No Man's Sky Antimatter - how to get Antimatter, find Antimatter recipe
Tracking down the elusive material required to power your Hyperdrive.
Antimatter is very quickly going to become one of the most desired items of your playtime in No Man's Sky, starting a little after discovering plans for your first Hyperdrive and its required Warp Cells.
Figuring out hot to get Antimatter, and likewise where to find the Antimatter recipe a little further down the line, are going to be essential steps in your quest for interstellar travel, so here on this page we'll explain everything you need to know about the sci-fi staple.
Please note that our No Man's Sky guides are in the process of being updated after the launch of No Man's Sky BEYOND - for now, this page may still have plenty of useful info, but bear in mind it's due a refresh! If you're looking for more on that big update though, our guide to what's new in the No Man's Sky BEYOND update and its release time on Xbox One, PC, PS4, our big list of No Man's Sky patch notes, or our guide to the new No Man's Sky multiplayer and Nexus hub are the best places to start!
No Man's Sky Antimatter explained - what is Antimatter?
Antimatter in No Man's Sky is used to create Warp Cells, which act as the fuel for your all-important Hyperdrive. The Warp Cell formula itself is actually pretty simple compared to the recipe in previous versions of No Man's Sky - it's just Antimatter and an Antimatter Housing item that you need, with that Housing pretty easy to construct.
You won't find Antimatter out in the wild, but in menus it looks like a rather ominously sparkly dark purple sphere, set against a purple background.
How to get Antimatter in No Man's Sky
As things stand, there are just three ways to get your hands on Antimatter in No Man's Sky:
An abandoned building
After getting your first Hyperdrive, you'll be told to seek answers amongst the stars. Fly up into space and scan for signals when prompted, and a red waypoint will appear on one of the planets in your current system. Head to the "anomalous signal" and it'll be some kind of abandoned building on the planet's surface.
It's surrounded by purple, Whispering Eggs (do not touch them! We won't spoil why but trust us, not a good idea...) and inside is a Forgotten Terminal. Interact with it and you'll receive your first piece of Antimatter, as well as the recipe for crafting Antimatter Housing.
Splash the cash
Another option is to simply buy some Antimatter from a Galactic Trade terminal. The terminals can be found either at an Outpost (which you can find using the steps in the bullet point above) or in any Space Station. Antimatter isn't cheap, but it's also not prohibitively expensive - a little mining and selling should give you enough to buy some early on.
Craft Antimatter using the Antimatter recipe
Finally, you can craft Antimatter from certain materials - but that requires you to have found the Antimatter recipe first, which doesn't happen until after you've already warped to a new system for the first time, so you'll need to find some Antimatter using one of the above two ways first. We recommend the first option, seeing as it's free, easy, and part of the story!
Cycle back to our main hub for what's new in what's new in No Man's Sky Beyond and more basic info on the big update, otherwise take a look at our deep dive on No Man's Sky multiplayer explained for more on teaming up, our guide to base building, an introduction into electrical wiring and powering your base, to how to expand your Exosuit, Ship and Multi-tool inventory space, and Freighters and Frigates explained. Plus other handy stuff like how to repair your ship and get the Hermetic Seal, Pure Ferrite, Metal Plating and Di-Hydrogen Jelly, locations of theAtlas Pass v1, v2 and v3, a guide to No Man's Sky money and how to earn Units fast, plushow to get Antimatter and the Antimatter recipe, and even how to save the game in No Man's Sky, too. Finally, we have pages on how to reach the centre of the galaxy, how to get Chromatic Metal, and a Journey Milestones list, too.
No Man's Sky - Antimatter recipe
Once you've travelled to a new system for the first time, you'll get another waypoint added to your HUD. This time it's a Planetary Outpost - like a kind of mini Space Station on a planet's surface - that you're led to.
Just inside you'll find an alien to talk to, and when you do so they'll give you the recipe for Antimatter right there and then.
Antimatter Recipe:
- Chromatic Metal x25
- Condensed Carbon x 20
This a relatively easy one to craft. To get Chromatic Metal, collect either Copper, Cadmium, Emeril or Indium from a deposit on a planet's surface (use the analysis visor to spot resource veins in the earth), and put it through the Portable Refiner to get Chromatic Metal.
Likewise, Condensed Carbon is just regular old Carbon - source from almost all plant life on any planet - put through the Portable Refiner, too.
As far as we can tell, the only thing Antimatter can be used as an ingredient for is the creation of Warp Cells, in the following (very simple) recipe:
- 1x Antimatter
- 1x Antimatter Housing
To craft the Antimatter Housing, you need 25x Oxygen and 1x Metal Plate (made from Ferrite Dust), both of which are pretty easy to source on most planets. If you're short on Oxygen, look for dangerous plants or the little glowing red plants with your Analysis Visor.
Once you have the Antimatter and the Antimatter Housing, simply select a free slot in your inventory, choose 'Craft', select the Warp Cell icon, and you're all set!