More efficient way to mine deposits and all you need is one tool.

[Doc_Holliday]

Hey guys, you can call me the last horse to cross the finish line on this topic, but I would like to share an idea I came across when I started my mining operation in Subnautica. Ever started mining a big deposit with your Prawn suit then have to swim around trying to find them after they fly all over the place? Ever done this while a warper, a reaper, or whatever is just outside waiting for you to go grab them? Well, here's my fix for that.

So after hours of getting the Cyclops, the Prawn suit, and the drill arm, I was about to set off to start mining silver deposits since in my playthrough they are a PAIN to find. I then ran across the Gravsphere.... I've never used it nor have I never built one. After reading the description for what it does I got an idea. I crafted one and stuffed it into my Prawn suit and set off with my Cyclops to start mining. After I found a silver deposit, I dropped off my Prawn suit. I took out the Gravsphere and set it up next to the deposit and started mining and sure enough it worked. All the deposits that would have flown all over the place was picked up by the Gravsphere. After I mined the entire deposit, I just casually swam over to the sphere and picked up all of them without having to swim around trying to find them. Then I just packed up the Gravsphere into my Prawn suit and set off again to the next one. This also works REALLY well in highly hazardous enviorments where the deposit is on a cliff wall or you're next to a lava pit and don't want the smaller pieces falling. I took some screenshots of me mining a quartz deposit next to the Aurora just to show how it works.

http://i.imgur.com/bETWMeW.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/N0zNfQN.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/NQt8MjG.jpg

These pics also shows the only problem with doing this method. If you're mining in a high fish traffic area, the sphere may grab hold of them first before it picks up your deposits and may not grab them before they start popping out during mining. Just pick up the fish and/or whatever else it it picks up before mining and you'll be good to go. Hope this helps you guys out by saving time and health.

[SealieP]

I've always used the gravsphere while mining. There's really no need when it's a flat surface and nothing really around, but when it's sloped or on a cliff I always put out the gravsphere. And when a warper came ofter me while mining it was delayed by the gravsphere. It killed the gravsphere, but it gave me plenty of time to get ready for the attack. No idea why though. Maybe it was a bug.

[Doc_Holliday]

Originally posted by SealieP:

I've always used the gravsphere while mining. There's really no need when it's a flat surface and nothing really around, but when it's sloped or on a cliff I always put out the gravsphere. And when a warper came ofter me while mining it was delayed by the gravsphere. It killed the gravsphere, but it gave me plenty of time to get ready for the attack. No idea why though. Maybe it was a bug.

Possibly. Anyway, reason why I use it most of the time is because of the time I save while mining. Especially when in highly dangerous areas. Again, probably the last horse across the finish line on this topic, but I have yet to hear/watch someone, like a playthrough on Youtube, use this way to mine. *shrugs*