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11 The Angel Comb is a large, sessile flora organism in Subnautica 2. It is part of the planet's "Bloom" lifeform class, a rooted plant-like growth rather than an animal, and it is the in-game mechanism by which the player gains Adaptations, the permanent DNA upgrades that let the survivor withstand the world's hazards. Each Angel Comb hosts a cluster of colored bulbs, and interacting with a bulb grants one Adaptation. The bulb is consumed in the process, so each one can be used a single time.
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33 Biology
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55 Angel Combs are anchored, plant-like organisms that grow from the substrate or from a host body. They are large enough to be visible at a distance and give off ambient light from their bulbs, which makes them useful as navigation landmarks. They are sessile, meaning they stay rooted in place, and they belong to the same "Bloom" class as other towering symbiotic flora in the world. The Angel Comb is not a creature: it does not move, hunt, or attack, and it is documented as a Bloom organism rather than as fauna.
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77 Each Angel Comb is parasitically linked to a Titan Rockbore, the large host organism it draws on. This connection is what sustains the Angel Comb's growth and the genetic material stored in its bulbs. The relationship is one-sided: the Angel Comb feeds on the host without immediately destroying it, remaining attached for the host's lifetime.
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99 Granting Adaptations
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1111 The Angel Comb is the delivery system for the Adaptations system. Each colored bulb on the organism corresponds to a single Adaptation. When the player commits to a bulb, that Adaptation is applied permanently and the bulb is consumed, so the same bulb cannot grant the upgrade again. This makes the choice of which bulb to use a meaningful one. Adaptations gained this way are what let the survivor push into otherwise lethal terrain: a heat-tolerance Adaptation, for example, is the kind of upgrade that lets the player cross a Heat Barrier that would otherwise turn the player back.
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1313 Because Adaptations are permanent and bulbs are single-use, the Angel Combs effectively gate progression. Reaching a new bulb, and surviving the area around it, is how the player earns the resilience needed to reach the next region.
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1515 Infection by the Blight
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1717 Angel Combs can be infected by Bloom Cankers, a manifestation of The Blight. When the Blight takes hold of an Angel Comb through these cankers, it corrupts the otherwise life-giving organism, tying the player's source of Adaptations to the wider threat the Blight poses across the world. This links the Angel Comb directly into the planet's central environmental story rather than leaving it as an isolated upgrade station.
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1919 In-World Navigation Role
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2121 Because Angel Combs are visually distinctive and bioluminescent, they serve as a natural in-world cue for the player's Adaptation progression. Each Angel Comb anchors a region, and the path between them tends to form the spine of early exploration: the player moves from one Bloom to the next, picking up the Adaptations that open the way forward. The organisms themselves never move, so once located they stay reliable landmarks.
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2323 See Also
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2525 The Adaptations system that the Angel Combs feed into.The Biosampler tool used when collecting genetic material.The Heat Barrier that a heat-tolerance Adaptation helps the player cross.