Subnautica 2 Guide
Early Access reference: Buddy System and 1 September hotfix. Recipes and routes can change.

🚤Vehicles & Tools Index

Blueprint logic

Every blueprint waits behind fragment scans. If a recipe stays locked, you are missing a scan site — the routes below tell you exactly where each fragment set hides. Early game rule: Scan everything you see.

🛥️Tadpole Priority Route

The Tadpole is the single most transformative unlock in the current build. Scan the three fragment sets in this order:

  1. Old Habitat — west, early reachable.
  2. Northeast ravine — medium risk, watch for Snare Fish.
  3. Tadpole Pens — guarded but worth it; brings the blueprint home.

After building it, immediately chase the Tadpole Depth Module Mk. 2 (Lithium + Strong Acid) so the Great Jaw ruins open up. Full route context: Walkthrough.

🎵Resonator Upgrade Route

Sonic Resonator unlocks mid-game and shatters big resource nodes. The Feedback Resonator upgrade needs fragment scans on the late alien route: Angel Comb chain → Singh blackbox → Cicada Wreck Therapy Room → Metal Farm pools. Craft: 1 Sonic Resonator + 2 Enameled Glass + 2 Conduit Crystal + 2 Strontium at the Modification Station.

Materials map: Resources. Closed canker handling: Angel Comb section.

FAQ

Can vehicles be destroyed or lost?

Yes: leviathans damage vehicles, and a vehicle abandoned without a beacon marker is as lost as its materials were expensive. Craft a beacon before deep routes, park in the biome's safe pockets, and remember that the BD-68 in the table above is recoverable if it is within scanner range — losing a vehicle is always an inventory of mistakes you can learn from.

Vehicles and the O2 economy

Every vehicle is an air solution first and a cargo solution second: the Tadpole extends dive range by being the thing you return to, which reshapes route planning more than its speed does. Build the moon-pool habit early — park the vehicle at depth, dive from it, and let it be the surface you cannot reach.

Where each fragment set hides

The fragment scan is the whole vehicle game: blueprints do not unlock any other way. The Tadpole's fragments cluster in the shallows and coral gardens, the Resonator's in the eastern mining region, and the deeper vehicle lines wait in the biomes the index marks as medium threat. Scan everything you pass even if the recipe is not on your list — fragments bank permanently.

Buddy System hotfix context

The 1 September 2026 hotfix updates save compatibility tracking and fixes multiplayer inventory, vehicle oxygen and base issues. Match the build and branch when comparing saves or planning a co-op session. Do not assume a save from a newer build can be opened in an older one.

How to use this index

Each entry below links to a full page with the unlock route, practical use, and pairing advice. Work it in this order: the Tadpole first (it changes every other route), then the O2 stack — Standard Air Tank before anything deep — then the tools the Blackbox chain hands you along the way. The blueprint logic is the same for every item: scan the fragments, craft at the fabricator, upgrade at the Modification Station or the Vehicle Upgrade Console.

Two notes on timing. First, the Silver early route (Angel Comb branch, red hatch) unlocks the Standard Air Tank and should be done before any deep or eastern excursion — it doubles your safe dive time. Second, items marked as planned or roadmap are not obtainable in the current Early Access build; the pages say so explicitly so you do not chase fragments that do not exist yet.

Data applies to Early Access v1.2 "Buddy System" (August 19, 2026). Early Access systems can change between patches — each detail page carries its last-verified date.