Not all resources in Starfield are common and attainable effortlessly; an excellent example of that is Alkanes. You will need it to craft a few items, which are used onward for more items. This makes the availability of Alkanes in inventory important.
One of the items that uses Alkanes in its crafting is Monopropellant. You will need a Monopropellant in the crafting of many important items. Due to its rarity, it’s better to stock up on this resource once you find it so that you have enough for crafting items later on. To do this, you must know how and where to farm Alkanes and shops where Alkanes are available.
How to harvest Alkanes (HnCn) in Starfield?
Mining Alkanes is different from metals as it is in the form of gas. To find Alkanes, take out the scanner and look for the prompt to tell its location. On the surface, you’ll find brown rocks emitting yellow gas, which signals the presence of Alkane gas HnCn.
Go up to the gas until you get to interact with it. Press the button for Harvest, and you will get the Alkane. After pressing the Harvest button, move away quickly so the toxic gas won’t harm you. Extractors are an option, too, if you wish to use them.
But in the long run, they are not a resourceful option due to less need and availability of Alkanes on a planet. On the other hand, if other resources are nearby, putting up an extractor to have multiple resources pile up simultaneously is a good choice. Otherwise, sticking to mining and collecting it the usual way is better.
To build an extractor, follow the usual pattern of putting up an outpost beacon and then an Extractor in Starfield. The extractor would take five Iron, Four Aluminum, and two Tungsten to build. Once done, build a power supply and a storage bin. Ensure the storage is for Gas so the extracted Alkane can be stored.
Best Planets to find Alkanes
To find which planet has Alkanes in its biome, look at the left side of the screen after clicking on a planet. This will reveal all the resources on the planet. Look for a red box with the Alkane code, HnCn. If it’s there, then the planet contains HnCn, which can also be seen on the planet as a red-painted area.
Land near or on the site that shows up red and pull out the scanner. Once you spot the brown rocks emitting gas, you’ll know you’ve found the Alkanes. Here are the planets where the chances of finding Alkanes in Starfield are highest.
| System | Planet |
| Narion | Kreet, Vectera |
| Tau Ceti | Tau Ceti II, Tau Ceti III, Tau Ceti V |
| Eridani | Eridani III-a, Eridani VIII-d |
| Guniibuu | Guniibuu IV, Guniibuu VI-d |
| Indum | Indum I, Indum V-a |
| Delta Pavonis | Gamow, Ampere |
| Nikola | Nikola I, Nikola III |
| Proxima Ternion | Proxima Ternion IV |
| Enlil | Enlil II, Enlil III |
| Al-Battani | Al-Battani II, Al-Battani IV |
| Khayyam | Khayyam III, Khayyam III-b, Khayyam IV |
| Muphrid | Muphrid III, Muphrid IV |
| Porrima | Porrima I-a, Porrima IV-c |
| Ixyll | Ixyll I, Ixyll II, Ixyll VI-c |
| Feynman | Feynman III, Feynman V-a |
| Alpha Tirna | Tirna VIII-c, Tirna VIII-d |
| Sparta | Sparta I, Sparta IV, Sparta V |
| Kang | Kang III, Kang V, Kang VIII-c |
| Zosma | Zosma II, Zosma IV-c, Zosma V-a |
| Nemeria | Nemeria II-b, Nemeria V-c, Nemeria VI-b |
| Leonis | Leonis IV, Leonis V, Leonis VIII-c |
| Fermi | Fermi II, Fermi III, Fermi VI |
| Pyraas | Pyraas IV, Pyraas VI-a, Pyraas VII |
List of shops that sell Alkanes
Lastly, let’s look at the shops or vendors that sell Alkanes. As Alkane is a rare resource, most vendors likely won’t have it in stock. However, there are two vendors, UC Distribution Center on the planet Jemison and Sieghart’s Outfitters on Volii Alpha, with the most chances of having them ready to buy.
If you don’t find Alkanes there, wait a few hours in the game to pass so that the inventory is rotated and randomized. Additionally, you can check out these other shops to find Alkanes.
| Shop | Location |
| Shepherd’s General Store | Akila City |
| Jemison Mercantile | New Atlantis |
| UC Exchange | Cydonia |
| Shepherd’s General Store | Cydonia |
| Sieghart’s Outfitters | Neon |
| General Goods | The Key |
| UC Distribution Center | New Atlantis |
| Denis Averin | Cydonia |
| New Homestead Store | New Homestead |
| Jane’s Goods | Gagarin Landing |
| General Store | Paradiso |
If you want to get Alkanes from a different method, you can use the console command with Alkanes ID to get as many Alkanes as you want. Here is the code for Alkanes in Starfield.
player.additem 0000557D N
N is the number of units you need of Alkanes. Just add the number in place of N and get Alkanes for crafting and other uses.
