Survival Guide

Everything you need to survive your first hour on Proteus. Four dives, zero spoilers.

In This Guide

① First Dive — Secure basics ② Second Dive — Get the Scanner ③ Third Dive — Solve food & Oxygen ④ Fourth Dive — Build your base

1 First Dive — Secure Your Basics

Your pod has landed in shallow water. Oxygen is fine for now, but thirst and hunger are real threats. Don't go deep — yet.

Objectives

Collect 3× Water Slugs from nearby rocks
Collect 3× Titanium from the debris field around your pod
Craft Water at your pod's Fabricator

Water Slugs are the only freshwater source in the early game. Find them clinging to rocks within 30m of your pod — they look like small orange cones. Grab 3, then use the Fabricator at your pod to process them into Water.

Titanium is everywhere. Pick up any rock debris. You'll need 3 titanium to unlock the Survival Multitool blueprint, so keep collecting.

Thirst kills faster than hunger. Always secure water first before going on long dives.

2 Second Dive — Build Your Scanner

This is the most important tool in Subnautica 2. Without the Scanner, you can't unlock blueprints. Everything else depends on this.

Objectives

Swim directly below your pod into the cave opening
Collect: 2× Titanium, 2× Copper, 2× Quartz (from the pink/orange coral formations)
Collect Acidic Raion Pods from purple/green plants (for Battery)
Scan the Scanner Fragment at the nearby coral arch (Angel Comb)

Swim straight down from your pod. You'll see a cave entrance — this is your first real landmark. Inside you'll find Quartz (pink coral), Copper deposits, and Acidic Raion Pods growing on green plants.

Once you have 2× Titanium + 2× Quartz + 1× Acidic Raion Pod, you can craft the Scanner at your pod's Fabricator. This unlocks 80% of the advanced blueprints.

Item	Recipe	Purpose
Scanner	2 Titanium + 2 Quartz + 1 Acidic Raion Pod	Unlock blueprints
Basic Battery	2 Copper + 2 Acidic Raion Pod	Power your tools

The coral arch visible from your pod's surface is the Angel Comb. Swim there to find quartz AND the Scanner fragment to scan.

3 Third Dive — Unlock Digest & Solve Food

Your hunger will spike. Alien fish don't digest without the right ability. This dive gets you to Angel Comb and unlocks the Digest Biomod.

Objectives

Swim to Angel Comb (~160m NE of pod) — look for the large pink plant formation
Interact with it to unlock Digest ability
Collect 2× Lucifer Rotsacs (orange spheres) for Rubber
Collect Silver Ore (290-350m north, in a shallow cave)
Craft Flippers and Standard O2 Tank

Angel Comb is the large pink plant structure northeast of your pod. Swim there, interact with it, and you'll unlock the Digest ability — this lets you eat alien fish for real nutrition. Without it, fish give only water and no food value.

Lucifer Rotsacs (orange spheres) are found near Angel Comb. Collect 2 to craft Rubber, which unlocks Flippers and the Standard O2 Tank.

Navigate north to find a shallow cave with Silver Ore deposits. You'll need Silver to complete your early gear upgrades.

4 Fourth Dive — Build Your First Base

Time to go stationary. Find 2× Flashlights and 2× Habitat Builder scans, then start building.

Objectives

Find 2× Flashlight Blueprints (Welcome Center and Angel Comb area)
Find 2× Habitat Builder Blueprints (Welcome Center + Angel Comb)
Craft Habitat Builder and set up your first base

Welcome Center is ~85m southeast of your pod. It has power modules and scan targets. The Habitat Builder is your key to permanent base construction.

Build your first base near Angel Comb — it's safe, resource-rich, and centrally located for early exploration.

Equipment	Recipe	Benefit
Flippers	2 Rubber + 1 Titanium	+50% swim speed
Standard O2 Tank	2 Rubber + 1 Titanium	+30s oxygen capacity
Habitat Builder	2 Titanium + 1 Copper + 1 Gold	Place base modules