Once Human Isles of Abyss: What can solo players get ready for in their first dive into deep waters?
Diving into the sea in Once Human: Isles of Abyss is not as simple as stumbling upon a wreck and swimming to it. The survival revamped here includes ocean pollution, aquatic foes, breathing management and underwater sites that demand you gear up before heading beneath the surface.
As such, these systems require a little more attention for solo players to make the most of. When you’re on your own, there’s no teammate to watch your back while you scavenger, help you take down a foe or cover your path of retreat. A dive that starts off with you a stretch full of resources can go south fast if you find yourself in lethal water without proper gear or the wrong impression of how your gear works.
Good news: Starry Studio has confirmed a few functional items for exploring beneath the ocean surface, such as diving suits, an Oxygen Tank, an Inflatable Float, an Air Cushion, and a Spear Gun. Understanding what each item does is a more correct approach to the game than just running at the deepest looking spot.
In this guide we show you how to get ready for a first solo dive, what risks to consider, how to plot an underwater course and what is yet to be confirmed about the scenario’s diving game mechanics.
When Does Isles of Abyss Launch?
Starry Studio has announced that Once Human: Isles of Abyss will be released after maintenance on October 21, 2026 Pacific Time. The date will be October 22 in India, but the exact local availability will depend on when the maintenance is completed and the servers open.
The update adds exploration of the ocean to island survival, ship activities, underwater ruins and new environmental threats. It is a PvE survival scenario, and the official preview of the game asks players to “prepare protection and keep an eye on your oxygen levels when exploring deep underwater.”
The launch announcement doesn’t have all the details of oxygen consumption, how long you can dive for, or how hard each underwater area is. On your first trip, consider it a learning experience of the systems rather than assuming you can do every dive with the same equipment.
1. Select your Diving Protection before Diving in the Water
The choice of the first stage is your diving protection.
Starry Studio has announced two diving suits with different uses, the Basic Diving Suit and the Shark Diving Suit. They are not necessarily to be seen as swapping upgrades that every player can use at the star.
Basic Diving Suit
Basic Diving Suit Basic resistance to ocean pollution, the Basic Diving Suit. It is the beginning of preparing to go into underwater areas, especially if you have not acquired any high grade gear.
Just because you have “basic” protection doesn’t mean every underwater region is safe. Developer also says to expect contamination to be greater in deeper waters and that more hostile creatures are found in those zones.
Keep in mind when you are going into an underwater area, if you really need to have this suit for that place. In the event the place seems more threatening than waters you already dived in, don’t think basic resistance is enough for a several days trip.
Shark Diving Suit
Shark Diving Suit allows better ocean pollution resistance and faster swimming speed. As stated in the official preview, it is obtained later in the path of the unlock.
The advantage associated with these benefits is that it can be a good longer-term equipment objective, but they should not be taken as a sign the suit makes all deep sea locations safe. Better protection doesn’t mean you can stop managing oxygen, identifying threats, or plotting a return route.
Solo-player tip: Find out how the diving suit you have to work with handles the areas you go to before you take on a more challenging journey. Don’t delay all your underwater exploration just because you haven’t got the Shark Diving Suit, only don’t use the normal suit as if it gave you unlimited protection.
2 Know the four essential diving instruments
A lone diver has to consider more than just the gear with which he enters the water. You have to ask yourself what if you run out of oxygen, an enemy shows up or you need a temporary grip on the surface.
The diving suit provides contamination immunity. The Oxygen Tank addresses oxygen replenishment. The Inflatable Float offers a means to rapidly ascend in peril. The Air Cushion creates a temporary surface platform underwater, whilst the Spear Gun is designed for Underwater Warfare.
Don’t assume one thing replaces another. Better contamination protection, for example, doesn’t eliminate the need to know oxygen management.
Examine the real item descriptions
Before leaving the surface, examine the details of the equipment available to your character. You want to know if an item is equipped, whether you can use it, whether it is consumed when activated, and what restrictions are shown in the game.
The official preview does not give oxygen durations, replenishment values, cooldowns, or a full list of item restrictions. Do not base your planning on numbers that have not been confirmed to be present in the final version of the game.
3. Treat Oxygen as a Route-Planning Problem
Managing oxygen is one of the most critical aspects of deep diving. The challenge isn’t simply reaching a destination; it’s making sure you can complete the trip and return to the surface.
Oxygen Tank Starry Studio has confirmed that the Vacuum Tank will auto-trigger when you run out of oxygen to fill it up again. However, the announcement does not disclose how much is restored, how long a tank lasts, or how many replenishments a player can carry.
Which brings us to why you should play it conservative.
Plan the return before you descend
Pick a spot you want to go to before you go in, and have a way home. If you’re moving through a wreck, lab, or sea-ruin, think about the path from the entry to the place you want to detour to.
Never take it for granted that the hard part is over when you reach the destination. Looting containers, running around through buildings, and getting aggroed by mobs can make the trek a bit hectic.
A common sense rule of thumb: Start with a close water site and see how quickly you drain your oxygen from just moving around. Use that experience to determine if another, longer, venture is feasible.
Avoid unnecessary detours
Once you’re underwater, it feels like you should be looking at everything or in every hole. For a solo, every detour adds another layer of decision-making when it comes to distance, oxygen, and potential exposure.
Focus on the objective you have to do. If you find a curious waypoint along the road, ask yourself if you have enough supplies and a safe path to make investigate it. Otherwise, save it mentally for a later trip.
This is not to say that every detour will end in disaster. It’s an anti-curiosity-mechanism to stop curiosity from turning what would be a simple dive into a complex one.
What The Oxygen Tank Really Does
While the auto-activation feature is nice, it should not serve as a tether to lead divers into complacency. An oxygen replenishing item is just a safeguard, not an indication that you can stay under water forever.
Look at live inventory and oxygen levels to know how the equipment will react. If there’s a remaining supply, or activation status, or something shown by the game, use that when deciding whether to proceed.
4. Know Your Emergency Ascent Tools in Advance
Emergency gear can only help if you know how it works before trouble starts.
The Inflatable Float lets players rise quickly when faced with danger underwater. Since it is a consumable, use it carefully rather than relying on it as an endless movement option.
Before exploring an unfamiliar area, check that you have the item and review its in-game description. Don’t wait until an enemy is closing in or your oxygen is nearly gone to figure it out.
The Air Cushion works differently. When thrown, it creates a temporary floating platform on the water’s surface.
This can give you a brief place to stand, but the official announcement does not say it can save you from every underwater emergency. A surface platform is not the same as a guaranteed way to escape.
If you’re playing solo, remember the key difference: the Inflatable Float helps you ascend, while the Air Cushion provides temporary support at the surface.
5. Work Your Way Up From Shallow Wrecks Not the Deepest Stop
Starry Studio advises you start with shallow water shipwrecks and progress gear and supplies then go to deep-sea ruins.
The reasoning behind this is because the shallow diving is your way to get used to the controls and tools for equipment without immediately facing a more demanding environment.
Make your first dive with a straightforward goal in mind. Dive on a close wreck, feel how it is to move underwater, check how much oxygen you usage and how to come up.
Don’t let your initial outing become a long, tedious for re-supply-and-defend journey. Even if you do come back with less supplies than you expected, it’s worthwhile to get to know the environment.
What to learn during the first dive
Ask the following practical questions on your initial trip:
How fast are you bleeding through your air supply when you move?
How hard is it to find you way back to the surface?
Is the room full of hostile creatures?
How the environment affects you current dive protection?
Are you able to identify the entrance and exit of the submerged place?
What equipment features are enabled by default in your current loadout?
These are things to check in the live game, not static numbers. Your mileage may vary depending on the terrain and the equipment you have unlocked.
When you have the basic idea of the flow, you can determine whether it makes sense to try for a longer streamline.
6. Detect Underwater Threats Before You Ordeal Under Ruins
The ocean in Isles of Abyss is not just full of sunken resources. The developer talks about underwater labs where leaks have drawn algae and jellyfish. Luminescent drifting algae on the ocean surface may act as a hint to these places.
That gives explorers something useful to look for, before committing to a destination.
Nevertheless, a visual hint does not mean that the area around it is free. The discovery of a laboratory may suggest a place of interest to go, but you still want to fight for contamination and possibly the same name period.
Be Discerning with Environmental Cues
Whenever you see glowing algae, wrestle with whether or not you want to go down to check out their underwater location. Check Your Gear, Take Some Oxygen And Plan Your Route Before You Go Down.
If you’re still handling the diving system, you might want to see the area first, and come back after you have more experience. You don’t have to go all the way around the world and visit every cool place all at once.
Know How The Spear Gun Works
The Spear Gun offers an alternate way to take on underwater foes. Its existence is helpful, but the official reveal does not offer a full weapon-stat break down, or prove that this weapon can be used reliably against all creatures. Prior to relying too heavily on the weapon, play with its controls, how to use it effectively in combat, and perhaps any limitations that become apparent in the game.
Don’t just assume that having a Spear Gun means it makes sense to attack every creature you see. Sometimes ducking off from a threat and coming back better suited is the safer option.
7. Prepare for More Than Oxygen
Oxygen is only one part of staying safe underwater. The game’s official preview also highlights ocean pollution and other environmental hazards.
According to developer Starry Studio, Fish Oil Paste can improve heat resistance and provide brief protection from polluted water. Other dangers across the archipelago may require different protective gear or meals, particularly in certain Haywire Zones.
Choose your supplies based on where you’re headed. An item that helps in one environment may do little to protect you from the main threat in another. Before setting out, check the descriptions of your gear and food, especially if your destination is known to be hazardous.
Fish Oil Paste does not provide permanent protection or let you ignore contamination indefinitely. Its effect is temporary, so check the in-game details for how long it lasts. If you’re playing solo, pack for the conditions you’ll actually face instead of carrying items without knowing what they’re meant to do.
Frequently Asked Questions
What should solo players do before their first dive in Once Human: Isles of Abyss?
Choose an appropriate diving suit, learn how the Oxygen Tank, Inflatable Float, and Air Cushion work, and get ready to face underwater threats. Keep your first route simple: explore shallow shipwrecks before venturing into deeper waters.
Can the Basic Diving Suit protect you in deep water?
The Basic Diving Suit offers some protection from ocean contamination, but risks increase in deeper areas, where contamination levels are higher and more dangerous creatures may appear. It should not be considered a guarantee of safety everywhere.
How does the Oxygen Tank work?
When your oxygen runs out, the Oxygen Tank activates automatically and restores some oxygen. The official preview did not specify how much it restores or how long it lasts.
How do the Inflatable Float and Air Cushion differ?
The Inflatable Float helps you rise quickly when you’re in danger. The Air Cushion, by contrast, provides a temporary platform that floats on the water’s surface. Each serves a different purpose.
Are underwater laboratories suitable for beginners?
They may be challenging for new players. The developer suggests starting with shallow shipwrecks and upgrading your gear and supplies before exploring deeper ruins. Getting comfortable with the diving mechanics first can also help you prepare.
Does the Shark Diving Suit make underwater exploration safe?
No. It provides greater protection from ocean contamination and lets you swim faster, but you still need to monitor your oxygen, prepare for threats, and plan how you’ll get back.