8. Swim faster to evade predators
While the Dash Biomod will help, I recommend crafting the Basic Flippers and the Wakemaker mobility device when you get time, as these massively speed up travel.
9. Or bonk 'em with your tool
You can also discourage predators by whacking them with your Survival Multitool, blasting them with the Sonic Resonator (more on that below) or tossing a Distraction Flare to…well, distract them.
10. Craft the Sonic Resonator
Sonic Resonators let you mine, blast away Bloom Biofilm, discourage hungry predators, and destroy viral blooms to unlock Adaptations at Angel Combs. Lead is the trickiest material to find for crafting one.
11. Follow the lights
Blue standing lights usually indicate a trail leading to a colony habitat—a small underwater home containing tools you can scan and audio logs that'll impart some lore.
12. Expand your inventory and hotbar
[...]
16. Follow the Black Boxes
NOA often asks you to return so it can provide the location of a Black Box. These mark the main story, but each location usually contains vital tools to scan or recipes to collect as well.
17. Customise your signals
Each Black Box will have a signal, but you can actually customise these nav markers. Press Tab to open the menu, select Signals, then toggle on and off the ones you want active.
18. Place Beacons at important locations
There's no map in this game, but once you scan and unlock the Beacon, you can craft these anywhere using the Habitat Builder, which adds them as a signal you can toggle on and off.
