After three years of mystery and speculation — not to mention hype — this week saw Hello Games unleash No Man’s Sky on PlayStation 4 owners. Already, players have found an exploit that makes it possible to farm some of the rarest items in the game.
The technique centers around an unintended consequence of the game’s save system, according to a report from Eurogamer. When players die, the items stored in their exosuit inventory are left on the ground nearby as a “grave” — if they can return to that spot, they can reclaim the items, mitigating the negative impact on their progress.
However, players can abuse the game’s save system to have their cake and eat it, too. Reloading the previous save returns them to a state where they had the items stored in their inventory, but they can also pick up the dropped items stored at their “grave,” doubling their stockpile. Snap.
As a result, players have taken to travelling to an outpost where they can save their game, and engaging a nearby enemy. By allowing their character to fall in combat, they can then take advantage of the exploit and double up on any items that are already in their possession.
The most straightforward way to use this glitch is by selling on the items that are amassed to make a profit — remembering to keep hold of one of each so that more duplicates can be made. However, it’s also a potent method of collecting Atlas Stones, one of the most precious resources in the game.
Atlas Stones sell for 60,000 units, so they’re a hot commodity at the various trading terminals littered around the galaxy. Beyond that, players who have reached the endgame of No Man’s Sky suggest that these objects are especially important, so having plenty in reserve could reap huge benefits in the long run.
No Man’s Sky is available now for PlayStation 4, with a PC release set to follow on August 12.
