When I started this game 3 weeks ago, I gravitated towards the "free" option in the settings menu for purchases. This helped me get stuff early, like exotic ships, full upgrades to my ships/exosuit/MT/freighter. But it got stale fairly quickly.

I got bored so I started a normal save and then I locked it so I won't be tempted to change the settings. But then I learned how to dupe. That was worse. It's like the first "free" option but with additional steps. I got bored faster, since I know what I need and where to get them.

So I started a 3rd save. But this time, I went perma death locked mode. And I'm having a hell of a time. Maybe it's the pressure of losing everything with one small step. Or maybe because I had to work to get everything. (I now have 2B units, 200k nannites). I have 2 ships, and a multi tool maxed out. My exosuit still needs around 20 cargo slots but the tech is all done. Freighter needs more work but it's an S with just a couple of tech upgrades left (still can't go to blue stars).

I feel this run will be my main, unless I f*ck it up and get my character killed somehow. I think at this point, only my own stupidity can kill it. lol

What I'm trying to say is, resist doing it the easy way (easy option/cheats/hacks/exploits). Unless you want it easy, then go ahead, I'm not stopping you. I'm just sharing my experience as a new (old) player. (pre-ordered nms but only played a couple of hours).

Cheers Travellers!