Tips and Tricks - Subnautica: Below Zero Guide - IGN (2024)

Welcome to IGN's Subnautica: Below Zero wiki guide. In this portion we'll cover Tips and Tricks for the game.

This section includes a few tips and trips to improve gameplay.

You may also encounter bugs or wish to give feedback since the game has only recently left early access and been publicly released. There are some known bugs as well, so check this section to learn more about them.

Additionally, it's easy to get wrapped up in gameplay and forget to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Check the sections below for more information about all these topics!

Gameplay

In general, survival is straightforward in Subnautica. In Survival Mode, the mode our Walkthrough was created for, you need to maintain some key areas to say alive. In other modes, like Creative Mode, that's not a requirement.

Here what you need in Survival Mode or Hardcore Mode:

• Oxygen
• Food
• Water
• Body temperature
• Health/Damage

The circles on your screen will indicate the level of each. Green is for Oxygen level, red is for health, yellow is for food, blue is for water and the teal on the far right is for body temperature.

When these levels get low your PDA will warn you what the problem is, whether it's recommending fluid or calorie intake or warning of hypothermia.

Here's what to do about each situation.

• If your oxygen is low, you can swim to the surface or pilot the Seatruck or Prawn Suit. These have oxygen production as long as you have power to them. You can also enter your Seabase if it has power.
• If your PDA recommends calorie intake, you can consume raw fish gathered nearby. Some common edible fish are Bladderfish, Arctic Peeper and Hoopfish. However, this will dehydrate you, so we recommend cooking the fish in your Fabricator or consuming fruit or edible fungi. This includes Fevered Peppers, which grow in the Glacial Bay biome, and the underwater Bull Eye Shroom which grows near your Drop Pod.
• If your PDA recommends fluid intake, you can use a Bladderfish to create water with your Fabricaator. You can also eat Fevered Peppers or drink any Disinfected Water you find in storage crates at various locations, like Phi Robotics Lab, Delta Station and others.
• If your PDA warns of hypothermia, that means you're getting too cold. You also get cold when you stay still too long underwater. Above ground, you'll need to find shelter, likes the caves in the Glacial Basin. You may also eat Fevered Peppers, which raise your body temperature, or stand near Thermal Lilies on Delta Island.
• You can also take Health hits and lose HP when leviathans and other animals attack. The only way to heal is by crafting or foraging First Aid Kits. These can be found in crates at various lab sites or crafted in the Fabricator by turning Creepvine Samples into Fiber Mesh, then into a First Aid Kit. Even at low health, you will only need one or two as they restore quite a lot of HP.

If you die you will spawn back in the nearest Seatruck or Prawn Suit, and if you're not near them, you'll spawn back in the Drop Pod. Usually, you will lose some items so we recommend leaving important items in storage before missions.

While writing the Walkthrough, our guide writer died and left their Seatruck AND Prawn Suit nearly 1,000 meters down in the Fabricator Caverns and spawned without them at the Drop Pod. This meant they had to build it all over again to beat the last part of the game.

Avoid this by always making sure you have extra Power Cells for equipment! Dying and losing power means you can leave your poor Seatruck far off in the depths.

Switch Bugs

This portion of the guide will list a couple of common bugs the game experiences while playing on the Switch and how to address them. They are quite minor.

• Sudden software closure.There doesn't seem to be a particular trigger that causes the software to close, but saving the game often will prevent lost progress if and when it does happen.
• Editing a locker's name.After editing a deployed Waterproof Locker's name, you may experience as much as a minute of lag or frozen screen. We recommend saving the game, or just opening and closing the pause menu to fix this problem.

How to Report a Bug

From the Pause menu, select, "Give Feedback." You will be able to submit a gameplay feedback survey and additional comments.

You can also access this option from the start screen whenever you resume play or start a new game.

What's the Weather Like?

Traveling is much easier during the day and during clear weather in Subnautica.

During snow, hail, or foggy conditions and at night, it's almost impossible to see.

We recommend traveling during good conditions when you can, especially above water. However, it's also worth mentioning there are some beautiful atmospheric phenomenon you should pause to observe when you can.

At night, auroras are very common in the sky! Sometimes you can see the moon, and sometimes not. Nights are very short in Subnautica so be sure to take a peek at the beautiful lights if you can.