Articles regarding Subnautica tips don’t seem to be that common. Many people may tell you that you don’t need them. After all, Subautica is generally not considered a very hard game. It most certainly isn’t Dark Souls.
That being said, there’s also no doubt that trying to reach the bottom of the sea will suddenly increase the level of difficulty and annoyance by a huge margin. Having finished the game a couple of times, I know all about that experience firsthand.
That’s why I decided to make a small guide about it. No spoilers are present (assuming that you’ve already played up to this point).
1: Craft Everything That’s Necessary Before Moving On
There are lots of people that feel the need to rush their game in order to progress through the main story. I’m guilty of this as well and it has been one of my many downfalls.
So, first of all, I’d advise you to craft everything that’s necessary before heading to the depths. If you don’t, prepare to face a lot of frustration and possibly lose a ton of progress as well.
Due to the no-spoiler policy, I can’t tell you what dangers you’ll face. But, what I can tell you is that the level of difficulty is on a whole different level.
Now, regarding the tools that need to be crafted, there’s no absolute list. It all comes down to personal preferences and playstyle.
For example, despite how useful the sonar is, some people prefer saving that energy and navigating on their own. Others would rather receive damage and fix their vehicles afterward in favor of saving energy instead of using the shield generator.
And if saving energy sounds dumb to you, then chances are that you haven’t gone below a certain depth level just yet. Because believe me when I say that the travel distance to the bottom is really long.
Some of the absolute necessary parts are definitely the depth modules and maybe the drilling arm for the prawn suit. Everything else comes down to personal preferences.
2: Don’t Forget About Food and Saving
One of the most important Subnautica tips that nobody ever gave me is to take care of food and water before heading down to the bottom levels.
It makes sense that you wouldn’t be able to find a lot of edible stuff and ways to make drinkable water one thousand meters below sea level. But, at the same time, you can find all that for the rest of the game in a 5-minute swim. So, most players don’t really think about that before heading to the bottom until it’s too late and 2 hours of process are absolutely wasted.
Obviously, there are tons of choices on how you’ll manage to do that. You can just grab a ton of fish and store them to the Cyclops, maybe plant some trees that grow fruits, anything that you feel most comfortable with, really.
After my first playthrough, I personally disabled hunger and thirst completely cause they are more tedious than anything else. If you truly care about that kind of survival, check out something like The Long Dark.
As for saving, you should keep on doing it frequently, but not when you know that you’re already screwed. For example, if your vehicle is already at 20% power and you’re not sure just how much road there is to cover, then saving at that point is probably a bad idea.
When things go bad, it’s better to just load a previous, safe checkpoint. Some people may call that cheating. But, hey, if you want to craft a new Cyclops and Prawn along with everything that was stored in them, be my guest.
3: Manage Your Energy Wisely
This is the only point in the game where you’ll truly have to worry about energy consumption. Not only because the travel distance is very long, but also because it’s very easy to get lost. And that’s without even mentioning other things to avoid spoilers.
So, when it comes to Subnautica tips for reaching the bottom, saving energy is quite possibly the best tip that I can give you. And saving comes in many forms.
First of all, let’s start with the somewhat obvious by stating that you should carry extra batteries on your storage. Also, do make sure to turn off the engine of your Cyclops while you’re not driving. I don’t think that it makes a huge difference. But, just to be safe.
Things get more complicated when modules are concerned. There are things like the Sonar and the Shield that are extremely useful in certain situations.
Problem is that they are also very hungry for energy. So, don’t use such things unless you absolutely have to; especially the shield which will deplete your power storage in no time.
Other than that, do also try avoiding the usage of the Cyclops’ fabricator while you’re traveling to the depths. It’s not much, but every little bit of power drain will make a difference in the long run.
4: Don’t Be Afraid To Use Google
I understand that this sounds a bit weird, but as far as gaming is concerned, many people shy away from Googling for information and how-to guides.
When it comes to Subnautica tips for reaching the bottom of the sea, let me tell you that you WILL need Google at some point. Maybe you just can’t find a specific location, crafting material, or anything.
Stubborn people who refuse to use Google with this game have a very high chance of getting stuck for hours. Usually, the one thing that’s holding you behind isn’t but a specific material. So, don’t be that guy.
That’s unless you’re willing to spend the next 5 hours or even days just looking for one item. So, yeah. Google is your friend.
Subnautica Tips for Reaching the Bottom: Wrapping Up
For those who can’t reach the bottom, those are all the Subnautica tips that I’ve got for now. I hopefully didn’t forget anything and, hopefully, I also didn’t spoil anything. If the names “Cyclops” and “Prawn Suit” mean nothing to you, then you’re probably reading this article way too early into your playthrough.
If there any questions or extra recommendations that you wish to make, then let me know about them in the comments section or on Reddit. Try to keep it spoiler-free for those who haven’t experienced the game yet.
In case there is a question that contains spoilers, either use Google or reach to me with a PM on Reddit.
My rig:
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600 GPU: GTX 1060 6GB RAM: Corsair Value 16 GB kit (2400 MHz) PSU: Corsair RM 650X Headset: HyperX Cloud 2 Keyboard: Corsair K70 LUX Mouse: Logitech G203
Recommended Specs:
Doesn’t really matter. The game runs like trash anyways.