The Guide

Start your Subnautica 2 adventure with our comprehensive guide. Learn essential survival mechanics, crafting, and how to navigate the alien oceans of Planet 4546B.

This article serves as a walkthrough for Subnautica: Below Zero, offering gameplay tips and pointers for mastering the oceans. It contains spoilers and summarizes story events. If you encounter bugs, consult the Console Commands page.

Background: You play as Robin Ayou, an employee of Xenoworx, who infiltrates Planet 4546B to investigate her sister Sam Ayou's death.

Beginning: The game starts with Robin crashing in a shuttle pod during a meteor storm. After the intro, you gain control. Use WASD to walk, Left Shift to sprint, and the mouse to look. Open your PDA (Tab) to check Databank Entries. Collect the initial supplies: 3 Filtered Water Bottles, 3 Nutrient Blocks, and 9 Flares. Enable "Highlight interactable" in Accessibility options if needed. Pay attention to body heat when outside; use Thermal Lilies or burning wreckage to warm up. Swim to the Drop Pod.

Open Ocean: You'll enter the Shallow Twisty Bridges biome. Manage your Food & Water meters by eating and drinking. Cooked or Cured Fish, or edible flora like Bullseye Shrooms (harvested with a Survival Knife), can sustain you. Filtered Water is crafted from Bladderfish. The health bar indicates damage from fauna, flora, falls, or extreme temperatures; use First Aid Kits or wait for slow regeneration. Oxygen depletes underwater (faster below 100m without a Rebreather). Temperature drops in cold environments.

The Drop Pod is a safe zone with a storage locker and a Fabricator. Craft essential items: the Survival Knife, Scanner, and Standard O₂ Tank.

Important Tools: The Scanner is the quickest tool to craft, requiring a Battery and Titanium.