Story Walkthrough

SPOILERS: this page walks through the whole Early Access story, in order, including where it ends.

0:32 Subnautica 2's story in Early Access goes, in order: wake in the Lifepod and make water, a Multitool and a Scanner; power the Welcome Center; take Digestion from the first Angel Comb; follow NOA to Camp One, the Old Habitat and the Bloom; clear the Bloom for Heat Tolerance; build a Tadpole and open the Tadpole Pens; cross the Collector Leviathan's trench about 700 m east; cleanse the Angel Comb at the Axum ruins for Axum Vision; repair the Power Plant and enter the Observatory. That is where the story stops, as of Nov 4, 2026: there is no ending in Early Access, neither 1.1 nor 1.2 added a chapter, and "the next chapter of the story" comes with Early Access 2 in December 2026 (Unknown Worlds, May 15, 2026). Distances below are from the Lifepod and come from editorial guides written on the launch build in May 2026; Wccftech's briefing put the launch content at 14 to 20 hours.

Quick facts

1. The Lifepod

You are printed in a Biobed, receive Pressure Tolerance (it lets you breathe the world's air), pass a door scan, put on the Cicada dive suit and launch in the Lifepod (Unknown Worlds, Jul 8, 2026). Game Rant's first outings (William Parks, May 14, 2026):

• Catch Water Slugs and turn them into water at the Lifepod's Fabricator.
• Gather 3 Titanium for a Survival Multitool.
• Make a Scanner from 2 Titanium, 2 Quartz and 1 Basic Battery (the Quartz is inside the nearest Coral Dome).
• Scan everything; the first Flashlight and Habitat Builder blueprints are in containers near the Lifepod and in the Welcome Center.

More on Beginner's Guide.

2. The Welcome Center and Digestion

The Welcome Center is visible from the Lifepod, about 85 m southeast. Swim through the hole in its floor to scan a Habitat Builder, and power its terminal with a Basic Battery to unlock your first Biolab and hear NOA's message log (Game Rant; MeinMMO, May 27, 2026).

0:14 Northeast lie Anita's blackbox and the first Angel Comb, which gives Digestion, so you can eat the world's food. Guides measure it differently: 130 m at heading 30 (PCGamesN), 158 m (Game Rant), about 180 m between north and northeast (Destructoid); in TroubleChute Basics' May 21, 2026 guide, on the launch build, it is about 150 m out at a heading of 20, with Hammerheads around it. A colonist bunker about 250 m southeast, reached by a tunnel, holds Chap's blackbox and your first upgrade Biobed. Build a first base around here (Base Building).

3. Camp One, the Old Habitat and the Bloom

NOA sends you to Camp One, northeast, where your first Marrowbreach greets you with the line "You are being hunted" (Unknown Worlds, Aug 19, 2026), then to the Old Habitat and to pioneer Wander's signal in a zone the Bloom has taken (MeinMMO). Near "Blackbox - Wander", in an open box on a table in a cave mouth blocked by Bloom biofilm, is the Sonic Resonator to scan; NOA gives its coordinates after "Blackbox - Ruby". Its launch recipe: 1 Basic Battery, 1 Wiring Kit, 2 Titanium Ingots, 2 Lead (PCGamesN, May 14, 2026). You will need Silver for Fins and an air tank before this; it is in shallow caves 290 to 350 m north.

4. Heat Tolerance

0:40 Northwest, about 205 m at heading 300 (PCGamesN), an infected Angel Comb holds Heat Tolerance. Clear three Bloom areas with the Resonator: four cankers and the parasites at the first, the second to the north past Nibbler Mangos (bring flares), and the third under a Marrowbreach's eye, where four bright blue parasites must go; then the Comb opens (PCGamesN). Without Heat Tolerance the hot water east of the Lifepod damages you. See The Bloom. In TroubleChute Basics' May 21, 2026 guide, on the launch build, the way in is about 200 m from the Lifepod at a heading of about 250, under a giant orange growth by the Wander blackbox marker, through a tunnel the Sonic Resonator blasts open.

5. The Tadpole and the Tadpole Pens

49:35 The next objective, "Investigate Tadpole Pens", points about 700 m east through the hot Graveyard water. Build the Tadpole first: a base with a Moonpool, a Tadpole Dock and a Vehicle Fabricator (Tadpole). The Pens building, about 150 m down, overlooks the Collector's trench. Its locked door needs a keycode from a supply crate in a deep cave southwest of the Pens, at about 310 m deep; park the Tadpole at 240 m, since its default crush depth is 250 m (Game Rant, May 14, 2026). Beebom finds the code through the Zip blackbox, about 200 m southwest of the Pens at about 250 m deep, and puts the Pens about 675 m east (May 15, 2026). Inside are scannables, including a Repair Tool, and a NOA Terminal (Beebom has you speak with Sophie Boucher there) with a quiz; finishing it marks the Alien Ruins on your map. In Kysen's May 14, 2026 guide, on the launch build, NOA sends you after Zip's blackbox down in the hot caves, past the Hot Cave Base Camp (with a NOA Terminal and a Power Storage blueprint), and that blackbox gives the access key to the Pens.

6. Crossing the Collector's trench

1:43 The Collector Leviathan patrols the trench below the Pens and cannot be fought. Drive the Tadpole off the cliff, dive to the floor without passing crush depth, cross low and slowly, and climb the far wall toward the Alien Ruins (Game Rant, May 21, 2026). PCGamesN suggests the Scout Ray chassis and weaving through the rocks (Tadpole Chassis). The clip is IGN's May 16, 2026 guide, on the launch build, which also recommends the chassis upgrade and says the Tadpole survives at least two of the Collector's grabs.

7. The Axum ruins and Axum Vision

Beyond the trench are the ruins of The Axum (Observatory Island in guides). Here the chain is long: a Cicada wreck with a Repair Tool, the Modification Station and Bioscanner, Celestine and Creature Enamel for Enameled Glass, a Depth Module for the Tadpole (it must pass 300 m), Conduit Crystals and the Feedback Resonator (TheGamer, May 22, 2026). The Feedback Resonator, an upgrade of the Sonic Resonator, is the only tool that breaks the armored pink cankers (Game Rant, May 18, 2026); its launch recipe and blueprint locations are on Tools and Modifications.

3:50 The Angel Comb for Axum Vision stands about 1,769 m due east of the Lifepod (PCGamesN; Destructoid says about 1,800 m, near the Power Plant). Game Rant clears it in three infestation areas, west of the ruins at about 160 m, southwest of the Comb, and in a Cicada wreck to the east reached by an elevator, then the two cankers beside the Comb (Game Rant). Axum Vision lets you see and use Axum technology. In TroubleChute Basics' May 21, 2026 guide, on the launch build, the Comb is about 500 m out at a heading of 100 from the Alien Ruins, the first infested wing is right below the ruins, and the bulbs close if you swim too near, which is why the Feedback Resonator's shot, which travels before it bursts, is needed.

8. The Rosetta Stone, the Power Plant and the Observatory

11:03 With Axum Vision, scan the Rosetta Stone and the Axum writing becomes readable (Destructoid, May 17, 2026). Then repair the Axum Power Plant: you build its turbines, and the Bioscanner is needed for the work (Game Rant, May 22, 2026; Unknown Worlds, Sep 1, 2026). Since 1.2, light poles run between the Observatory and the Rosetta Stone. With power restored the Observatory opens. Its storyline is the last in Early Access: neither 1.1 nor 1.2 added a chapter after it, per their patch notes. The editorial guides this viki could read do not detail the steps inside the Observatory, so they are not given here. In IGN's May 19, 2026 tour, on the launch build, the Power Plant stands just north of the Observatory area, reaching from the seafloor to near the surface, with infected areas below and the place to repair the machine, and a console, farther up.

Where does the Subnautica 2 story end?

14:26 At the Observatory, as of Nov 4, 2026. Beyond it you can still explore Root Canyon and the Metal Farms, with blackboxes and the Tailings Settlement, but no further chapter. Unknown Worlds always planned it so: the story was never meant to be finished at launch, with its conclusion coming in 1.0 (TheGamer, May 1, 2026), and 1.0 is about 2 to 3 years from May 2026 (Steam). Kotaku notes one more surprise on the way: at one point the plot asks you to die on purpose (May 14, 2026); you reprint at your Biobed (Death and Respawning).

Stuck? What to do next

• NOA stopped giving waypoints: MeinMMO notes NOA stops marking places after Wander's signal; find which Adaptation the next area needs and go back for the Angel Comb that gives it (MeinMMO).
• Too hot: you need Heat Tolerance (step 4).
• "Crush depth" warning: you need a Depth Module (Tadpole Upgrades).
• "The disease is armored": you need the Feedback Resonator (step 7).
• An Angel Comb will not open: Hotfix 4 (Jul 14, 2026) fixed Angel Combs not opening for some players (Unknown Worlds); see Known Issues and Fixes.

Frequently asked questions

What do you do first in Subnautica 2? Make water from Water Slugs, a Survival Multitool from 3 Titanium and a Scanner, then power the Welcome Center about 85 m southeast and take Digestion from the first Angel Comb to the northeast.

Does Subnautica 2 have an ending? Not yet. As of Nov 4, 2026, Subnautica 2's Early Access story stops at the Axum Observatory; its conclusion is planned for 1.0.

How long is Subnautica 2's story? Wccftech's pre-launch briefing put Subnautica 2's launch content at 14 to 20 hours.

Where do I go after the Tadpole Pens in Subnautica 2? East across the Collector Leviathan's trench to the Alien Ruins, low along the trench floor in a Tadpole.

How do I get Axum Vision in Subnautica 2? Clear the armored pink Bloom cankers around the Angel Comb about 1,769 m east of the Lifepod with the Feedback Resonator, then interact with the Comb.

When is the next story chapter in Subnautica 2? With Early Access 2 in December 2026, which continues the colonists' story and the history of the Axum.

Sources

• Subnautica 2 - The Ultimate Beginner Guide!, Kysen, May 14, 2026 (video)
• The Subnautica 2 Story So Far - Story Explained, Wizzo, May 15, 2026 (video)
• Subnautica 2: How to Find (and Survive) the Collector Leviathan, IGN, May 16, 2026 (video)
• Subnautica 2 - Biome Maps and Secret Locations, IGN, May 19, 2026 (video)
• All Adaptations | How to Unlock / Complete Guide | Subnautica 2 Guide, TroubleChute Basics, May 21, 2026 (video)
• Subnautica 2 Early Access Buddy System Hotfix 1, Unknown Worlds, Sep 1, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.2 - Buddy System Update, Unknown Worlds, Aug 19, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Early Access Hotfix 4, Unknown Worlds, Jul 14, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.1 - Adaptive Measures Update, Unknown Worlds, Jul 8, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Early Access Roadmap, Unknown Worlds, May 15, 2026
• Subnautica 2, Steam store page
• Subnautica 2 Progression Guide: What to Do First, Game Rant (William Parks), May 14, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Tadpole Pens Code, Game Rant (William Parks), May 14, 2026
• How to Locate and Escape the Collector Squid Leviathan in Subnautica 2, Game Rant (Christopher Norman Worcester), May 21, 2026
• The Disease Is Armored Guide In Subnautica 2 (Alien Ruins Angel Comb), Game Rant (Nahda Nabiilah), May 18, 2026
• All Tadpole Upgrades and Tool Modifications, Game Rant (Mehrdad Khayyat), May 22, 2026
• How to Investigate Tadpole Pens in Subnautica 2 and Get Keycode, Beebom (Sanmay Chakrabarti), May 15, 2026
• Subnautica 2: Story Guide, MeinMMO (Alexander Mehrwald), May 27, 2026
• How to get past Bloom in Subnautica 2, PCGamesN (Christian Vaz), May 14, 2026
• Subnautica 2 Angel Comb locations - all adaptations, PCGamesN (Paul Kelly), May 20, 2026
• All Angel Comb and modification locations in Subnautica 2, Destructoid (Arka Sarkar), May 17, 2026
• How To Unlock Every Biomod, TheGamer (Kaitlyn Peterson), May 22, 2026
• Subnautica 2's Story Won't Be Finished At Launch, TheGamer (Sam Woods), May 1, 2026
• 12 Hours With Subnautica 2, Kotaku (John Walker), May 14, 2026
• Subnautica 2: Everything We Learned from Unknown Worlds, Wccftech (Alessio Palumbo), May 14, 2026