Dive back into uncharted waters with Subnautica 2, learn how to survive with the wildlife in the area, figure out what happened to the other colonists that came before you, and unravel the mystery of this foreign planet by exploring the depths in this familiar but revamped game.
To help get you started on surviving, here are the most important things to focus on in the first few days in Subnautica 2:
First Equipment and Tools
After escaping the Cicada’s wreckage and breaking through to the surface, the Fabricator is now unlocked on the left side of the escape pod. This machine is essential for turning materials into useful equipment, tools, and items that can be used to craft more advanced machinery in the future.
For now, the most fundamental tools are the Survival Multitool, which will help you break down plants, coral, and other debris in the ocean more efficiently, and the Scanner, which helps you log and identify key materials in the ocean. Scanning items early will be vital for locating them later when the Scanner Station becomes craftable.
How to Craft the Survival Multitool
The Survival Multitool is crafted from 3 Titanium. As a metal and mineral-rich ocean, Titanium can be found just about anywhere on the sandy dunes beneath the Lifepod. This material has a very geometric shape and a gunmetal gray surface, making it very distinct against the sand. Titanium can sometimes be found in large clusters, which will yield about two to three pieces of Titanium when broken. Interact with the Titanium cluster multiple times to break it down.
Once collected, bring the materials back to the Fabricator to craft it in the menu. With the right materials in your inventory, the grayed-out options should now be more opaque and allow you to craft. The Survival Multitool is handy when shredding fibers, breaking down large plants and coral, as well as breaking small clusters of debris.
How to Craft the Scanner
The Scanner is crafted from 2 Titanium, 2 Quartz, and 1 Basic Battery. Quartz is a jagged and translucent-looking ore that can best be found inside, outside, and near large Coral structures. Coral structures are very prominent in the beginner area, best identified by their large, red, and spherical shapes. Quartz can sometimes be found growing in clusters both on the outside of Coral and the inside, making it a fairly abundant resource.
The Basic Battery is crafted from 2 Copper and 1 Acidic Raion Pouch. Copper is one of the other beginner metals that can be found in the nearby area. However, Copper is best found in caves and growing underneath large rocky arches. There is one small cave directly underneath the Lifepod that will have a few Copper Ores already along the wall’s edges.
When diving into small caves with limited oxygen, be on the lookout for large blue plants. These are Oxygen Tunics and will intermittently spit out large Oxygen-filled Bubbles, granting you a longer time underwater. Subnautica 2 doesn’t play around with oxygen deficiency, making it incredibly easy to drown.
Acidic Raion Pouches come from a pink plant that can be found in the same small cave underneath the Lifepod. Use the Survival Multitool to peel off the three outer casings. The inner green Gel Sac in the middle can also be collected for later use, but only attempt to collect it once all the casings have been removed. Doing so prior will result in the Gel Sac’s explosion, poisoning the surrounding area with a toxic gas.
Although the Standard Air Tank is an attractive piece of equipment, finding Silver this early is going to be an arduous task. But the Basic Fins, which will allow you to swim faster in the water, can be easily crafted after gathering the needed materials with the Survival Multitool.
How to Craft the Basic Fins
The Basic Fins can be crafted from 2 Rubber and 2 Fibers. Rubber is crafted from Lucifer Rotsacs, a bulbous orange plant that sits nestled in a nest of Shootroots. The Cradle Shootroot can be found along the ocean floor, ~100 meters north of the Lifepod. Thanks to the Lucifer Rotsac, they emit a glow that makes them easy to spot in daylight and especially at night.
Fibers are crafted from Fibrous Pulp, a material that breaks off whenever you shred a plant with the Survival Multitool. Fibrous Pulp can be collected from Shootroots, Whip Gorgon, and other similar plants you may find in the future. Whip Gorgons are the anemone-like plants that can be found in the grassier areas around the Lifepod.
Once the Basic Fins are crafted, they will be automatically equipped in a designated slot on your character’s profile. They provide a small speed boost that will assist in gathering materials faster.
First Essential Upgrades and Skills
Subnautica 2 brings in a new mechanic, where humans need to adapt to new environments by using the Angel Comb and Alien DNA to adjust their survivability. In the prologue, you adjusted to pressurized air, but there are more that can be found in the area that will provide for sustainability and environmental changes in the future.
How to Curb Thirst and Hunger
With Oxygen being less of a concern, you’ll need to monitor your Thirst and Hunger levels carefully to live long enough to research the area.
Thirst can be remedied by crafting Water Bottles at the Fabricator. All that’s required is 1 Water Slug for 1 Water Bottle that’ll restore +40 Thirst. Water Slugs can be found along the ocean floor, usually in grassier terrain or hiding inside small caves. Thanks to their slight blue glow, they stand out against the sandy dunes, making them easy to pick up. Water Slugs, however, cannot restore Thirst in case of an emergency, so be sure to always have Water Bottles on hand during longer journeys.
Hunger is a more difficult task to manage due to being on a new planet. At base, your body is not able to tolerate anything, even if you catch some of the local wildlife and cook it at the Fabricator. Eating it will not restore the Hunger Meter and only harm you due to being unable to stomach it.
For the early game, search inside the Locker of the Lifepod. There is a small container to the right of the Fabricator that has some basic necessities inside. Nutrient Blocks are the only form of food you can eat right now, so chow down on a few of these when out on your journey so you don’t starve.
Unlocking the Hunger Angel Comb
You can fix Hunger by locating the necessary Angel Comb to obtain DNA from either by exploring the area or waiting for NOA to inform you about Anita’s Blackbox. If long enough time has passed, NOA will inform you about nearby Colonists that have gone missing in the area, helping you through clues about where to research next.
Anita’s Blackbox and the next Angel Comb can be found north of the Lifepod, about 150 meters out. The Angel Comb becomes very distinct with its glowing wing-like appendages. Interact with the pink sacs near the top and obtain the adaptation to now feast on the wildlife. Only after unlocking this upgrade will you be able to properly eat any of the cooked fish in the area and craft more advanced meals by scanning and picking up Halfmoons, Bluemoons, Harvestmoons, and Geordies.
How to Unlock and Access Beginner Skills
With tools and hunger now figured out, the next big step is going to be accessing different Skills that will provide small quality-of-life fixes, such as short bursts of speed, extended oxygen when floating, etc.
To the east of the Lifepod is a broken-down civilian structure known as the Welcome Center. Not only will this be a great place to get some initial scans for interior decorating for future bases, but this center also comes equipped with a Biolab. The Biolab is a device that allows you to unlock and change out different Skills to make underwater life a little bit easier.
Similar to the Angel Comb and Anita’s Blackbox, this area can either be discovered by exploration or thanks to NOA sending you out for a mission. Before setting out on the journey, bring along some Water, Food, and a Basic Battery.
The Welcome Center is abandoned and therefore has no power. To access the Biolab and its secrets, place the Basic Battery in the Battery Power Outlet in the next room. There will be a wire connecting the Biolab to the Battery Power Outlet, affixed to the wall next to the NOA unit in the center of the room. Insert the Basic Battery here to power on the NOA unit and the Biolab.
Accessing the Biolab reveals that there are two different types of Modifications in Subnautica 2: Active Biomods require you to use [Left Shift] to activate the Skill, and Passive Biomods are Skills that will automatically activate whenever the conditions are met.
Active Biomods
Passive Biomods
