Encounter language
Read the animal before you scan it
Threat is situational. A creature that is harmless at range can become dangerous when defending territory, supporting another predator, or reacting to your vehicle.Passive
Keeps feeding, schooling, or cruising without turning to face you.
Approach slowly and scan from the side so you do not scatter the group.Defensive
Flares fins, charges electricity, postures, or watches you before acting.
Treat the display as a boundary. Back off, then circle to a safer angle.Aggressive
Turns directly toward you, accelerates, circles, burrows, or begins a coordinated pass.
Break line of sight, use terrain or a flare, and scan only during recovery.Parasitic
Attaches to fauna, structures, or vehicles and changes the host encounter.
Identify the host relationship before intervening; carry the tool the encounter expects.Leviathan
Controls a large territory and can turn a routine route into an escape sequence.
Observe first, keep an exit bearing, and decide whether the scan is worth the risk.Representative encounters
Recognize the cue, then choose the response
This field selection covers the encounter patterns that teach the most useful habits. It is intentionally a guide—not a searchable creature database.Opening shallows · Defensive pair
Foureye
- Warning cue
- A bonded pair turns its attention toward you after prolonged observation.
- Safe response
- Scan briefly from range and retreat if the pair pivots to face you.
Outer Coral Gardens · Territorial herbivore
Hammerhead
- Warning cue
- A warning display precedes a ramming attempt when you stay inside its space.
- Safe response
- Move laterally during the warning and scan from a flank after it passes.
Dolerite Spires · Electrical defense
Surge Jelly
- Warning cue
- Its body brightens as an electrical field begins to charge.
- Safe response
- Start near maximum scanner range and leave the radius when charging begins.
Sand and cave floors · Ambush predator
Sandspear
- Warning cue
- A suspicious lure or disturbed patch of sand marks the buried animal.
- Safe response
- Trigger it from range, dodge the lunge, then scan during its recovery.
Cliffs and rock faces · Swarm predator
Bullethead
- Warning cue
- Several small armored fish gather and begin a launch pattern.
- Safe response
- Avoid the center of the swarm; use a distraction and isolate one scan target.
Coral Gardens and Graveyard · Apex predator
Marrowbreach
- Warning cue
- It watches detected prey before committing to a fast attack.
- Safe response
- Stay close to solid cover and leave as soon as its approach begins.
Infected Angel Combs · Primary parasite encounter
Bloom Parasite
- Warning cue
- Infected growth and an active parasite turn the area into a tool-gated encounter.
- Safe response
- Scan before clearing the site and keep the Sonic Resonator ready.
Alien Turbine region · Vehicle parasite
Electric Geordie
- Warning cue
- It closes on the Tadpole and can attach to drain its Power Cell.
- Safe response
- Stop near cover, exit deliberately, and deal with it before continuing the route.
Ecology in motion
One creature can change another
Some of the most dangerous encounters begin as a relationship: a hunting partner nearby, a parasite inside a host, or a small animal using a larger organism for shelter.Houndgar + Marrowbreach
The smaller hunter flushes and marks prey, creating the opening for the larger predator. Spotting one should make you search for the other.
Tongue Thief + Epicurean
The host encounter changes when the parasite occupies its mouth. Check the animal before choosing a close scanning angle.
Clown Crab + anemone
The small crab uses the anemone as cover while contributing to its host. Look for the relationship, not just an isolated scan target.
Jetocaris families
Adults and juveniles respond as a family unit when danger rises from the seafloor, making their group behavior part of the discovery.
Bioscan protocol
Complete difficult scans without gambling the expedition
Creature scans fill the databank and now contribute to additional passive Biomod slots. A safe scan is a short operation with preparation, timing, and a planned exit.Observe
Watch one full behavior cycle before closing distance.
Prepare
Top up oxygen, preserve an escape lane, and ready a distraction or Resonator.
Approach
Come from the flank, use terrain, and avoid swimming directly at the face.
Commit
Scan during feeding, recovery, or distraction—never after the attack has started.
Leave
Break contact immediately after completion instead of waiting for another opening.
Scan kit
Bring enough margin to abort
Bioscanner · spare battery · Air Bladder · healing · distraction flare · visible return bearingLeviathan protocol
Survival comes before scan completion
Leviathan-class fauna do not share a single behavior. Separate peaceful giants, environmental traps, mobile hunters, and boundary predators before choosing an approach.Coral Crab
Give it roomUsually the safest giant to observe. Approach calmly, avoid crowding it as it emerges, and leave a wide path around its body.
Great Jaw
ExtremeTreat the shell as terrain with a lethal center. Stay above or behind it and do not cross through the tendon-filled opening.
Collector Leviathan
ExtremeUse terrain and distractions. In co-op, one diver can hold its attention while the scanner approaches from a different direction.
Shiver Leviathan
Turn aroundThe red boundary is the warning. Do not turn a routine expedition into a completionist scan unless the team has accepted the loss risk.
Abort rule: if the creature blocks the return route, the distraction fails, or a teammate loses visual contact, abandon the scan and regroup. Databank progress is never worth losing the expedition.
Encounter understood