Microsoft says it's going to 'fundamentally raise the bar' on driver …

While Windows has represented my go-to operating system more often than not, that doesn't mean I especially like using it. Microsoft appears to be all too aware of begrudging use cases such as my own, as it's recently committed to making all things Windows 11 'better'. Most recently, it's Windows' drivers that are enjoying a concerted improvement effort.

At WinHEC 2026 (the first Windows Hardware Engineering Conference since 2018), the company introduced the Driver Quality Initiative (DQI), "a comprehensive, ecosystem-wide effort designed to fundamentally raise the bar on driver quality, reliability and security across Windows."

"Drivers sit at the heart of every Windows experience. They connect the OS to the silicon, components and peripherals that make Windows one of the most versatile platforms in the industry," Microsoft explains. "Today, thousands of partners contribute to tens of thousands of active driver families across the Windows install base." hilogame.news

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"When drivers are high quality, customers experience reliable, secure, performant devices. When drivers fail, customers experience it as a device problem, regardless of where the root cause sits."

Fair point. After all, who among us hasn't cursed a driver update for turning our desktop world upside down? The initiative consists of four 'pillars', which include expanding quality measures for drivers with improved partner verification measures, improving driver lifecycle management, and improving Windows driver architecture itself.

To elaborate a bit on that latter point, Microsoft shares that it is "heavily investing in hardening kernel mode drivers and enabling the third-party kernel mode driver transition to either user mode driver or Microsoft authored class drivers."

As a bid to "ensure higher driver security, reliability and resiliency," this 'architecture' pillar seems pretty foundational to the driver initiative as a whole.

The DQI is perhaps no surprise, given Microsoft's recent re-commitment to Windows quality. President of Windows and devices Pavan Davuluri also said that 2026 would be the year Microsoft focuses "on addressing pain points we hear consistently from customers: improving system performance, reliability, and the overall experience of Windows."

Microsoft is also rethinking its implementation of AI features, in addition to bringing the wider driver ecosystem back into step. Still, on all counts it's relatively early days, and the DQI blog post stresses that WinHEC 2026 was just "the start of the work, not the end."

Biomods are effectively your skills in Subnautica 2. Some are active effects, like dashing to avoid predators or producing a jolt of electricity, but most of them are passive buffs that go a long way in making life under the waves easier.

You'll have access to only a handful of Biomods at the start of the game when you power up the Biolab in the Welcome Center, but once you reach the Alien Ruins and unlock the Bioscanner upgrade, you'll see the full repertoire at the Biolab.

The only hurdle is that you need to scan various creatures across the ocean to unlock each Biomod. Below, I'll explain where to find each of the creatures you need to scan, and what each Biomod does.

How to get all Biomods in Subnautica 2

There are currently 15 Biomods, which consist of five active and ten passive. However, you can only equip one of each type right now. The Subnautica 2 roadmap explains that there are planned improvements coming to Biomods in update 1.1, including more passive Biomod slots.

At the start of the game, you have access to the following Biomods when you power up the Welcome Center and interact with the Biolab inside:

You'll be restricted to these four options until you complete all the tasks in the starting area and travel to the Alien Ruins to the east, at which point you can find the Bioscanner upgrade. Once you collect this and equip it at the Modification Station, you can scan creatures to unlock additional Biomods. While you're told what creatures you need to find, you won't know what each Biomod does, or even where to find said sea beasts.

Here are all the remaining Biomods that you need to unlock, and where to find the specific creatures they ask for:

Sonic Echo

• Type: Active
• Effect: Emit a sonar pulse to highlight nearby resources
• Scan: Collector Leviathan

To unlock Sonic Echo, you need to scan the terrifying Collector Leviathan, which you'll recognise as the beast patrolling the gorge between the Tadpole Pens and the Alien Ruins.

You can either scan this Collector Leviathan or go down to the Metal Farm area (with the green glowing pools), where you'll find two more. Either way, you'll want to stick close to cover and use Distraction Flares or the Camouflage Biomod to be able to get close enough to scan it. I didn't have much luck using the Electric Discharge Biomod, despite how useful it sounds here. As you've no doubt found out the hard way, if this monster grabs you, it'll kill you in one bite.

Electric Discharge

• Type: Active
• Effect: Emit an 800-volt electric shock to deter medium and large predators
• Scan: Electric Geordie

You can find the Electric Geordie you need to scan near the Alien Turbine. From the Alien Ruins Research Outpost, head east towards the Angel Comb, where you'll find Electric Geordie next to a large metal pillar (like a chess piece) with a blue light on it. There are more by the green glowing pools at the Metal Farms, too. I recommend using your Tadpole as bait, since the fish will latch onto it and shock it.

Chum Cloud

• Type: Active
• Effect: Release a cloud of delicious bait to distract predators
• Scan: Houndgar, Toxic Sponge

To unlock this Biomod, I actually recommend you travel back to the starting area. That's because you can find Houndgar near the Cicada shipwreck in the volcanic area, not far from the Tadpole Pans. They're about 720m southwest of the Alien Ruins, or 550m west of the Lifepod.

Toxic Sponge, on the other hand, is easy to scan in the small cave just 30m east of the Lifepod, almost directly below it.

Bioluminescence

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Glow in the dark
• Scan: Sandspear, Electric Geordie

If you've got the Electric Discharge Biomod, then you'll have already scanned an Electric Geordie. Otherwise, I recommend going back to the Alien Turbine and scanning one there.

Sandspear are found in or around the seabed in the starting Shallows area. I found one in a cave 70m west of the Lifepod, so not very far away at all. You'll sometimes see them shimmying about in the sand.

Camouflage

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Become invisible to predators when not moving
• Scan: Bullethead

You'll often find Bulletheads lodged into cave walls, so they're easy to miss if it's dark. I found multiple in a cave 120m away, 300 degrees northwest of the Alien Ruins Research Outpost. The cave covers more or less the entirety of the area underneath the Research Outpost, and there are multiple entrances.

Water Retention

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Gain more water from all sources with enlarged, orca-like kidneys
• Scan: Coral Crab

Coral Crabs are easily found around the rock pillar in the open seabed near Chap's base about 120 degrees southeast of the Lifepod, 200m away, just past the Welcome Center. However, you can also find them with the Houndgars near the Cicada shipwreck overlooking the Tadpole Pens in the volcanic area.

Homing Sense

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Detect nearby bases with electrical power
• Scan: Surge Jelly, Hammerhead

You'll find both Surge Jelly and Hammerhead near the Lifepod in the starting area. There's a large group of Surge Jelly just past Chap's base, roughly 250m south of the Lifepod, near a large natural currant.

Hammerheads are common further out from the Lifepod, but I recommend going towards the Coral Crabs and sulfur deposits by the rock pillar near Chap's base, 250m southeast of the Lifepod. There should be one patrolling the area, not far from a pack of Nibbler Mango.

Threat Sense

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Detect nearby threats with specialised hair cells
• Scan: Hoverthorn

Hoverthorn are absolutely tiny fish that are quite hard to actually scan. On the bright side, they're easy to find basically all around the Alien Ruins. I recommend going close to the edge of the pit with the Collector Leviathan between there and the Tadpole Pens, which is roughly 300m south, southwest of the Alien Ruins.

Dermal Garden

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Slowly grow nutritious algae on your skin
• Scan: Needler Mango

Needler Mango is one of the easiest fish to scan since they have a dedicated nest area, which you've likely already visited before to get Creature Enamel, Ruby's blackbox, or the Tadpole depth module. There's a bunch of them about 250m southeast of the Alien Ruins Research Outpost. Since they take a moment to line up their shots and again between volleys, that's the best time to get close for a scan.

Slow Metabolism

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Your microbiome becomes more efficient, making food loss slower
• Scan: Nibbler Mango

Nibbler Mangoes are the most common predators in the starting Shallows area, so you're bound to run into one by swimming in any direction from the Lifepod. I once again suggest going towards Chap's base, 250m southeast of the Lifepod, or towards the Old Habitat 350m to the north of the Lifepod.

Water Secretion

• Type: Passive
• Effect: Slowly fills a water packet by filtering fresh water from the sea
• Scan: Water Slug

Ah, the humble Water Slug. Existing only to be turned into bottles of drinking water, you can find Water Slugs on the seafloor virtually anywhere, whether that's around the Lifepod or the seabed around the Alien Ruins Research Outpost.

Best Biomods in Subnautica 2

Right now, you can only equip one active and one passive Biomod, making the choice of which ones to use even harder. Some are unfortunately pretty terrible, like Homing Sense to detect bases with electricity, while others are very useful if you're struggling with something specific.

These are the Biomods I recommend you use: