Subnautica 2 Biomods

Best Biomods for the trip you are taking

Start with Dash and Sea Skimmer for the opening swim route, then change your loadout when the next trip has a different bottleneck. These are recommendations based on each ability's role. Check your unlocked abilities at a Biolab, choose one active option, and fill only the passive slots available in your save.

With one passive slot, choose the effect that solves your main limitation. More passive slots let you combine different roles, but the number of abilities offered by Biolabs is separate from the number you can equip. Use the cumulative scan milestones below to plan another slot.

How many Bioscans unlock each passive slot?

A normal progression save starts with one passive slot. In PC build 131439, the next four unlock at the cumulative Bioscan totals below. Use the Total Bio Scans counter in the Biolab interface to plan your next milestone.

The goals are totals, so reaching 20 unlocks the third passive slot; the next goal is 40 total, or 20 more. Do not add 10 + 20 + 40 + 80 together. Gaining a passive slot also does not add another active-ability slot or unlock a particular ability automatically.

Choose an ability from the creature research checklist, watch the total counter as you complete bioscans, then equip your choices at a Biolab. The slot counter and each ability's required research are separate parts of progression.

Water Secretion vs Water Retention

Both help with water, but they solve different supply problems. Water Secretion gradually fills a water packet; Water Retention doubles positive hydration from consumed food and drinks in PC build 131439. Start with the ability that matches what you actually lack.

How long does a Filtered Water Packet take to fill?

With Water Secretion continuously equipped at normal game speed, the filling cycle runs every 150 seconds (2 minutes 30 seconds). Starting with no packet, the first cycle creates a 5-water packet. Subsequent cycles increase that packet's base water value by 5, up to 30.

• A full packet stops at 30: keeping it in your backpack does not keep adding water or normally produce a second packet. Drink it or move it into storage to let a later cycle start another.
• The cycle checks your backpack: keep the packet there while it fills, and allow inventory room for a new one. A packet left in storage does not keep filling through your equipped ability.
• Two passive slots let you pair the effects: a full 30-water packet supplies 60 water with Water Retention equipped, subject to your current water limit. Early partial packets can also be consumed when you need a smaller refill.

If hunger is the real limit, compare Slow Metabolism and Dermal Garden instead. For food marked incompatible, follow the Digestion adaptation guide. Prepare ready-to-use supplies before leaving; unlocking a Biomod is not the same as equipping it.

Oxygen Control: save oxygen while stopped

In PC build 131439, Oxygen Control sets the base oxygen-use multiplier to 0.25 while you remain still and are either submerged or inside an unpowered base. That is 25% of the base rate, a 75% reduction while the condition holds.

Use a stop to inspect the area or plan the return route. Moving ends the stationary condition, so do not budget an entire swimming trip around the reduced rate. Depth, equipment and the time spent moving still affect how much oxygen the journey needs.

With another unlocked passive slot, Camouflage offers a second reason to remain still near predators. Keep a retreat route available; neither effect replaces the oxygen and depth plan.

Biomod unlocks: which creatures should you bioscan?

Pick the ability you want, then use its targets as a survey checklist. These are Bioscanner research requirements for PC build 131439, reviewed October 18, 2026. Some abilities can also be granted by a Biolab; check your unlocked list before making a special trip. Unlocking an ability does not automatically equip it.

For a supply-focused trip, start with Water Slug or Coral Crab research. Electric Geordie contributes to both Electric Discharge and Bioluminescence. Keep Collector Leviathan research as a later objective, with a planned retreat. Read the predator survival guide before approaching dangerous targets.