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Metro 2039Shallows
The Shallows are Subnautica 2's starting biome, the bright coral reefs around the Lifepod, 3 to 224 m deep by All Things How's count, with the Welcome Center about 85 m southeast, the first Angel Comb, Quartz-filled Coral Domes and caves of Copper and Titanium below.
The Shallows are where Subnautica 2 starts: the sunlit coral reefs around your Lifepod, with mostly harmless life, the Welcome Center about 85 m southeast, and every material for your first tools within a few hundred meters. All Things How measures the biome 3 to 224 m deep, counting the cave network beneath it, on the launch build of May 2026. "Shallows" is Unknown Worlds' own name for it in its patch notes (1.1, 1.2); guides group it with its neighbors as the Coral Gardens region (see Coral Gardens and Map and Biomes).
Quick facts
| Depth | 3 to 224 m, with the caves (All Things How, May 20, 2026) |
| Where | Around the Lifepod, the center of the map |
| Points of interest | Lifepod, Welcome Center, Anita's Garden, the Digestion Angel Comb, Coral Domes |
| Resources | Titanium, Copper, Quartz, Fibrous Pulp, Acidic Raion Pouch, Lucifer Rotsac, Medical Gel Sac, Water Slugs |
| Creatures | Small fish (Halfmoon, Harvestmoon, Bluemoon, Geordie), Water Slugs |
| Danger | Low; oxygen in the caves |
| Leads to | Plateaus, Anemone Hills, Necrolei Hills, the Graveyard, the Tufa Zone |
The Lifepod
You arrive in the Lifepod after the prologue on the Cicada, where you are printed in a Biobed, given the Pressure Tolerance Adaptation and launched to the surface (1.1 notes). The Lifepod has a damaged Fabricator with its own power: it makes water from Water Slugs, the Survival Multitool from 3 Titanium and the Scanner (Game Rant, May 14, 2026), but some recipes say "Requires Fully Functional Fabricator" until you build one in a base. Its NOA Terminal is your first contact with the ship's AI. Until you have the Digestion Adaptation, food comes from the Lifepod's locker. Your first steps are on Beginner's Guide and Fabricator and Processor.
Where is the Welcome Center in Subnautica 2?
The Welcome Center is a colonists' building about 85 m southeast of the Lifepod (Game Rant). Inside, you scan the Habitat Builder through a hole in its floor, which unlocks Base Building, and put a Basic Battery into the wall panel to power its Biolab and a NOA message log (Destructoid, May 14, 2026). Its Biolab is the first place to choose Biomods. 1.2 fixed its battery terminal being reachable through the outside wall (Unknown Worlds).
In Kysen's May 14, 2026 guide, on the launch build, the Welcome Center stands straight ahead on a bearing of 150 as you leave the Lifepod. Its upper room holds air, so you can get your breath back inside; the Habitat Builder needs two scans, the first at the front of the building, and a battery in the little red box on the left brings everything inside online, the Biolab included.
The first Angel Comb and Anita's Garden
The Digestion Angel Comb, which lets you eat the world's plants and creatures, stands with Anita's blackbox northeast of the Lifepod. Guides give different distances on the launch build: 130 m (PCGamesN) and 180 m (Destructoid). Anita's Garden, a colonist bunker about 90 m northeast, holds an Upgrade Biobed (Game Rant, May 23, 2026).
Coral Domes and Quartz
The orange, hollow Coral Domes around the Lifepod at 10 to 30 m are where Quartz grows (Game Rant, May 14, 2026). Game Rant's best one, the Spider Dome, is 220 m out at compass 240 to 245 and holds nearly 100 small pieces. 1.1 fixed a Quartz node on a broken piece of Coral Dome in the Shallows that could not be gathered (Unknown Worlds). Hammerheads ram Coral Domes, so a dome is not always a quiet place.
Jade's May 16, 2026 guide, on the launch build, shows the Spider Dome the same way: head southwest on a bearing of 230 to 240 without dropping into the deep, about 220 to 225 m from the Lifepod, to a huge dome with many entrances and "at least over a hundred" Quartz inside. Nibblers swim nearby, but in her play they did not follow her in.
Resources in the Shallows
All positions are the guides' on the launch build (May 14 to 16, 2026); see Resources.
| Resource | Where | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Titanium | Seafloor caves around the Lifepod; small nodes 1, medium 3, large 5 with the Sonic Resonator | Game Rant |
| Copper | The cave under the coral dome about 30 m east; a cave about 130 m east past a strong current | Game Rant |
| Quartz | Inside Coral Domes at 10 to 30 m | Game Rant |
| Fibrous Pulp | Curtain Gorgon 31 m southwest, Cradle Shootroot east, Feather Kelp in the cave under the Lifepod | Game Rant |
| Acidic Raion Pouch | Acid Raion plants in caves about 34 m from the Lifepod, three per plant | Game Rant |
| Lucifer Rotsac | Red orbs on the Cradle Shootroot about 70 m east, at 15 m | Game Rant |
| Medical Gel Sac | Pink plants in the cave under the Lifepod; picking one releases a little toxic gas | Game Rant |
| Water Slugs | On surfaces almost everywhere, easier to see at night | TheGamer |
Breathtaker's May 18, 2026 resource guide, on the launch build, finds Lucifer Rotsacs by the Welcome Center and more of them southwest of the Lifepod, Acid Raions all over the caves, one of them directly beneath the Lifepod, and Fibrous Pulp most easily by cutting the red Feather Kelp in the caves.
The Shallows Caves
Beneath the reef runs a darker cave network where oxygen goes fast, with Copper, Titanium, Fibrous Pulp and Medical Gel Sacs (Beebom, May 19, 2026). Blue Oxygen Tunic plants in the deeper caves near the Lifepod release bubbles that refill your air (Game Rant). Copper caves also have plants that spit poison clouds (Game Rant). 1.2 added missing light sources in the Shallows (Unknown Worlds).
Frequently asked questions
Where do you start in Subnautica 2? In the Shallows, the coral reef biome around the Lifepod, after the prologue on the Cicada. The Welcome Center is about 85 m southeast of the Lifepod.
What is in the Welcome Center in Subnautica 2? The Habitat Builder to scan (it unlocks base building), a Biolab you power with a Basic Battery, and a NOA message log.
Where is Quartz in the Subnautica 2 Shallows? Inside the orange Coral Domes at 10 to 30 m around the Lifepod; Game Rant's Spider Dome, 220 m out at compass 240 to 245, holds nearly 100 small pieces on the launch build.
Can you fix the Lifepod Fabricator in Subnautica 2? No. Game Rant reports that the Lifepod's damaged Fabricator cannot be repaired; build a new Fabricator in a base for the recipes that need a fully functional one.
Is the Shallows safe in Subnautica 2? Mostly. Its life is largely passive, and the main risk is running out of oxygen in the caves beneath it.
Sources
- Subnautica 2 Regions and Biomes Reference (Early Access), All Things How (Pallav Pathak), May 20, 2026
- All Subnautica 2 Biomes and Regions, Beebom (Bipradeep Biswas), May 19, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Progression Guide: What to Do First, Game Rant (William Parks), May 14, 2026
- How to unlock base building in Subnautica 2, Destructoid (Madison Benson), May 14, 2026
- All Angel Comb and modification locations in Subnautica 2, Destructoid (Arka Sarkar), May 17, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Angel Comb locations - all adaptations, PCGamesN (Paul Kelly), May 20, 2026
- Subnautica 2: All 7 Biobed Inventory Expansion Locations, Game Rant (Christopher Norman Worcester), May 23, 2026
- Where to Find Titanium, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 14, 2026
- Where to Find Copper, Game Rant (Chris Jecks), May 14, 2026
- Quartz Farming Location, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 14, 2026
- Fiber and Fibrous Pulp, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 14, 2026
- Acidic Raion Pouch, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 14, 2026
- How to Get Rubber and Lucifer Rotsac, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 14, 2026
- How to Heal and Craft First Aid Kits, Game Rant (Mehrdad Khayyat), May 16, 2026
- Oxygen Management Tips, Game Rant (William Parks), May 14, 2026
- All Food, Water, And Health Recipes, TheGamer (Kaitlyn Peterson), May 15, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.1 - Adaptive Measures Update, Unknown Worlds, Jul 8, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.2 - Buddy System Update, Unknown Worlds, Aug 19, 2026
- Subnautica 2 - Biome Maps and Secret Locations, IGN, May 19, 2026 (video)
- Subnautica 2 - The Ultimate Beginner Guide!, Kysen, May 14, 2026 (video)
- SUBNAUTICA 2 How To get Every Resource! Deepwing Eggs! Silver! Metal Farms And More Full Guide, Jade PG CRAFTED, May 16, 2026 (video)
- How To Get Every Resource In Subnautica 2, Breathtaker, May 18, 2026 (video)
Moments
Subnautica 2 - Biome Maps and Secret Locations
IGN
Subnautica 2 - The Ultimate Beginner Guide!
Kysen
SUBNAUTICA 2 How To get Every Resource! Deepwing Eggs! Silver! Metal Farms And More Full Guide
Jade PG CRAFTED
How To Get Every Resource In Subnautica 2
Breathtaker
Related
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Dolerite SpiresThe Dolerite Spires are a maze of jagged volcanic pillars in Subnautica 2's starting region, shallow to mid depth, with Lithium and Titanium, Quaker's Meetinghouse and two Spires wrecks that All Things How lists for the High Capacity Air Tank and the Rebreather on the launch build.
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Metal FarmsThe Axum Metal Farms are the far eastern edge of Subnautica 2's Early Access map, about 2,000 to 2,200 m east-northeast of the Lifepod beside the Karakorum Power Plant, the only source of Troilite and Atacamite and where you find the Axum Bacterial Culture to build a Metal Farm of your own.
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Observatory IslandObservatory Island is Subnautica 2's Axum tower rising out of the sea about 1,000 to 1,200 m east of the Lifepod, with the Alien Ruins (Unknown Worlds' Axum Ruins), the Rosetta Stone, a Biolab since 1.1 and the Axum Observatory, where the Early Access story stops.
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Root CanyonRoot Canyon is Subnautica 2's deepest explorable biome, a pitch-black canyon 365 to 750 m deep in the far east, with root-like walls, the Control Room, Tech Sites, Blight Nodes, a Cold Zone, colonist Dive Elevators and the Axum Metal Farms; the Collector Leviathan patrols its lower reaches.
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Tar CascadesThe Tar Cascades, in the area Unknown Worlds calls the Sparse Plains, are Subnautica 2's dark, tar-coated crossing about 700 m east of the Lifepod, 0 to 250 m deep, where the Collector Leviathan guards the way to the Axum ruins; cross low along the bottom in a Tadpole.
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Tufa ZoneThe Tufa Zone, which guides call Tufa Towers, is the biome of tall rock towers about 400 m south of Subnautica 2's Lifepod, home of the Great Jaw clam and its Lithium; it and the Thermal Area got their own music in update 1.2 (Aug 19, 2026).
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Base PowerSubnautica 2 bases run on Solar Panels (1 to 8 energy per second by time of day), Hydroelectric Turbines in water currents, Thermal Plants by heat vents and Bioreactors burning fuel, linked by Power Transmitters and buffered by Power Storage. Without power a base makes no oxygen.
See also
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Coral GardensCoral Gardens and North Coral Gardens are Unknown Worlds' names for Subnautica 2's early coral areas around the Lifepod; update 1.1 (Jul 8, 2026) put a second Biolab and more Silver there, and 1.2 gave North Coral Gardens its own music.
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PlateausThe Plateaus are Subnautica 2's rocky biome about 300 m northeast of the Lifepod, 23 to 119 m deep by All Things How's count, with Camp One, the Old Habitat and the caves that hold the early Silver; the sandy Lead Zone lies nearby.
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Anemone HillsThe Anemone Hills are Subnautica 2's biome of towering pink-and-green anemones about 300 m northwest of the Lifepod, 0 to 151 m deep, where the infected Heat Tolerance Angel Comb waits behind Bloom you clear with the Sonic Resonator.
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Necrolei HillsThe Necrolei Hills are Subnautica 2's infected hills about 300 m northwest of the Lifepod, the main source of Necrolei Cysts for Strong Acid, with Copper, Titanium, Deepwing Egg Clumps and fauna mutated by the Bloom.
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GraveyardThe Graveyard is Subnautica 2's hot, orange-watered biome, 0 to 266 m deep, that needs the Heat Tolerance Adaptation; it holds Gold, Salt, Sulfur and Lithium, the Tadpole Pens, Tailings Village, a Cicada Wreck, Nahema's Lab and hundreds of Water Slugs.