Delta Station is the first major human-built location you encounter in Subnautica: Below Zero, and it is the gateway to understanding the game’s early narrative. Your character Robin lands near it at the start of the game, and Delta Station provides your initial context for the story: a Alterra Corporation outpost, apparently abandoned, with signs of the events you are here to investigate. Knowing what to do at Delta Station, what to find there, and how it connects to the broader story makes the early game significantly more purposeful.
What Is Delta Station?
Delta Station is an Alterra Corporation research and operational base on Planet 4546B’s surface and shallow ocean areas. In the events before Below Zero, it was an active base staffed by Alterra personnel including Robin’s sister Sam. When Robin arrives, Delta Station has been largely abandoned following the events she is investigating. The station’s physical structures — above and below the water — contain audio logs, research data, and clues that form the foundation of the early story.
Key Locations Within Delta Station
- The Main Hub — the central surface building containing the story’s first audio logs and Robin’s initial communications
- The Underwater Outpost — a flooded or partially flooded section containing early blueprint fragments
- Research Labs — smaller connected modules with scientific equipment and audio logs relating to Sam’s research
- Supply Caches — external storage containers with useful early-game materials that kickstart your resource collection
What to Do at Delta Station
When you first arrive at Delta Station, your priorities are: find and listen to every audio log (press F to interact with computers and audio equipment), scan every scannable object for blueprint fragments, collect all accessible materials from the supply caches, and document the evidence Robin finds about Sam’s activities. Delta Station is the game’s tutorial area in everything but name — it introduces the narrative, the scanning mechanic, and the base-building context through environmental storytelling.
The Early Game Route That Matters
After thoroughly exploring Delta Station, the next logical progression is: build your first basic base nearby (a single module with Fabricator, bed, and storage is enough), use Delta Station as your base of operations for the initial ocean exploration phase, and follow the story signals that radio in during the first hours. The radio will direct you to other locations — follow these signals before exploring too far from Delta Station, as they are sequenced to introduce the world at a manageable pace.
Delta Station and Marguerit Maida
Delta Station is also connected to Marguerit Maida’s story — the original human survivor who has been living on the planet for years. Her presence in the Delta Station area is hinted at early, and finding evidence of her before your first encounter with her makes that meeting significantly more impactful. Look carefully at the station’s environs for signs of someone living there long after official Alterra personnel departed.
Delta Station Coverage on RicardoPlays
Ricardo’s Below Zero series begins at Delta Station and covers the full early exploration sequence on the RicardoPlays channel. The first episodes of his Below Zero series are essential viewing for new players — they demonstrate the narrative and exploration rhythm that makes Below Zero’s early game so effective.