Saturation Diving Beginner Guide — First Dive to Depth

Saturation Diving is a co-op deep-sea horror game where every dive is a small mission. You descend from the bell, clear the Sanguinite veins clogging the pipelines, dodge the creatures, bank your haul and return to base to upgrade. This guide covers the proven start.

1. Learn the bell loop

Every dive follows the same beats, straight from the official description and the in-game tutorial:

1. Descend in the bell. You drop roughly 200 m in a few seconds to the seabed.
2. Clear the pipelines. Your objective is to destroy the Sanguinite veins growing on the oil pipes — the task text is “clear all pipelines”.
3. Mine the vein. Breaking a vein drops Sanguinite, which is your currency.
4. Ride the currents. The drifting currents you see aren’t decoration — get in one to move between pipelines without spending stamina.
5. Avoid the creatures. If something is moving toward you, stop sprinting: crouch and back to the bell slowly.
6. Bank your haul. Drop the ore in the storage unit inside the bell, then ascend. Back on the NSA Atlantica you spend it on upgrades.

2. Watch your stamina, air and pressure

Hold Shift to sprint, but it drains stamina. You’re also down at roughly 20 atmospheres of pressure, and stamina is your air — it’s what keeps you alive when a creature is hunting you. Manage it, don’t burn it.

3. Upgrade in this order

At the gear station on the bell you buy upgrades and tools:

• Nickel Pickaxe — your first upgrade; faster vein breaking.
• Lightweight Upgrade — a lighter suit that lets you run and swim longer.
• Pressure Recovery Upgrade — crouching refills stamina, perfect for sneaking.
• Storage Upgrade — carry more ore per dive, more currency per trip.

The Elite Diver Lite gamepass (400 R$) grants +15% Pearls and Premium Suits & Accessories if you want them.

4. Clear every pipeline before extraction

The bell won’t pull you up until all veins are gone. If you think you’re done but the extraction isn’t ready, check the other pipelines — teammates often need to clear their own one.

5. Team up or go solo

Use Quick Play to match with other divers, or dive solo for a more immersive (and scarier) run. Teammates can be wounded and even downed by creatures, so split up to clear pipelines faster but stay ready to cover each other. Note: falling down a deep hole tends to be lethal — there’s no coming back from that.

Where to go next

Once you’ve banked enough to upgrade, the deeper sites (like Crash Plateau) send tougher creatures after you. Read our survival guide for how to stay alive, or browse every dive site, gear and monster.