Image: Unknown Worlds Entertainment via HGG
My name is Gibson Vasela. I am a freelance writer who has been playing video games for almost 20 years now. I play all kinds of games, but I especially love immersive sims and RPGs.
Reviewed by Benjamin Barr
Like many open-world survival crafting games, Subnautica has a rich and thriving modding scene. The game features a good amount of mods for players to choose from. With everything from quality-of-life improvements to new content to mess around with, there is certainly something for everybody. With that in mind, we’re going to be listing off the ten best Subnautica mods, ranking them from good to best. We’ll go into detail about what makes these mods so great, and we’ll be providing a link for you to download them for yourself.
Let’s get started!
How to Install Subnautica Mods
Before we get into the nitty gritty of what mods you should download, let’s first discuss exactly how you download them, to begin with. There are many great mod managers that you can find online. But the one that I use the most is the Vortex Mod Manager, which was created by Nexus Mods. This Mod Manager allows users to download player-made mods for a ton of different games.
It has a lot of quality-of-life features that make managing your Subnautica mods easy. Not to mention the website itself has a lot of mods available for its players to download and try out. If you’re interested in downloading Vortex Mod Manager, you can follow the link here. Downloading and installing it is fairly straightforward, but there are plenty of tutorials available online if you need help.
You can click on the link here to watch a video tutorial made by YouTuber Apoqsi that will walk you through how to download and install Vortex. As for downloading the mods on this list, all you need to do is follow the links we’ve provided, navigate to the “Files” tab, and then select “Mod Manager Download” from the file that you want. There is one mod in particular that will take you to a different site, but downloading the mod from there is very straightforward.
10 Best Mods for Subnautica, Ranked from Good to Best
With all of that out of the way, let’s get right into this article for the 10 best Subnautica mods, ranked!
10/10
Simple Posters
Let’s kick off our list with something simple… It’s Simple Posters, a mod made by user aedenthorn! This is a really cool decoration mod that allows you to spice up your bases with posters of ANY image! Once you download the mod, you can drop any picture you have on your computer into the mod’s folder. You can also adjust the size from this same folder as well, making the image larger or smaller.
Once that is done, you can fire up the game and craft a post for the image that you just placed into the folder. This allows you to hang up that image anywhere on your base! I highly recommend this mod if you love the base-building in this game and are looking for a way to make your base look more like a home and less like an underwater laboratory.
Simple Posters was added to Nexus on March 13, 2023. You can download the mod by clicking here.
9/10
SnapBuilder
Onto our next pick, we have the mod SnapBuilder. Created by tobeyStraitjacket, this quality-of-life mod that radically improves the ways that users can modify and customize their base. It makes placing objects and structures feel much more snappy and orderly, creating an invisible grid that allows you to put down your stuff in just the right position.
The mod features lots of configuration options, which you can access while pressing F5 while in the game. Customization options like this are always great to see in mods. SnapBuilder is the perfect mod for base-builders, especially for the ones who are perfectionists! I always try to download mods like this in other open-world crafting games. So it’s really great that Subnautica has a similar mod.
This mod was uploaded to Nexus on March 10, 2020. You can download it by following the link here.
8/10
Laser Cannon
Up next on this list, we have the mod Laser Cannon by Nexus Mods user senna7608! This really great mod allows you to put a powerful, offensive laser cannon on the front of your Seamoth. If you’ve ever wanted to fight back against the Leviathans and other nasty creatures of Subnautica, then this is the mod for you! There’s nothing more satisfying than deep frying the fish of the sea with an advanced laser cannon.
One thing I really like about this mod is the fact that you can choose the color of your laser! This is a really small but nice touch that adds a bit of customization to it. There are also other things you can tweak about this mod, such as whether or not it can damage friendly AIs. I don’t recommend this mod if you prefer Subnautica to be a hard survival game, as this mod makes combating enemies much easier. But if you are okay with that, then by all means, download it today!
Laser Cannon was uploaded on August 16, 2018. You can download the mod from this link here.
7/10
Map
Our next pick for the best mods in Subnautica is simply named Map. Created by user newman55, this mod does just what you’d expect — it adds a detailed map to your in-game device! This is a really useful feature to have, as it’s always been a bit of a pain to figure out where exactly you are without an in-game map. This map mod in particular does a lot of useful things besides just act as a map. It will give you your exact coordinates, show you the locations of different biomes, and much more!
Something I really, really appreciate about this mod is the fact that it will only show you the parts of the map that you’ve been to before. This means you cannot see the entire world map right from the start and need to explore it first, similar to how the map works in Don’t Starve. This makes it feel like something that could have been in the vanilla game!
The mod was uploaded to Nexus on February 6, 2018. You can follow this link here to download it for yourself.
6/10
EasyCraft
For spot number six on this ranking, we have the mod EasyCraft! This is another creation made by mod author newman55. It’s a quality-of-life mod that makes it so that when you are crafting something, the ingredients do not have to be in your inventory. Fabricators will now pull in the ingredients from nearby storage containers when you want to craft something. It works similarly to crafting at a Workshop settlement in Fallout 4.
It even works with the building constructor and other crafting stations in the game! And to top it off, if you are missing certain components for a blueprint, you have the option of crafting those components instantly as well. The mod is really, really handy, especially if you have a lot of stuff in your base. Instead of having to fish through your storage containers (no pun intended), you can simply use any Fabricator or crafting tool to begin making whatever your heart desires.
This mod was first uploaded on February 20, 2018. EasyCraft can be downloaded to your computer by clicking on this link here.
5/10
Decorations Mod
Halfway through our ranking of the best mods in Subnautica, and it’s onto our next choice — the Decorations Mod by OSubMarin! This fantastic decoration mod allows users to craft nearly 120 different objects from the Fabricator. These objects can then be placed all around your base, living up the place and making it look much more lived in. The objects available include all kinds of interior and exterior decorations. These can range from plants to placeable crafting materials, to alien parts, and even placeable food items.
I’m really impressed with the amount of diversity this mod has in store. There are so many different items for you to place down, it’s just incredible to see it all in the game. It really allows users to properly decorate their bases. If you are a huge fan of building in this game, then this mod is an absolute must-get. And even if you don’t do that much base building, it can’t hurt to spruce up your home just a little bit, right?
It was posted on the website on June 4, 2018. The mod can be downloaded by following the link that we have posted here.
4/10
Red Baron
Coming up at spot number 4, we have the mod, Red Baron. This creation was given to us by Oldark. What it does is allow us to modify our Seamoth so that it can be converted into a flying craft! If you have ever wanted to soar among the clouds in Subnautica, then this is the mod for you. It not only lets you mod your Seamoth to fly, but it also allows you to equip it with some other handy utilities.
For instance, you can put on a Beckon Call that allows you to spawn your Seamoth nearby from any part of the map. There is also a Life Support System that will sate your hunger and thirst as well as heal you while you are in the vehicle. This is a really sick mod to get. While there aren’t really a lot of things to see and do in the air, it’s still incredibly fun to fly around in the game.
Red Baron came to Nexus on October 3, 2019. You can pick up this mod by clicking this link here.
3/10
Alien Rifle
Moving onto our next spot, we have the mod Alien Rifle, created by user Kylinator25! This is a really sick mod that gives users the ability to craft their very own highly advanced rifle. They can then use this rifle to attack the hostile creatures of Subnautica, dealing loads of damage and looking really cool while doing in. This is a great mod as it makes the combat in the game a lot more fun!
If you prefer Subnautica to be more difficult, then I do not recommend this mod. While it doesn’t turn the game into a full-blown FPS per se, it does take away from the survival elements a bit. Regardless, this is a well-made mode that is great fun to mess around with. And it fits into the game quite nicely, with the mod author taking the time to give the weapon to the player in a way that makes sense.
The Alien Rifle mod was added to Nexus on August 23, 2018. Download the mod today by clicking this link here.
2/10
AutosortLockers
This next mod is one of my personal favorites in the game. We have the AutosortLockers mod, created by mod author RandyKnapp. What this mod does is add two new craft-able items to the game. These items are called the “Autosorter” and the “Autosort Receptacle.” You can place them down in your base, and then unload all of your stuff into the Autosorter. It will then automatically teleport all of your items into the correct Autosort Receptacle!
This is a really great mod for saving time. You can spend less time organizing your items and more time doing things that you enjoy. The mod allows users to re-color lockers and add custom names. This makes keeping yourself organized even more easy! I highly recommend this mod for all users, as there is nothing more annoying than having to organize everything you’ve collected after coming back from a long day foraging and gathering resources.
Uploaded to the website on February 27, 2018. You can click on this link here to download the mod if you are interested.
1/10
Nitrox — Multiplayer Mod
Last but most certainly not least on this ranking of the best Subnautica mods, we have the most exciting Subnautica mod currently out there. It’s Nitrox! In case you haven’t heard of it, this is a full blow multiplayer mod with over a million downloads. It gives users the opportunity to connect with other players on servers. On these servers, they can explore, build, and survive together! It’s a Hell of a lot of fun playing survival games with other players, and Subnautica is no different.
The mod feels very polished and well-made. It includes some great features you’d expect from a multiplayer mod. This includes things like text chat and the ability to create your own servers. It is an open-source mod, meaning there are infinite possibilities with the things that people can do with this mod! It’s a really exciting project, and it makes me wish more single-player games had mods just like this one.
The mod has been available to the public for a while now. You can download this mod from its official website by following the link here.
Join the High Ground
We hope that you found this ranking for the best Subnautica mods helpful! What are some of your favorite mods for the game? Feel free to link them down in the comments! And make sure to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. We offer regular content on all of your favorite games.
Happy gaming!
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