Subnautica 2 Scanner & Bioscanner Guide: Unlocking Blueprints & DNA

If the Habitat Builder lets you survive and the Tadpole lets you travel, the Scanner is what makes both possible. Every blueprint in the game starts as a fragment sitting on the ocean floor. Without scanning it, that fragment is just a piece of junk. With the Scanner, it becomes your next piece of technology.

The Biosampler adds another layer. DNA extraction from Zezura’s fauna opens up research paths that passive scanning can’t touch. Together, these two tools are the foundation of all progression.

The Scanner

Getting Your Scanner

The Scanner should be your first crafted tool. Period. Before fins, before the Air Bladder, before anything. You can survive without fins. You can’t progress without a Scanner.

Craft it at the Lifepod Fabricator:

• 2 Titanium
• 2 Quartz
• 1 Basic Battery (crafted from 2 Copper + 1 Acidic Raion Pouch)

The materials are common in the starting area. Titanium is everywhere on the seabed, Quartz clusters near coral formations, and Copper comes from rock outcrops. You’ll need the Survival Multitool first to harvest Acidic Raion Pouches for the battery.

How Scanning Works

Point the Scanner at a fragment or object, hold the scan button, and wait for the progress bar to fill. Small fragments take a few seconds. Larger objects take longer.

When you scan a fragment, one of two things happens:

1. Blueprint progress increases. Most technology requires scanning 2-3 fragments of the same type to complete the blueprint. The Scanner shows you how many fragments remain.
2. Blueprint completes. Once you’ve scanned enough fragments, the full blueprint unlocks in your Fabricator. You can now craft that item whenever you have the materials.

What to Scan

Everything. Not just technology fragments. The Scanner works on:

• Technology fragments — Broken equipment pieces that unlock blueprints
• Flora — Plants and coral. Scanning them adds entries to your database and sometimes unlocks cultivation blueprints
• Fauna — Creatures. Scanning adds behavioral data and sometimes reveals useful information about their weaknesses or drops
• Minerals — Rock formations and resource nodes. Scanning tells you what they contain before you harvest
• Structures — Wrecks, ruins, and abandoned habitats. Scanning structural elements can unlock base building upgrades

If your Scanner reticle highlights something, scan it. The database entry alone is often worth the three seconds it takes.

Scanner Tips

Scan while swimming, not hovering. Don’t stop and float in place to scan. Swim toward the object, start scanning at range, and let the progress bar fill as you approach. You’ll finish the scan by the time you reach it, and you haven’t wasted any time or oxygen.

Scan hostile fauna from distance. Some creatures don’t appreciate you pointing equipment at them up close. Start scanning at maximum range and back away if they turn aggressive. You don’t need to be touching something to scan it.

Check your blueprint progress. Open your PDA and look at the technology tree. Incomplete blueprints show how many more fragments you need. This tells you whether to hunt for more fragments of a specific type or move on to something else.

The Biosampler

What Is It?

The Biosampler is the biological counterpart to the Scanner. Where the Scanner reads technology, the Biosampler extracts DNA from living organisms. This isn’t just a database entry — it’s functional genetic material that feeds into research and adaptation systems.

Crafting the Biosampler

The Biosampler unlocks through the story progression. You’ll need to scan specific fragments or complete certain objectives before the blueprint appears. Once available, craft it at your Fabricator. The material cost is higher than the Scanner — expect Computer Chip components and specialty materials.

How DNA Extraction Works

Approach a living creature or plant, equip the Biosampler, and use it on the target. The tool extracts a DNA sample. Unlike scanning (which is passive observation), biosampling is an active extraction — some creatures will react to it.

Small creatures: Usually hold still or don’t notice. Easy extractions.

Large creatures: May flinch, turn aggressive, or flee. You might need to approach from behind or wait until the creature is resting.

Plants: Stationary targets. Extract freely.

What DNA Unlocks

DNA samples feed into Zezura’s adaptation system. The game’s core progression loop involves studying the planet’s biology and using it to adapt your own capabilities. Specific DNA samples can unlock:

• Genetic adaptations — Permanent upgrades to your character (like Heat Tolerance)
• Biological crafting recipes — Items that require organic components
• Research milestones — Story progression tied to understanding Zezura’s ecosystem

The Heat Tolerance adaptation, which you need to reach the Tadpole Pens at 675m east, requires specific biological research. Without biosampling, you can’t earn it.

Biosampler vs. Scanner

They’re not interchangeable. Here’s the distinction:

Feature	Scanner	Biosampler
Target	Technology, minerals, structures	Living organisms
Output	Blueprints, database entries	DNA, genetic data
Range	Medium-long	Short (contact)
Creature reaction	Minimal	Variable (may aggro)
Priority	First tool you craft	Early-mid game priority

Use both. On every creature encounter, scan first (for the database entry and behavioral data), then biosample (for the DNA). Two tools, two types of information.

Scanning Priority Checklist

Not all scans are equally valuable. Here’s what to prioritize:

Top Priority

1. Habitat Builder fragments (2 needed, near Welcome Center + 150m N)
2. Tadpole fragments (3 needed, see our Tadpole guide for locations)
3. Vehicle upgrade fragments at wreck sites
4. Air Tank upgrade blueprints

High Priority

5. Power source fragments (Hydroelectric Turbine, Thermal Plant)
6. Base building module fragments (rooms, furniture, equipment)
7. Advanced tool fragments
8. Aggressive fauna (know what’s trying to kill you)

Medium Priority

9. All flora in each new biome
10. Passive fauna (database completion)
11. Mineral formations (resource identification)
12. Environmental features (vents, currents, geological formations)

Low Priority

13. Decorative items (they exist, they’re scannable, they’re optional)
14. Common rock formations (minimal new information)

Efficient Scanning Routes

When you enter a new area, follow this pattern:

1. Swim the perimeter first. Circle the area’s edge, scanning everything you see. This gives you a mental map and catches fragments near the boundaries.

2. Spiral inward. After the perimeter, spiral toward the center. You’ll pick up anything you missed on the first pass.

3. Check vertical space. Fragments can sit on elevated surfaces, hang from overhangs, or rest in depressions below your swimming level. Scan up and down, not just horizontally.

4. Return to wrecks. Large wreck sites have fragments both outside and inside the structure. Your first pass catches the exterior. Go inside on the second visit with better oxygen capacity.

Co-Op Scanning Coordination

In multiplayer, scans are shared across the group. When one player scans a fragment, all players get the blueprint progress. This means you can split up and cover more ground.

Efficient approach:

• Assign each player a direction or section of a wreck
• Call out what you’ve scanned so others don’t duplicate effort
• The player with the best oxygen capacity takes the deepest fragments
• Regroup and compare notes

One warning: DNA extraction from the Biosampler may not share across players the same way. Verify this in your playthrough and have each player biosample independently if needed.

Common Scanning Mistakes

Rushing past fragments. You’re swimming to an objective and pass a glowing fragment on the seafloor. You think “I’ll get it later.” You never do. Scan it now. It takes three seconds.

Only scanning technology. Flora and fauna scans are just as important for progression. The adaptation system requires biological knowledge. Skip biosampling and you’ll hit a wall when Heat Tolerance is required.

Not checking wreck interiors. Exterior fragments are easy. Interior fragments require entering the wreck, which means dealing with tighter spaces, less visibility, and sometimes locked doors. But the best blueprints — advanced modules, rare equipment — are almost always inside.

Ignoring partial blueprints. You scanned 2 of 3 fragments for an upgrade module 10 hours ago. You’ve forgotten about it. Check your PDA. That third fragment might be in the area you’re exploring right now. Blueprint completion should be an active goal, not an afterthought.

The Scanner and Biosampler aren’t glamorous tools. They don’t cut, they don’t build, they don’t fight. But every piece of technology you use — every base component, every vehicle module, every adaptation — started with these two tools pointing at something and reading it. Keep them in your hotbar. Use them constantly. The more you scan, the more you can do.