Start on matching builds
- Update every device and choose the same branch. Experimental and normal Early Access use separate, incompatible saves.
- Choose whose world to continue. For an existing solo world, use Play Single Player → select the save → Convert to Multiplayer. Add friends through Play with Friends → Friend Code, or Generate Code to send your own.
- If joining reports different versions, compare builds before reinstalling. Hotfixes can reach platforms at different times.
- Check each diver's oxygen equipment, food and emergency supplies before leaving. Pick a return landmark and agree on when to turn back.
See multiplayer setup for connection help or Save Codes for moving a world between devices. Sending a save copy and joining a live session are different actions.
Hand the world to another host
Before the original host becomes unavailable, have them save the group’s progress and select the world in the main-menu save list. Save to Cloud generates a Save Code; the next host enters it through Import Save File, checks the imported progress and hosts that world.
Agree which copy the group will continue. A Save Code transfers a snapshot of the world, so send the latest save again when handing it back. See the multiplayer guide for the full conversion and handoff steps.
Suggested roles
These are suggested responsibilities, not character classes. Combine them for a smaller group or rotate them between trips.
🏗️
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.
A fourth player can navigate, watch for hazards or handle another part of the material list. For example, a Scanner Station needs 3 Titanium, 1 System Chip and 1 Wiring Kit: agree who prepares the electronics before everyone spends the same Silver.
Share supplies and trade directly
Keep shared crafting materials in accessible base storage and agree which reserves belong to the next build. Buddy System also lets players interact with one another to exchange inventory items directly, so you can hand over supplies without first returning to a locker.
Exit a Tadpole before trying to trade: Buddy System Hotfix 1 blocks inventory sharing while riding in one. Check each character's PDA for their equipment and abilities before a trip, even when the group is gathering for the same goal.
Tips for smoother sessions
- ▸Pick a base location together and leave space for the next station or vehicle support piece.
- ▸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.
- ▸Call out predators and retreat toward a known landmark. Avoid deliberately drawing an attack onto a teammate.
- ▸Each diver should carry essential supplies. Shared reserves help, but separating from the group should not leave someone without food or emergency oxygen.
- ▸Voice chat helps more than you think. Creature encounters move fast, and typing while drowning is not a viable strategy.
Use proximity voice chat
Players become harder to hear as they move farther apart. Choose always-on, push-to-talk or always-off in the voice settings and try the setting near base before splitting up. September’s Hotfix 1 fixes push-to-talk input; October 6’s Hotfix 2 improves voice activity detection so local and remote players are handled consistently.
Hotfix 2 also fixes a state where the host could appear dead after your own character died. If this still happens on matching builds, record which player died and which player sees the incorrect state.
The emote radial menu offers Wave, Clap, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down and Frustrated. Emotes work on land and in water and can be interrupted by gameplay input.
Revive a teammate before reprinting
Buddy System lets players revive each other while downed, before reprinting. A revived player keeps their equipment and regains a small amount of oxygen. Approach only when you can also leave safely, then move together toward air or a safe return route.
A downed player can instead choose to reprint immediately at their assigned Biobed. A predator or oxygen-starved wreck can endanger the rescuer too. The oxygen received after revival is a chance to recover, not a full resupply.
A Tracking Tag in hand or inventory when reprinting increases the black box detection range. Inside a carryable such as a locker, it acts as a short-range beacon, helping the group organize supply containers.
Official update references
