Video games that do not hold the player’s hand can be quite challenging for their players, especially beginners.
This sensation magnifies when your survival depends on exploring the depths of the alien ocean.
Subnautica takes place on a foreign planet almost completely covered with water. And since around 95% of our planet’s oceans remain unexplored, this lack of knowledge about what might inhabit them lets the imagination run wild. H.P. Lovecraft’s works speak for themselves!
This video game delivers a unique mixture of uncertainty and determination to find the way home, allowing the player to figure out how to achieve this complicated goal. But the underwater world is dangerous, and you may want to use this step-by-step strategy guide to learn how to start your survival adventure on planet 4546B.
1. Don’t travel too deep at first.
Although reaching the very bottom of the ocean may seem tempting at the beginning, leave such escapades for later. Initially, you won’t even have an oxygen tank large enough to survive a dive of 100 meters and return to your base. Also, a food and water shortage can exhaust you faster than a lack of oxygen.
So instead of going as deep as possible, try exploring closer biomes like Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest, and The Grassy Plateaus – these should be sufficient for your first ventures as they all offer essential resources and few hazards.
2. Consider where to place your base.
The base will be your haven, so don’t place it in a location that may prove dangerous. If you really need to work out where to construct it, select a spot near the pod and consider building smaller bases in other areas.
This strategy guarantees constant access to fundamental resources and food while minimizing encounters with powerful leviathans. However, if you’re feeling adventurous or want to have your base somewhere exciting, build it literally anywhere you like to see if you can survive a more challenging environment.
3. Essential tips on exploring Aurora.
When starting the game, definitely abandon the idea of exploring Aurora. The location is quite close to your lifepod – but is highly radioactive and dangerous due to Leviathans exploring the nearby areas.
You can only visit it once you have the Radiation Suit and when the ship is in the post-explosion state, creating a breach for safe entry. The first steps here may be less complicated if you also equip yourself with a propulsion cannon, a repair tool, a laser cutter, a fire extinguisher, a knife, and a seaglide.
You can find blueprints to craft these tools in other wreckages scattered across the map. Once you are ready, try to stay in the water next to the ship as short as possible to avoid Reaper Leviathans’ deadly attacks.
4. Befriend Stalkers
Stalkers can be pretty irritating if you don’t know how to handle them. However, if you give them fish or metal salvage, they will ignore you and bring gifts of various metal resources.
This magic only lasts one day, so you may need to repeat the process – but it’s definitely worth it, particularly if you want to explore the Kelp Forest in peace.
5. Craft and upgrade essential gear.
Like in many survival video games, your most important must-have is a knife – you can construct one using the Fabricator (find the first one in Lifepod 5). Another incredibly crucial detail to remember is oxygen tank upgrades.
Understandably, you would like to explore the depths of the underwater world right away – but the time invested in upgrades will pay off in better travel opportunities!
What else? You may not know it, but beacons are a real blessing in a game that doesn’t offer a world map. Whenever you plan to travel to an unknown location, craft at least two to leave one in the area you would like to return to.
Also, don’t forget the medical kit! Lifepod 5 has a fully functioning Medical Kit Fabricator that produces one First Aid Kit every 10 minutes. You can, of course, craft more similar machines once you obtain the necessary resources.
6. Repair the radio.
The radio may seem like a completely unnecessary item, but it is vital to the storyline progression. You can find it in Lifepod 5 – broken but fixable with a repair tool.
From now on, you will be able to listen to significant messages from other teams to learn their side of the story or even rescue them.
7. Recycle batteries.
What to do with a dead battery? Well, the best solution would be to charge it – but unfortunately, the battery charger is only available at the later gameplay stages. However, there is a rather non-obvious alternative – you can use dead batteries to craft new items that require a source of electric power. The Fabricator makes the new device fully charged, even if it initially came with a dead battery.
What if you can’t find new batteries? Crafting new ones is quite complicated, but you can find them elsewhere. Craft a repair tool that requires much fewer resources and get a charged battery out of it. Enjoy unlimited power!
8. Have a meal.
Hunger and dehydration meters make the entire underwater adventure pretty stressful, so ensure you have enough supplies for upcoming trips and crafting projects. The best in-game meal is Nutrient Block, but it can only be found near wreck spots. Search for it next to Lifepod 5, Aurora, and other similar places to prepare a solid supply.
Fish represent a very reliable source of water and food. Water, however, is way more important, as a lack of it can endanger your character’s well-being faster than hunger. As soon as you exit the pod, catch as many Bladderfish as possible to process them into Filtered Water in the Fabricator. Water doesn’t spoil, so prepare a good supply and repeat the process if necessary.
Regarding food, fish like Reginald, Peeper, Hoverfish, Spadefish, Hoopfish, Holefish, Boomerang, and Magmarang are great, but remember they only remain unspoiled as long as you keep them raw in your inventory. Once cooked, they start to rot.
9. Avoid Map’s Edge.
Exploring the limits of the game world is as old as video games. If you’re wondering what’s on the edges of the game’s map, you’ll probably want to travel there at some point.
But before you do, better learn what awaits you at the mythical Edge. Firstly, the music stops, and everything gets darker and darker. Then, you receive the message ‘Warning. Entering ecological dead zone. The prospect for survival is fast approaching zero’, and if you continue, you fall off the edge right into an endless void.
After about eight kilometers down, the game teleports you somewhere near the Lifepod. Isn’t that fascinating? But seriously, avoid Map’s Edge – nothing to discover there apart from the spooky experience.
10. Learn where to look for resources.
The only way to discover the exact locations of all resources is to explore available biomes or check this information online. We highly recommend the first method because, ultimately, the main point of the entire game is to explore and search for solutions.
However, if you have a problem with finding the most essential resources, use our little tips. Copper Ore is available in Mushroom Forests, while Titanium can be found in Kelp Forest or Safe Shallows. Regarding Cave Sulfur, it occurs in the caves of the Shallow biome.
The best sources of Quarts are in Dunes, Crag Field, and Grand Reef. And if you’re looking for Metal Salvage, it can be found literally everywhere, which requires a bit of effort.
Conclusion
Overall, Subnautica is less complicated when you adopt a positive attitude. It offers four different game modes, providing various difficulty levels – so you can practice your survival skills in separate scenarios to slowly learn the game’s mechanics. Reason represents the answer to all questions, as the game wants you to figure out logical solutions to circumstances that may seem unsettling or stressful. That makes it incredibly replayable because no one can really get bored in the face of so many challenges. Hopefully, our tips and suggestions will make the experience even more fun – let us know if you learned anything from this guide. Remember to keep your cool and enjoy exploring this beautiful underwater world!