No Man’s Sky: How to farm Tainted Metal

Tainted Metal is a No Man's Sky material that was added with the Origins update. It can be used to refine Nanites or to purchase things from the Black Market. This resource is scarce, though, because there are only a few ways to obtain it. This guide will show you how to farm Tainted Metal so that you always have enough on hand.

Explore derelict freighters

Exploring derelict freighters and collecting Tainted Metal from the containers within is the only method to get it. While you can find these by flying around any system with your Pulse Engine, it's significantly more convenient to go to the nearest space station and ask the Scrap Dealer for some coordinates.

Scrap dealers are shunned by other sellers on space stations, so they set up shop in tents off to the side. A derelict freighter's coordinates aren't cheap, starting at 2 million units and increasing as you buy more. If you want to harvest Tainted Metal, though, this is the ideal method. You'll need to travel to the waypoint and then use your Pulse Engines to summon the derelict vessel once you've obtained the coordinates.

If you don't take the time to recharge your shields next to each heater, the interior of a derelict freighter will kill you. As you explore the area and search every container you come across, keep this in mind. If you simply do this, you should be able to generate around 8500 Tainted Metal in an hour, however, this will depend on how quickly you explore the derelict freighters and the materials used in their interiors, as certain containers have higher drop rates than others.