Subnautica Game Mechanics Tips
These are some things I wish I knew when I started. They're mostly about game mechanics that were non-obvious to me.
Check your Radio every now and again
Messages will arrive once it's repaired (triggered by time passing or actions you take), and they not only add to the flavor of the story and world, but they will often point you in useful directions to find new resources and story related stuff.
Explore Everywhere, Scan Everything, Build Everything
Your scanning tool (once you build one) will tell you a lot about things in the environment. Scan everything. New crafting recipes are unlocked by scanning things and by building (some) recipes in your PDA for the first time. Keep exploring to find new things to scan and increase what you can build!
Build Early, Build Often, Rebuild Whenever
- Base parts and interior items return 100% of the used resources when you deconstruct them. You can and should experiment!
- You do not need any particular piece to build a base (the "foundation" adds structural support but is not required -- I didn't know this so I didn't even try base building until I found lead, needed by the foundation)
- A functional base minimally needs a room, a door, and a power source, for example:
- Compartment: 2x Titanium
- Hatch: 2x Titanium, 1x Quartz
- Solar Panel: 2x Titanium, 2x Quartz, 1x Copper (works down to 200m but effectiveness drops with depth)
Don't be me -- juggling 5 terrible, tiny, 4x Titanium each floating containers for storage -- when you can build a minimal little base and install small (2x Ti) or large (2x Ti, 1x Quartz) storage units.
Oxygen Management
- You can craft and carry additional oxygen tanks
- You can swap them with your active one with left-click from inventory
- You fill them by making them active at the surface
- The purple roundish "Brain Coral" emit bubbles of oxygen that will refill your supply below the surface
Batteries
- Most tools use batteries and contain a 100% charged battery when initially created.
- You can use the R key to bring up a swap battery interface for the tool you're holding.
- This interface lets you exchange the tool's battery with any other battery in inventory or remove it to inventory.
- Recipes that require a battery will magically recharge it if it's not charged.
Lost? Build Beacons
- Sufficient exploration near the starting area (and scanning all the things!) should eventually get you a recipe for Beacons which are inexpensive deployable marker bouys.
- Beacons can be named by left-clicking on their faceplate "Edit Name"
- Beacon waypoints can be toggled on and off using your PDA
- The waypoint for your life pod is in this list too.
Vehicles
- Are built with the Mobile Vehicle Bay on the surface of the ocean
- Moon Pools are neat (and needed for upgrades) but are not needed for vehicle creation