Early Access 1.1 - Adaptive Measures


Early Access 1.1 - Adaptive Measures was the first content update for the Early Access phase of Subnautica 2. Released on July 8th, 2026, this update primarily focused on overhauling the Biomod system to provide smoother progression and added significant gameplay adjustments regarding fauna behavior and base building.

Update Details

Changelist

Gameplay

• Biomod Progression: Smoothed out Biomod progression in the early game to give players more opportunities to discover and use the system.
• New Biolabs: Added two new Biolabs, one located in the Coral Gardens and one in the Axum Ruins.
• Unlockable Biomods: Players can now unlock a total of six Biomods from Biolabs found throughout the world (increased from four).
• Passive Slots: Additional passive Biomod slots can now be unlocked by scanning creatures with the Bioscanner. The UI now displays the number of scans required for each slot unlock and the total number of Bioscans performed.
• Creative Mode: Unlocks all Biomods by default.
• Wreck Exploration: Improved the experience with additional traversal and oxygen puzzles. Visual language on doors and buttons has been standardized, and rewards have been moved to better reflect puzzle changes.
• Sprinting: Players can now sprint when out of the water, either on the surface or inside their base. A default sprint mapping has been added, and default walk speed has been reduced to balance with the new sprint speed.

Fauna & Flora

• Creature Behavior:
  • Most creatures now exhibit proper fleeing behavior when attacked with the Survival Multitool, preventing retaliation except defensively for a short period.
  • Most creatures enter a brief dizzy state after being hit by the Sonic Resonator, also preventing immediate retaliation.
• Visuals: Improved particle fish grouping when swimming in schools.
• Scan Data: Added missing scan data icons for the Periscopic Clowncrab and Necrolei.
• Naming System: Revised the Creature Naming and Discovery System to align with previous games in the series.
• Bloom Parasite: Improved behavior implementation and established it as the primary encounter creature. Balanced the Bloom encounter in Coral Gardens and Ruins areas to better align with game progression.

Resources

• Adjusted several resources to ensure correct Resonatable and Breakable data.
• Applied additional Silver updates in Coral Gardens, including a hint dialogue line when near Silver deposits.

Base Building

• Deconstruction: Increased the max deconstruct size of bases.
• Placement UX: Addressed user experience issues with the Vehicle Dock and Fabricator to improve placement ease and clarity when the build area is obstructed. Placement has been adjusted to fit into smaller rooms and align with hatches.
• Vehicle Dock: Reduced the size of the platform and rails to require less space during placement.
• Visibility: Improved the readability of placement ghosts when positioned behind objects or intersecting the water surface. VFX indicating blocking objects are now visible through walls.
• Moonpool: Added feedback messages clarifying when the Moonpool needs to be enlarged for vehicle fabrication or docking.
• Storage: Added a new storage base buildable that does not contribute to nearby crafting systems, allowing stored items to be excluded from recipe completion checks.

Menus & UI

• Added a FOV slider to Settings.
• Added Discord and support site buttons to the Main Menu.
• Reorganized databank entries, with further UI visual and layout changes planned for future updates.

Art & Visual FX

• Created a new art asset for the storage cache; previous in-game unlocks were updated to use this new asset.
• Added the World Tree Relic decoration (seen in the trailer) as a buildable item.

Animation

• Improved third-person animation for players when on land.
• Added eye blink and eye tracking for players.

Voice & Narrative

• Audiologs: No longer auto-play to reduce confusion, especially in multiplayer. Unlocked audiologs provide a notification and are added to the PDA for replay at any time. Replayed audiologs play only for the individual player and continue even after the PDA is closed.
• Dialogue Priority: Improved the system to determine which audio plays based on context, ensuring higher priority callouts take precedence and preventing simultaneous audio lines.
• Voice-Over: Applied updates for text and voice-over mismatches. Added a temporary radio sound effect to the new voice-over line related to Silver.

Music & SFX

• Added music to the Lifepod cutscene.

Miscellaneous

• Updated the save system to handle previously unlocked Biomods.
• Improved performance and stability of the Lifepod ride.
• Xbox Multiplayer: Added a notice screen for non-Game Pass subscribers when attempting to enter multiplayer, as a subscription is required. Added an option to report other users in multiplayer.
• Privacy Policy: Revised sections covering how voice data will be processed for the upcoming Proximity Chat feature (planned for EA 1.2).

Bug Fixes

• Fixed potential crashes when exiting the Main Menu or loading saves from previous versions.
• Fixed FPS caps on Nvidia gaming laptops and performance degradation in Metal Farms.
• Fixed excessive particle generation from dashing on water and unnatural particles from Macaron Sponge/Cage Gorgon interactions.
• Fixed Tadpole destruction/spawning performance costs and character animation performance.
• Fixed flickering lights in foggy cave areas and fish getting stuck in place.
• Fixed Periscopic Clowncrab despawning unnaturally after Sonic Resonator hits.
• Fixed Sandspear attack initiation and Flash Slug databank categorization.
• Fixed Wu's blackbox signal persisting if collected before the NOA prompt.
• Fixed zone overlap checks, Large Power Plant glow, and Sonic Resonator VFX/audio loops.
• Fixed items incorrectly placed in hand, Fabricator display issues, and Dive Elevator extension failures.
• Fixed Survival Flare holstering issue with Adaptation core (now discards instead).
• Fixed physics stuck points in currents and un-pausable gameplay in single-player menus.
• Fixed Water Bottles reappearing in crates after save/load.
• Fixed Scout Ray Chassis fin collision and tool clipping in Tadpole wall mounts.
• Fixed Tadpole spawning rotation, docked position shifting, and uncontrollability after picking up dropped equipment.
• Fixed PDA reaction to Cicada dive suit and Welcome Center audio overlaps.
• Fixed audiologs becoming non-functional after traveling away and back.
• Fixed Lifepod launch issues, softlocks from F8 menu during cutscene, and jumping during cutscene trapping players.
• Fixed Lifepod cutscene stuttering, softlocks from deleted video files, and status effects triggering during cutscenes.
• Fixed NOA Terminal interactability from outside Lifepod.
• Fixed scanning difficulties for various items, including Spotlight, Advanced Battery parts, and Bloom Sap.
• Fixed incorrect "Requires Sonic Resonator" tooltips on regular resources.
• Fixed Silver nook resource logic/art and overlapping Copper nodes near Old Habitat.
• Fixed missing Troilite scan notification and Sulfur detection in Overgrown Ruins Heat Zones.
• Fixed unreachable Quartz Crystal in Shallows and Shiver Leviathan aggression in multiplayer.
• Fixed unpickable Water Slug due to Feather Kelp overlap and fish stuck positions.
• Fixed misplaced Freesia Flowers in Overgrown Ruins and Jellies/Surge Jelly databank image sharing.
• Fixed Lucifer Rotsac databank category and Macaron Sponge network issues in Growbeds.
• Fixed Pressure Tolerance bypass in multiplayer starting area scan.
• Fixed floating players in Awakening room, Growbed Freesia size display, and Tadpole prop/bubble effects while docked.
• Fixed builder menu scrolling, Power Transmitter display inaccuracies, and Growbed deconstruction issues.
• Fixed Collector causing construction instead of deconstruction on ghost pieces and missing blockage VFX.
• Fixed base piece deconstruction failures after attachment removal.
• Fixed Sea Moth model name rendering, Main Menu button selection offsets, and Blackbox signal deletion.
• Fixed signal textbox focus loss, Save Game Mode text coloring, and keyboard input recognition after controller text field selection.
• Fixed visible icons during respawn/black screen and misaligned Settings UI options.
• Fixed language change reflection, Battery Terminal unlock progress visibility, and Cloud Save download progress bar hiding.
• Fixed collapsed Blueprint categories expanding unexpectedly and missing prompt keys in Report User Content window.
• Fixed inconsistent text sizing in Habitat Builder, Underwater Blur toggling, and jittery settings scrolling on handhelds/controllers.
• Fixed handheld devices displaying mouse/keyboard inputs on launch and Profanity Filter defaulting to On.
• Fixed inability to unpin Biomod recipes, Camouflage Biomod issues on surface/Tadpole, and Biomod icon border displays.
• Fixed player animation above assets near water surface, Axum logogram capitalization, and "Pin Recipe" text overrun.
• Fixed multiplayer load prompt translation, truncated keybindings, cut-off character names, and Windows Store keybind icons.