Yep…explore more. The game is best played blind; it gives you plenty of clues to work your way through. A few vague tips:
- Make sure to scan and read stuff. A lot of clues are provided in databank entries that you get from scanning things, radio messages, abandoned PDAs, etc.
- Make sure you’re keeping up to date with your radio. The game is very specifically designed not to hold your hand…but those location markers you get can lead you to new biomes or points of interest that have new resources and stuff.
Extremely important, not just for lore, but to guide you to places you need to be exploring. My first run, I tried to see how far I could get without the radio, I regret that, huge waste of time for no benefit.
Yeah, a lot of those radio broadcasts are effectively breadcrumbs pointing you to someplace interesting. A new biome, a wreck with good stuff, a dataslate with essential recipes. I can think of four places to point you to, and all four involve mentioning, "Hey remember when the radio sent you to X?"
The easiest way I've found is stay on surface of water, point N and turn 1 to 2 marks NE (so between N and NNE) to get to the Northisland. There will be diamonds in the cave along with a lot of lead. It's weird, but you won't actually see the island in the distance until you're very close to it. Nothing like if it was real life. You'll find diamonds other places, but that is the safest and easiest early on.
This was awesome! Checked this place out tonight. I just had my first radio message about pod 3 so I didn't even have a compass yet oops. Had no idea radio messages were such a big part of the game I'd be missing out on. Thanks again!
Spoilers
>!I feel like they became way less rare. In my recent playthrough I was in a certain biome towards the beginning and felt like every outcrop was dropping them. I had a locker full in no time!<
Roughly 1/3 shale outcrops should give you a diamond.
[https://www.reddit.com/r/subnautica/comments/1aoniyd/resource\_buckets\_aka\_the\_shuffle\_bag\_algorithm/](https://www.reddit.com/r/subnautica/comments/1aoniyd/resource_buckets_aka_the_shuffle_bag_algorithm/)
Take a good long look in the caverns full of snakes and luminous mushrooms (generally called the Jellyshroom caves after the scanner name for the mushrooms). It's dangerous early on, and you'll probably have to leave your seamoth up near the ceiling of the cave, but there are lots of the rarer materials that you need to build equipment. That said - you can go a pretty long time without a laser cutter. Most of the wrecks have alternate paths that will get around welded-shut doors, though they may stress you the hell out if you haven't improved your oxygen supply. The biggest air tank you can find supplies for is a good first priority. You can ignore the Aurora for a surprisingly long time if you want - there's nothing you need in the radiated area early on, and eventually you'll have supplies to make equipment that let you ignore it until you feel well-equipped to mess around with the aurora wreck.
And of course, go deeper. That radio you haven't fixed yet holds you by the hand on where to look for deep places, by providing miniquests to deeper and deeper pod crashes.
The absolute best way to find shale is to use a scanner room and the upgrade that provides search circles on your HUD for the selected resource. There's a decent amount of it not far from your crash site.
The generic Subnautica advice applies here: go deeper.
Can't go deeper yet? Explore outwards until you find something that lets you go deeper.
That's the only advice I have as I don't wanna spoil anything for ya. Happy swimming!
Have you had a call from Sunbeam yet? They asked you to meet them at a certain location. How much exploring did you do while you were there because that is a prime location?
You're probably not searching in the right areas, as for example sandstone outcrops can only be found under or just above 100 meter depth. Also certain outcrops can only be found in certain areas. I recommend looking up where they spawn and search there, or if you're lazy and have extra materials build a scanner room there
The radio broadcast are the "quests" for the game. They progress you through the storyline. During the trip to each quest location you'll usually come across a wreck that will have new technology and of course around the quest area.
You certainly don't have to do it in order but it is designed to get progressively harder or rather deeper.
They are all over the place. Later in game you can set up a radar station in your bases and pick diamond. Until then look 200-259m+.
If you take an emergency buoyancy device (or two and swap) you can climb 200m in seconds.
Diamonds can be found by breaking Shale Outcrops. Shale Outcrops are found plentiful in Jellyshroom Caves, Mountains or Sparse Reef for example.
The deeper you go, the more likely you are to find them raw on the seabed as well.
Yep…explore more. The game is best played blind; it gives you plenty of clues to work your way through. A few vague tips: - Make sure to scan and read stuff. A lot of clues are provided in databank entries that you get from scanning things, radio messages, abandoned PDAs, etc. - Make sure you’re keeping up to date with your radio. The game is very specifically designed not to hold your hand…but those location markers you get can lead you to new biomes or points of interest that have new resources and stuff.
How far are you along in radio broadcasts? Shale is usually lower than 100 m or in certain areas
Admittedly not at all lol, I guess I should probably make a radio 😁
That will help :) Or you can fix then one in the pod
You lifepod has one
I did repair the one in the pod at the start but haven't been checking them, wasn't aware they were important. Will build one in my habitat!
Extremely important, not just for lore, but to guide you to places you need to be exploring. My first run, I tried to see how far I could get without the radio, I regret that, huge waste of time for no benefit.
i tend to get lifepod 17 radio signal first or very early. there are shale outcrops nearby that signal.
Yeah, a lot of those radio broadcasts are effectively breadcrumbs pointing you to someplace interesting. A new biome, a wreck with good stuff, a dataslate with essential recipes. I can think of four places to point you to, and all four involve mentioning, "Hey remember when the radio sent you to X?"
Those radio mean a new thing added to world map.
Some scripted radio events will send you to areas will you will almost certainly find diaminds
Go deeper.
The easiest way I've found is stay on surface of water, point N and turn 1 to 2 marks NE (so between N and NNE) to get to the Northisland. There will be diamonds in the cave along with a lot of lead. It's weird, but you won't actually see the island in the distance until you're very close to it. Nothing like if it was real life. You'll find diamonds other places, but that is the safest and easiest early on.
This was awesome! Checked this place out tonight. I just had my first radio message about pod 3 so I didn't even have a compass yet oops. Had no idea radio messages were such a big part of the game I'd be missing out on. Thanks again!
Don't worry dude just build all the shit and keep exploring. You'll love it.
Yeah I love this game it's so good, easiest $40 I've ever spent!
diamonds are rare and you need to go pretty far or deep to find them. I don't think you travelled far enough
Spoilers >!I feel like they became way less rare. In my recent playthrough I was in a certain biome towards the beginning and felt like every outcrop was dropping them. I had a locker full in no time!<
Roughly 1/3 shale outcrops should give you a diamond. [https://www.reddit.com/r/subnautica/comments/1aoniyd/resource\_buckets\_aka\_the\_shuffle\_bag\_algorithm/](https://www.reddit.com/r/subnautica/comments/1aoniyd/resource_buckets_aka_the_shuffle_bag_algorithm/)
Use a scanner room for shale and loom at jellyshroom caves, was my main source for shale ngl
Also the >!mountain island!< that's a place that isn't deep but full of shale.
Lovely option too, sea treaders path also isn't too bad if you want an easy source, though it may be a bit far at times
Take a good long look in the caverns full of snakes and luminous mushrooms (generally called the Jellyshroom caves after the scanner name for the mushrooms). It's dangerous early on, and you'll probably have to leave your seamoth up near the ceiling of the cave, but there are lots of the rarer materials that you need to build equipment. That said - you can go a pretty long time without a laser cutter. Most of the wrecks have alternate paths that will get around welded-shut doors, though they may stress you the hell out if you haven't improved your oxygen supply. The biggest air tank you can find supplies for is a good first priority. You can ignore the Aurora for a surprisingly long time if you want - there's nothing you need in the radiated area early on, and eventually you'll have supplies to make equipment that let you ignore it until you feel well-equipped to mess around with the aurora wreck. And of course, go deeper. That radio you haven't fixed yet holds you by the hand on where to look for deep places, by providing miniquests to deeper and deeper pod crashes. The absolute best way to find shale is to use a scanner room and the upgrade that provides search circles on your HUD for the selected resource. There's a decent amount of it not far from your crash site.
The generic Subnautica advice applies here: go deeper. Can't go deeper yet? Explore outwards until you find something that lets you go deeper. That's the only advice I have as I don't wanna spoil anything for ya. Happy swimming!
Go deeper
Know the red grass areas? Explore around there. Prepare to go deeper.
I’m playing through in survival some years later. Decided not to listen to the radio. Doing fine, but, I need to grow a pair. Need to go deeper.
Have you had a call from Sunbeam yet? They asked you to meet them at a certain location. How much exploring did you do while you were there because that is a prime location?
Go deeper
You know the cliff near the front of the Aurora and the mushroom forest? (That's where I find shale outcrops on my playthroughs)
There are certain biomes were certain resources spawn. >!try going southwest!<
You're probably not searching in the right areas, as for example sandstone outcrops can only be found under or just above 100 meter depth. Also certain outcrops can only be found in certain areas. I recommend looking up where they spawn and search there, or if you're lazy and have extra materials build a scanner room there
By "there" I mean in the area where the shale outcrops spawn
The radio broadcast are the "quests" for the game. They progress you through the storyline. During the trip to each quest location you'll usually come across a wreck that will have new technology and of course around the quest area. You certainly don't have to do it in order but it is designed to get progressively harder or rather deeper.
Jellyshroom caves
They are all over the place. Later in game you can set up a radar station in your bases and pick diamond. Until then look 200-259m+. If you take an emergency buoyancy device (or two and swap) you can climb 200m in seconds.
Check out mushroom forest
Diamonds can be found by breaking Shale Outcrops. Shale Outcrops are found plentiful in Jellyshroom Caves, Mountains or Sparse Reef for example. The deeper you go, the more likely you are to find them raw on the seabed as well.