Co-op Guide

Subnautica 2 is the first game in the series with co-op. Up to 4 players, all online, all working from one shared world. Here is how to keep that world from collapsing into chaos in hour two.

Deep sea exploration scene with submersibles and glowing underwater structures

Suggested roles

Roles are not enforced by the game. These are just the divisions that worked best in the original's modded co-op and similar survival games.

🏗️

Builder

Plans base placement, runs power and storage. Usually stays close to base.

🔭

Explorer

Pushes into new biomes, scans creatures, marks signal beacons for the group.

⛏️

Gatherer

Resource flow runs through them. Knows what the builder is short on this hour.

For a 4-player group, the fourth seat is usually a second explorer or a dedicated vehicle operator (Seamoth/Cyclops-equivalent driver).

Tips for smoother sessions

▸Pick a base location together before anyone runs off. Moving a half-built base costs an entire session.
▸Keep one shared list of what the group needs. Otherwise three people come back with copper and nobody has titanium.
▸Designate a navigator before deeper dives. One person calls direction, others mine and scan.
▸One player carries backup batteries, med packs, and an emergency air tank. Saves a death every session.
▸Voice chat helps more than you think. Creature encounters move fast, and typing while drowning is not a viable strategy.

Divers and a maintenance robot near an underwater habitat corridor

Move as a team

Pick a navigator before anyone leaves the base.

Underwater machine bay with robotic arms and a parked submersible

Shared upgrades

Vehicle and tool goals stay visible to the whole group.

Deeper role notes, base templates, and creature-by-creature group tactics land after we put real time into the Early Access build.