How many bases should I have?

[Woldren]

I am a noob. Do you build a base in almost every planet you visit? After 20 hours I have something like 30 bases of one room each but it is really confusing now. Is it better to dismantle them?

[Dirak2012]

That's up to you. You don't really need bases, if you don't want them.

[AmberAnvil]

I consider my freighter my main base.

[Daedrius]

402 is the limit

https://nomanssky.fandom.com/wiki/Base_building

[Wizard of Woz]

Originally posted by Woldren:

I am a noob. Do you build a base in almost every planet you visit? After 20 hours I have something like 30 bases of one room each but it is really confusing now. Is it better to dismantle them?

I have exactly 0 bases. They are completely unnecessary unless you enjoy building.

[gNg]

Having one base is a good idea to get the Base Computer missions which give you a lot of free stuff. Other than that though, you don't really need any planetary bases.

Build them if you find a planet you like, or there's a useful resource nearby that you want to exploit, or just because you like building bases. One on every planet is a bit over the top though :)

[GibbyGano]

I kinda see it as community created content since there is a chance other people could see your base if you are online, also definitely for resource exploitation.

[frazzled]

Entirely up to you.

I tend to have one major base, that I use for many of the games tutorial quests, etc. It also has 12 biodomes, one for each crop type, and all 10 storage containers.

Beyond that I generally only have bases for access to specific resource harvesting systems. I like one for Oxygen, one for sodium, one each for what I call the noble elements (Cadmium, Emeril, Indium), Copper, activated copper, and other things as my whims dictate.

I don't do giant base builds. Mine are very industrial/purposeful. Not at all decorative.

[Aku]

I have four elaborate bases. The rest is just random stuff. On one planet I built a saloon. On another I built a tower. Sometimes I'll just put up a statue next to the base computer.

[Monkshood]

I keep a few handy permanent bases along with my freighter. These include one I can port to for fast nanites (14 balls), and one of those big research tower for an extra guild bonus (does not count towards the space station guild BTW). As the others have said though you don't really need one, but I like having a few for finding some things easier.

[Guh~hey~hey~♫]

One for each type of biome

1 for starbulb, paraffinium and nitrogen
1 for solanium, phosphorus and sulphurine
1 for echinocactus, pyrite and sulphurine
1 for gamma root, uranium and radon
1 for frost crystal, dioxite and radon
1 for fungal mold, amonia and nitrogen

1 for faecium, gold and oxygen
1 for mordrite, silver and oxygen
for the 2 above you can also do faecium/silver and mordrite/gold instead. Might be a good idea to double those bases to increase your output of gold and silver.
Exotic or marsh biomes are perfect for those.

then

3 more for 1 anomalous plants (nip-nip bud, venom urchin or gravitino host) along one mineral (cobalt, salt or sodium) and oxygen.
It's a good idea to use dissonant and violent biomes for those. That way you'll be able ot come gather dissonant or storm crystals there when you need them.

Having a base next to an alien portal (in euclid), and some other next to S-rank crashed starships (so you can repeatedly scrap them for nanite) is also a good idea.

What you need to do with those base is to set-up their production it is a 24h cycle for 20/30K of both the minerals and gases produced.
Then dedicate a starship at harvesting those bases and take it when portailing from one base to another to fill it up, once every 24h.

Of course wiht so many bases, you will need to create a simple and efficient design easy to repeat anywhere, that will fit on ground or water.....

[Mr. Bufferlow]

Exactly 400...or was that one? I always ask myself these questions when someone asks questions like "how many pairs of socks should I own?"

[cogvos]

Really there are four reasons to build a base, if you need one that is.

1. As Guh-hey-hey has stated, so you have easy access to a resource, or keep easy access to a system. While you can just fly to the space station there is, I think, a limit of 50 that can be shown. On the 51st the last on the list drops off to be replaced by the new one. That typed, I tend to build large bases so personally build in a system that has several resources and then just fly to the planet holding the one I want.

2. As an easy way to access a previous galaxy, or one you have found via the Anomaly teleporter having visted another players base, or (spoiler alert)... At the end of a quest line you will travel to a new galaxy. If you don't have a base in to previous one you will not be able to travel back easily - if at all.

3. If you want easy access to a pirate system to go either pirating or pirate bashing as the teleport networks for normal stations and pirate stations are separate. Also see point 1.

4. Simply because you want to build something to show other players, call home, or just like building bases.

Don't forget you can name your bases and can colour their icon by colouring the base computer.

As for the number of bases limit. You can have 400 planet bases, 1 settlement and one freighter so a total of 402. Darned if I know why that number. 127 or 511 or even 418 I could understand but 402? Is it a reference to something?

[Guh~hey~hey~♫]

Base building is like cooking (IRL cooking, not necessarily NMS). First it sounds like a hassle or even a chore... but after cooking and enjoying your first 2-3 meals, you will either hate it and never cook ever again, or start enjoying making your own food for your own taste and more importantly start enjoying advantages it provides to you....

Also when you find a really nice looking rare biome with some interesting things around (rare spawn of starship, ressources, critters, etc...).
Creating a base on such will give you a permanent access to it and make you feel like you claimed ownership on the planet/system....
Tho this can be achieved with just putting down a base computer, a generator and a portal.... (so no need for fancy buildings or industries)... the same way you dont need to cook a fancy meal everytime and can just settle with a couple fried eggs in a pan....

[UncreativelyNamed]

It's completely up to you. If you find that you enjoy building bases, build as many as you like until you reach your part limit for a save. If you don't like building bases for whatever reason, then don't build any. They are not strictly necessary.

I'm not fond of building in this game, so I'll usually have a "base" that consists of nothing but a base computer and a storage container or two, which I use to store stuff I'll need for the future in the save. If I decide to get a freighter in a save, then that will be the only "base" I have. Otherwise, I'll use base computers just to mark points of interest that I want to come back to. Things like a sentinel pillar on a dissonant or aggressive-sentinel planet that has things I want, for instance. But I don't actually build a base at those.

[caseyas435943]

I know people build a ton of them. I build 1. I build it to do the job. I see no reason to build another.