Floater

Floaters are the juvenile form of the Ancient Floaters. Floaters are a passive, interactive fauna species found in the Safe Shallows and Grassy Plateaus. They can be caught and can be attached to items and props, but not all of them will provide buoyancy after attachment. Floaters can be held in the players hands, and can be attached to items.

Floaters can be used to move rocks that occasionally block cave entrances.

In Creative Mode, the player will spawn with five Floaters in their inventory.

They will at times attempt to attach themselves to the player. This will result in player damage and the Floater's death.

Appearance

Floaters distinguish themselves by their transparent, gelatinous, blue-colored surface and a pink core, or body. The floater will expand and contract when attached to an object. The life forms have strange bumps on their blue masses with five small, white circles in the center. They have multiple small tentacle-like arms near a mouth with which they attach themselves to objects. The mouth has small teeth inside that are used to attach to items.

Behavior

Floaters are usually found attached to rocks, rendering them buoyant.

If released in open water, they will quickly float to the surface.

If released close to another creature, the Floater will home in on the creature and attach itself to it, making the creature partly or completely immobile and dragging it towards the surface. In some cases, this will kill the creature. For other instances, with large creatures, like Reefbacks, the Floaters will greatly hinder the latter's movements.

Hazards to Vehicles

Despite their small size, the Floater's ability to stick to any surface and its high buoyancy makes it a trouble for both the Seamoth and the Cyclops.

Touching a Floater with the Seamoth will make it attach to it.

A single Floater attached to a Cyclops can tilt it to the point of complete loss of control of the vehicle.

Energy Value

× 50

Data Bank Entry

Two species living in symbiosis, which attach to and attempt to feed on any objects they come into contact with.

1. Dominant Lifeform: The pink main body and inner suction jaw is the dominant creature. Once attached to an organism or other stable surface it will attempt to leech nutrients in order to grow.
2. Microorganism Membrane: The outer, gel-like substance is a mesh of microorganisms capable of forming a sealed vacuum around the creature's jaws.
3. Helium Buffer: A thin layer of helium is stored within the outer membrane, providing buoyancy to the floater and anything it is attached to.

Assessment: May aid in flotation of sunken objects

Gallery

Underside, showing mouth

Bioluminescence

A Floater held in the players hands

Two Floaters attached to a boulder

Floaters attached to a cluster of rocks in Grassy Plateaus

A Floater lifting a Seamoth

Some Floaters holding up a large rock

Concept art

Trivia

Despite being one of the most peaceful lifeforms in the game, the Floater is also one of the most destructive, as it can cause the player to lose their Seamoth and Cyclops.

Floaters are currently the only lifeform in the game the player holds with two hands.

Floaters may be based off real-life deep sea creatures called Pyrosomes, which share a similar appearance to Floaters and are also made up of a colony of creatures. They also can grow to large sizes, just like Ancient Floaters.