Eastern Region & Metal Farms Guide
- Threat level: Medium
- Key resources: Metal, Titanium, Salvage, Scrap
- Landmark: metal farm pools that respawn scrap
Layout & Navigation
The Eastern Region is a sprawling shelf zone rimming the map's east side. Its signature feature is the Metal Farm pools — deep circular basins where scrap metal and titanium respawn on a timer. These are the best salvage spots in Early Access and the fastest way to fund base expansion.
Resources & Farming
Farm loop: hit each Metal Farm pool in sequence (drop a beacon on each), gather scrap + titanium, return to base to smelt. The Abyss map layer fast-travel points sit above the pools — you can dive straight down from them to ground level, beating swimming between farms. Clear all pools in one trip, then wait for respawns; the rotation takes roughly one in-game day.
Dangers
Medium threat — Great Jaws patrol between pools and Needle Eels cluster in the shallows. The pools themselves are safe; the open water between them is where ambushes happen. Stay low, use terrain, and keep the fast-travel points marked.
What to bring
Standard loadout for a first pass: full O2 stack (Standard Air Tank at minimum, Portable Oxygen Generator for cave work), charged Scanner, Survival Tool, food and water for the swim, and at least one decoy if the threat rating is High or above. Drop a beacon at the entrance — the alien ocean has no compass zones, and landmarks plus beacons are the only reliable way back. If you have the Tadpole, take it: speed, cargo and a movable O2 refuge in one.
Route planning notes
Use landmarks, not coordinates, and press R3 on the map screen to check the Abyss layer — floating fast-travel points let you dive straight down toward ground-level destinations instead of swimming the whole way. Split any long trip into a scan run and a materials run; mixing them is how inventories get lost. Leviathans patrol the deep transition zones here, so learn the silhouette tells and plan your surface intervals where cover is available. Night can open safe windows: some predators patrol further out after dark, which trades visibility for room.
FAQ
Is the Eastern Region safe for new players?
Check the threat notes in the sections above: Low-rated shallows areas are fine from the first hour, while anything flagged High or needing an Adaptation should wait until you have the Tadpole, an upgraded air supply, and decoys. The Biomes index lists every region in rough difficulty order.
What should I build near the Eastern Region?
A forward base or at least a beacon chain if you farm here regularly. Power it with the cheapest stable source available (a bioreactor fed by fish and organics works anywhere), and keep a charged Repair Tool on hand — the same one that maintains your lifepod maintains base modules.
Where are the metal farms?
The Metal Farm pools sit in the Eastern Region's shelf zone — deep circular basins where scrap and titanium respawn roughly every in-game day.
What's the fastest salvage route?
Chain the pools in sequence with beacons, use the Abyss-layer fast-travel points to dive straight down to each, and clear all pools in one trip before respawns.