Subnautica 2 Beginner Guide: First 2 Hours Survival Checklist

Priority 1: Secure Oxygen

Your O2 tank lasts ~45 seconds at the start. Craft Fins (2× Titanium) and an O2 Tank (4× Titanium) immediately. This buys you ~90 seconds underwater.

Priority 2: Find Food and Water

Eat Gel Sacks (purple glowing organisms in kelp forest) and drink from your fabricator's water filtration output. Don't ignore hunger — it starts affecting you within 20 minutes.

Priority 3: Build a Scanner

Craft: Copper Ore + Titanium + Lithium. Scan everything. PDA entries unlock blueprint upgrades and reveal creature behaviors.

Priority 4: Locate the Tadpole Fragments

The Tadpole submarine is your first major milestone. See our Tadpole Fragments guide for exact coordinates.

Priority 5: Establish a Base

Find a flat area between -100m and -200m depth. Build a Habitat Builder (Gold + Computer Chip + Titanium ×3) and place a basic module. This gives you a respawn point.

Things to Avoid Early

- Don't approach the large circular ruins without better gear (danger zone) - Don't dive below -300m without the Tadpole - Don't ignore the "Bloom Biofilm" — it blocks key areas but can be cleared later