Subnautica 2: Devs admit those Marrowbreach and Nibblers are too aggressive – promise rebalance patches to save your little toes

Remember those weird places people were obsessed with for a while, where you would put your feet in a tank of fish, and they’d eat the dead skin off them. We deserve extinction sometimes. At least it wasn’t a tank full of Subnautica 2 nasties, though, because they are proving a right pain in the ass to players.

After days of player complaints about getting relentlessly mauled by sea monsters in Subnautica 2, the developers have finally responded with a lengthy Steam post admitting the game’s creature balance “needs work.” We agree.

The studio acknowledged that some predator encounters currently feel “more frustrating than tense or exciting,” with players struggling to understand how to reliably defend themselves against hostile creatures. According to the post, mitigation tools like flares and survival equipment aren’t doing enough right now, leaving players without confidence when attacks happen.

Indeed, I have lost count of the number of flares I have tossed into the deep, not knowing if they will work or not. It seems to be, but in the early game, when you might not have any, it really is unclear what you need to do other than try to get away.

In response, the team says a series of upcoming patches will rebalance the experience. Planned changes include tweaks to creature aggression timing, aggro range, flare effectiveness, Survival Tool effectiveness, and how creatures interact with vehicles and bases.

While Subnautica has always leaned heavily into vulnerability and survival rather than straight-up combat, many fans have argued that the current version crosses the line from tense to irritating, especially when aggressive creatures chain attacks or appear to ignore defensive tools entirely.

The developers also addressed growing demands from players asking for more direct combat options, including the ability to kill hostile creatures outright. For now, though, the studio says it’s sticking to the series’ long-standing philosophy of survival through avoidance and preparation rather than traditional weapon-based combat.

This feels like new players to the game, really, who don’t quite get the ethos here. Subnautica is not Jaws. You can get a bigger boat, but you will not have the harpoons. If you are aware of either of the two previous games, you will know that killing the swimmers is not something we are going to get in Sub2.

Having said that, the post stops short of dismissing those requests. The team admitted players naturally want “a more decisive solution” when defensive systems don’t feel effective, and stressed that the lack of combat isn’t about telling players they’re wrong for wanting it.

Instead, the developers argue that the core design only works if encounters feel “fair, readable, and engaging,” something they openly admit still needs improvement.

The statement also included an apology over recent communication from the studio, after some players felt earlier comments came across as dismissive toward feedback. The developers said Early Access should feel like “a conversation” with the community rather than a one-way explanation from the team.

So, things haven’t quite landed as hoped, but it is early days yet, and there is a huge amount of fun to have already in the game, even at this early stage of Early Access.

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