Subnautica is an open-world action-adventure game where players have to survive the deep oceans on an alien planet. Everyone knows that our planet’s oceans are filled with uncovered secrets and mysteries. But for the creators of Subnautica, that wasn’t enough, so they introduced the terrifying underwater ecosystem of planet Aurora.
Some creatures are mesmerizing, some are breathtakingly beautiful, some are even adorable, but most are either scary or just unsettling. A lot of these alien lifeforms might look disturbing for players, leaving them uncomfortable just looking at it. For this list, we’ve gathered all the scariest Subnautica creatures that make the hair stand up on every players’ back and ranked them according to their actual strength.
Luckily for new players, they have a distinct advantage over those who picked up the game when it was still in its infancy. Thanks to all the players who have tried to fight or evade the scariest Subnautica creatures, strategies on how best to deal with them have been learned.
So, to give new or returning players a helping hand, we’ve added entries under all the creatures on this list, detailing how best to deal with them.
10 Peeper
While in general a harmless creature, the Peeper sure has a way into people’s nightmares. Scopophobia is the fear of being stared at. Players who didn’t know what it was, or thought they don’t have this disorder, now realize, that they indeed have scopophobia.
Unfortunately, Subnautica is full of creatures whose only purpose is to stare deep into every players’ soul, and they’re literally everywhere. If it’s not the Peeper, it’s Eyeye, and even though they’re small and harmless, people want to slay them all. Every gaming forum that asks the question “which Subnautica creature gives you the creeps” gets an overwhelming wave of responses saying the Peeper.
How To Deal With Peepers
Thankfully, Peepers are passive, so players don’t have to worry about them dealing any damage.
9 Eyeye
Another passive creature that can dive deep into the subconscious of players, the Eyeye is harmless in the game, but attacks the player on a deep level, unlocking once again, the unknown fear of being constantly stared at.
If people thought a toddler can stare into their souls, they haven’t been face-to-face with this adorable nightmare. And to make things worst, the Eyeye is found almost everywhere on the map, so it’s basically unavoidable. Future Subnautica players, get ready to be stared at.
How To Deal With Eyeeyes
Like Peepers, Eyeeyes are passive creatures, so they can be ignored.
8 Bleeder
The Bleeder is the most annoying creature in Subnautica bar none. It has minimal health, so it’s easily killed, but it’s very relentless, highly aggressive, and if a player doesn’t notice it clinging to their body, it can cause quite a bit of damage.
This little creature causes some sort of PTSD in players, as they say, that after learning what they’re capable of, even seeing one from a distance causes irritation and fear. The number one task when starting this game is to avoid these leeches.
How To Deal With Bleeders
Bleeders are a nuisance to deal with, as most players won’t see them until it’s too late. Consequently, even the most observant players need to be prepared for one leeching onto them.
Thankfully, Bleeders have very low health, so are easy to kill. When entering a location that contains Bleeders, be sure to have the Survival Knife handy, as a few swings will be enough to kill them. Bleeders congregate in the following 4546B areas:
7 Warper
The Warper is one of the creepiest creatures as told by most players, because of its unusual and highly unsettling look. In fact, it’s not even a creature, rather a biomechanical life form created by the Precursor race. Even though it only attacks when provoked, it can cause damage between levels 10 and 69, so it’s better to not take those chances.
It has the ability to generate a teleportation gate, and they’re not shy about using it. Some say the Warper is to Subnautica, what the Enderman is to Minecraft. And this analogy isn’t that far off, as both cause high damage, and relentlessly attack when provoked. Not to mention, that both of them are creepy-looking.
How To Deal With Warpers
Firstly, it’s important to note that Warpers flip between passive and aggressive, depending on where players are in the story. When the player’s infection level is at level 1 or 5, Warpers are passive. However, when their infection level is between 2 and 4, Warper’s become aggressive.
Warpers are very tricky to deal with, as they can warp other creatures to fight by their side, meaning there is no one strategy to deal with them. Moreover, Warpers can warp players out of any vehicle (excluding the Cyclops) into the water, leaving them vulnerable. The Stasis Rifle is also largely ineffective against them, as they can warp out of being frozen.
The only reliable way to deal with Warpers is to use the Seamoth’s Perimeter Defense System, as the system’s blast will cause Warpers to warp away to safety.
6 Sand Shark
The Sand Shark, as can be assumed by its name, is always near the seafloor, and never goes near the surface. It’s an aggressive predator, but its looks are much scarier than its actual damage rates. It has four eyes, a huge fin on top of its head, and a lot of teeth. A scary amount of teeth. And for some reason, it always looks like it’s smiling which makes it even creepier.
But besides all of these horrifying qualities, it’s not that hard to beat. Its bite is only at a level 30 damage, and its health is at a low 250. Although it’s faster than some, it can be defeated if players aren’t too startled by the sight of this monster.
How To Deal With Sandsharks
As their name suggests, Sandsharks predominantly reside in the sand. This can lead to some nasty surprises, as they’ll jump out of the sand and attack players if they get too close to the ocean floor.
Thankfully, there is a way to spot Sandsharks. Like a great white shark on the ocean’s surface, the Sandshark’s fins will protrude out of the sand, making them easy to spot. When nearing a section of sand, keep an eye out for approaching sets of fins, and swim up to safety until they leave.
5 Crabsquid
People either find the Crabsquid magical, ridiculous, or plain terrifying. But even if some can’t take its absurd exterior seriously, they should avoid it, because it is very aggressive, and has a decent damage level to be scared of.
That said, its health is not that high, so this creature is one of the easier to defeat. But keep in mind, that they’re also capable of temporarily disabling electronics. It is one of the most alien-looking creatures of the game, reminding the player once again, that they’re far from home.
How To Deal With Crabsquid
Avoiding the attention of a Crabsquid requires players to make a counterintuitive and unsettling decision. Crabsquid are located in deep sections of the ocean, so players will predominantly come across them in a vehicle. Unfortunately, vehicles are a dangerous place to be around Crabsquid, as they are attracted to light like a moth.
So, to avoid Crabsquid, players must make the difficult decision to turn off their lights, leaving them blind to whatever creatures could be lurking nearby.
4 Sea Treader
The Sea Treader is not an aggressive creature, but very defensive. They’re mesmerizing, colorful, but players shouldn’t go closer, because when threatened, these beasts have very high damage levels using their ginormous legs.
The Sea Treaders move in herds, and they’re active day and night. For some, they’re beautiful creatures resembling AT-ATs, but all the arachnophobes out there should steer clear of these giants, as they do resemble giant spiders, and can look very overwhelming up close, with their skeleton-like face and pitch-black eyes.
How To Deal With Sea Treaders
Sea Treaders are defensive creatures, so thankfully, they won’t attack players unless provoked. Players just need to ensure that they don’t swim in front of a Sea Trader, or they will suddenly become aggressive.
Due to their enormous size and tendency to walk in herds, avoiding their path is a simple task.
3 Ghost Leviathan
The Ghost Leviathan is highly dangerous even in its juvenile state. With a damage level of 84, this beast is one of the most dangerous in the game. They’re the giants of predators, with only one being bigger, the Sea Dragon Leviathan.
At first glance, they may seem transparent, but under that glowing exterior, players can see a massive bulk of pure muscle. These monsters lurk all around the map, as they’re not picky about their surroundings. And as mesmerizing they may seem, players should not go take a closer look, as they can easily kill anything in one or two bites. So if anyone is feeling adventurous, they should make sure to have enough health to survive a bite of over eighty points.
How To Deal With Ghost Leviathans
If Ghost Leviathans’ appearance and devastating damage capabilities weren’t enough, players will be delighted to know that there’s no reliable way to deal with them. Ghost Leviathans’ are fast, aggressive, and can even capsize a Cyclops.
The best way to deal with Ghost Leviathans is in the Prawn Suit. The suit isn’t impenetrable to the Leviathans’ damage, though players can return fire by using the Prawn Suit’s robotic arms as fists, or with the Torpedo Arm upgrade.
It’s worth pointing out, however, that there is absolutely no chance of survival when encountering the Ghost Leviathans at the Crater Edge (the edge of the map). The Crater Edge Ghost Leviathans essentially act as an extreme invisible wall that will constantly respawn, even if killed, until they successfully defeat the player for venturing too far off the map. Suffice to say, it’s a good idea to avoid the Crater Edge.
2 Sea Dragon Leviathan
The Sea Dragon Leviathan is the largest predator in the entire game. If anyone is scared of aggressive giants, this would be on the top of the list. There are only a total of three of them all around the map, two in the Inactive Lava Zone, and one in the Lava Lakes.
They are relentless hunters, they spit fire, and the cherry on top is their ability to instantly kill a player with just one bite. The only reason they’re not on the top of the list is that they’re easily predictable due to the fact that they always live in the same two places, and they’re relatively slow. Also, once a player experiences the horror that is the Reaper, they’ll fast miss the days of battling the Sea Dragon.
How To Deal With Sea Dragon Leviathans
Sea Dragon Leviathans are incredibly dangerous, so the best course of action is to avoid them, which is possible as most players will have built the Cyclops by the time they reach the Inactive Lava Zone and Lava Lake areas where the Sea Dragon Leviathans reside.
When entering the two biomes, make the Cyclops as inconspicuous as possible by turning off the lights and moving as slowly as possible or stopping entirely. Doing so will make the creatures ignore the Cyclops, letting players slip past.
1 Reaper Leviathan
The sole existence of the Reaper makes Subnautica a horror game. Creators used sounds, dreadful looks, not to mention horrifying jump scares to bring the most out of this beast, and players jump out of their seats simply by the anticipation of the behemoth. There’s only one thing to do when encountering this monster, and that’s to swim. If it catches the player, death is inevitable.
Even hearing its sound makes players’ skin tingle in anticipation, and after turning off all lights and being motionless, some might think they successfully avoided the attack using stealth. Just wait until they turn their lights back on. This creature is the definition of scary when it comes to this game, and any player who knows just how scary it is can have nightmares revolving around just the signature sound it makes.
How To Deal With Reaper Leviathans
The Reaper Leviathans have become the trademark for terrifying creatures in the Subnautica series. Along with the reasons mentioned above, this is largely because they appear so early in the game. In fact, some poor players may still think that Subnautica is a relatively peaceful exploration game prior to being grabbed by one of the terrifying creatures.
Due to encountering them so early, most players won’t be suitably equipped to deal with the Leviathans. So, the best course of action is to learn the sound of their intimidating roar, then swim far, far away from that direction. Reaper Leviathans will roar when they first spot the player, usually from a distance. Players should prioritize their ears over their eyes and listen to where the roar is coming from to ensure that they never get too close.
Finally, it’s worth pointing out that players should NEVER venture to the far side of the aurora, as they will soon be met with the terrifying sound of Reapers approaching from all angles.
Subnauticais out now for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation 5.
