifts colors constantly, Shattered worlds with floating island formations, and Volcanic worlds with active lava flows — all are disproportionately found in Blue systems. Each exotic planet type contributes unique fauna, flora, and discovery rewards worth uploading for Nanite Clusters. Many players explore Blue systems primarily for the visual spectacle and screenshot opportunities, with the economic benefits as a secondary consideration.
Storm Crystal Wealth
Storm Crystal farming in Blue systems adds a high-value, low-effort income stream to your economic portfolio. At 130,000 units per crystal and 10-20 crystals per storm per planet, a 15-minute Storm Crystal run can yield 1-3 million units. Storm Crystals also have practical uses: they are required for certain high-end exosuit upgrades and base building components. The knowledge of which planets in your network have active storms and crystal locations becomes a valuable mental map that pays dividends every time you visit.
Galactic Map Mastery
The process of finding optimal Blue systems for your Indium farm teaches you the galactic map interface in detail: filtering by economy type, identifying wealthy systems, reading system class indicators, and planning warp routes. These navigation skills are essential for community expeditions, coordinate-based ship hunting (using Portal glyphs to visit specific systems), and galactic core travel. The Indium Drive farmer becomes an expert navigator as a natural consequence of their economic optimization.
Multiplayer Community Integration
Sharing your Activated Indium farm with the NMS community via the Coordinate Exchange or with friends in multiplayer creates social connections and reciprocal benefits. Other players may share their own farms, Portal addresses for rare S-Class ships, or coordinates for unique planets. The No Man's Sky community thrives on shared knowledge, and having a valuable farm to contribute establishes you as a respected member. Many long-term multiplayer groups form around shared farming and exploration networks.
Base Building Mastery
Constructing an efficient Activated Indium farm teaches advanced base-building techniques: power grid management, Supply Depot chaining, extractor optimization, electromagnetic hotspot utilization, and Teleport Module placement. These skills transfer directly to building elaborate showcase bases, complex farming operations for other resources, and the multi-planet base networks needed for Stasis Device and Fusion Ignitor production. The Indium farm is often a player's first truly optimized base, serving as a foundation for all future construction projects.
Journey Milestone Progression
Installing the Indium Drive and visiting Blue systems contributes directly to multiple Journey Milestones: "The Space Anomaly" (technology installation), "To the Centre" (galactic travel), "Universal Translator" (system exploration), and "Extreme Survival" (extreme weather planet visits). These milestones award Nanite Clusters, titles, and account-level bonuses. Simply by pursuing the Indium Drive and its economic benefits, you will naturally complete many of the game's achievement tracks without deliberate grinding.