Icarus Guide: How to Get More Oxygen and Water

Icarus takes you to a planet where you have to fend for yourself. Survival is of the essence, which means it’s imperative that you cook food to alleviate hunger, as well as find sources of oxygen and water. Here’s our Icarus guide to help you get more oxygen and water during your travels.

Note: For more information, check out our Icarus guides and features hub.

Icarus Guide: Getting More Oxygen and Water

Oxygen and Oxite in Icarus

The main source of oxygen in Icarus is a mineral called Oxite. Compared to stones, these have a slightly bluish hue. Smaller pieces can be picked up normally, but larger Oxite deposits require a Stone Pickaxe (10x fiber, 4x stick, and 8x stone).

Once you have Oxites, there are a couple of ways for you to refill oxygen:

• You can right-click on the mineral in your inventory and consume it. This can be a bit of a hassle.
• You can click and drag the mineral to an empty oxygen slot on your Envirosuit. The Oxite will be consumed automatically whenever your oxygen is slightly depleted, though it’s not as ideal since it’s not yet refined.

Oxidizer or Oxite Dissolver?

In a short while, though, you should have leveled up a bit to unlock some tech tree blueprints. The first one that you can get is the Oxidizer (Tier 1) – Requires 8x stick, 24x fiber, 20x leather, and 10x bone. This object can be created directly from the crafting menu before being placed on the ground. You can add Oxite minerals at the bottom section. Then, you can interact with the top section to inhale oxygen.

I personally wouldn’t recommend this since it does feel unnecessary. Instead, you can go with the Oxite Dissolver and Oxygen Bladder which are created using the Crafting Bench:

• Oxite Dissolver (Tier 2; requires Crafting Bench unlocked) – Requires 18x wood, 24x leather, and 8x bone.
• Oxygen Bladder (Tier 2; requires Crafting Bench and Waterskin unlocked) – Requires 20x fiber, 30x leather, and 8x bone.

The Oxygen Bladder is placed in the slots at the top row and Oxites are placed in the bottom row. You also need to add Sulfur as fuel. After a few seconds, the Oxygen Bladder will be filled up (denoted by several pips). You can then equip this in the empty oxygen slot in your Envirosuit.

Collecting Water in Icarus

As for quenching your thirst in Icarus, the process is fairly simple: just press the “E” button when you’re in a pool of water. However, there will be times when you’re further away from any water source. This is when certain tools come in:

• First Cohort Envirosuit – The First Cohort Envirosuit is available if you pre-ordered the Supporter’s Edition. One of its perks is a water slot.
• Waterskin (Tier 2; requires Crafting Bench unlocked) – Requires 10x fiber, 12x leather, and 4x bone. If you have a Waterskin in your inventory, you can fill it up when you’re in a body of water. Equip it in the water slot of your Envirosuit so that your character can take a drink from time to time.
• Rain Reservoir (Tier 2; requires Crafting Bench unlocked) – Requires 8x stick, 24x wood, 80x stone, and 8x leather. Once created using a Crafting Bench, you can place it on a spot. It’ll collect water when it rains and it can also turn ice into drinkable water.
• Campfire (Tier 1) – Requires 8x fiber, 8x stick, and 24x stone. Speaking of ice, you can also melt it when you interact with a Campfire, subsequently turning it into water.

Helpful Talents

Lastly, there are a few talents that can help you immensely when it comes to managing your oxygen and water/thirst in Icarus:

• Solo:
  • Low Maintenance – Decreases oxygen, hunger, and thirst costs.
• Survival – Resources:
  • Oxygen Thief – Increased yield from Oxite nodes.
• Survival – Exploration:
  • Steady Breathing – Reduced oxygen consumption rate.
  • Water Retention – Reduced thirst rate.
  • Calming Presence – Reduces oxygen consumption for party members within 20 meters.
  • Like It With The Lights Off – Oxygen, hunger, and thirst drain are decreased at night.

Icarus is available via Steam. For more information, check out our guides and features hub.