Quick answer
For early shallow caves, stay close to bright water, enter only when you can still name the exit landmark, and turn around before the second unfamiliar bend. If you stop to scan, treat that as a real oxygen expense. This page uses Bilibili gameplay stills as visual route cues, not fixed coordinates, because Subnautica 2 Early Access routes can shift after patches.
Field notes from the video
Start where the surface still helps
Good beginner cave routes begin in water where the surface light, cave mouth, and nearby terrain are all readable. If the cave is already a black slot from outside, it is probably not the first route to force.
Scan after you know the exit
Scanning feels harmless until the O2 warning hits. Find the exit cue first, then scan. If the scan pulls you deeper, leave it marked in your head and come back with a better tank.
The second bend is the honest check
One bend is fine. Two bends without a landmark chain is how a short dive becomes a bad swim. If you cannot picture the way out, turn around while you still feel calm.
Gameplay stills for this route
These stills come from the user-provided Bilibili first-run video. Use them as visual cues for route reading. They are not official coordinates.
Use the shallow-water light line first
This frame is the cue to copy: stay near water that still has bright surface light and readable terrain. If the entrance is already dark before you enter, save it for a later oxygen upgrade.
Source: Bilibili BV1zh5d68Eft, around 10:07
Scan time counts as oxygen cost
The player pauses here to read the area. That pause is exactly why cave runs need a bigger O2 margin than open-water looting.
Source: Bilibili BV1zh5d68Eft, around 17:43
Turn around before the cave stops looking familiar
Treat the cave mouth, light shaft, and first bend as your return chain. If you pass the second bend without a plan, the route is no longer a quick beginner dive.
Source: Bilibili BV1zh5d68Eft, around 20:15Visual notes and source media
Original route art
Abyss Guides uses original chibi deep-sea art for page visuals instead of copying wiki screenshots or fan uploads.
Source: Abyss Guides original artwork
Official Subnautica 2 gameplay trailer
Use the trailer for mood, vehicles, and biome context. Do not treat trailer scenes as exact farming coordinates.
Source: Official Subnautica YouTube embedHow to run the route without wasting oxygen
Walk the route from the outside first
Before entering, hover outside the cave mouth and look for a return marker. The best marker is something you can see from both directions: a bright water column, a distinctive rock lip, or a clean opening back to blue water.
Enter with a single job
Do not mix three goals on the first pass. Pick one: check the first chamber, scan the nearest fragment, or grab one obvious resource cluster. Leave the deeper fork alone until the route is familiar.
Turn around at half oxygen if you stopped to scan
The usual mistake is treating scanning as free. It is not. If you stop inside the cave, use half oxygen as the turn-back line unless you have an upgraded tank or a known oxygen reset nearby.
Use the entrance as your save point, not the cave floor
When the first chamber is clear, leave and reset. A second short dive with a known path beats one long dive where every extra item makes the exit feel farther away.
Write down the useful cue
After the route, keep one note: which entrance, which first bend, and what you saw inside. That note turns the next dive into a route instead of a guess.
Route cue card
Green
Enter
Bright entrance, clear exit cue, one small objective.
Yellow
Scout
One unknown is okay if the exit is still obvious.
Red
Leave
Dark second bend, low oxygen, or scan target pulling you deeper.
Shallow cave decisions
| Moment | What to do |
|---|---|
| Bright cave mouth, readable terrain | Enter for a short first chamber check. |
| Dark entrance before you go in | Mark it mentally and come back with more oxygen. |
| First scan target appears | Scan only if the exit cue is still clear. |
| Second unfamiliar bend | Turn around unless you already mapped the cave. |
| Inventory is nearly full | Leave. A full bag makes the dive less useful and more stressful. |
| O2 warning hits inside the cave | Stop looting immediately and swim the exit chain. |
Do not turn video frames into fake coordinates
The Bilibili stills are useful because they show how a real player reads water, cave shape, and scan timing. They should not be treated as fixed spawn coordinates. Early Access patches, save seed differences, and route choices can change what you see.
FAQ
Where should I start looking for shallow caves?
Start near safe, bright shallows around your early route rather than swimming straight into dark water. Look for cave mouths with visible surface light and a clear way back out.
How much oxygen do I need before entering?
For a first pass, enter only if you can reach the first chamber, pause once, and leave with margin. If you plan to scan, treat half oxygen as the practical turn-back point.
Should I keep exploring after finding one useful resource?
Usually no. Leave, store the item, and return with a known route. The first good find often tempts players into the part of the cave they have not mapped yet.
Are the video stills exact locations?
No. They are route-reading examples from a Bilibili gameplay video. Use them to recognize entrance lighting, scan pauses, and turn-back cues, not as exact map markers.