How to get Nightstar Sand in Palworld

I was hoping to find a vendor selling Nightstar Sand after starting a new save for the Palworld 1.0 release, but it seems the mid-game crafting ingredient is still only available through good ol’ fashioned gathering. You’ll have to pick it all up by hand to craft several items from tech tree recipes starting around level 56.

Fortunately, I was farming this stuff in early access, so I know a thing or two about digging in the dirt for the glowy bits. Here’s how to get Nightstar Sand in Palworld, along with a few recommendations on how to approach farming a haul respectful of your time.

Palworld Nightstar Sand location

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Palworld - A map of the desert with spots to find Nightstar sand outlined. — The Dessicated Dunes(Image credit: Pocketpair)

Head to the Twilight Dunes or Sakurajima

There’s an easy spot to farm Nightstar Sand in the Dessicated Dunes at night. Just take the fast travel point to the Searing Dunes Watchtower, look north, and glide off of the cliff ledge to the glowing sand nodes below.

Nightstar Sand nodes are only visible when it’s dark out, but their faint glow begins just as the sun sets in the evening. You can even get lucky and stumble upon it during daylight hours, but that relies on luck and paying close attention to the action prompt. You likely won’t need very much, and I had plenty to make the items I wanted after a few nightly trips.

Feybreak Island beaches have way more Nightstar Sand than the dunes, but it’s a tough area to navigate at lower levels. Visiting the Searing Dunes location was an easier trip when I was alone or under-levelled.
The Dessicated Dunes have more Nightstar Sand around the Tower of the PIDF, but deposits there seem pretty sparse. I wouldn’t spend a lot of time hunting for more sand further away from the fast travel point recommended.

Palworld - Nightstar Sand glowing at night in Feybreak Isle.

Feybreak Island deposits often extend further inland, so follow trails of Nightstar Sand from the light-colored beaches into the grassy areas. I’ve gotten around 100 just from one night.

Palworld - Nightstar Sand glowing at night in the desert.

The Dessicated Dunes Nightstar Sand deposits are sparse, so don’t pull your hair out scavenging for more. The dunes don’t have much foliage either, so you’ll see the glow from a mile away.