Tips to make your Cyclops experience better!

[Chibi Life]

Hello friends! As you may not know, I am a Cyclops enthusiast. When I first built this thing and tried it, first thing I did was message my friends and complain about how difficult it is to drive and how big it is and I ran back to my Seamoth and tried to avoid using this big brute.

Eventually, however, I got tired of the limited inventory space and having to run back and forth between base and resource deposits so I said, "Okay... let's give the big submarine a real try."

Now I love it. I drive it around everywhere and only use my Seamoth when I need to scout around quickly looking for things like alien vents or specific biomes. But when I know my destination, the Cyclops carrying the Prawn suit is the way to go!

- When you first get the Cyclops your goal is to get the energy efficiency module built ASAP (or you can get one for free in the Aurora). Secondly you will have to find the wreckage to get the data for the first depth module. The consecutive depth module blueprints are given to you for free after you scan all the Modification Station Fragments.

- Your Cyclops will have a chance of catching on fire after you hear, "Warning external hull damage detected". The longer you leave the Cyclops unrepaired, the more chances for a fire to happen.

- Silent Running allows you to sneak past large predators while using the slowest movement speed. However if your sub is too close to the predator, there's a high possibility that it will attack you anyways. Silent Running is basically the only way you can sneak past predators or to escape after you've been detected (unless you have decoys), but it doesn't make you completely immune to detection so try to keep your distance anyways!

- Shutting your engine removes all noise from the sub making it impossible for a predator to detect you. Of course you can't move, but it's a great way to drop creature attention on you so you can sneak away.

- Do not get out of the Cyclops with the Prawn suit if the Cyclops is too close to the sea floor, I've had my Prawn suit glitch through the floor and if I didn't grapple in time I would have fallen off the map lol.

1: Build a Fabricator, some med-kit fabricators and lots of wall lockers (I would advise against the non-wall storage cuz they glitched on me and disappeared and I lost a lot of stuff.) Carry your prawn suit in the sub and drive around storing resources into lockers as needed then bring it all back to base. Also store food and water in the lockers and you can stay away from base for a long time while you stock up on resources. Your Cyclops is your base away from base. You can store large amounts of food/water and gather and store large amounts of resources. It is your freight train, love it, use it and give it a cute name :P

2: Keep a total of 18 power cells, 6 installed in the sub and 12 on standby. Once you get ion power cells keep 6 backup of those and 6 installed. This will allow you to use the wonderful things the submarine has available without suffering from power issues too much.

3: There's an indicator on the bottom right when you're driving that shows your sub and detects enemies around you. When you notice a red dot throw up your shields to brace yourself for impact. If you don't have shields, just repair. The Cyclops can take quite a few blows before it's destroyed.

4: Before you can build decoys, when attacked by a leviathan type monster, immediately shut your engines off and refer to the bottom right indicator, wait until the leviathan dot is no longer red and no longer hovering too close to your submarine. Once ready, switch on silent running, turn engines back on and then switch speed to lowest and drive out of there. I've even escaped the dead zone doing this with 3 ghost leviathans lol.

5: If you can build decoys reliably, try to prepare for the attack and switch on shields to absorb it then drop a decoy and drive away! Decoys don't seem to work unless the leviathan is already attacking however. This makes things a LOT faster. Now I don't even stop moving or put on silent running. I just drive past the leviathan in full speed, watch for red dot, pop shields when it attacks then drop a decoy and drive away.

6: Ion Power Cells make the sonar spammable which is incredibly helpful for navigating and visibility. Unfortunately you can only get these so late in the game that you're about ready to beat it anyways. However you don't need to rush and beat the game, you can base build, explore and treat it like a fantastic underwater sandbox game and the ion power cells are really a convenience that can't be beat.

7: Dealing with the size and navigating tight spaces: I actually consistently take the Cyclops to the Lost River and beyond by entering through the Deep Grand Reef which many people know is clustered with giant glowing orbs that make navigation challenging. Using the sonar you can identify the areas you need to descend into until you memorize the areas. You can also switch it to slow movement speed for those hard to navigate places.

- Furthermore, there is a beeping noise and if you look up above the steering wheel you'll notice red dots along the submarine's hull. These indicate that you are a close to an object and also where abouts on the sub that you are close to it. It's abstract but with a small amount of effort you can learn use that as a guide to squeeze through places despite you not being able to see all around the sub. I know it feels intimidating at first but trust me, you can and will get good at it.

8: In the awful event that you get stuck:
- Stuck in the ground: You can console dig 1-5 around the sub to clear the sea floor to free the sub. You don't get achievements if you use this cheat however.
- You can ram into the sub to push it and you can also use floater fish to help lift it up at least until the sub is at 0m.
- Untested but you can probably use the propulsion cannon to ram large objects into the sub to move it too.

9: The max speed setting is notorious for causing the sub to catch on fire due to engine overheating. However one of the biggest complaints I see is how slow the sub turns around. You can switch it to max speed if you need to turn the sub and it will turn significantly faster and more tolerable, then switch it back to normal speed and take off.

10: If you are driving around trying to find specific areas and resource deposits, the cameras on the sub have lights attached to them you can use them to search the ocean floors. Recommended you get slightly close to the floor however as visibility gets worse the farther you are away (naturally). This isn't entirely useful once you get the prawn suit, however if you are in an area where there's a lot of warpers you might want to stay in the sub so they leave you alone while you look around.

--- Modules ---

Depth Module - Self Explanatory

Fire Suppression Module - I wish I could tell you how this is useful. Unfortunately it's way too easy to just fire extinguisher to put out the fires and once you get even a little used to the submarine you will probably never have a fire again. If fires were harder to put out and spread everywhere this would be a great module, but as it currently stands it's really pointless and uses TONS of energy.

Docking Bay Repair Module - Convenient for repairing the Prawn Suit since it takes forever with a repair tool, but ultimately I switched it out for the extra decoy module.

Thermal Reactor Module - Took away my need to take out the power cells and charge them in power cell chargers. I build my bases next to heat sources so I can take advantage of charging my cyclops at my base by moving it over them and thermal reactors (infinite energy!) However power cell chargers are faster so if you're in a hurry to get back into the cyclops use those instead. Also makes leeches a non-issue in the Inactive Lava Zone as you are always charging power while in the zone, lets you use a bunch of sonars too while in that zone.

Cyclops Shield Generator - Removes leeches from your cyclops. Absorbs damage from crashing into terrain. When watching the bottom right, you can predict when a Leviathan is going to crash into you and put shields up to absorb the blow. It uses a lot of power, but you only need to put it up briefly as necessary. Very useful and I use it a lot.

Cyclops Sonar Upgrade - Before you get the Ion Power Cells this thing is an energy destroyer. Recommended to keep 18 power cells or more on reserve then you can use this more. Otherwise just click it when you're completely lost to see the terrain or try to find where that leviathan noise is coming from (it will illuminate leviathans swimming around). Before I got my ion power cells I would click it then disable it, just ping it once to see the terrain and make a mental note. After I got the ion power cells I can just leave it on as needed.

Cyclops Decoy Upgrade Module - Technically you don't need it. You can reload that single decoy back in after you use it. I don't use a ton of decoys anyways. But I'm lazy and don't really need the repair module so I swapped them.

I present to you, my Banana Boat:

https://puu.sh/zogCo/0cdf955032.jpg

[GordoBoy]

k

[DeFragged]

Appreciate the writeup for the Cyclops to help others!

[Xitones]

about the energy efficiency module, you dont need to build it, there is one in the aurora on the leaking core room, you only need to build if you lost it or if your sub was destroyed in the deep dark nothing of the edge of the map

[Chibi Life]

Originally posted by Xitones:

about the energy efficiency module, you dont need to build it, there is one in the aurora on the leaking core room, you only need to build if you lost it or if your sub was destroyed in the deep dark nothing of the edge of the map

Updated the information. I forgot about that, thank you!

[CrazyGoblin]

I called mine the Big Yellow Submarine, because I live in it.

Speaking of which, do you happen to have any comments on placing a planter inside the cyclops for permanent, renewable food/water? Or a bed for sleeping?

And I pretty much only use the fire suppression module for the music it plays.

[Xitones]

a growbed with melons or potatoes are great in the cyclops, i dont think a bed is even needed in the entire game unless you are afraid of the dark

[Enheldor]

Originally posted by Xitones:

a growbed with melons or potatoes are great in the cyclops, i dont think a bed is even needed in the entire game unless you are afraid of the dark

I just use the bed to see myself stretch while looking at my kitty poster.

[Chibi Life]

Originally posted by CrazyGoblin:

I called mine the Big Yellow Submarine, because I live in it.

Speaking of which, do you happen to have any comments on placing a planter inside the cyclops for permanent, renewable food/water? Or a bed for sleeping?

And I pretty much only use the fire suppression module for the music it plays.

I only place things that are mounted to the wall in my Cyclops after an incident with storage lockers (the non wall mounted ones). I lost 25 bottles of bit filtered water and 30 preserved peepers and a t on of misc ingredients cuz the game glitched and they all disappeared. Literally don't know where they went. I ended up deciding to reload and lose an hour progress than to replace what I lost.

I'm not sure what causes this glitch. I know I was in the lava biome and leeches were sticking to the cyclops, I went out for a swim, came back and they were gone. Maybe it's because I placed them on the bottom level?

Might be okay on the top level I just don't know.

But interior growbeds with food in the sub sound like a great idea. I'm kinda tired of finding preserved fish to store on my sub lol.

[archonsod]

Originally posted by Mistress of Boredom:

- Shutting your engine removes all noise from the sub making it impossible for a predator to detect you. Of course you can't move, but it's a great way to drop creature attention on you so you can sneak away.

Almost. Be wary of the lights and those attracted by lights.

1: Build a Fabricator, some med-kit fabricators and lots of wall lockers

One of the reasons you need 18 batteries is probably the med-kit fabricators. Those things will suck you dry while they're creating med-kits. Generally I wouldn't build anything that uses power in there beyond a regular fabricator (remember you can fabricate med-kits yourself with the right ingredients).
I'd also recommend having a locker somewhere on the sub containing sufficient materials for a corridor, hatch, power cell charger and a means of powering it. In the event you find yourself out of power you can then pop up a quick charging station. If you have survival mode on you can use grow beds and plant pots to ensure a steady supply of food on the sub itself, thus freeing up valuable locker space for useful resources.

2: Keep a total of 18 power cells, 6 installed in the sub and 12 on standby.

Note you only need two cells to power up the sub, though it won't last long. Personally I'd consider 12 standby cells somewhat excessive; 6 should work fine (on the basis of if the six in the engine got you here it shouldn't take more than another six to get you back) although I usually just use 2 in conjunction with the 'instant cell recharge station' method.

3: There's an indicator on the bottom right when you're driving that shows your sub and detects enemies around you.

It also shows the sound bubble around the sub, which is what actually causes enemies to attack you. The size of the bubble depends on speed (silent running will reduce the bubble for a given speed). Enemies will usually only attack if the bubble touches them - it's useful to get used to using this if you want to avoid needlessly wasting power through silent running.

4: Before you can build decoys, when attacked by a leviathan type monster, immediately shut your engines off and refer to the bottom right indicator

Or switch to flank speed and run. The leviathans will usually only pursue for a certain distance before they give up.

[Chibi Life]

Originally posted by archonsod:

Originally posted by Mistress of Boredom:

- Shutting your engine removes all noise from the sub making it impossible for a predator to detect you. Of course you can't move, but it's a great way to drop creature attention on you so you can sneak away.

Almost. Be wary of the lights and those attracted by lights.

1: Build a Fabricator, some med-kit fabricators and lots of wall lockers

One of the reasons you need 18 batteries is probably the med-kit fabricators. Those things will suck you dry while they're creating med-kits. Generally I wouldn't build anything that uses power in there beyond a regular fabricator (remember you can fabricate med-kits yourself with the right ingredients).
I'd also recommend having a locker somewhere on the sub containing sufficient materials for a corridor, hatch, power cell charger and a means of powering it. In the event you find yourself out of power you can then pop up a quick charging station. If you have survival mode on you can use grow beds and plant pots to ensure a steady supply of food on the sub itself, thus freeing up valuable locker space for useful resources.

2: Keep a total of 18 power cells, 6 installed in the sub and 12 on standby.

Note you only need two cells to power up the sub, though it won't last long. Personally I'd consider 12 standby cells somewhat excessive; 6 should work fine (on the basis of if the six in the engine got you here it shouldn't take more than another six to get you back) although I usually just use 2 in conjunction with the 'instant cell recharge station' method.

3: There's an indicator on the bottom right when you're driving that shows your sub and detects enemies around you.

It also shows the sound bubble around the sub, which is what actually causes enemies to attack you. The size of the bubble depends on speed (silent running will reduce the bubble for a given speed). Enemies will usually only attack if the bubble touches them - it's useful to get used to using this if you want to avoid needlessly wasting power through silent running.

4: Before you can build decoys, when attacked by a leviathan type monster, immediately shut your engines off and refer to the bottom right indicator

Or switch to flank speed and run. The leviathans will usually only pursue for a certain distance before they give up.

Just to clarify, the fabricators for med kits don't use power if they aren't fabricating one. I left the kits inside the fabricator and grabbed them only when I needed them so the power consumption wasn't too horrible. Having lots of extra power cells let me splurge on shield and sonar usage for long trips away from base really. But if you are careful with power consumption you only need 12 power cells.

[Shazarak]

Thank you!

[CaliberPlex]

Is "The Blue Whale" cute at all?

[stingo1]

I find that just keep moving at regular speed is the best for leviathans. They have a zone they stick to and once you leave it, they won't follow. At worst, your sub will get attacked twice before you're away from danger, three if mess around way too much. The only hole in this plan is if you're leaving one leviathan zone and going directly into another AND have very bad luck with attacks.

[Escobar_Jones]

Just a shout out; first time player here and this thread has been INCREDIBLY helpful.

Thanks OP & contributors!!!

[MaTeO]

Will i trigger predator if i only move vertical down or up without using engine with Cyclop? (Space/C)
Are lights on the ship trigger predators?