Pillared Planets: The Rarest of the Rare in No Man‘s Sky

Ask any interloper who‘s put in their share of hours exploring the expansive procedural galaxies of Hello Games‘ No Man‘s Sky, and they‘ll likely tell you the same thing: Pillared Planets are the ultimate ultra rare find.

These exotic worlds stand out for their mysterious surface structures – colossal pillars and stone columns that dominate the terrain, often as far as the eye can see. The pillars come in wild shapes and sizes, with some spanning over a hundred feet in height.

But just how rare are these pillar-strewn planets? And what secrets lie nestled between their stony towers? Let‘s dig deeper into the key traits of these celestial rarities.

Traits and Tactics for Finding Pillared Worlds

Pillared planets fall under the broader "Exotic" planet classification. Hello Games Lead Developer Sean Murray once tweeted that exotic worlds occur only "one in a hundred" planets a player visits. Of course, with quintillions of planets in NMS‘s nigh-endless univers, even one percent rarity means millions still left undiscovered.

Within that one percent though, player reports suggest pillared planets make up only 10-20% of exotic worlds encountered. Making them a true diamond in the rough finds at likely around a 0.1% frequency in total.

Player-reported frequency of pillared planets amongst total planets visited (source)

Now what leads a planet generation to spit out those oh-so-rare pillars across its terrain? The details get very techy, but from what modders can tell, it comes down to unique variables in the world seed that triggers what‘s called a "PLENTIFUL" modifier during terrain generation. This then sparsely populates the surface with the column-like formations.

So in practical terms, that means our best bet lies in star systems with an exotic biome tag. An easy way to spot these at a glance when shopping around the galactic map is to scan for yellow star systems – they have the highest statistical chance of generating exotic worlds.

From there, it becomes a game of pulsing between planets and eyeballing for those prized pillars. Having maxed out scanner upgrades helps quickly ID pillar frequency from orbit before taking the dive into atmo.

If planet-hopping gets tedious, another tactic is locating a planetary chart for an exotic world from the local space station cartographer and letting that lead your exploratory quest. Just remember, charts narrow the pool but don‘t guarantee it generates a pillared variant.

What Lies Between Those Mysterious Pillars

Okay, so through luck and patience we‘ve located our very own pillar planet. Now what?

For starters – appreciation! Take a moment to soak in those striking vistas. Jagged black pillars contrasted against glowing pink grass. Giant chiseled arches framing the local star in a perpetual celestial eclipse. The artistic realizations of these worlds are math magic made manifest.

Once we tear our eyes away, it‘s time to get scanning. Those pillars hold all kinds of secrets for inquisitive travelers:

1. Mine for precious metals
Pillars frequently contain Emeril, Magnetized Ferrite, and stellar metal deposits ripe for harvesting.

2. Discover lore bytes
Many contain ancient data structures that share bits of cryptic alien history when accessed.

3. Shelter valuable finds
The hollowed cores of thicker pillars work nicely for stashing containers. I use them to house my most treasured artifacts from neighboring dead worlds. Adds a nice adventurer mystique!

4. Locate ancient ruins
It‘s not uncommon for ruins and abandoned facilities to generate around the bases of larger clusters. Lots of rare crafting materials abound in their depths!

With the right combination of environmental protections and resource extractors, a well-tuned pillar planet makes for the ultimate exotic mining outpost. And the views certainly don‘t hurt!

Now if alien archeology or lavish base building don‘t grab ya, there‘s always a healthy trade to be made off these worlds too:

• Chromatic Metal – Smelt down Emeril, Magnetized Ferrite or stellar metals from your harvests.
• Pure Ferrite – Refine that mined Magnetized Ferrite into pure building bricks.
• Platinum – Refine the gold and silver mined from those pillars.

In most systems, these materials fetch premium prices from construction-hungry Vy‘keen and Geks. Just don‘t tank the local economy by flooding it!

Uncovering the Origins of Those Mysterious Towers

So those pillars clearly hold value across dimensions. But how‘d they get there? And what fueled their unusual formations?

As with most anomalies in the NMS multiverse, their origins ultimately trace back to its overarching factional lore. Yet even then, within the game‘s mysterious, hand-wavy lore scraps, their exact backstories elude firm detail.

That said, a few leading theories have emerged amongst the fan archeological corps:

1) The Sentinels did it – As part of some ancient, planet-scale engineering to tap into electromagnetic hotspots.

2) They‘re fossilized tentacles – Left behind by some massive, unknowncollection of exotic creatures from a bygone era.

3) It‘s a rendering glitch – Unique terrain generation seed variables clashing to manifest the unexpected formations.

Personally, I favor tale 2. I‘ve long held suspicions those reality-busting Korvax portals link not just space, but time. Who‘s to say some inter-dimensional Kraken didn‘t pass through once upon a simulation?

Of course, the truth is likely far more mundane. But isn‘t that the joy of those rare finds – sparking imagination just as much as the units? Even thousands of hours in, No Man‘s Sky retains a sense of mystery and untapped possibility out there on the fringe.

So Where To Next for Planet Hunters?

While Pillared Planets currently claim the rarest-planet crown, recent updates hint toward new exotic world types awaiting uncover in uncharted systems.

The wildcard Sentinel update added biome tags for unrevealed planet types like "SHARDS" that modders have only just begun unveiling. Similarly, Legion added a trove of new base building parts datamined to connect to forthcoming world variants.

Hello Games founder Sean Murray has also hinted toward more exotic world types actively in development. And with their track record of massive, unannounced drops like Sentinels – who knows what new wonders lie offshore?

For now, the procedurally-generated expanse offers more than enough mystery to unravel for even maxed-out veterans. Just when you think you‘ve seen it all – BAM – a world woven of metal appears on the horizon or an impossible floating landmass breaches the clouds.

So perhaps the better question is – where won‘t we end up next? There‘s still billions of unseen worlds left out there interlopers. An impossible infinity within our grasp. Dare we reach farther? 🚀

Bonus: My Personal Top 5 Ultra Rare Discoveries Thus Far

I couldn‘t resist closing out without a quick share of my personal top 5 rarest planet finds after ages adrift the NMS galaxy. Here‘s what made my list:

1) Cycled my ships through a black hole. Ended up stranded on a dead world glitching with crazy colors and half its terrain floating. Took me 16 real hours jogging to find enough sodium for launch fuel. But so worth it for those views!

2) Stumbled into a lifeless system with 7 empty planets. All named "Redacted". Sat unmoving for an hour wondering if I‘d broken reality before pulse jumping the hell outta there.

3) Located a peaceful lush moon covered in pillars. Spent 3 days building a sprawling glass base high atop the largest cluster. Crashed so much crafting fuel but couldn‘t pull myself away!

4) Got attacked by 5 pirate squadrons at once. Managed to evacuate before my hauler exploded only to emergency land on a planet suffering endless firestorms. Hostile security bots to boot! Survived on berries waiting for a clearance in the weather.

5) Warped into a glitch rainbow. Ship emerged inside an impossibly narrow rainbow colored beam. Punched a few buttons in panic trying to navigate out but it spat me clean out into empty space! Lucky to come out with hull intact.

So that‘s my list…for this billionth of the NMS cosmos at least! What awe inspiring tales have your journeys yielded interlopers? Drop your rarest finds below as we keep up the collaborative cartography for this endless procedural feat Hello Games hath wrought! 👩‍🚀🔭🗺️