Subnautica 2 beginner guide: co-op, biomods, base building
Subnautica 2 beginner guide: Early Access basics, system requirements, co-op, biomods, base building and the creatures to watch, from the official patch notes.
Checked against Early Access 1.2 Buddy System on 7 Nov 2026. We re-test every guide after major updates; if something changed, tell us.
Subnautica 2 is an Early Access underwater survival game from Unknown Worlds, and this Subnautica 2 beginner guide covers what to know before your first dive: platforms, requirements, co-op, biomods, base building and the dangers that changed most across the 1.1 and 1.2 updates. It launched on May 14, 2026, costs $29.99 on Steam and plays solo or with up to three friends.
What Subnautica 2 is and where you can play it
The Steam store page describes Subnautica 2 as an underwater survival adventure on an all-new alien world, and the next chapter in the Subnautica universe. You are one of the Pioneers, colonists whom Alterra sent to a new home. Something goes wrong aboard the colony ship CICADA, you end up stranded, and the ship's AI insists the mission must continue. Everything after that is survival: gather resources, scan the wildlife, craft tools and build somewhere safe to come back to.
The game is in Early Access on PC through Steam and Epic Games Store, and on Xbox Series X|S. The PC version is Windows only. Unknown Worlds is open about the state of the build: the store page warns that you may meet bugs, in-development features and performance issues, and says new biomes, creatures, craftables and story will keep arriving. Treat your save as a long-running project that will receive updates rather than a finished campaign.
System requirements and performance
Subnautica 2 is a heavy install at 50 GB, and it needs DirectX 12 and a 64-bit system. The developer lists the following on Steam.
| Spec | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10/11 | Windows 11 |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | Intel Core i7-13700 / AMD Ryzen 7 7700X |
| Memory | 12 GB RAM | 16 GB RAM |
| Graphics | GeForce GTX 1660 6GB / RX 5500 XT 6GB | GeForce RTX 3070 8GB / RX 6700 XT 8GB |
| Storage | 50 GB available | 50 GB available |
Hotfix 3 upgraded DLSS to version 4.5 and fixed crashes and settings that were not saving, and the October Buddy System hotfix made VSync turn off when you pick DLSS Dynamic FrameGen. If you hit a crash on launch after a patch, the developer repeats the same advice in every hotfix post: disable or uninstall mods first, because community mods are not updated for each hotfix.
Playing with mods? Remove or disable them before launching after any update. Unknown Worlds states that mods will not be updated for hotfix compatibility and may cause crashes on launch.
Playing solo or in co-op
You can play alone or with up to three friends online, and there are four pre-designed characters at launch, with more characters and customization promised during Early Access. The 1.2 "Buddy System" update on August 19 was built around co-op and added a lot that new groups will want to know about, according to the official patch notes.
- Proximity voice chat. Players get harder to hear as they move apart. You can set it to always on, push to talk, or always off.
- Revives. Teammates can revive a downed player before they reprint. The revived player keeps their equipment and regains a small amount of oxygen. A downed player can also choose to reprint straight away and respawn at their assigned Biobed.
- Trading. Players can interact with each other to exchange inventory items directly.
- Emotes. Wave, clap, thumbs up, thumbs down and frustrated, chosen from a radial menu, in the water or on land.
- Tracking Tag. A short-range beacon you can place in carryable containers like a locker. If it is in your hand or inventory when you reprint, it increases black box range, which helps you find your gear after a death.
- New looks. Jegna and Grace were added as character options with two extra color schemes.
The second Buddy System hotfix, released on October 6, fixed voice chat detection, Tadpole docking and teleport bugs, and an issue where players could see the host as dead after their own character died. If a friend reports odd voice behaviour or a vehicle that vanished, make sure everyone is on the latest build before you debug anything else.
Biomods and scanning: your early progression
Biomods are the character upgrades that let your Qualified Investigator adapt to the planet, and the 1.1 "Adaptive Measures" update on July 8 reshaped how quickly you get them. The 1.1 patch notes say the developers smoothed out biomod progression and added two Biolabs, one in the Coral Gardens and one in the Axum Ruins. Players can now unlock six biomods from Biolabs across the world, up from four.
- Find the Biolabs.Check the Coral Gardens and the Axum Ruins as well as your starting area. Six biomods are available from Biolabs in total.
- Scan creatures with the Bioscanner.Scanning wildlife unlocks extra passive biomod slots. The game now shows how many scans each slot needs and your total number of bioscans.
- Watch the unlock badges.New items are flagged in the Biolab, so you can see what you just gained.
- Use Creative mode to experiment.Creative mode unlocks all biomods by default, which is a safe place to try combinations.
Scanning matters beyond biomods. The 1.2 notes say the Repair Tool unlocks after just two scans, and acid sources now appear as green dots in the Scanner HUD. The October hotfix also fixed the Scanner Station not finding resources accurately, so if you built one earlier and it pointed you the wrong way, it is worth trying again.
Surviving the wildlife
The patch history reads like a field guide to what will hurt you. These are the changes that matter most in the early and middle game, taken from the developer's own notes.
| Creature or tool | What changed |
|---|---|
| Hammerhead | Hotfix 2 stopped them following you home by making them less attracted to Tadpole lights. Hotfix 3 made them stop attacking unpiloted Tadpoles, though they may still take an interest in them. |
| Marrowbreach | Hotfix 3 increased its overall damage but spaced out its attacks so they happen less often. |
| Nibbler | Hotfix 3 reduced its perception range and movement speed, lengthened the time it circles before attacking, and raised its damage. It is also more sensitive to the Multitool. |
| Bullethead | 1.2 made it deal more damage, but it can now sometimes be dodged. |
| Survival Multitool | 1.1 made most creatures flee when you hit them, with no retaliation for a short time except defensively. |
| Sonic Resonator | 1.1 added a dizzy state. 1.2 extended the stun to 10 seconds, and the Feedback Resonator now stuns instead of scaring creatures away. |
| Shiver Leviathan | The October hotfix stopped it from interacting with unpiloted vehicles. |
Carry a stun tool and use it to buy time, not to win fights. The notes show that a hit from the Multitool or Resonator makes most creatures back off or freeze, which gives you a window to swim away and surface for oxygen.
Building a base that works
Bases are your save points, crafting hubs and storage. Several quality-of-life changes make building less fiddly than at launch.
- Cheaper walls. Hotfix 3 cut Interior Wall costs to a quarter of the previous price.
- Easier deconstruction. 1.1 raised the maximum deconstruct size of bases, and 1.2 made size snapping work so you can fully deconstruct a room with Shrink.
- Better placement. 1.2 added alignment guide lines and a list of items that are blocking an object from being built. Obstruction indicators are visible through walls.
- Smaller footprints. The Vehicle Dock and Fabricator were changed to fit in smaller rooms, and the Moonpool gives a message when it needs to be enlarged.
- Storage that stays out of recipes. A new storage buildable does not count toward nearby crafting, so you can keep items back from recipes.
- Limits. You cannot build inside the Great Jaw, and the trashcan destroys items one by one after a five-second delay.
Water currents appearing inside player bases were a bug that blocked building and movement, fixed in hotfix 4 on July 14. If you built early and ran into strange pushing, update and try again.
Resources and getting around
Silver and Troilite are two resources the developers specifically tuned after launch. The May 22 hotfix added more Silver resource areas in the early game region and more Troilite areas in the late game region, and 1.1 added extra Silver updates in the Coral Gardens plus a Silver hint line when you are near a deposit. On land, 1.1 let players sprint out of the water, on the surface or in the base, with a lower default walk speed to balance it. More carryable racks were added to early wrecks and human-made sites in 1.2, and 1.1 improved wreck exploration with traversal and oxygen puzzles, so exploring wrecks early is a reliable way to find gear.
The Tadpole is your submersible and the best way to cover distance. Destroyed Tadpoles outside the Early Access fence now teleport back inside it so you can recover them, and hotfixes have fixed several teleport and docking problems. Fly it with care around Leviathans: the October hotfix improved the Leviathan grab attack for the Tadpole, which means you can be grabbed.
What's coming next
The next big update is scheduled for December 2026. Unknown Worlds has been running a "Voyage to Early Access 2" video series. Episode two, released on November 3, covers dynamic new and returning creatures, a Frog chassis for the Tadpole, and new biomods. Episode one, on October 22, covered the story of the Colonists and the history of the Axum. Press reports of the series also mention a new region and a fin dash that does not use a biomod slot, but those details have not been confirmed in a patch note yet, so treat them as reports until the update lands. No exact date has been announced beyond December.
The studio also publishes a roadmap post that promised improvement updates between big expansions, and asks players to vote on ideas on its Nolt board and report bugs through the in-game feedback tool.
First-hours checklist
- Update first.Make sure you are on the latest build, and remove mods if you use them.
- Set voice and invite friends.If you play co-op, choose proximity voice settings and drop a Tracking Tag in a locker.
- Scan everything new.Scans unlock the Repair Tool, passive biomod slots and acid markers.
- Visit the Biolabs.Collect your six biomods, including the Coral Gardens and Axum Ruins labs.
- Build small and close.Use alignment lines and the cheaper interior walls to expand your base in steps.
- Keep an escape tool ready.Stun tools and the Tadpole are your answer to Hammerheads and Nibblers.
For more on how we cover new releases, browse our guides hub or the Subnautica 2 game hub.
FAQ
Is Subnautica 2 finished?
No. It is in Early Access, which started on May 14, 2026. The developer says it will keep adding biomes, creatures, craftables and story, and a major content update is planned for December 2026.
Can you play Subnautica 2 with friends?
Yes. You can play in online co-op with up to three friends, and the 1.2 Buddy System update added proximity voice chat, revives, emotes and player trading.
What platforms is Subnautica 2 on?
It is available in Early Access on PC through Steam and Epic Games Store, and on Xbox Series X|S. The PC version supports Windows only.
How big is the Subnautica 2 download?
Steam lists 50 GB of available storage for both minimum and recommended specs, along with 12 GB of RAM minimum and 16 GB recommended.
How many biomods can you unlock from Biolabs?
Six, according to the 1.1 Adaptive Measures notes. You can also unlock additional passive biomod slots by scanning creatures with the Bioscanner.
Has finished every FromSoftware game at level 1. Writes the boss guides and checks them on every patch.