Best Biomes for Starter Resources in Subnautica
Shallow water has most of what you need first. The model puts limestone, quartz and metal salvage in Safe Shallows (limestone 18 to 67 m), and salt and sandstone in Kelp Forest (36 to 107 m for salt, 43 to 109 m for sandstone). The loose metals the tables roll sit far deeper, so for titanium, copper, lead, silver and gold the rock is the route.
- Limestone (titanium, copper)Safe Shallows18 to 67 m, 613 spawns
- Sandstone (lead, silver, gold)Kelp Forest43 to 109 m, 480 spawns
- QuartzSafe Shallows19 to 67 m, 194 spawns
- SaltKelp Forest36 to 107 m, 526 spawns
Most "where do I find X" pages answer one resource at a time. This one answers the question a new player really has: which area do I dive to first? It lists the starter resources side by side with the area that has the most spawns, the shallowest area worth a trip and its depth, all from the game's own spawner tables.
On this page
Best first stop
Best first stop· Titanium and copper
Limestone outcrops
Most spawns: Dunes (1,287, 247 to 453 m). Shallowest of the main areas: Safe Shallows (613, 18 to 67 m). The PDA entry for limestone outcrops ends "Assessment: Titanium and copper source".
- 6,265spawns per game
- Safe Shallowsshallow pick
- 18 to 67 mits depth
Every starter resource, where to go
One card per resource, not a ranking of resources. Each card names the area with the most expected spawns and the shallowest of the main areas, so you can pick by depth.
Lead, silver and gold
Sandstone outcrops
Most spawns: Dunes (1,332, 246 to 452 m). Shallowest of the main areas: Kelp Forest (480, 43 to 109 m). The PDA entry for sandstone outcrops ends "Assessment: Lead, silver and gold source".
- 5,426spawns per game
- Kelp Forestshallow pick
- 43 to 109 mits depth
Loose resource
Quartz
Most spawns: Blood Kelp Zone (1,294, 247 to 476 m). Shallowest of the main areas: Safe Shallows (194, 19 to 67 m). Quartz is a loose resource in the game's crafting table.
- 5,889spawns per game
- Safe Shallowsshallow pick
- 19 to 67 mits depth
Loose resource
Salt deposits
Most spawns: Bulb Zone (768, 203 to 416 m). Shallowest of the main areas: Kelp Forest (526, 36 to 107 m). Salt is a loose resource in the game's crafting table.
- 4,431spawns per game
- Kelp Forestshallow pick
- 36 to 107 mits depth
Wreckage
Metal salvage
Most spawns: Crash Zone (1,491, 49 to 403 m). Shallowest of the main areas: Safe Shallows (176, 17 to 71 m). The game's text for it reads "Composed primarily of titanium."
- 2,910spawns per game
- Safe Shallowsshallow pick
- 17 to 71 mits depth
Deep in the model
Loose copper, silver, gold, lead, titanium
The loose ore the spawn tables roll is deep: its best areas are Inactive Lava Zone, 1,097 to 1,234 m for copper. Early on the outcrops above are the route; the table below lists each metal.
- 1,867spawns, all five
- Inactive Lava Zonecopper's best area
- 1,097 to 1,234 mits depth
Not a starter in the model
Crystalline sulfur
The spawn tables roll sulfur only in 4 deep areas, led by Bones Field (725 to 802 m). The game's own PDA message for the Safe Shallows caves reads "Detecting sulfur deposits in the local cave systems. Sulfur is an essential component of the repair tool.", so the game places some sulfur that is in neither the random tables nor our fixed pins.
- 282rolled spawns
- Bones Fieldmost spawns
- 725 to 802 mits depth
How we picked the areas
Most expected spawns per area, and the shallowest area among those holding at least 3% of the chance
Two numbers decide each card. Both come from the chance model of the map's resource layers.
- Most spawns: the area with the highest expected spawns of that resource in a new game. Expected is an average over many games, not the count in yours.
- Shallowest of the main areas: among the areas that hold at least 3% of the resource's chance, the one with the shallowest median depth. The 3% line keeps a tiny pocket near the surface from winning.
- Depth is the range of metres below sea level that holds 80% of that area's chance for the resource.
What the data cannot tell you
The spawns are a model read from the game's spawner tables and have not been checked in a running game. Safety is not in the data either: only hand-placed leviathans have fixed pins, so check the leviathan guide for the depth you plan to dive. What a broken outcrop drops is also not in the data we read.
Why the metals come from rock
Titanium, copper, lead, silver and gold are in the game's crafting table as plain ingredients, but the spawn tables roll very little of them loose in shallow water. The game's PDA explains where they really are: the entries for the outcrops end "Assessment: Titanium and copper source" (limestone), "Assessment: Lead, silver and gold source" (sandstone) and "Assessment: Gold, lithium and diamond source" (shale).
So limestone and sandstone are the starter resources that matter, and each has a main area whose 80% range ends at 109 m or less. The loose ore the tables roll is in the table below; it is a deep-game route. What a broken outcrop drops is not in the data we read, so this page does not give drop rates.
| Resource | Expected spawns | Most spawns | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copper ore | 249 | Inactive Lava Zone | 1,097 to 1,234 m |
| Silver ore | 435 | Inactive Lava Zone | 1,209 to 1,268 m |
| Gold | 260 | Inactive Lava Zone | 1,187 to 1,371 m |
| Lead | 303 | Inactive Lava Zone | 1,139 to 1,351 m |
| Titanium | 621 | Inactive Lava Zone | 1,121 to 1,323 m |
Common mistakes
- Diving to Dunes for limestone. It has the most (1,287) but at 247 to 453 m; Safe Shallows is 18 to 67 m.
- Hunting loose copper in the shallows. The model's best area for it is Inactive Lava Zone, 1198 m down at the median. Break limestone instead.
- Treating the numbers as a map. Resources are rolled again for every new game, so use the areas, not single cells.
All data
Show tablesHide
Every starter resource by area, and the notes.
Every starter resource, where to go
Seven cards, one per job.
| Resource | Most spawns | Depth | Shallowest main area | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone outcrops | Dunes (1,287) | 247 to 453 m | Safe Shallows (613) | 18 to 67 m |
| Sandstone outcrops | Dunes (1,332) | 246 to 452 m | Kelp Forest (480) | 43 to 109 m |
| Quartz | Blood Kelp Zone (1,294) | 247 to 476 m | Safe Shallows (194) | 19 to 67 m |
| Salt deposits | Bulb Zone (768) | 203 to 416 m | Kelp Forest (526) | 36 to 107 m |
| Metal salvage | Crash Zone (1,491) | 49 to 403 m | Safe Shallows (176) | 17 to 71 m |
All starter resources by area
The three areas with the most expected spawns of each resource, with depth.
| Resource | Area | Expected spawns | Share | Depth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limestone | Dunes | 1,287 | 21% | 247 to 453 m |
| Limestone | Crash Zone | 989 | 16% | 61 to 471 m |
| Limestone | Kelp Forest | 807 | 13% | 38 to 109 m |
| Sandstone | Dunes | 1,332 | 25% | 246 to 452 m |
| Sandstone | Bulb Zone | 664 | 12% | 210 to 498 m |
| Sandstone | Grand Reef | 598 | 11% | 249 to 456 m |
| Quartz | Blood Kelp Zone | 1,294 | 22% | 247 to 476 m |
| Quartz | Dunes | 1,096 | 19% | 231 to 374 m |
| Quartz | Grand Reef | 833 | 14% | 247 to 449 m |
| Salt | Bulb Zone | 768 | 17% | 203 to 416 m |
| Salt | Dunes | 598 | 14% | 228 to 373 m |
| Salt | Kelp Forest | 526 | 12% | 36 to 107 m |
| Metal salvage | Crash Zone | 1,491 | 51% | 49 to 403 m |
| Metal salvage | Kelp Forest | 532 | 18% | 36 to 107 m |
| Metal salvage | Crag Field | 267 | 9% | 170 to 341 m |
| Copper ore | Inactive Lava Zone | 87 | 35% | 1,097 to 1,234 m |
| Copper ore | Blood Kelp Zone | 76 | 31% | 264 to 602 m |
| Copper ore | Mushroom Forest | 37 | 15% | 150 to 220 m |
| Silver ore | Inactive Lava Zone | 194 | 45% | 1,209 to 1,268 m |
| Silver ore | Mountains | 88 | 20% | 144 to 522 m |
| Silver ore | Dunes | 69 | 16% | 234 to 391 m |
| Gold | Inactive Lava Zone | 84 | 32% | 1,187 to 1,371 m |
| Gold | Blood Kelp Zone | 59 | 23% | 267 to 610 m |
| Gold | Bulb Zone | 31 | 12% | 203 to 416 m |
| Lead | Inactive Lava Zone | 85 | 28% | 1,139 to 1,351 m |
| Lead | Mountains | 69 | 23% | 162 to 436 m |
| Lead | Crash Zone | 48 | 16% | 55 to 416 m |
| Titanium | Inactive Lava Zone | 252 | 41% | 1,121 to 1,323 m |
| Titanium | Crash Zone | 80 | 13% | 55 to 416 m |
| Titanium | Bulb Zone | 77 | 12% | 203 to 416 m |
| Crystalline sulfur | Bones Field | 99 | 35% | 725 to 802 m |
| Crystalline sulfur | Active Lava Zone | 83 | 29% | 1,322 to 1,463 m |
| Crystalline sulfur | Inactive Lava Zone | 72 | 26% | 1,211 to 1,268 m |
About these numbers
Every fixed place on this page is read from the game files of the Steam build 20241558 (3 October 2025). Anything that is rolled again for each new game, such as ore, is a chance model built from the game's spawner tables. It has not been checked in a running game, so treat it as odds, not as a map of what you will find.
The 11 resources here are the map's chance layers (limestone, sandstone, quartz, salt, metal salvage, copper, silver, gold, lead, titanium, sulfur).
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