Subnautica: Below Zero does not hold your hand. Like its predecessor, it drops you into an alien ocean and expects you to figure things out through exploration, experimentation, and occasional disaster. But there are fundamentals that new players consistently miss — things that would have saved hours of confusion and frustration if someone had explained them at the start. This beginner guide covers your first steps on Planet 4546B, from landing to your first proper base.
Arrival: Your First Minutes
You arrive on Planet 4546B in a Drop Pod — a small emergency shelter that serves as your initial base of operations. The Drop Pod has a Fabricator (for crafting basic equipment), a radio (for story communications), and very limited storage. Your first actions should be: open your inventory and check what you have, open your PDA and read the initial entries, and step outside to survey your immediate environment.
Resist the urge to swim far from the Drop Pod in your first five minutes. Assess your immediate surroundings: what creatures are nearby? What resources are on the ocean floor close by? What does the biome look like? Below Zero’s starting area (near Delta Station) is relatively safe but not perfectly so. Learn the environment before exploring.
Critical Early Crafting Priorities
- Scanner — the most important early tool; scan everything to unlock blueprints and creature database entries
- Seaglide — dramatically increases movement speed; find and scan the three fragments from early wreckage
- Oxygen Tank upgrade — more air means more time to explore without panicking
- Knife — for harvesting plants and defending against small aggressive creatures
- First Aid Kit materials — keep a supply of healing items at all times
- Water Filtration Machine (once you have a base) — solves the water problem permanently
Food and Water: The First Challenge
Hunger and thirst are constant pressures in Survival mode. In the starting area, Bladderfish (small blue fish that float near the surface) provide water when processed in the Fabricator or Survival Knife. Peeper fish (bright yellow, very common) restore both food and water when eaten raw. Your first Fabricator-built item after the Scanner should be either a Water Filtration Machine (requires a base) or a stock of cooked food for the exploration period before you have a base.
Understanding Temperature (New to Below Zero)
Unlike the original Subnautica, Below Zero tracks your body temperature. On the planet’s surface in arctic areas, your temperature drops continuously. Even in the ocean, some deep cold biomes drain your temperature. In the very early game, stay in the warmer, shallower water and avoid extended surface exposure until you have the Cold Suit. If your temperature drops into the danger zone, find warm water or a heated structure quickly.
Story Navigation: Follow the Radio
Below Zero’s story unfolds through radio signals, audio logs, and exploration. The radio in your Drop Pod will periodically receive signals marking locations on your map. These signals are story waypoints — following them in order is the most coherent way to experience the narrative. Do not ignore them in favour of pure survival play; the story locations also contain essential blueprint fragments and resources.
First Base: When and Where
Build your first base as soon as you have the materials for a single module, a Fabricator, and a bed. The best location for your first Below Zero base is close to the Delta Station area — ideally in the shallow water nearby where Solar Panels are viable. A single-room base with a Fabricator, Water Filtration Machine, one bed, and two or three storage lockers is sufficient for the early game and can always be expanded later.
RicardoPlays Below Zero Beginner Guide
The RicardoPlays – Beyond RTS channel has a dedicated Below Zero beginner series that covers your first hours on Planet 4546B in detail. Ricardo’s playthrough begins from scratch and demonstrates each of these fundamentals in practice. If you prefer watching to reading, the channel’s Below Zero content is the ideal companion to this written guide.
🌊 Watch on YouTube
Early Game Base Building: What You Actually Need
One of the most common Below Zero beginner mistakes is over-building early. You do not need an elaborate base for the first several hours — but you do need a functional one sooner than you might think. Here is the absolute minimum viable base for the early game:
- One I-Corridor or T-Corridor as the central structure
- One Fabricator — for crafting food, equipment, and materials
- One Bed — for sleeping (time skip and health recovery)
- One Water Filtration Machine — permanently solves your water supply problem
- Two or three Storage Lockers — critical for organising resources and preventing inventory overload
- One Solar Panel (in shallow water) or one Thermal Plant (near thermal vents) for power
Build this and you have a fully functional early base. Expand from here organically as you discover what additional modules you need. A Scanner Room added later dramatically speeds up resource and fragment hunting in the surrounding area.
The Cold Suit: When You Need It and How to Get It
The Cold Suit is Below Zero’s answer to the game’s temperature mechanic — it protects you from the cold on the planet’s surface and in frigid water. You will need it before attempting any extended land exploration or before visiting the game’s arctic surface biomes. The Cold Suit blueprint is obtained early through the story progression — follow the Delta Station storyline and you will encounter it naturally. Do not attempt extended surface exploration before you have it.
The Cold Suit can be upgraded similarly to the Radiation Suit in the original Subnautica. Higher-tier upgrades extend the temperature protection window and reduce the rate of cold damage. Prioritise the first upgrade before venturing into the game’s coldest zones.
Understanding Below Zero’s Biome Structure
Subnautica: Below Zero’s world is smaller and more focused than the original Subnautica’s, but it is densely packed with story content and unique biomes. The key biomes in the early and mid-game are:
- Shallow Twisty Bridges: The safest starting exploration zone, with common resources and early blueprint fragments
- Purple Vents: Medium depth, some aggressive creatures, important story locations nearby
- Arctic Kelp Forest: Surfacing into the arctic is required for the land exploration portion of the story
- Thermal Spires: Deep zone with thermal resources and story-critical locations
- Crystal Caves: End-game biome with unique aesthetics and story-critical alien technology
- World Edge / Deep Twisty Bridges: Deep exploration for late-game resources and story content
The Below Zero story is less linear than the original Subnautica. You will naturally move between ocean and land exploration, and the story switches between Robin’s ocean survival and her investigation into her sister’s disappearance on the surface. Following your PDA entries and radio signals guides you between these two storylines naturally.
Creature Threats in Below Zero: What to Watch For
Below Zero has a different creature roster from the original Subnautica, with some returning species and several new ones. Key threats for beginners to know:
- Symbiotic Kelp: Passive until provoked — do not attack them
- Crash Fish: Explode when approached — maintain distance or avoid entirely in early game
- Brute Shark: Aggressive medium-depth predator, treat like the original Subnautica’s Stalker but faster
- Chelicerate: The Below Zero equivalent of the Reaper Leviathan. Large, aggressive, very dangerous for vehicles. Avoid in the early game; address with the Seatruck’s Perimeter Defence upgrade later
- Leviathans in the deep: The Shadow Leviathan replaces the Ghost Leviathan at significant depth. Give it a wide berth and rely on your Seatruck’s depth and defence modules when you have no choice but to pass through its territory
For more detail on Seatruck preparation before diving into creature-heavy biomes, the Seatruck guide covers which upgrades to prioritise for creature defence. And if you are considering playing the original Subnautica alongside Below Zero, the Subnautica 2 preparation guide explains how both games build on each other for the richest possible franchise experience.
