Subnautica 2 Walkthrough & Guide

Subnautica 2 is the sequel to the legendary underwater survival series. Players who love the depths will face dangerous megafauna, toxic plants, and crushing pressure far below the surface. In this guide, we will walk you through the story quests in Subnautica 2 in detail. You will learn how to reach key locations and where to find the most important quest items.

The game begins in a biopod on an unnamed ocean-covered planet. Your character needs to adapt to the local environment through crafting and genetic mutations. Later, you will have to build a research base and create vehicles that allow you to dive to extreme depths. The main goal in Subnautica 2 is to survive among hostile wildlife and find out what happened to the missing expedition.

Customize your character, then open the PDA after the cutscene ends. Activate the device in the center of the room and select Launch NoA. Open the Adaptation section and look at the pink capsule. Interact with it so the hero can breathe under the local atmospheric pressure. This is the first genetic mutation that helps humans adapt to life on the exoplanet. As you explore the world, you will find other body Adaptations, which we covered in a separate guide.

Now go through the Biolock and dive underwater at the end. You do not have much time, so swim quickly to the shelter on the opposite side. Refill your oxygen and activate NoA, which appears here as a blue mechanical eye on the wall. Your task is to unlock the clamps on the Lifepod. Leave it, swim around the outside, and turn the two levers. Return to the airlock and interact with the assistant, after which a cutscene will begin. As a result, you will reach the surface. From this point on, the prologue can be considered complete, and you are free to explore the game world. If you chose Creative Mode, you will start directly from this point.

In this guide, we only cover story quests. If you want to learn more about the in-game mechanics, we recommend visiting the relevant section on our website. Your current objective is to gather resources and craft a Scanner, Multitool, and Fins. While you collect materials and create tools, the terminal will receive a message with the first story quest in Subnautica 2.

At the top of the screen, you will see a compass with degree markings. Leave the shelter and swim 150 meters toward 30 degrees, north to northeast. Take a couple of Distraction Flares with you to drive away predatory fish. Once you arrive, you will see a platform with equipment and a giant flower with a genetic capsule. This unlocks the ability to eat local flora and fauna. After that, pick up Anita's Blackbox and return to the vessel.

Craft a Basic Battery at the workbench. To do this, you need two pieces of Copper and one Acidic Raion Sac. Turn southeast, marked SE on the compass. Swim about 75 meters and dive down to the sunken complex. Find the control panel connected to the cables and insert the battery into it. Then interact with the onboard computer shaped like a sphere. Activate NoA and read all the notes.

Return to the lifepod and receive a message from NOA. Head southeast and look for a tall stone pillar. Keep in mind that this area is guarded by predators. At the base of the pillar, you will find a round passage leading into Chap's cabin. Scan everything you can and find his blackbox.

Scan every item in the room and find the blackbox on the bed, lying on the pillow. Return home and craft the Builder at the fabricator. To learn what you need for it, where to find the materials, and how to build your own base, read our separate guide.

Wait for a signal from NOA and read the messages "Ruby" and then "Quaker."

Before starting this task, we recommend crafting a High-Capacity O2 Tank. Swim 400 meters north until you see a flooded complex. The entrance is at the back. There are many items to scan inside, so we recommend bringing at least one extra battery. The blackbox is on the second floor of the small section. Climb up using the ladder and pick up the speaker lying on the fourth bunk.

On the first floor, next to the passage into the large section, there is another blackbox, "E. Terbish Anhyn ("Thing Two")." To the left of it is the "Kinu Mogami" capsule, while the first room contains the "Langhai Wu" speaker, the "Mogami" voice recorder, and the "Wu" wall tablet.

Next, move through the round corridor into the neighboring module. Go up to the top floor and collect the "Cicada" and "Compartment" blueprints. Activate the computer and read all the logs.

Ruby's capsule is located northeast of the lifepod, about 370 meters away. Keep in mind that a Marrowbreach swims above the target area. This is an extremely dangerous predatory fish that can kill your character in just a couple of bites. Crawl along the seabed and move between the seaweed bushes to reach the blackbox without being spotted by the creature.

First, you need to craft a special device that can break rock deposits to extract ore. We have a detailed guide on our website explaining how to get the Sonic Resonator. Open the computer and read the "Wander" message. Turn 240 degrees and travel 250 meters, then dive into the hole while avoiding the sharks. The passage will be blocked by infected biofilm, so you will need to remove it with the resonator. This tool also helps drive away the infected parasite and other predators.

Here you will encounter the source of the virus that killed all the expeditions and is damaging the local ecosystem. To stop the spores from spreading, equip the resonator and destroy the infected bloom cankers. They look like glowing blue mushroom-like clusters. When you aim at a target, a green sine wave will appear on the tool's screen. In this case, you need to find four flowers to destroy the infection.

At the end, the white strands will disappear, allowing you to pick up the blackbox. Sharks will appear at this moment, so head back to the lifepod right away.

Recover your strength and return to this cave, then swim along the long crab phalanx until you come across a giant flower. The buds will be closed. To open them, you need to find the appendage and clear it of infection. Head northeast and destroy all the bloom clusters.

Return to the Angel Comb, where a Marrowbreach and many infected parasites will appear. Drive them away with the Sonic Resonator, then destroy all the flowers. This will give you a genetic modification that lets you swim in areas with extreme temperatures.

Wait a few in-game days. During this time, it makes sense to build a Scanner Room, which will help you locate abandoned colonist settlements. There you will find many blueprints that you will need later. Read the message from NOA, turn east, and travel 670 meters until you find a sunken complex. It is located in the hot-water biome at a depth of 150 meters.

Your task is to find and scan three Tadpole fragments:

The door to the depot control room will be locked because you do not have an access card. Listen to the message left on the box to the left of the corridor. Leave the building and swim southwest until you reach a large area with many sphere-like structures that resemble huts. There are openings on the bottom. Swim into them, then turn left until you reach a huge underwater cave. Cross it and swim toward the fossilized body of a crab. Move through the crustacean remains, climb into the ruins, and read the ship log.

Return to the large section. Go around the hot springs and find an opening leading downward. Drop to the bottom and find Tziporah Malk's blackbox on the giant phalanx. You can now return to the depot.

Open the depot control module and climb the ladder, then use NOA. Activate the "Vivarium," then read through all the dialogue branches. We recommend returning to your base and crafting the Tadpole.

Look east and swim 1,300 meters to the three-section research outpost. Find the living quarters and insert a battery into the power distributor. You can find another battery in one of the boxes in the next room. Turn on the computer and read the final message.

On your way to the outpost, you may have noticed a gigantic artificial tower. Find the entrance at its base. Listen to the recording on the voice recorder lying on the table. Scan the Axum door mechanism in the center of the hall, which resembles the bud of an unripe flower. Wait for NOA's notification, return to your base, and listen to the message. On the way back, the Collector Leviathan will appear and attack you. Leave the vehicle and scan the monster to unlock a new modification, "Echolocation." Immediately get back into the Tadpole and leave the location, because otherwise it will grab and kill the hero with its tentacles.

The compass marker is located between E and 105, and the distance is 1.5 kilometers. About 500 meters before the target, you will encounter a leviathan, so it makes sense to move along the seabed. Your task is to find the blackbox on the cave floor.

Return to the base and wait for a notification from NOA, then read it. Craft a Repair Tool at the fabricator and take it with you. Swim toward Ruby's Blackbox 2 and find the ship wreckage. The entrance is on the southern side. Repair the door, then go forward and turn left to pick up the capsule from the table.

Go to your base and wait for messages from NOA. Swim 1,700 meters toward the marker in the east and descend until you see an Angel Comb. The blackbox is located next to an improvised grave on a sheer cliff.

Listen to the next message on the computer and head east. The swim is about 2 kilometers. At the location, you will find base wreckage and several sharks. The blackbox will be lying next to the white metal sheets.

Return to the Angel Comb in the east and follow its phalanx, which leads north/northeast. Here you will see ancient ruins of the local civilization. Swim up to the yellow underwater bog and find the blackbox near the debris, then return to the base.

Reach the Angel Comb located near Anita's second Blackbox. To complete this quest, you will need the modified resonator, which we covered in a separate guide. Here, you need to find two infection sources, then destroy the Bloom Spores around the main flower. The first branch leads west into a cave, while the second leads east, where you will need to climb into the Settler Ruins and descend to the bottom. This will unlock the ability to read inscriptions in the language of the ancient civilization.

Near the Angel Comb, there is an ancient control room built into the rock. To activate it, the hero must be able to read the local hieroglyphs. Once activated, a giant mechanism will descend onto the branch. Next, climb into the upper cabin, where you will find three control panels.

Look ahead and you will see a broken turbine. To repair it, you will need the Builder and the following materials:

Return to the main control room and solve a simple puzzle. The control panels have switches on them. Press them so that the red toggle lines up with the yellow mark. If you do everything correctly, the panel will turn green and the red exclamation mark on the screen will disappear. Activate the main system, after which the turbine will start working again.

Return to the alien ruins, specifically to the tower. Turn southeast and look for a green rectangular megalithic stone with green patterns. Use the Scanner to unlock the ability to translate alien speech through the PDA.

Enter the tower and interact with the Axum door. This will open the door to the planetarium with the local solar system. Go up to the second floor and activate the next mechanism. A message from the World Tree will then play, followed by the final cutscene.

The story does not end here. The game is currently in early access, which means the storyline will continue in future updates. Follow the updates with us. We will expand this guide as soon as the developers release new content.