Biome
Biomes are the main classification used for worlds in the No Man's Sky universe.
Summary
A biome is a community of plants, animals, and specific conditions that have common characteristics for the worlds they exist in. Each planet and moon will be of a specific biome type. Different worlds of the same biome type will generally have a similar appearance and environmental conditions with the main exception being worlds of the Exotic and Chromatic biomes which can vary greatly. The possible biomes are as follows.
Determining Biome Type
Biomes can be distinguished by looking at their descriptions, weather, and resources.
- Each biome type has a unique sequence of possible biome descriptions, as listed on their individual biome pages.
- Similarly, each biome has an associated sequence of possible weather descriptions, also listed on their individual biome pages. However, the Origins update added the small possibility for worlds to borrow weather descriptions from similar biome types. For example, a small amount of Lush worlds now display Green Chromatic weather descriptions and Scorched worlds can sometimes display Lava biome weather descriptions.
- Most biomes have an associated plant which can only be found on worlds of that biome. For the biomes that have one, this is the easiest and most definitive method of identification.
- All biomes have a particular resource only found on worlds with related biome types. This combined with the biome-specific plants provides quick and easy identification of all biome types, as shown on the table below.
| Biome | Biome-specific plant | Biome-specific resource |
|---|---|---|
| Barren | Cactus Flesh | Pyrite |
| Chromatic, Blue | --- | Dioxite |
| Chromatic, Green | --- | Ammonia |
| Chromatic, Red | --- | Phosphorus |
| Dead | --- | Rusted Metal |
| Exotic | --- | Gold |
| Frozen | Frost Crystal | Dioxite |
| Lava | --- | Basalt or Pyrite |
| Lush | Star Bulb | Paraffinium |
| Radioactive | Gamma Root | Uranium |
| Scorched | Solanium | Phosphorus |
| Swamp | --- | Faecium, Mordite, or Paraffinium |
| Toxic | Fungal Mould | Ammonia |
For example, a world with Ammonia deposits could only be either a Toxic or Green Chromatic world. If that world lacked a biome-specific plant in its listed resources, then it would definitively be a Green Chromatic world. However, if it instead has Fungal Mould, that would make it a Toxic world.
When reading a world's listed resources from a Ship Scan, Discoveries Tab System menu when mousing over the world, or Visor Scan of a world, the biome-specific plant will be the first resource listed, and the biome-specific resource will be the third (not including the possible presence of Salvageable Scrap or Ancient Bones). The Planetary Menu of the Discoveries tab shows resources in an alternative order.
Biome Subtypes
The Origins update added biome subtypes for most of the biomes, when previously they only existed for Exotic and Chromatic worlds. Unlike determination of biomes, there is no descriptor to indicate which is present. Instead they must be examined and compared to pictures of worlds previously determined to be of the correct subtype. Please see individual Biome pages for listings of their subtypes as well as example pictures of each.
Note that all biome subtypes have been taken directly from the game code and examples shown have been verified as being correct through the use of custom mods created specifically to confirm unlisted planetary statistics.
Infected Worlds
Worlds can be infected with alien flora. While these infected worlds have unique biome descriptors indicating their status as infested, they will each still belong to one of the true biome types listed above.
Related Terms
Ecosystems
The related term Ecosystem is used to describe the five distinct areas of a world in which creatures can be found.
- Ground which includes all terrestrial creatures. It is comprised of the world's biome and will cover most of the unsubmerged surface.
- Flying which includes all aerial creatures.
- Underground which includes all subterranean creatures. Caves have the potential to be found on all worlds.
- Underwater which includes all aquatic creatures. Oceans, seas, and lakes have the potential to be found on most planets.
- Mountain which is mostly comprised of the higher points on each world, made distinctive by the darker ground coloration and lack of vegetation.
Terrain
The related term Terrain is used to describe the general shape of a world's landscape. Each world is assigned a terrain type independently of its biome type. The ten possible terrain types are as follows: Floating Island, Canyon, Ravines, Arches, Alien, Craters, Caverns, Alpine, Lilypad, or Desert. Any combination of biome and terrain type is possible. See Terrain for more information.
Worlds Documented by Biome
The following chart compares how many worlds have been documented of each biome type. This chart includes all planets and moons documented on NMS Discoveries.