Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.2: The Buddy System Update

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Greetings, Divers!

The latest major milestone for Subnautica 2 has arrived: Early Access Update 1.2, titled the Buddy System, is now live. This release delivers several of our most highly anticipated multiplayer enhancements, including localized Proximity Voice Chat, Player Revives, an Emote wheel, direct Player-to-Player Trading, two fresh playable characters, and an extensive array of quality-of-life improvements and bug fixes.

Items denoted with 🤿 highlight changes and additions directly inspired by player feedback!

This update will automatically download via Steam at no additional cost. If the patch has not initiated, please restart your Steam client. Should you encounter any technical hurdles, please visit our Official Support Portal.

For a guided walkthrough of these new features, join Design Lead Anthony Gallegos in our latest developer overview video:

New to the depths? You can explore the game and join the journey directly on the Subnautica 2 Steam Store Page.

Have feature suggestions or improvements you would love to see in future updates? Post and upvote ideas on our Community Feedback Board. For real-time bug submissions, utilize the in-game feedback tool or submit a ticket through our Support Hub. You can also join our vibrant community on the Official Discord Server to share theories, base designs, and gameplay strategies.

Safe diving!

Patch Notes: Update 1.2 (Buddy System)

Gameplay & Mechanics

🤿 Cross-Platform Voice Chat: Multiplayer hosts can toggle between Global communication and realistic Proximity Voice Chat (volume attenuates with distance). Transmission modes include Open Mic, Push-to-Talk, and Disabled.
Tracking Tags: Deployable inside mobile storage (such as lockers) to serve as localized navigation beacons. Holding or carrying a tag during reprinting extends the detection radius of Black Boxes.
Downed State & Revive System: Teammates can now resuscitate downed players before they fully reprint. Revived players retain their gear and recover a baseline supply of oxygen. Alternatively, players can choose an immediate reprint directly to their designated Biobed.
Radial Emote System: Added Wave, Applause, Thumbs Up, Thumbs Down, and Frustration emotes. Fully usable on land and submerged; actions can be interrupted instantaneously by movement or combat inputs.
🤿 Direct Player Trading: Players can now initiate direct inventory exchanges with one another.
Character Customization: Introduced two new character models—Jegna and Grace—alongside two fresh suit palettes.
Enhanced on-screen prompts for Upgrade Biobeds for greater clarity.
Implemented an acoustic cue when approaching player upgrade stations within close proximity.
Added a subtle visual flash transition upon interacting with Upgrade Biobeds.

Flora & Fauna

Integrated reactive flinch animations and visual effects for the Marrowbreach, Hammerhead, Nibbler, Needlershark, Epicurean, and Twin Eel.
Rebalanced Bulletheads: Increased overall damage output while offering windowed opportunities for agile evasion.
Expanded animation set for Coral Crabs.
Revamped 3D model geometry and animations for the Bloom Parasite.
Refined tentacle physics and visual fidelity for the Jelly Ring.

Resources & World Generation

Placed additional Carryable Racks throughout early-game wreckage sites and abandoned infrastructure.

Base Construction

🤿 Overhauled the placement UI in the Habitat Builder, introducing alignment guides and snapping cues.
Optimized the “Move Mode” networking behavior for multiplayer clients.
Updated the Tadpole Dock interface icon to mirror its redesigned asset.
Enhanced modular snapping, allowing players to fully deconstruct rooms utilizing the Shrink function.
Functional Waste Disposal: The Trash Can now permanently disintegrates discarded items sequentially following a 5-second countdown.
Restricted base building inside the Great Jaw.
Added an explicit dynamic checklist displaying structural obstructions when a placement fails.

Vehicles, Equipment & Tools

Feedback Resonator interactions now induce a temporary stun on targets rather than triggering a flee response.
Prolonged the Sonic Resonator creature incapacitation duration to 10 seconds.
Acid deposits now generate distinct green locator pings on the Scanner HUD.
The Repair Tool blueprint now successfully unlocks after completing two distinct scans.
Tadpoles inadvertently destroyed outside early access boundary fences now automatically reposition within playable bounds for recovery.

User Interface & Experience

Revamped HUD waypoints: Dynamic scaling reduces visual noise (icons expand on approach, and hovering displays contextual information for distant beacons).
Direct clipboard pasting is now supported in the Cloud Save Download field.
The Habitat Builder interface now retains its scroll position between closures.
Pinned recipes now illuminate dynamically when prerequisite crafting materials enter inventory.
Enhanced readability by removing dimmed states on pinned blueprint items.
Refined error descriptions for non-Game Pass Microsoft network users.
Audio logs now display real-time elapsed and remaining playback duration meters.

Visuals & Audio FX

Optimized visual effect rendering performance in the Graveyard biome, especially during dense Water Slug accumulation.
Introduced dedicated Scanner HUD icons for Tallshrooms.
Integrated dynamic impact effects for the Tongue Thief.
Added functional illumination conduits connecting the Observatory to the Rosetta Stone.
Eliminated an unintended persistent blue outline surrounding the Collector Leviathan.
Standardized particle systems for sparks and electrical arcs across all biomes.
Added dynamic impact shockwaves when Hammerheads collide with solid surfaces.
Enhanced ambient environmental atmospheric effects inside abandoned outposts and sunken wrecks.
Added original biome musical compositions for the Tufa Zone, Thermal Area, and North Coral Gardens.

Narrative & Localization

Completed translation coverage across previously unlocalized strings.
Standardized nomenclature for Carryable Racks game-wide (retiring erratic “Wall Rack” and “Hardpoint” labels).
Reduced frequency of repetitive NOA automated warnings.
Polished Italian and Spanish Welcome Center localized voice recordings.
Adjusted narrative timing and pacing across scripted logs to match accompanying scene actions.
Added missing Databank entries for the Modification Station and multiple orphaned audiologs.
Refined voice-over priority queues to ensure critical story events are not superseded by generic alerts.

System & Engine Enhancements

Updated Privacy Policy acceptance prompt appears upon initial launch.
Added support for 5x and 6x Frame Generation modes alongside Dynamic Frame Generation for RTX 50-series hardware.
Enabled simultaneous usage of VSync alongside DLSS Frame Generation.
Added informational tooltips explaining NVIDIA Reflex functionality within Video Settings.
Reordered and grouped audio sliders for streamlined mixing.
Save files can now be attached directly through the in-game User Feedback tool.

Bug Fixes

Resolved an issue where the Collector Leviathan would perform a continuous 360-degree rotation when grappling or tossing a Tadpole.
Fixed controller/gamepad navigation bounding errors that caused settings menus to clip off-screen.
🤿 Patched an exploit where hot-swapping materials in an active Metal Farm caused new resources to inherit the elapsed growth timer of the previous item.
🤿 Fixed a visual bug where opened Angel Comb cankers appeared shut following patch updates.
Pausing the game during a sprint no longer locks the character into perpetual sprinting upon resume.
Restricted Axum/Tailings furniture from being constructed outside base perimeters.
Prevented the Tadpole from docking when clear pathing is obstructed, preventing collision trapping.
🤿 Addressed multiplayer recipe synchronization and tool interaction inconsistencies between hosts and clients.
Fixed visual anomalies and missing energy conduits on Power Transmitters across multiplayer sessions.
🤿 Fixed Hydroelectric Turbines ceasing power production and propeller animations after extended playthrough sessions (120–160 minutes).
Resolved regional soundtrack triggers failing or overlapping across distinct biome borders.
Fixed a soft-lock where initiating “Unstuck” during the Lifepod launch sequence displaced the character into the Deep Start intro room.
Corrected input behavior where pressing Spacebar during Terms of Service skipped explicit agreement.
Fixed an edge case where the Camouflage Biomod activation during an attack sequence forced the Collector Leviathan to drop the player prematurely.
Resolved ghost chassis marker pings lingering on the HUD after installation onto the Tadpole.
Fixed dive mask geometry clipping through the camera when adjusting Field of View (FOV).
🤿 Resolved numerous world geometry vulnerabilities, floating resource nodes, collision voids, and misaligned terrain meshes.
🤿 Sealed a collision gap allowing access to the Welcome Center battery terminal through external hull walls.
Synchronized the Jetocaris PDA icon to accurately match the in-game render.
Ensured the Feedback Resonator audio dialogue only plays upon construction rather than during recipe acquisition.
Fixed databank unlock triggers failing upon discovery of the Cicada Wreck (Stairway to Heaven).
Corrected the voice-over trigger for the Axum Metal Farm to play upon scanning rather than regional entry.
Restored the ability to utilize Algae Blocks and Nutrient Blocks as viable Bioreactor fuel sources.
Necrolei Cysts can now be cultivated inside interior and exterior Growbeds.
Fixed an issue where executing “Unstuck” while carrying utility objects locked toolbar item swapping.
Resolved missing scan highlights across multiple interactive world assets.
Fixed an issue where saving and reloading with an active utility item in hand disabled toolbar hotkey inputs.
Resolved stability conflicts when running NVIDIA Reflex concurrently with DLSS Frame Generation.
🤿 Corrected an issue where an exhausted Wakemaker reduced player movement speeds below unequipped baseline values.
🤿 Resolved an issue where unexpected game crashes produced phantom save-file corruption messages.
🤿 Fixed server desynchronization caused when multiplayer clients interacted with Growbed modules.
🤿 Prevented bases from maintaining active power states after internal Power Storage reserves hit zero.
🤿 Addressed client shutdown hangs when exiting via Steam.
🤿 The NOA automated voice system no longer directs users to the Lifepod once an on-base NOA Terminal has been constructed.
🤿 Corrected duplicate item generation glitches caused by simultaneously dropping and tossing assets.
🤿 Prevented Tadpoles docked in deconstructed bases from being displaced to coordinates (0,0,0).
🤿 Fixed restrictions preventing Power Cell Terminals from being positioned on elevated interior walls.
🤿 Sealed multiple out-of-bounds terrain gaps surrounding the Observatory, Sparse Plains, and Axum Metal Farms.
🤿 Prevented marine life from clipping into or spawning within pressurized base interiors.
🤿 Fixed custom habitat labels resetting capitalization upon confirmation.
🤿 Adjusted harvest hitboxes within Growbeds to correspond with plant model boundaries.
🤿 Resolved battery duplication and instant-recharge exploits tied to rapid reload cycles before saving.
🤿 Fixed player character mesh entering an “A-pose” if a flare was cast immediately before Lifepod launch sequences.
🤿 Resolved functionality issues where the “Unstuck” command failed to execute while operating a vehicle.
🤿 Corrected visual mesh clipping when handling the Basic First Aid Kit.