Saturation Diving Guide: Your first dive
About
OverviewSaturation Diving is a co-op horror and adventure game where you and your friends dive to the ocean floor, mine Sanguinite ore from underwater pipes, and upgrade your gear to survive increasingly dangerous sites. This guide covers the diving loop from your first descent, how to use the diving bell, which creatures to watch out for, and how to push deeper as you progress.
What is on this page
Contents
Your first dive
Step
Every run starts in the diving bell. Your job is to mine Sanguinite from the pipes and ore patches at your current site, deposit it in the bell, and complete enough levels to earn badges and better gear. The tutorial is built into the first level, so just playing through it naturally covers the basics.
- Head out leave the diving bell and look for green squares on the radar; those are ore patches you must clear to ascend.
- Mine use your starting pickaxe to hit ore patches on the pipes for 1 to 6 Sanguinite per swing.
- Deposit return to the diving bell at any time, even while still descended, to bank your Sanguinite; it is shared with all teammates.
- Check the radar monsters appear as red circles with names; use this to plan a safe path back.
- Ascend once required patches are cleared, ascend to the bell and spend deposited Sanguinite at the shop before the next level.
- Repeat each level you complete in a single run pushes you toward the Ramshackle, Apprentice, Journeyman, and Mastercraft Diver badges.
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Diving bell features
CheckThe diving bell acts as your team's home base throughout every run. Several functions are available at all times, but shopping is locked until you have fully ascended.
- Deposit Sanguinite at any point, even from depth the stockpile is shared across all players.
- Open the shop only while ascended items purchased can fly out at speed and actually hurt you, so step back.
- Use the radar to track monsters (red circles) and ore patches green squares are unmined required patches, red squares are already cleared required patches, and yellow squares are optional bonus deposits.
- Switch the radar target between individual players and overview mode to keep tabs on your whole team.
- Store items on the floor of the bell for safekeeping between levels.
Tools and upgrades
Table
All items are bought with Sanguinite from the bell shop while ascended. Upgrades come in tiers; prices shown are per tier.
| Item | Cost (Sanguinite) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Pickaxe | 8 | 1–6 Sanguinite per hit |
| Nickel Pickaxe | 35 | 2–11 Sanguinite per hit |
| Cobalt Pickaxe | 420 | Mines even better |
| Storage Upgrade (×3) | 45 / 64 / 91 | Adds 25% more carry capacity each tier; increases stamina drain |
| Lightweight Upgrade (×3) | 50 / 71 / 101 | Adds 10% more stamina per tier; reduces stamina drain |
| Pressure Recovery Upgrade (×3) | 50 / 71 / 101 | Crouching restores stamina 33–50% faster per tier |
| Plating Upgrade (×3) | 60 / 85 / 121 | Reduces damage from hazards and creatures |
| Meld Kit | 40 | Heals roughly 15% health; 3 uses |
| Harpoon Gun | 240 | 5 harpoons, each dealing heavy damage; becomes scrap when empty |
| Pressure Blaster | 650 | Shotgun-style burst, unlimited shots with slow recharge |
| D.P.V. | 700 | Propels you in any direction; 60-unit battery that recharges when idle |
| D.H.P.V. | 700 + 1 Crown Fin | Fused from a D.P.V. and a Crown Fin; 1.25× faster speed and recharge |
| P.L.O.P. | 110 | Single-use explosive; damages creatures and collects Sanguinite in a small radius |
| Grappling Hook | 250 | Pulls you toward a surface quickly; long recharge |
| Remote Storage | 40 | Drops a box outside the bell to hold Sanguinite, once per level |
Surviving the creatures
TipsEach site can spawn different threats. Learning one rule per creature keeps you alive far longer than any weapon purchase.
- Crownspine — a low rumbling sound means one is nearby; crouch and walk or stop completely, because it detects sprinting and jumping through its spines and will charge the moment it is triggered.
- Adult Crownspine — found only at The Drop-off; crouching does not protect you here, so focus on dodging its charges and dealing damage.
- Balor — when you hear whispering, use the sound direction to find the figure and stare at it until it backs away; keep looking in the same direction for another second or so after it disappears to make sure it is gone.
- Dread Whale — its sonar pulses pull every nearby monster to your position; deal enough damage to drive it off.
- Deus Snail — slow-moving but lethal on contact; simply keep your distance and never touch it.
- Cutie Pi — attracted by noise such as mining, explosions, and shouting; stay quiet around it or kill it in one shot with the Pressure Blaster at close range.
- Brineglass — a transparent crystalline coating that removes all traction; avoid it near holes and ledges, and use swimming or tools to escape it.
- ??? — drains all your stamina on contact, which is dangerous mid-chase; keep distance and let it walk toward you rather than approaching it yourself.
Diving sites and when they appear
Table
There are seven main sites plus one secret location. Deeper sites spawn from higher level numbers.
| The Flats (~303 m) | available from level 1; homing threats include Crownspine and Fire Worm |
| Blue Hole (~316 m) | available from level 2; threats include Life Line and Mothray Eel |
| Crash Plateau (~450 m) | available from level 2; contains a shipwreck with Access Keys and the Mysterious Tape; threats include The Hooks and Grim Reef |
| The Drop-off (~3740 m) | secret site accessed only by using Drop-off Coordinates in the bell's Sonar Panel; populated entirely by Adult Crownspines and subject to tremors that can throw you off the ledge |
Badge milestones as progression targets
SummaryBadges reward Pearl currency you can spend on cosmetics, and their conditions map directly onto gameplay achievements.
- 3 levels in one run earns the Ramshackle Diver badge and 300 Pearls
- 6 levels in one run earns the Apprentice Diver badge
- 11 levels in one run earns the Journeyman Diver badge
- 15 levels in one run earns the Mastercraft Diver badge
- 6 upgrades active at once earns the Tactical Gear badge
- All monster logs collected earns The Collector badge; requires exploring sites and finding Access Keys in the Crash Plateau shipwreck
Cosmetics and Pearl costs
TablePearls are the cosmetic currency, earned as badge rewards — for example, 200 Pearls from Primitive Diver and 300 from Ramshackle Diver. Suits and accessories are bought from the Customization menu.
| Item type | Rarity | Pearl cost |
|---|---|---|
| Suit | Common | Free – 400 |
| Suit | Rare | 1600 – 2800 |
| Suit | Legendary | 6500 – 8000 |
| Suit | Premium (Elite Diver gamepass) | Free with pass |
| Accessory | Common | 100 |
| Accessory | Rare | 1100 |
| Accessory | Super Rare | 2100 |
| Accessory | Legendary | 6000 |
| Accessory | Premium (Elite Diver gamepass) | Free with pass |
Glossary
Glossary- Sanguinite
- The ore mined from pipes and seafloor patches at each site; deposited in the diving bell and spent at the shop.
- Diving Bell
- Your team's safe base, used for depositing Sanguinite, shopping while ascended, radar monitoring, and item storage.
- D.P.V.
- A diver propulsion vehicle that moves you quickly in any direction; its 60-unit battery recharges automatically when not in use.
- D.H.P.V.
- An upgraded D.P.V. fused with a Crown Fin, offering 1.25 times the speed and recharge rate of the standard model.
- Pearls
- The cosmetic currency earned from badge completions, spent on suits and accessories in the Customization menu.
- Drop-off Coordinates
- A special item found in Grimcave that unlocks The Drop-off site when entered into the diving bell's Sonar Panel.
- Brineglass
- A crystalline bacterial coating on the seafloor that removes all traction, making nearby holes and ledges extremely dangerous.
- Crown Fin
- A fin dropped when you kill a Crownspine; one use is fusing it with a D.P.V. to create a D.H.P.V.
Common questions
FAQHow do I know which ore patches I need to mine before ascending?
Check the radar in the diving bell. Green squares are required unmined patches, and red squares are required patches you have already cleared. Yellow squares are optional bonus deposits that are not needed to ascend.
How do I avoid Crownspines?
Crownspines detect sprinting and jumping through their spines, so crouch and walk slowly or stop completely when you hear the low rumbling sound. This works for juvenile Crownspines, but Adult Crownspines at The Drop-off will attack regardless of whether you are crouching.
How do I get to The Drop-off?
It cannot be reached through normal play. First find the Drop-off Coordinates item in Grimcave, near the diving bell by the compliant tower, then enter those coordinates into the diving bell's Sonar Panel.
What happens when the Dread Whale appears?
The Dread Whale sends out sonar waves that drag monsters from across the map to your location. You can move freely and use items while it is present, and dealing enough damage to it will cause it to leave.
Is it safe to touch Brineglass?
Walking over it is not instantly fatal, but it removes all traction so you slide uncontrollably. Near ravines, holes, or active threats this can get you killed fast. You can escape its surface by swimming or using a tool like the D.P.V.
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