Depth Levels

HUD depth indicator

Depth is one of the main HUD indicators and is central to navigating the Seamoth, Cyclops, and PRAWN Suit in Subnautica.

Depth also has an impact on Seabases: Hull Integrity is affected by adding a multiplier to base modules with a negative integrity. Solar Panels become less effective in deeper waters, as well.

Depth is currently only measured underwater - if the player's position is above sea level, the indicator will still show as 0 meters.

Around 3000 meters the world "ends" and gives way to the void.

Player Depth

Currently, the player can go to greater depths than the crush depth of their vehicles without taking damage. However, the player depletes oxygen faster as they go deeper. For example, referring to the graph below, in the 'white' zone (0m-99m) the player will lose 1 oxygen every second. In the 'yellow' zone, the player loses 2 oxygen every second (100-199), and in red, the player loses 3 oxygen every second (200+). This is mitigated by equipping a Rebreather.

Crush Depth Stages

There are currently three stages of depth. The indicator will change color if it passes to another stage. Each stage affects vehicles in different ways.

When the vehicle is in the safe zone, the depth will be displayed in white text and will not normally take damage.

When it goes past the safety depth, the computer system will warn the player that they are leaving the safe zone, and the text will be in yellow. Bumping into solid objects can cause damage to the vehicle.

When the Cyclops goes past the crush depth, the computer system will warn the player that hull damage is imminent. The player then has a few seconds to turn back to avoid damage. In the Seamoth and Prawn Suit, the vehicle will take damage and start cracking. In the Cyclops, the hull will start to spring leaks and water will fill the interior, which will drag the Cyclops down further if not taken care of. The player then has to turn back, as attempts to repair the damage past the crush depth will be futile.

It is possible to increase a vehicle's maximum depth using Upgrades.

Seamoth Depths

Depth	Upgrade 1	Upgrade 2	Upgrade 3	Indicator color	Effect
0-179 meters	0-249 meters	0-449 meters	0-859 meters	White	None; the Seamoth will not take any damage
180-199 meters	250-299 meters	450-499 meters	850-899 meters	Yellow	Past safe zone; Seamoth will take damage on impact
200+ meters	300+ meters	500+ meters	900+ meters	Red	Hull integrity compromised; Seamoth will take damage so long as it is below crush depth

Cyclops Depths

Depth	Upgrade 1	Upgrade 2	Indicator color	Effect
0-449 meters	0-849 meters	0-1449 meters	White	None; the Cyclops will not take any damage
450-499 meters	850-899 meters	1450-1499 meters	Yellow	Past safe zone; Cyclops will take damage on impact
500+ meters	900+ meters	1500+ meters	Red	Hull integrity compromised; Cyclops will slowly start to spring more and more leaks

Prawn Suit Depths

Depth	Upgrade 1	Upgrade 2	Upgrade 3	Indicator color	Effect
0-849 meters	0-999 meters	0-1249 meters	0-1649 meters	White	None; the Prawn Suit will not take any damage
850-899 meters	1000-1049 meters	1250-1299 meters	1650-1699 meters	Yellow	Past safe zone; Prawn Suit will take damage on impact
900+ meters	1050+ meters	1300+ meters	1700+ meters	Red	Hull integrity compromised; Prawn Suit will take damage so long as it is below crush depth

Future Plans

In the future, Depth will be important to watch, as going up too quickly will hurt the player.

Speculation

As Depth has many effects outside the Subnautica universe, it might well be that it will affect more things in future builds, such as for example the player's health or usage of Oxygen.

Gallery

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  Depth HUD indicator at the surface shows zero meters

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  Cyclops: Even inside the vehicle shows HUD indicator

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  The HUD indicator shows yellow color when the player is between 100 and 200 meters.

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  The HUD indicator shows red color when the player is deeper than 200 meters.

Trivia

• If the player swims past 500m in depth, they will start breathing faster, to reflect the pressure making it harder for them to breath properly at this depth. This happens even with the Rebreather equipped, but doesn't affect oxygen usage (Assuming the Rebreather is equipped).