Quick Links
Why Should You Build An Underwater Base?
Everything You Have To Complete Before You Can Access The "Dreams Of The Deep" Quest
How To Complete The "Dreams Of The Deep" Quest And Build A Base
No Man's Sky is a massive game filled with an entire universe for you to explore. Each planet is unique, both on the surface and underwater. One of the mechanics that makes No Man's Sky stand out is its expansive base-building system that grants you the opportunity to customize your home in any way you see fit.
RELATED: No Man’s Sky: How To Get A Wiring Loom And What It Does
Underwater base-building was first available in No Man's Sky in The Abyss update, so now you can create bases under the ocean on the planets you discover. There are a few steps you have to complete before you can build an underwater base, so here's everything you'll need to get started on creating the perfect home under the sea.
Updated April 19, 2023, by Sean Murray: Building your base underwater sure seems inconvenient when you can have a Freighter carrying your base through space, but some Travelers argue that everything is better when you're wetter. And for this reason, we've given this guide a few formatting tweaks so you can more easily make your underwater base in No Man's Sky.
Why Should You Build An Underwater Base?
Underwater bases aren't too far off from regular base-building with what you can do in them. The main appeal of this unique base type is living underwater and having quick access to the resources on the seabed.
You can obtain many useful items underwater, such as Living Pearls, Crystallized Sulphur, and Hadal Cores, so having quick access to an underwater area is useful and may grant great rewards. There are a few creatures you have to watch out for underwater, including Predator Fish and Poisonous Jellyfish.
Otherwise, though, underwater bases are much more fun to build than regular bases because they have a uniqueness not found in surface bases.
RELATED: No Man's Sky: Where To Find Navigation Data
Everything You Have To Complete Before You Can Access The "Dreams Of The Deep" Quest
To gain access to the "Dreams Of The Deep" quest and all that it rewards you with, you'll need to complete the story mission "16 / 16". This is the seventh mission in the Artemis Path, so you'll need to complete seven quests in total before you can complete "Dreams Of The Deep."
RELATED: No Man's Sky: How To Get Nanites Quickly
The Artemis Path is the main questline in No Man's Sky, which means that you may have already completed it while playing the game naturally. If you haven't, then you can follow the main story quests one after another until you've completed it, and then you can start "Dreams Of The Deep" and build the underwater base of your dreams.
How To Complete The "Dreams Of The Deep" Quest And Build A Base
"Dreams Of The Deep" takes you on an adventure underwater throughout the ocean of a planet. After completing this quest, you'll immediately unlock the blueprints you need to craft underwater structures.
Follow The Weak Signal Trace
Once you've completed the other main steps, you'll detect a weak signal trace coming from a planet while you're in space. You need to follow this signal and land on the planet.
Create The Nautilon
When you've landed on the planet with the signal trace, you'll notice the Nautilon, a submarine vehicle that you can use to dive underwater. You need to upgrade the Nautilon chamber with the blueprints that you find. The recipe requires:
- Four Sulphur Crystals
- Five Metal Plates
- 100 Salt
Go Underwater And Follow The Repeater Signal
Once the Nautilon is operational, you can use it to explore the seabed of an ocean. You'll also receive a new repeater signal. Dive underwater and follow the repeater signal to the sunken structure.
Extract The Blueprints For The Solar Mirror And High-Power Sonar From The Sunken Structure
Head inside the sunken structure and find the terminal. You have to interact with the terminal and extract two blueprints, one for the Solar Mirror and the other for the High-Power Sonar device. After you've acquired these two blueprints, leave the sunken structure.
Through The Quick Menu, Use Your High-Power Sonar To Scan For A Crashed Freighter
You can now use the High-Power Sonar device to scan for underwater structures and ships. Through the quick menu, use the High-Power Sonar to scan for crashed freighters.
RELATED: No Man's Sky: Where To Find Vy'keen Daggers
Extract The Aquatic Base-Building Products Blueprints From The Sunken Wreck Detected By Your High-Power Sonar
By using the High-Power Sonar, you'll detect a new structure, a sunken wreck. You have to travel to its location and extract more blueprints from it; the name of the blueprints are the Aquatic Base-Building Products. Leave the sunken wreck once you obtain the blueprints.
Use The High-Power Sonar To Scan For Sunken Buildings And Interact With Three Of Them And Their Terminals
This is the longest step for completing the "Dreams Of The Deep" quest. However, now that you've familiarized yourself with underwater structures and the High-Power Sonar, it's easy.
You have to detect three separate sunken buildings in the ocean and travel to each of them. Once at a sunken building, interact with the terminal in each location to finish this step.
After Visiting The Sunken Buildings, Use Three Regular Scans, 100 Units From Each Other, To Search For The Lost Crew
You have to travel to one more location before obtaining the blueprints to build underwater bases. Use regular scans (not High-Power Sonar scans) to search for the signal of The Lost Crew.
You need to use three separate scans that are 100 units from each other to complete this objective.
Enter The Final Sunken Building And Interact With The Terminal Inside
After locating the final sunken building, you should enter it and find the terminal. Once you interact with the terminal, you'll complete the "Dreams Of The Deep" quest. You'll now unlock the new blueprints, and you can use them for base-building.
Claim Your Rewards
You'll acquire various rewards for completing the "Dreams Of The Deep" quest, including all the following items and blueprints. You can find an explanation of each item below.
Nautilon Chamber Blueprint | You can craft a Nautilon Chamber to act as a docking station for the Nautilon. The Nautilon Chamber is airlocked. |
|---|---|
High-Power Sonar Blueprint | You can use the High-Power Sonar to search for structures such as Crashed Ships. |
S-Class Underwater Protection Module | The Underwater Protection Module enhances the Hazard Protection system, which is necessary to spend extended time underwater. |
Marine Shelter Blueprint | The Marine Shelter is a useful item that you can use while exploring underwater locations. You can deploy this tool underwater if you need to protect yourself against environmental threats. |
Solar Mirror Blueprint | You can use Solar Mirrors in various crafting recipes. The primary use of a Solar Mirror is for crafting other items. |
Watertight Door Blueprint | The Watertight Door is a door that you can place in underwater structures. If you need to create a door for your underwater base, then the Watertight Door is a great option. |
Glass Tunnel Blueprint | You can use the Glass Tunnel as a bridge to connect rooms to each other. |
L-Shaped Glass Tunnel Blueprint | The L-Shaped Glass Tunnel can curve in the water, so you can use it to connect one structure or room to another. |
Vertical Glass Tunnel Blueprint | The Vertical Glass Tunnel is useful for creating upward tunnels that connect structures underwater. You can create ladders inside of it. |
X-Shaped Glass Tunnel Blueprint | The X-Shaped Glass Tunnel is useful if you need to connect multiple rooms to each other with a complex underwater tunnel system. |
Large Glass Panel Blueprint | The Large Glass Panel is an underwater window that you can craft for your base. |
Moon Pool Floor Blueprint | You can craft a Moon Pool Floor in the bottom of an underwater room to create a hole that you can access while swimming in the ocean below the structure. |
Lost Bathysphere Helmet | The Lost Bathysphere Helmet is a unique helmet that you can equip for the Anomaly race. |
Build Your Own Underwater Base With The New Blueprints You Obtain
Now that you've acquired the underwater base-building blueprints, you can start building your outpost under the water. You can build your base on most planets, so start searching for the perfect world for your underwater dream home.
How To Use The Base-Building Mechanic In No Man's Sky
Base-building in No Man's Sky is easy once you get the hang of it, and creating your base doesn't require too many materials.
First, you need to create a Base Computer from the Portable Technology menu. You only need 30 Chromatic Metal to craft a Base Computer, so it isn't an expensive item to create.
The Base Computer is the only item you need to build to start creating more structures for your base. However, you won't have any buildings until you create them separately. Building a base is a simple concept in No Man's Sky, which is great since it's one of the most fun features in the game.
NEXT: No Man's Sky: A Guide To Tainted Metal
