Economy

The subject of this article is from the NextGen update.
The information from this article is up-to-date as of 16 February, 2021.

Economy is a star system factor.

Summary

Using an Economy Scanner to check nearby economies

Every star system in No Man's Sky has its own Economy, which is described by three components: the economy Type, the Strength of the economy, and the Buy/Sell Modifiers it offers. These components are not affected by which Faction controls the system - any economy Type/Strength/Modifiers can be found for any faction.

Details of a system's Economy are available in the Galactic Map when your ship is in the system. If you have an Economy Scanner, you can see details for any system from the map, without needing to warp to it.

Economy Type

Every system has a single economy type (the "Producing Economy" column in the table below), which will show in the system details on the Galaxy Map with one of the names shown in the "Economy Names" column. The icon shown in the map will tell you the type, if you don't want to remember all of the names. Economy type is independent of economy Strength, Buy/Sell Modifiers, and Faction.

TRADING ITEMS
Icon	Producing Economy	Economy Names	Commodity Type	Tiers
Trade Route A
	Trading Economy	Mercantile Trading Shipping Commercial	Trade Commodity	Decrypted User Data Star Silk Comet Droplets Ion Sphere Teleport Coordinators
	Advanced Materials Economy	Advanced Materials Alchemical Metal Processing Material Fusion	Advanced Construction Materials	Nanotube Crate Self-Repairing Heridium Optical Solvent Five Dimensional Torus Superconducting Fibre
	Scientific Economy	Scientific Research Experimental Mathematical	Scientific Components	De-Scented Pheromone Bottle Neutron Microscope Instability Injector Organic Piping Neural Duct
Trade Route B
	Mining Economy	Mining Minerals Ore Extraction Prospecting	Tradable Minerals	Dirt Unrefined Pyrite Grease Bromide Salt Polychromatic Zirconium Re-latticed Arc Crystal
	Manufacturing Economy	Manufacturing Industrial Construction Mass Production	Industrial Components	Enormous Metal Cog Non-Stick Piston Six-Pronged Mesh Decoupler Holographic Crankshaft High Capacity Vector Compressor
	Technology Economy	High Tech Technology Nano-construction Engineering	Technology Parts	Decommissioned Circuit Board Welding Soap Ion Capacitor Autonomous Positioning Unit Quantum Accelerator
	Power Generation Economy	Power Generation Energy Supply Fuel Generation High Voltage	Tradable Energy Source	Spark Canister Industrial-Grade Battery Ohmic Gel Experimental Power Fluid Fusion Core

Economy Strength

Every system's economy will either be weak, average, or strong. Economy strength can be determined by the descriptor shown in the Galaxy Map (see lists below). Economy strength determines which Marketed Tradeable products will be offered for sale, with strong economies offering all five products (and therefore the most profitable ones) and average or weak economies offering a smaller selection of products and lower available quantities. Strong economies are rare compared to average and weak economies.

A side-effect of strong economies is that higher-class NPC Starships are more likely to spawn in them.

Weak Economy Descriptors

(Also referred to as ★ or T1 economies)

• Declining
• Destitute
• Failing
• Fledgling
• Low Supply
• Struggling
• Unsuccessful
• Unpromising

Average Economy Descriptors

(Also referred to as ★★ or T2 economies)

• Adequate
• Balanced
• Comfortable
• Developing
• Medium Supply
• Promising
• Satisfactory
• Sustainable

Strong Economy Descriptors

(Also referred to as ★★★ or T3 economies)

• Advanced
• Affluent
• Booming
• Flourishing
• High Supply
• Opulent
• Prosperous
• Wealthy

Buy/Sell Modifiers

Every economy has two price modifiers: a Buy modifier (negative) applied to prices of Trade Items (items from the lists above) you buy, and a Sell modifier (positive) applied to Trade Items you sell. Modifiers can be seen in the system's details on the Galaxy Map as +/- percentages. These modifiers are above/below the galactic average price for the Trade items, they do not apply to other types of items, and their application is not absolute. That is, if you see a Sell modifier of +50% it does not mean that Trade Items you sell in the system will always be exactly 50% above galactic average. In general:

• Systems with higher Sell modifiers will pay more when you sell Trade Items
• Systems with lower Buy modifiers will charge more when you buy Trade Items
• Systems with Sell modifiers in the range of +70-80% are optimal for selling your goods (80% being the maximum modifier)
• Systems with Buy modifiers in the range of -20-30% are optimal for buying goods (-30% being the maximum [absolute] modifier)
• Galactic Trade Terminals at planetary Trade Outposts (and the NPC pilots who land there) will offer better prices, both buying and selling (and for any item type, not just Trade Items), than space stations (or the NPCs that land in them)

Trade Routes

Trade routes are loops between (preferably strong) economies where the supply purchased at one system is sold for high profit in the next, that system's supply is purchased and sold at the next system, and so on. Use the Buy and Sell Modifiers to determine which systems to include in your route(s).

External Links

An in-depth spreadsheet with data about trading on star systems of different economy types and its effect in the price of specific products.

References

fr-fd:Économie