Saturation Diving Upgrades and Gear Progression

Credits in Saturation Diving are the single bottleneck between a new diver and a hadal-capable loadout. This guide walks through how credits convert into gear, the priority order for spending them, and the role-specific upgrade paths that get you to S-tier as fast as possible.

Ore-to-Credit Conversion

Every ore you mine has a base credit value based on its tier. The current conversion table:

Ore Tier	Source Zone	Credits Per Stack	Notes
Common	Twilight Reef	8	Stack of 20. Bulk of early-game income.
Uncommon	Twilight Reef, Mid Ridge	24	Mixed stack, requires salvaging.
Rare	Mid Ridge	80	Drops from wreck salvage.
Epic	Abyssal Hollow	240	Hidden veins behind pipe clusters.
Legendary	Black Mound	720	Boss loot only.

A standard Twilight Reef run yields 60–120 credits of mixed ore. Mid Ridge averages 250–400 credits. Abyssal Hollow clears 600–900 credits per run. Black Mound runs vary widely but a successful boss clear is 3000+ credits.

Full gameplay walkthrough — credit farming and upgrade order

The Upgrade Tree

Every piece of gear has four tiers. To unlock the next tier you need two things: enough credits and the previous tier fully repaired. There is no upgrade — upgrades happen at the gear locker in the submarine lobby.

Approximate credit costs per upgrade:

• Starter → Tier 2: 150 credits
• Tier 2 → Tier 3: 450 credits
• Tier 3 → Tier 4 (S-tier): 1,200 credits

A full S-tier loadout (five slots) costs roughly 8,000–9,000 credits if you build it from scratch. That is about 25 Twilight Reef runs, 12 Mid Ridge runs, or 6–8 Abyssal Hollow runs.

Priority Order

The credit-efficient priority is:

1. Oxygen Tank → Tier 2 (Twin Reserve). Unlocks the A-tier meta and pays for itself in two Mid Ridge runs.
2. Drill → Tier 2 (Pneumatic Spindle for Engineers, Hydraulic Core-Bit for everyone else once you have the credits).
3. Sonar → Tier 2 (Pulse Array Mk II). Triples your ability to avoid entity ambushes.
4. Light → Tier 2 (Dual Beam Helmet). Required for Abyssal Hollow.
5. Hazmat Suit → Tier 2 (Reefwalker IV). Required for Mid Ridge sustained pressure.

Do not rush the S-tier hazmat suit (Triton Mark VII). Without the supporting tank, drill, and sonar upgrades, the suit cannot save you when your air fails.

Role-Specific Paths

Engineer

Engineers want Hydraulic Core-Bit first, then Twin Reserve tank. Skip the light upgrade until Tier 3; the Engineer spends most of the dive close to pipes where the helmet light is sufficient.

Captain

Captains want Pulse Array Mk III first, then Photon Flood Array. The Captain is the team’s eyes — invest in sonar and light before personal combat gear.

Spotter

Spotters want Pulse Array Mk III first, then a second Pulse Array Mk III (yes, two — they stack). After that, the Cryo Helix Tank so you can stay in deep murk longer than anyone else.

Salvager

Salvagers want Twin Reserve tank first, then Photon Flood Array so you can find hidden crates. The Drill upgrade can wait — Salvagers rarely mine.

Where to Farm Each Tier

• Tier 1 → 2 credits: Twilight reef. Slow but safe.
• Tier 2 → 3 credits: Mid Ridge with a full team. Two-player Engineer + Salvager is the optimal pair.
• Tier 3 → 4 credits: Abyssal Hollow with a full team. Bring Rebreathers.

For a complete credit-farming run order, see the Walkthrough.

Save Versus Spend

During beta wipes (see Updates):

• Spend credits on consumables (Field Rebreathers, sensor beacons).
• Skip the S-tier upgrades — you might lose the credits on the wipe.

Outside wipe windows:

• Spend credits on permanent gear upgrades.
• Bank Rebreathers and beacons in your sub storage locker.

Pair This Guide With the Tier List

The Gear Tier List is the authoritative reference for which gear to chase at each stage. This guide is the how — the tier list is the what. Read them together before a major credit push.