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The Tongue Thief is a small parasite and nuisance creature in Subnautica 2. It poses no direct lethal threat to the player, but it can interfere with diving by knocking a held tool out of your hands. In keeping with the game's no-weapons philosophy, it is handled through avoidance and recovery rather than combat.

Overview

The Tongue Thief is classed as a parasite rather than a predator. Its defining trait in the current Early Access build is the way it interacts with the player's equipped gear: rather than dealing meaningful damage, it targets whatever tool the player is holding and can dislodge it. This makes the creature more of an inconvenience than a danger, but a dislodged tool can be a problem in the middle of another encounter or while harvesting resources.

Behavior

The Tongue Thief appears to home in on a player who is actively using or holding a tool. When it makes contact, it can knock that tool loose, forcing the player to recover it before continuing. Its exact spawn locations, numbers, and the precise trigger conditions for the tool-knock behavior are not fully documented in the current build, so treat any specifics beyond the basic effect as unconfirmed.

How to Deal With It

• Holster or stow your tool when you see one approaching, so there is nothing in your hands for it to dislodge.

• If it does knock a tool loose, recover the dropped item before resuming your task.

• Avoid lingering in its vicinity while mid-harvest, since losing a tool during resource collection wastes time.

• Because it is a nuisance rather than a lethal threat, there is no need to try to fight it; moving away resolves the encounter.