TL;DR Explore slowly, prioritize building essential tools like the scanner and repair tool, build a base early, and scan everything you find.
Essential Tools and Equipment
Starting with the basics, it's crucial to construct a scanner and repair tool as soon as possible. These tools will open up many possibilities for exploration and crafting [2:1]. Additionally, upgrading your oxygen tank should be a priority, as it allows longer dive times and more flexibility in underwater exploration
[5:1]
[5:5].
Exploration and Scanning
Subnautica is heavily centered around exploration and scanning. Scan technology fragments to unlock blueprints for crafting new items and vehicles [3:4]. Scanning alien life forms can provide useful information about the environment
[3:1]. It's recommended to explore thoroughly and scan everything you encounter to progress efficiently
[3:5].
Base Building
Building a base early on is beneficial for storage and resource management. Even a simple base with a few lockers and solar panels can make a significant difference [2:3]. As you progress, consider expanding your base with scanner rooms and other components to streamline resource gathering
[4:3]. Remember that deconstructing buildings refunds all materials, so feel free to experiment
[3:11].
Resource Management
Managing resources effectively is key to survival. Bladderfish are an excellent source of water early in the game, so avoid overfarming them [5:1]. Utilize scanner rooms to locate vital resources easily
[4:3], and remember that your escape pod produces medkits over time
[5:6].
Pacing and Story Progression
Don't rush through the game's story. Allow the narrative to unfold naturally through exploration [5:1]. While radio messages can guide you through the main story, taking your time between each message can enhance the experience
[2:4]. The game provides situational directives when encountering certain areas or objects, which are important to follow
[5:4].
Additional Resources
For visual learners, YouTube channels like Landis offer concise videos on specific topics without spoilers [4:6]. Joining active communities like the Subnautica Discord can also provide quick help and advice from experienced players
[4:1].
Hey All,
I know guides are kind of not well received here since the point of the game is exploration and not spoiling yourself and yada-yada. However, having suggested this game to several different friends during it's free-period on Epic Games, and getting their separate reactions and thoughts on the game, I decided that there are many different types of people that play this game, and one of the biggest frustrations for a lot of people that don't have the pure love of random exploration is the game's lack of clear information on what the hell to do.
Also I figure with the release on console, the Epic Games release, as well as hype for Sub Zero, plenty of new players will be trickling in here from time to time, and I aim for this to be a one-stop-shop for newer players that older members here can link to, that is new-player friendly, and a bit more descriptive than "go deeper". Progress in the game can definitely be frustrating, this guide aims to relieve some of the more frustrating areas by providing brief, mostly-spoiler-free (the story itself will never be spoiled here, but some locations as well as different tools and whatnot are named) guidelines.
So without much more exposition, I came up with an idea for a compromise. I will spoiler mark basically everything in this guide except the headers, allowing any prospective help-seeker to come in and obtain specifically the information they want to know if they are stuck. I will keep all story elements out of the game and instead just reference general locations and depths. You'll have to "unspoiler" each paragraph, as I don't think there's a way to spoiler multiple paragraphs under the same spoiler tag, apologies.
For those that want to do most of the game themselves but just need a little bit of a leg-up on where to go, this is for you.
As an aside and a precaution to new players who absolutely wish not to be spoiled on anything, I cannot moderate the comments below. Hours within posting this there are already story spoilers. View comments below at your own peril. This main post will never contain spoilers.
#GENERAL TIPS
I won't spoiler this section as it applies in a general way with no real 'story progress' involved. The general tips anyone on this sub will give you are as follows:
If you don't know where to go, it's a safe bet that "deeper" will probably solve your problems. If you have the tools and resources to dive to 500m but you haven't ventured past 300m, you should go deeper. If you're at 500m, and you're pretty sure you've done everything you need to do at 500m, figure out how to get the tools necessary to go deeper, and then go deeper.
Sometimes a bit of exploration is necessary to figure out how to go deeper, as in sometimes you need to travel further OUT from your life pod in order to go DEEPER as well.
The scans your PDA holds will often point you to where you need to go. Not all of it is lore-related fluff. Particularly if it is a "download" of sorts (several types of downloads exist in the game), it will often give you more information. Certain areas are not blatantly obvious until you look at your PDA, which will mention clues, hints, and even blatantly where to go sometimes.
There are a few tools that are absolutely, soul-crushingly vital to progressing further. One of those is the moonpool and subsequently the vehicle upgrade console (that is only craftable inside the moonpool). You get the moonpool from normal scans. You get the vehicle upgrade console from the "data boxes" you can find inside some of the larger wrecks or the lifepods. The vehicle upgrade console allows you to craft several modules for your vehicles, so if you're stumped as to how to go deeper and don't have a vehicle upgrade console, that's likely why.
Because of the above, the habitat builder is also a necessary tool. One of my friends was really, really stumped as to what to do, and when I came over to his house I asked him where his "base" was, and he had no idea what I was talking about. He had crafted like 10 deployable lockers and was using those for storage. Even if it's small, even if it's right next to your lifepod, build a small base with actual wall lockers (or the glass ones, if that's your fancy), and eventually build a moonpool. That's all you really need, but you should at least craft those.
The Aurora is explorable and has a ton of great stuff. I'll expound a bit below with spoiler tags, but just understand that at a certain point in the story (which will become evident) early on, you can explore the Aurora.
Listen to any radio broadcasts! Early- to mid-game the radio will send you to several important locales. It acts as soft-progression in the game, as it ends up sending you to places where you can find the tools necessary to progress.
The "F1" key (on PC) will open a debug menu, which includes a LOT of data that is mostly not relevant for you. However it contains two pieces of information that are useful for finding your way around, if you wish to utilize it - nav coordinates (Long, Depth, Lat), and biome name (Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest, etc.). I am not aware of the command for this on the console version of the game, nor if that command even exists, I apologize.
The Nav Coordinates are, as mentioned, (Long, Depth, Lat). A negative Longitude means West, positive is East. A negative Depth is below sea level, most of your depths will obviously be negative. A negative Latitude means South, positive is North.
#HOW TO BEST USE THIS GUIDE
I highly recommend, as I mentioned above, feeling out each 'section' of this guide on your own first. Meaning if you are at, say, the 100-300m portion of progress (you just got your seamoth), explore around and try to figure things out yourself first. THEN, after you are stumped and just don't quite know what to do, come back here and reveal the relevant portions for you.
Just walking through these tips on another open screen or something will severely cheapen the experience for you. If the game did a bit better job of blatantly telling you a few crucial things, there would be no need for this guide, but I know a few of my friends were very frustrated and ready to give up on the game because they just had no clue what to do.
Sometimes that's all you need, and that's what this guide is here for.
Also realize that my way is not the only way, nor is it necessarily the best way to progress. The beauty of this game is that there are several avenues to success. There are very few biomes that exclusively hold that "one" resource you need, you can almost always find that resource elsewhere.
#STARTING THE GAME - 0m to 100m
So you just started the game, your character just woke up with a nasty headache, and maybe you're looking at a fire in your lifepod wondering what to do. I actually recommend exploring a bit on your own first just to get a feel and to at least attempt the game in some form before immediately seeking help, but I know some of you really want a hand-hold at the beginning and then you can take the training wheels off, so to speak, and do the rest on your own. This section is for you! :)
Obviously you should first put the fire out. ;) Note that exiting through either hatch (there's a hatch above you and below you) will both give you different small "cutscenes". The bottom hatch is faster after that first cutscene, though.
Crafting Your Tools
>!First, you need to obtain your basic tools. You're looking specifically to craft a scanner, a knife, a repair tool, fins, and an oxygen tank. You will obtain all the materials you need in two biomes, the safe shallows (the one you're in), and the Kelp Forest (the green area with Kelp stalks (called "Creepvine") you should be able to see close by).!<
>!You're looking for limestone chunks, creepvine clusters (orange glowy blobs on the kelp stalks), Acid Mushrooms (you'll see these everywhere in the shallows), and one (or two) cave sulfur (venture into a cave, you'll find sulfur in the shallow caves). Once you've obtained a good helping of these materials, venture back to your lifepod and craft everything you can, making note of any other materials you may need to finish crafting if necessary. Once you have crafted the knife, you can then use it to slice the table coral (little shelve-like coral formations that jut out of the walls around you) for later blueprints that require more advanced electronics, like the computer chip.!<
>!There are a few other tools that you can technically craft right now, such as the High Capacity O^2 Tank. Feel free to do so if you want to take the time, or move on to the next section and just do it when you have the resources.!<
>!I will not be including most of the tools you will eventually need along your journey. I leave that up to you to use your noggin. The game will warn you if you've dived too deep, etc., and when it gives you a warning like that, it means you need to craft something to have better access to deeper places. Many tools are somewhat "useless" - I had no need for grav traps, etc. - but a little experimentation never hurt anyone! Just note that you only have a limited amount of space in your inventory, and most tools (outside of equippable things like masks, tanks, fins, suits, etc.) take up some of that space.!<
Scanning for new Blueprints
>!Your scanner can be used on a lot of things, but it is a necessary tool for progression because it's the only way you can learn how to craft most new blueprints, many of which are tools that help you survive deeper, longer, or to travel faster. To that end, some of the necessary scans right now are: the laser cutter, the seaglide, the seamoth, and the mobile vehicle bay. You can find all of these scans in the first three biomes you'll encounter - Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest, and Grassy Plateaus. You may have to search for that last piece of whatever for a while, but I promise you'll find it (and then you'll find 100s of them afterward, haha).!<
>!You may have to venture beyond these biomes to find some of the resources for them. The Laser Cutter, for instance, requires Diamond to craft. The story will eventually direct you to an area that has a ton of Diamond, just be a bit patient, and keep listening to radio messages. The breakable rocks (Limestone, Sandstone, Shale) are your friends at this point (and likely throughout the story), as well as quartz and the metal salvage from the Aurora (the ship you crash landed with) you see scattered everywhere. Even if you're a minimalist you're gonna need a TON of titanium.!<
#EARLY SEAMOTH EXPLORATION - 100m to 300m
There are a LOT of things to do once you first obtain your Seamoth. A very large chunk of the game is spent in this "phase", particularly collecting blueprints and data boxes, and even a few story-driven events as well. Only the basics of this is covered here, which should be enough to progress you to the next "stage." Subnautica is a game about exploration and reaching out into the dark, and I suggest you do so - don't just do the things mentioned here, visit a new biome, explore it, dive down a bit, see what's below you, etc. That's how you truly enjoy this game.
Venturing Beyond the Grassy Plateaus
>!Once you have crafted your Seamoth, getting around the ocean is a lot easier. It provides you with a replenishable source of air close by, as well as safety up to 200m deep from the get-go. Your first goal is to get the scans for a moonpool, as well as the data box containing the Vehicle Upgrade Console. Note that the NEXT SPOILER-MARKED MESSAGE BELOW contains the locations that contain that data box. DO NOT REVEAL THE NEXT SPOILER if you want to explore and find it yourself. Again the only reason I include this, and not other stuff, is because it is so vital to progression and can be very hard and sometimes frustrating to find.!<
START OF SPOILERY PARAGRAPH >!Grassy Plateaus Wreck (400-500m N-NE of lifepod, about 70m deep), Mushroom Forest Wreck (700-800m NW of lifepod, about 120m deep), Sparse Reef Wreck (~700-800m SW of lifepod, about 210m deep). Two of these wrecks have multiple data boxes, but they definitely all have the VUC you're looking for, just keep searching, you likely missed an air duct or something. Also note that the lifepod actually has a somewhat random spawn location, it doesn't spawn right at (0,0,0), it can spawn anywhere within about 2-300m of the very center of the map, you may have to search around a little bit if you feel you are close to my directions.!< END OF SPOILERY PARAGRAPH, feel free to reveal anything below! :)
>!Once you have crafted these two vital things and have docked your Seamoth in the moonpool, you can craft a depth module for it allowing you to dive to 300m, as well as storage modules so you can store more stuff on your journey! Hurrah! At this point it might be helpful to set up a more permanent base.!<
Your First Base
>!So you've crafted a Moonpool, but it might be in a weird location, or perhaps you've picked up the scanner room blueprint (if you haven't, go searching for it, it's a great addition to any permanent base!). Your next goal is then setting up a base that has access to several key biomes, as well as good access to many types of resources. I will suggest two locations, see below:!<
>!First, the Safe Shallows near your lifepod is a perfectly fine area to build a base. Many beginner players do so and I did on my first play through and it worked really well. It gives you easy access to water, table coral, copper, titanium, as well as close proximity to the Kelp Forest which is a good source for Sandstone outcrops (Lead, Gold, and Silver), and more titanium salvage, as well as Stalkers (the things with the really long mouths), which are important for a specific, hard-to-see resource that will be necessary later on.!<
>!Second, the Southern Grassy Plateaus is another fantastic area to build a base. My second play through I built one here, and it has access to later-game resources, is still pretty close to the Kelp Forest (and marginally close to the safe shallows, though it's a bit more of a drive than I'd like, but you end up not needing much from there later on), as well as other later-game biomes which I won't spoil here. Most importantly, it has direct access to a very important biome called the "Jellyshroom Caves". More on this a bit later.!<
>!The essentials to any permanent base include: A moonpool with a vehicle upgrade console, a scanner room, a power source (duh), and if you're playing on survival or hardcore, an indoor growbed, and a bunch of wall lockers (or glass lockers). If you don't have the indoor growbed yet, the story will lead you to a location that has them, as well as a plant called "Marblemelon" that will make your life a whole lot easier (whack them with your knife to get the seeds, replant them, profit). If you're wondering whether or not you've "passed" that point in the story yet, I'll ask you a question - have you received an actual 'timed' event yet? One that put a clock on your display? If so, then yes, you have. If you still don't have the growbeds and marblemelons it means you didn't explore the area it sent you to well enough. Go back there! If you haven't received that event yet, then worry not, you will eventually receive it, explore thoroughly! :)!<
>!Other than that, get as crazy as you want with your base! Build a monstrosity that covers a whole biome, or have a minimalist base that just contains all the essentials, whatever you want! I would just suggest having it in a relatively open space so your vehicles can access it easily. Having an outdoor growbed "garden" with resources from other biomes (such as creepvines from the kelp forest, plant the orange globs, not the green plant samples) is another way to help you with crafting, etc.).!<
Obtaining Magnetite
>!Very quickly into building a scanner and some of the vehicle modules, etc. you'll notice you lack a resource called "Magnetite." This little guy can be somewhat difficult to find, unless you know where to look! There is a reason I suggested the southern Grassy Plateau area as a base suggestion above, and it's because it is close to a "hidden" biome called the Jellyshroom Caves (the story actually will eventually send you there if you are diligently exploring other areas you are sent). This is a completely self-contained biome that is actually pretty large, but it is underneath the grassy plateaus, kelp forest, and even the safe shallows! The easiest way to find it is to go to the border between the grassy plateaus and the kelp forest, and drive along it until you see some purple, glowy mushrooms above a cavernous hole. Dip down into the hole and be amazed! I'll try to include a picture of the location later, I'm currently at work.!<
>!If you don't have the first depth module for the Seamoth, you'll basically have to hug the ceiling (the ceiling is at like 190m, haha), but you can still explore it, just be careful of the nasties in here. However, the most important part of this cave is the abundance of magnetite it contains! Magnetite looks very similar to Lithium (which is also in this cave), and even looks similar to Shale (contains Diamond, Gold, Lithium) from a distance (which is also located here), but it is littered all over in this cave! Take some time in here, you'll discover a few really neat things, and load up ~10 magnetite which should keep you healthily stocked for a long time. Magnetite isn't used in too much stuff, but some of the stuff it's used in makes life much more convenient, like the range upgrades for the scanner room, as well as the HUD chip so you can see resources the scanner is picking up on your screen, instead of guesstimating them on the map in the scanner room itself. Probably the most important is the MK2 depth module for your Seamoth, which allows you to reach 500m. Going deeper is always your goal.!<
Story-Related Stuff
So doing a spoiler-free, story-related section is somewhat difficult, but I'm just including it here for completeness, because some of you will be very quick in getting stuff and may 'get ahead' of the timed events that happen in the game. No 'blatant spoilers' for the story are included anywhere in this section. >!I've mentioned these story-related events here and there already in the guide, so if you haven't run into them yet, don't worry! The game will eventually lead you to these events as long as you are listening to the radio when a new message is announced on your screen. The 'timed' event (gives you 40 minutes or so on a timer on your screen) in particular is very important both story-wise and progression-wise. Be sure to immediately go to the location it gives you on your screen. You'll understand why when you get there. Also just go to locations the radio sends you to in general. Always fully explore every area the game sends you, when it sends you (assuming you have the ability to go there, at least. Sometimes things are too deep), as it's likely relevant to progress as well as story. Something to note is that if a pinged location disappears from your view after arriving, you can reactivate it in your PDA's "beacon" section, which will allow you to find that area again.!<
>!Another story-related event is the exploration of the Aurora. The next section gives more detail on it, I have this here just in case you don't want to spoil anything about the Aurora at all.!<
Care before revealing this section, reveal the one above first. >!The game will hand you a specific blueprint that will allow you to "safely" explore the Aurora after about 45 minutes of play time, you'll know it when it happens. You can explore it at any time past this event, but just know that you need quite a few tools to fully and completely explore the Aurora, as well as get through a hefty number of radio messages, as one of the messages gives you vital information for fully exploring the Aurora as well. The Aurora exploration is the only area of the game in which I "don't not recommend" spoilers and looking up the direct guide, as it is the only puzzle element of the game, and not much story-wise is spoiled by doing so, and there are a lot of rewards and areas that are easy to miss if you don't know what you're doing. With that in mind the wiki page on the Aurora is the only page on the entire wiki that I recommend you visiting on your first play-through, if you just want to "get it over with." If you enjoy a good puzzle, I strongly encourage you to figure out everything there yourself, then once you are done, check the wiki page under "Resources" and see what you missed, if you just can't find them, then look at the guide. Alternatively, if you want to be brutal on yourself, just don't look at it all! :) There is only one vital item on the Aurora that is actually only obtainable on the Aurora, the game will tell you what it is when you're exploring it. The other stuff just helps shortcut a bit of progression, or acts as neat, unique decorations.!< End of 'dangerous reveal' section. ;)
#LATER SEAMOTH EXPLORATION AND THE PRAWN - 300m to 1700m
Whoa, that's a big drop in depth! Yup! As I stated in the above section, a very large portion of the game is spent in the 0m to 300m areas, for many reasons. Firstly getting your feet wet and understanding how the game plays and works, secondly a lot of story-related events as well as no real familiarity with the landscape, and thirdly because you have a lot of things to scan and craft in the early game, and this slows down (as far as progress goes, at least) later on.
As a 'stat check', of sorts, before starting this section you should have the Seamoth Depth Module MK2, have the blueprints for the PRAWN, and you should have started on the blueprints for the Cyclops, more than likely. This will be the last section, and things move faster from here, you ready?
Getting further and further and deeper and deeper
>!Part of the allure of the game is the fear of the unknown. Running into a new biome with new creatures, new, creepy-looking plants, and maybe a darker atmosphere is by game design. That fear of the deep – thalassophobia – is an integral wall to progress. Getting over it, putting your big boy/girl pants on, and deciding to ‘take the plunge’, both literally and figuratively, is how you beat the game and sometimes even your own fears. In these next few sections we’re going to be doing exactly that, and in doing so, discover some new, perhaps scary biomes, explore them a bit, get used to their feel, and perhaps meet a few nasties along the way!!<
>!I want you to travel due west from your lifepod until you get to the grassy plateaus. Explore the western edge of this biome - careful not to wander into the dunes - until you see a large, dark, mega-creepy trench. Take the plunge. Go to the max depth your trusty seamoth can handle. Explore this little area fully and completely. It has literally everything you need for now. Scan things, pick up new resources - you have new mushrooms here, new little purple balls, a few new ores, etc. Are there a few new nasties lurking here? Absolutely. Have fun. :)!<
The Pressure Reactive Armored Waterproof Nano Suit
>!After the above section, you should have all the resources you need to build the P.R.A.W.N. The only thing you might be missing is enameled glass. For that you need Stalker teeth, which, you guessed it, you get from Stalkers in the Kelp Forests. Stalkers will grab titanium - their favorite toy - and they have a ~15% chance to drop a tooth every time they do! The teeth are insanely hard to see, so you may need to search for them with your handy-dandy Scanner Room.!<
>!The PRAWN is an interesting vehicle because of the different arms you can attach to it, all of which you need to find and scan first. I have only ever used the Grappling Arm and the Drilling Arm, but don't underestimate the value of no attached arm - the PRAWN's punch packs quite the wallop! You can find all sorts of upgrades for the PRAWN but for now all you need, if you wish to use the PRAWN instead of the Seamoth, is the grappling and drill arms. Resources you drill are automatically added to the PRAWN's inventory (which you can expand with the same modules you use on your Seamoth), and using the grappling arms is a bit awkward at first but actually makes the PRAWN the fastest way to get around in most areas. That Trench I sent you to previously? The PRAWN can handle its FULL depth. Make sure you have grappling arms first, then again - TAKE THE PLUNGE! Have fun with it. Getting mass resources should be much easier once you have the PRAWN. Just set up a scanner room and go out drilling from those large resource deposits you couldn't do anything with earlier.!<
>!Later on you will reach depths that the Seamoth cannot handle. I found the Seamoth to be the easiest to control for obvious reasons, but you'll eventually have to abandon it for either the PRAWN, the Cyclops, or both.!<
A New Biome!?
Don't worry this whole section is spoiler free, unless you consider the 'reveal' that you will find an ambiguous new biome a spoiler, I suppose. >!If you went to the trench I previously mentioned, you likely stumbled upon an interesting new biome. You'll definitely know it when you see it (drastic color change is the obvious sign ;)). Follow my advice in previous sections, constantly seeking new resources to add, and new story-related areas to visit (again, you'll know them when you see them). This area is rich with story-related content, be sure to explore it fully and scan it thoroughly. Are there nasties in this biome? Of course! >:D!<
>!This new biome will be the access-point to both of the deeper biomes as well. You will know the 'entrances' to these other biomes when you see them, they're obvious.!<
Nickel
>!Like Magnetite, Nickel can be very hard to find, and it is required for multiple upgrades as well as several other late-game blueprints. It looks almost exactly like outcrops, bubbles, fish, the walls and floors, basically everything. So be sure to search thoroughly, but this newly discovered biome has this resource, I promise you. It might be worth setting up a scanning room near a thermal vent here (I hope you picked up Thermal Reactor scans along your journey!), just to help you find it.!<
The "Best" Tools
>!Note that this is just advice mixed with my personal opinion, but as you traverse the game it gives you several options for several different types of tools, such as O^2 tanks, power sources, and different modules on your vehicles. No need to read this if you want to feel these tools out for yourself, and/or not get spoiled on some of the 'later game' tools. Again there are no story spoilers here, just the tools.!<
>!I made it all the way to the end with only the basic tools in my actual inventory (Scanner, cutting tool, thermoblade, repair tool, etc.) and a seaglide. There are a lot of peripherals like the stasis rifle or propulsion cannon that you can fill your inventory with, but I never found them that useful. If you want to go reaper-hunting (I did this on my second play through, kind of fun), then the stasis rifle makes this much simpler. Other advanced tools just kind of bloat your inventory, so I would only suggest ONE advanced tool, the basic tools, and the seaglide.!<
>!As far as bases go, the absolute best sources of power are solar panels near the surface, and thermal reactors underneath. Thermal reactors restrict you to specific areas of heat, but those are common the further down you go. A lot of people suggest nuclear reactors as well, I've never tried them, but they do give you plenty of power for a long time, and the resource to refill them is plentiful and pretty easy to find, when you know where to look. Bio Reactors are suggested by some, but to me it's too much hassle. You have to regularly refill it, and it becomes relevant at the same time Thermal and Nuclear reactors do - why not just have an infinite or near-infinite power source?!<
>!"Equippable" items - the light-weight, high capacity O^2 tank is usually enough, though the ultra-high capacity is fine too. I do not believe the seaglide's speed is affected by fins or "weight" of your tanks, but I could be wrong. Swimming regularly definitely is, though. If you're using your seaglide often, just use whatever. Swim-charge fins are nice for the seaglide as well if you find them, it's basically infinite power for it. I never found a real use for the still suit, and you kinda need the reinforced suit anyway.!<
>!Vehicles - You'll have to abandon your Seamoth eventually, but above 900m it's definitely my favorite. I also use the seaglide everywhere, even the 5m to that resource in front of my Seamoth. Below 900m you can do, as I mentioned above, whatever you want. Cyclops is a bit unwieldy to maneuver in some areas, and it's extremely vulnerable to the bigger nasties, but it is a mobile base which is nice to have, and it's a bit easier to surface with than just the Prawn. If you know what you're doing with the PRAWN it can be pretty quick, but climbing is still somewhat of a chore, and it likes to get caught on everything. Going solo with either vehicle is viable as well. Every resource is obtainable through pick-up, you don't need to drill anything, and every location is reachable with either vehicle (or "outside of" them, you may need to park them somewhere and go to the location with the seaglide). However, if you're taking the Cyclops, you may as well take the PRAWN with it.!<
>!Mods on Seamoth/PRAWN - 3 storage mods and a depth module, done. You don't really need anything else. I carry two drill arms with me and have two grappling arms on the PRAWN suit, two drills go faster, and two grapples give you extra mobility.!<
Even Deeper?
>!Once you've collected your nickel and improved the depth of your PRAWN and/or Cyclops, it's time to venture deeper. Again, if you've thoroughly explored you'll know the location(s) you can do this in. This is where I leave you, the end game is all for you to explore and figure out. You're almost done, there are a few more things to find, and they aren't exactly very obvious. I believe in you, though. You have all the tools you need at this point, it's just about collecting a few new resources and doing a bit more exploring. Best of luck, you'll make it!<!
#CONGRATULATIONS!
If you have made it to the end of the game, then congratulations are in order for figuring out the very end game on your own. You did it! Seriously, congrats. I hope it was as enjoyable for you as it was for me, and I hope this guide fulfilled its purpose of guiding you to where you need to go, while not spoiling what you don't want spoiled! Leave a comment below if you're a veteran or a newbie, or if this has aged long enough to be archived, feel free to reach out to me through a PM. I love talking to people about the guides I've created.
Suggestions? Concerns? Angry and/or hate-filled remarks? Leave them below, and Happy Diving! :)
I didn’t know that you could get Table Coral with a knife. I’ve been leading “Cave Sulfur” to deposits and collecting them off the ground. 😂
Late to the party but thank you so much for this post. I have been stuck not knowing what to do for like a week, this post is godsend
Glad it could help! :)
commenting so i can take a look when frustratingly stuck
Great help, thank you!
Saved. Please ignore.
thank you so much! im on my first playthrough and just got the prawn suit - i would have not understood a lot of things without this guide. and it doesn't take away any of the challenge/fun for me.
Explore, and scan for parts. I didn’t do enough of either and took forever to progress early on. And when you unlock new tools, make them. You’ll be able to use them for things that you’d never even think of until you actully have them
Once you're able to start building a base, do it. Even if it's just one or two connector pieces with a hatch and a solar panel, you just need a little space for some lockers, as the space on the pod and floating lockers just won't cut it.
Also, experiment freely with base building, especially as you unlock more useful and spacious components, as deconstructing refunds the entire cost of the component.
This already sounds quite new to me. I have been collecting mostly fish to eat, salvage and stones from the ground. And a lot of eggs that I don’t know what to do with ahaha
Yep, the start is a ton of fun, take your time and get your bearings, but if you can construct a scanner and repair tool soon, I'd recommend it, it opens up everything else.
Don't worry too much about the eggs, they'll still be around once you're at a point where you can do something with them.
Aside from what everyone has already said, my main piece of advice is this… Don’t feel rushed to listen to the radio messages. Give yourself time in between each message to explore and complete the task at hand. The messages can rush you through the main story if you allow it to! I enjoyed my second play through where I didn’t always listen to the radio messages right away even if they were available.
Best of luck going deeper! It is such a fun and beautiful game. You got this!
When in doubt, go deeper.
Aside from that, the less you know about the game going into it, the better.
You don't need that many Mushrooms
Hey everyone,
I'm just beginning Subnautica but I can't seem to get into or understand the gameplay loop.
I've crashed, I built and scanner and repair gun. I'vr quickly run out of space picking up random things and built a second chest.
But now what? What should I be doing?
Thanks for the help
Tu t’est crashé, le but du jeu est de survivre tout en essayant de t’échapper de la planète..
Ta nourriture c’est les petits poissons, pas les pochons, ces especes de poisson rose trasparent en forme de sac servent à faire de l’eau via le fabricateur! Je te conseil de poser un ou deux piege à graviter (ca piege les poissons)...
Quand tu ouvres le pda, avec tab, tu a des shemas de base, tu dois construire en priorité un scanner, un outils de réparation et un couteau!
Tu cherches les boites blanches éparpillé, dedan il y a des pieces à scanner pour reconstitué les schémas, les pieces peuvent également apparaitrent sur le sol, si tu trouve une épav regarde bien autour (un assez grand rayon autour) et dedan...
Tu dois reparer ta radio, elle te donnera des "indices" assez lunaire il est vrais, en fait quand elle te donne les coordonnées, tu dois fouille les coordonnées et tout autour, parce qu’il peux y avoir des plans jusqu’a cent metres des coordonnées en question!
Sinon il y a le youtubeur Dwash qui a fais de bon tuto!
Okay, with your advice, I've since:
Current plans:
build habitat gun so I can build the huge amount of rooms I've unlocked. I would love advice on what's good to build a good base.
build a new seamoth and figure out how to upgrade it. I can't make it to the third crash because it's below 200m.
> ran around looking for silver to build a habitat builder. Still no luck.
Scour the seaweed area.
> scanned reaper leviathan while he was busy crushing my seamoth and then swam away quickly
stunning move. you'll do well.
> I would love advice on what's good to build a good base.
Literally just a power source and a scanner room with some lockers and a fabricator in it. eventually a moonpool. anything else is fancy.
Hope you're getting on well!
Silver (along with gold and lead) is found in a slightly different resource node. The node looks similar to the one where you find copper and titanium but it's smoother in texture and a deeper brown. You can find them in pretty much every biome except the safe shallows.
You get 100% materials back when you deconstruct buildings and objects you build from the building tool. So feel free to build, you are not wasting anything if you decide you don't need it
And second advice, use you seamoth as an air tank refiller. Park it at max depth and swimming deeper yourself.
Scanning objects (particularly bits of wrecked space craft) gives you blue prints to manufacture more technology that you will need. Sometime you might need to scan several bits of tech to get the full blue prints.
Build your first base in the shallows with some solar power!
I so wish I was you, going in cold.
Build a base, scan everything you find, and go deeper.
Good luck :)
Also new. Just keep looking for boxes with tech in them to scan.
Also need to start building a base under the escape pod for more storage
Okay, so when you start, you wanna swim towards a big ship and go to the back of it. There is really good stuff there, and it's relatively safe besides a few Stalkers and Sand Sharks.
Several.
You learn about the environment, you learn to build newer and cooler tools+base stuff, and parts of the story can be expanded on.
Scanning things is the game.
You scan technology so you can craft it and you scan alien life so you know what can be useful. If you dont mind some spoilers there are plenty of videos and guides to help
Picked this up on PS5 and ive been playing it a lot recently. I do not "do" scary games. And i would say even like the ghouls and deathclaws in fallout push my limits sometimes even though most people dont even consider those scary at all. But ive always loved the water and ive never had that "fear of the deep" so this game is good for me.
Whenever i have questions i usually google it and end up on a reddit post from several years ago so i figured that i would just come to the source here as it were.
Are there any youtubers that you guys would suggest that go over the basics? I feel like im at this point where im spending a lot of time schlepping all over in my sea moth for rarer and rarer substances. Is it normal for people to set up a few "home bases?".
Looking forward to spending some time here. Sorry if im tardy to the party. I also picked up below zero and have played that although much less. I want to focus on one at a time.
Yeah man. Totally normal. There's a huge element of resource management to the game. A scanning room will help immensely.
Most people have several bases. Usually with some way to eat and drink at each of you're playing survival. I usually have one main base where I keep a resource cache and my main stuff.
I would suggest reading the pda and scan EVERYTHING. Go in as blind as you can. It'll be worth it.
Thanks for the reply. I will try to start another base. Right now my home base is RIGHT Next to my original life pod which im sure is pretty common for people to do. Im guessing i can build underwater if i use these air pumps? I havent really scratched the surface on this game it feels like.
Typically one main base and then others that may be as big or as small as you like. Some people make them as small as a scanner room, a power source, and possibly a food supply. Some might be massive, with all kinds of decorations and little projects people make.
The two (spoiler free) things I do on playthroughs now that I regret not doing on the first are I wish I used the scanner room more and I wish I had made better use of beacons. There's no in-game map, so beacons are an important navigation aid.
As long as you base is powered it will produce it's own oxygen above or below water. The air pumps are not really used unless you just want to pipe air from the surface without a base. To be honest they're not really used by the community.
It is normal to set up several bases. That was one of my favorite parts of the game, personally, so I tended to get quite absorbed in making sure I was never too far from a base where I could get water, food, first aid, or use a scanner.
Scanner rooms are a really good way to streamline resource gathering. Get the upgrade that links the scanner data to your interface so you can track down vital resources easily, and later upgrade the scanner range. You can even build scanner rooms by themselves (just with power generation) if you don't want to build a base to go with it. I did that in the Dunes, which is a very dangerous region...the scanner room even lets you track leviathans!
I ran into a minor point of stagnation where it was getting harder to find resources too. The key to fixing it was the PRAWN Suit and its drill arm, which can break apart and harvest the large deposits of resources. Just visiting one or two such deposits will fill a locker with whatever you could desire. You won't have to keep searching for the increasingly rare outcrops to roll the dice on getting what you want. The best part is that many of these large deposits are in areas you have likely already cleaned out of outcrops too.
From what I recall, there is a YouTuber named Landis that has very short but detailed videos if you need help with a specific and non spoilery thing like finding a specific item. And he doesn’t launch into a 20 minute rant just to find the one relevant thing.
Chemical apes
>Are there any youtubers that you guys would suggest that go over the basics?
I used to answer a ton of questions on the subnautica Discord (which is still pretty active, too, if you need some quick help with something). I noticed I was answering a lot of the same questions, so I actually did a complete walkthrough a couple years ago, if you want to check it out, plus a handful of more specific videos. (I also started on a reboot of the walkthrough with a slightly better system, but it kinda tanked when a technical issue broke my save, and I haven't continued it, but the first 3H might be worth a glance).
>I feel like im at this point where im spending a lot of time schlepping all over in my sea moth for rarer and rarer substances. Is it normal for people to set up a few "home bases?".
As far as bases, go, your strategy can be as static or as flexible as you like. I usually have one primary home base in a central location (usually the shallows, just by that geyser at the NE end, good combination of available resources, thermal energy, etc), and then a)outfit my cyclops as a mobile base for the later phases of the game and b)sometimes build a stopover base in one of the late-game locations (>!the blue tree cove in lost river!<), for charging power cells and maybe making a couple of modules so I don't have to go back to my surface base... but that part's optional.
I just finished installing subnautica and i already know a little bit about the game. The only tools that i have are the fins, the survival knife, and the scanner. I know that there are people in this sub that already completed the game and are pros at it, so if one of you read this, can you give me some tips?
You're also gonna want to craft an air tank. You won't get far without an air tank.
I already made the O2 standard tank (the one that makes you have 75 oxygen)
That's good. Look to upgrade it when you can, because having more oxygen will give you a lot more flexibility when it comes to exploring and harvesting stuff underwater.
Story is optional, not like ridiculously hard but if you don’t wanna find out the story you won’t, it has to do with a lot of reading and hearing and listening to audio logs also cave sulphur is in the black things in caves that the crash bug that explodes comes out of, im pretty sure everyone googled where to get that when they started.
Nah, i like reading and listening, but it's hard for me to find cave Sulphur because I'm afraid of that little creeper
They don’t do much damage, try juking it just don’t let it touch you, your pod makes medkits overtime make sure to always collect it it won’t make another until you take that Medkit
When your PDA tells you what your primary directive is, do it. It's very important.
Ok, it said it was survive
It gives you situational directives when u encounter certain things or areas as well, and it’s always important to follow the directions when it does
Your primary directive is to swim closer...
You can carry two air tanks and hot-swap.
Don't rush. Let the story happen as a result of your exploration, rather than the other way around.
Prioritise upgrading your tank if possible - it's a lot less stressful once you're not restricted to such a short dive time.
Don't overfarm bladderfish - they're your best source of water early game.
Play the way that you enjoy most - this is more of an experience than a set narrative, although the story is good and has a satisfying progression.
Visit every beacon the game gives you. Read all PDA entries (make sure you're in a sub or seabase while doing so. don't want to get eaten.) And if all else fails, go deeper. If you don't have the depth mods to do that, explore out farther from your base til you find the materials.
Thanks a lot!
How far are you in the game?
I haven’t started it yet, so the very beginning.
Always read the PDA entries.
Reaper leviathans?
No! Don't listen! He's trying to stop you from getting the engine fragments! The only place you get them is the back of the aurora, it's completely safe there anyways
Yes
Use beacons liberally. Scan everything. Use the PDA.
Okay, thanks.
The less you know on the first play through the better actually.... Always Read PDA though is good advice... And don't be afraid to explore (although it's one of the few games where you will be)
I know about the creepy leviathans! The Reaper looks especially scary when it destroys the Seamoth!
Do not read walkthroughs (except this one :), do not watch streams, do not google where to find resources, how to build a rocket, what to do if.... Even the ore description may contain spoilers. The exploration process is point of this game — so explore. Swim in any direction, meet the world, scan everything, read the PDA, collect resources.
The game has a lot of resources. Literally — an infinite amount of every type, live or mineral. Therefore, you can throw anything away at any time (especially since it will remain there). You will find much more later. Risking your life for a piece of ore is definitely not worth it.
There are few dangerous places in the game — it can be easily avoided (use the logic, it is quite obvious that the mouth of an underwater volcano is in some way dangerous). There are a lot of dangerous creatures in the game, but you don't have to kill them, it's almost always easier to escape. At some point, doubts will even begin to torment you — do you have the right to kill in this world?
Never swim away without a couple bottles of water, food and a first aid kit. Considering the fact that in almost all biomes, even desert ones, contain some food and drink — you need to get acquainted with biomes, study them, and this is hard to do in a state half-dead from thirst. Remember that the return journey also takes time.
Feel free to build bases. You may think that choosing a location for the base is a most important decision... well, not quite so. You can build bases in any quantity in any form in any place, wherever it comes to mind. Later it can always be altered or reconstruct or completely disassembled (getting back all the resources spent). Some infrastructure elements require a certain space, but you would be surprised how much you can install and store in a simple tube segment.
The game has a leisurely, non-binding plot. Just do not listen to the next radio broadcast — and story will be paused. You will not be late and you will not miss anything. Explore the surroundings, sequentially, in a spiral and you will get everything you need to get. Read the PDA, there is a lot of valuable information. Returning to the first tip — this game is about exploration. This is most charming part, do not miss it!
Last, but not least. Do not install any mods. Most of them simplify the already simple gameplay, and some breach the very concept of game.
Testing the game now, 4 hours into it. Thank you for this perfect guide.
This guide is perfect
You lost me at do not install any mods. As soon as I can download the gargantuan leviathan you best believe I will be!
I played subnautica on my Android for a couple hours. I really like the setup of the game no intro, no idea of really what's going on other than you're in the middle of the ocean after a crash and you need to survive. But there's no real clear instruction or objectivebof what to do in the game. it's just kind of like you got to swim around and explore this beautiful game. it is breathtaking even on my cell phone which I was told wouldn't run it. I am confused I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. most games I play give me tasks or something. Like go to this mountain, and kill this monster to get this sword.this tells me nothing. So what do I do at the star and please no spoilers.
You'll want to check the radio in the lifepod every now and then. If the red light is flashing, there's a message for you to listen to. It will give you information about other lifepods and places to find, as well as coordinates to visit.
Other than that, exploring around and gathering stuff is just fine :) You can never have too many materials.
I've never been one that was like crafting games and survival games they're usually right down there at the bottom of games I play with stuff like war strategy games but this game from the moment I loaded it up just sucked me into it world it is so dang beautiful even on my phone which I am told to not be able to run it but it runs pretty well and I want to get through this game even though I'm not a fan of this type of game that being said grabbing stuff I don't know what it does so like if I grab this plant what is it used for if I grab that piece of Rock what is it used for because it just seems like I'm making a collection of of useless junks because I don't know what they're going to be used for within the game
The best tip I can give is explore everything, you get blueprints (stuff that you make with a fabricator) by exploring and scanning stuff. When you see a blueprint you can see what materials you need. Also use your PDA, it has a brief description of most items.
Craft all the tools you can, especially the repair tool and the scanner. Listen to radios, scan everything but especially components for upgrades and vehicles. Stock up on building materials, titanium is always needed. Go back to the Aurora when you have a repair tool and a grav gun, plus bring a bunch of extra food and water, fire extinguishers and maybe a couple med kits. Slowly explore out from the safe shallows as you progress, look for radio signals, wreck fragments, new resources.
Early game tasks come from the radio, have you repaired that yet? It will send you to life pods, be sure to explore the areas you're sent to. Some life pods are less straightforward to find, you'll get clues instead of a specific location.
Other than that, read your PDA, that's where the game story lives.
No how do you fix it
Make a repair tool. You can find the recipe to build it on your PDA. It is also a generally good idea to try and build each tool you have a recipe for. The scanner is a particularly useful tool to have and it allows you to make vehicles.
Check the radio in the lifepod, or build one in your own base, and check it regularly for messages. Quite often it will give details of another lifepod and roughly where it is. Investigate those but also keep your eyes open as you go - there are usually wrecks and other things of interest on your way that are worth investigating.
Build a crafting station in your base, or use the one in the lifepod and check out everything you have unlocked - pretty much everything has a use and can help you get further.
The area close to where you start is known as the Safe Shallows, and as the name suggests, is fairly safe. It's not very deep, has plenty of fish you can catch, cook and eat, and common early materials. As you progress you will want to explore further and deeper into other biomes to see what they have.
In terms of story you will want to investigate the Aurora - the big ship you crashed in, that is visible from your lifepod. Then after a few days you should get a radio message giving you a location to get to and a timer. That is pretty much the only timed event in the game, and I would recommend getting to the location on time to see what happens. After that everything can be done at your own pace.
what should i know heading into this game? the only other survival game ive played was the forest
The first time you leave the Lifepod, you should grab these resources:
Scrap Metal x2
Creepvine Seed Cluster x2
Bladderfish x2
Turn all scrap into Titanium and all Seed Clusters into Rubber. This should give you
Titanium x8
Rubber x4
Bladderfish x2
Combine these materials to make yourself an Air Tank, Fins, Knife, Air Bladder, Filtered Water, Air Pump, and Pipes. You are now perfectly set up to go gather more resources for a Scanner, Repair Tool, and Habitat Builder.
Once you’ve built a Habitat Builder, slap down an X-Corridor, a Solar Panel on top, Hatch on the bottom, and fill with Lockers. Minibases are a wonderful alternative to Floating Lockers.
You may find that the Air Pump and Pipes are useless to you. But you won’t know till you try them.
Don’t forget to Repair your Lifepod and Radio! The Radio is how you progress through most of the early and mid game.
Once you get a knife, it'll be easy enough to get water.
You need to find some salt deposits (look for white, flat crystals on the seabed). When you've gathered a few of those, hit a coral tube a few times with a knife. You can combine these to get bleach, which (somehow) can get you 2 portions of purified water, which is better than the stuff you get from refining bladderfish.
This game does not have auto-saving, so remember to save regularly.
The next part is unfortunately a technical tip as opposed to a mechanical one: when the game starts to lag, do not attempt to save (The port is not the most stable, but I know that this is only temporary).
If you start experiencing lag more frequently, try to get to a place where there isn't any, and save. Then close the game and restart. Be warned: I only thought of doing this last night, and I tried to save when the lag was bad. This advice has not been tested yet.
Just an FYI in case you or others didn't know, bleach can be used to kill parasites in water if boiling is not possible. After natural disasters like hurricanes you can use a very small amount of bleach (1-2 drops per liter, then wait 30 min) to kill off germs in water when water pressure in the service lines is compromised. I've always kept a small bottle of bleach on hand during hurricane season. Concentrated bleach is lethal so boiling water was always preferred.
I'm going to assume that this is why bleach makes purified water in Subnautica. I'm also guessing the fabricator removes salt from the water during crafting.
That would make sense. I figured it was in order to purify the water. I just found it strange that it didn't require any other components. I suppose it'd be easy to supply seawater to the fabricator without player intervention.
I didn't know it would take that little to purify a liter though. Seriously, 1 or 2 drops?! I know that concentrated bleach is lethal, and I knew that a lot of dilution would be needed to make it possible to drink without dire consequences, but I didn't know a couple of drops could purify a liter of water.
Considering the size of the bottle of bleach produced, I'm surprised we only get less than 2 liters out of it!
Thank you for the information though. I actually used to study science, but so much of my knowledge has gotten out.
first craft: scanner/O2 tank
second craft: the other one
third: knife
fourth: repair tool
OXYGEN
You shouldn’t know anything. The glory of Subnautica is the feeling of discovery. For the best experience avoid any information. You don’t need tips, just play intelligently. Scan everything and read everything.
subnautica beginner's guide
Key Considerations for a Beginner's Guide to Subnautica
Understanding the Environment:
Resource Gathering:
Survival Essentials:
Base Building:
Crafting and Upgrades:
Exploration Tips:
Dealing with Threats:
Recommendation:
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