Subnautica 2 All Tools Guide: Crafting Recipes & Best Uses

Zezura doesn’t care about your intentions. It cares about what’s in your inventory. The right tool at the right time is the difference between a productive dive and a ragequit. This guide covers every tool available in Subnautica 2’s Early Access, what each one does, and the order you should craft them.

Tool Crafting Priority

If you’re wondering what to build first, here’s the priority list. No debate.

1. Survival Multitool — Needed to harvest Acidic Raion Pouches for batteries
2. Scanner — Unlocks everything else (requires a Basic Battery)
3. Basic Fins — Faster swimming saves oxygen and time
4. Air Bladder — Emergency ascent (carry one always)
5. Biosampler — DNA extraction for progression
6. Habitat Builder — Base construction
7. Sonic Resonator — Story progression tool

Build them in this order and you’ll never feel stuck.

Scanner

What it does: Scans technology fragments, flora, fauna, and minerals Crafting cost: 2 Titanium + 2 Quartz + 1 Basic Battery Category: Research tool

The Scanner is your skeleton key. Point it at any fragment, hold the button, and unlock blueprint progress. Two to three fragments of the same type completes a blueprint. Without this tool, you cannot unlock any crafted technology beyond the starting recipes.

Scan everything. Fragments, fish, rocks, coral, wrecks. The database entries aren’t just flavor text — they contain information about creature behavior, resource locations, and environmental hazards that helps you make better decisions.

Where to get materials: Titanium is found on the seabed near the Lifepod. Quartz clusters near coral formations. Basic Batteries require 2 Copper and 1 Acidic Raion Pouch.

Pro tip: Keep the Scanner in your first hotbar slot. You’ll use it more than any other tool in the game.

Basic Fins

What it does: Increases swimming speed Crafting cost: 1 Rubber + 1 Fiber Mesh (both from plant materials) Category: Equipment (worn, not held)

Basic Fins don’t sound exciting. They are. Faster swimming means more ground covered per oxygen unit. That translates directly into longer effective dive times without upgrading your tank.

The speed boost is noticeable from the first swim. Without fins, you feel like you’re wading through soup. With fins, you’re actually moving with purpose. Craft them the moment you have Rubber and Fiber Mesh.

Where to get materials: Rubber comes from Creepvine seed clusters or equivalent rubber-producing plants near the Lifepod. Fiber Mesh comes from fibrous plants in the shallows.

Survival Multitool

What it does: Cuts plants, harvests certain materials, general-purpose interaction Crafting cost: 3 Titanium Category: Utility tool

The Survival Multitool is your knife and scissors combined. It cuts through plant matter to harvest seeds and fibers. It interacts with objects that can’t be picked up by hand. It’s the tool you pull out when the game says “you need a tool for this.”

Some resources can’t be gathered without it. Certain plants need cutting before they drop materials. Coral tubes, fibrous stalks, and seed pods all respond to the Multitool.

When to craft: After the Scanner and Fins. You’ll need plant materials for various recipes, and the Multitool is how you get them efficiently.

Air Bladder

What it does: Rapidly inflates and carries you to the surface Crafting cost: 1 Bladder Seed + 1 Silicone Rubber Category: Emergency equipment

The Air Bladder is insurance. You’re at 60 meters depth, your oxygen hits 8 seconds, and the surface is 25 seconds of swimming away. Pop the Air Bladder. It inflates, grabs you, and rockets you upward. You’ll reach breathable air before your tank empties.

This is a one-time-use item. Each activation consumes the bladder. Craft a replacement after every use.

Limitations:

• Doesn’t work under rock ceilings or in enclosed spaces
• Fast ascent from deep water can cause damage (decompression)
• Takes an inventory slot

Where to get materials: Bladder Seeds come from specific underwater plants near the Lifepod. Silicone Rubber comes from processing plant materials at the Fabricator.

My rule: Always carry one. No exceptions. The one time you don’t is the time you drown.

Biosampler

What it does: Extracts DNA from living organisms Crafting cost: Advanced materials (unlocked through scanning) Category: Research tool

Where the Scanner reads, the Biosampler takes. Point it at a creature or plant, use it, and extract a DNA sample. These samples feed into the adaptation system, which is how you unlock biological upgrades like Heat Tolerance.

The Biosampler requires close contact with the target. Small fish hold still. Large predators do not. Approach large fauna from behind or below, extract quickly, and back away.

When to craft: After you’ve found the blueprint through scanning. It’s an early-to-mid game tool, and you’ll need it for story progression.

What to biosample first: Everything in the starter biome, then focus on organisms in the Bloom Infestation zone (needed for adaptations that unlock later areas).

Habitat Builder

What it does: Constructs base structures using the sculptural extrusion system Crafting cost: 2 Titanium + 1 Glass + 1 Basic Battery + 1 Copper Wire Category: Construction tool

The Habitat Builder is your base-building tool. Equip it, point at the seafloor, and pull/push to create rooms, corridors, and structures. The new extrusion system replaces the grid-locked approach from the first game with organic, sculptural shaping.

You need to scan two of three fragments before the blueprint unlocks:

• Fragment 1: Near the Welcome Center (~85-90m SE of Lifepod)
• Fragment 2: ~150m north of Lifepod, near the digestion gene donor
• Fragment 3: Coral cave east of the Lifepod (backup)

When to craft: As soon as you have two fragments scanned and the materials ready. A base is your second priority after basic survival tools.

Materials for the builder itself:

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

Check our first base guide for a full base-building walkthrough.

Sonic Resonator

What it does: Emits a resonance pulse that clears Bloom Cankers Crafting cost: Advanced materials (unlocked through story progression) Category: Story progression tool

The Sonic Resonator is a targeted instrument for dealing with the Bloom Infestation, a biological hazard about 200 meters northwest of the Lifepod. Bloom Cankers are organic growths that block access to deeper areas and prevent you from earning the Heat Tolerance adaptation.

Point the Sonic Resonator at a Bloom Canker and activate it. The resonance pulse disrupts the canker’s structure and clears it. You’ll need to clear multiple cankers to progress through the infestation zone.

When to craft: Mid game, when the story directs you to the Bloom Infestation. Don’t rush this — you’ll need the right materials and a solid base to fall back on.

Check our Sonic Resonator guide for the complete Bloom Canker clearance walkthrough.

Standard Air Tank

What it does: Adds +30 oxygen capacity (45 base + 30 = 75 total) Crafting cost: Requires Silver Category: Equipment (worn)

Not technically a “tool,” but it’s crafted equipment that changes your gameplay more than most tools do. Going from 45 to 75 seconds of dive time extends your exploration range dramatically.

Where to find Silver: Old Habitat caves, 300 meters north of the Lifepod. Sandstone outcrops occasionally drop Silver too, but the caves are the reliable source.

When to craft: As soon as you have Silver. This is a top-tier priority that sits just below the Scanner in importance.

Repair Tool

What it does: Fixes damaged base sections and equipment Crafting cost: Basic materials Category: Maintenance tool

Bases leak. Equipment breaks. The Repair Tool fixes both. Point it at a damaged wall, a cracked window, or a malfunctioning device, hold the button, and watch the damage meter fill back to full.

You won’t use this constantly, but when you need it, you need it immediately. A leaking base floods. Flooding means oxygen loss. Keep a Repair Tool in a storage locker near your base entrance.

Tool Loadout Recommendations

Your inventory is limited. Here’s what to carry for different activities:

General Exploration

• Scanner (always)
• Survival Multitool
• Air Bladder
• Biosampler

Base Building

• Habitat Builder
• Scanner (for fragments you find)
• Repair Tool (in case of accidents)
• Survival Multitool (for clearing flora near your build site)

Deep Diving

• Scanner
• Air Bladder (non-negotiable)
• Biosampler
• Sonic Resonator (if heading toward Bloom zones)

Resource Gathering

• Survival Multitool
• Scanner (identify resources before harvesting)
• Extra inventory space (drop anything non-essential)

Co-Op Tool Sharing

In multiplayer, not everyone needs every tool at all times. Coordinate:

• One player carries the Habitat Builder during base-building sessions
• One player focuses on scanning with Scanner + Biosampler
• One player handles resources with the Survival Multitool and extra inventory
• Everyone carries an Air Bladder. No exceptions, no sharing. Your emergency oxygen is your own.

Final Thought

Tools are cheap. Dying is expensive (you lose time, position, and sometimes inventory). If you’re debating whether to craft a tool or save the materials for something else, craft the tool. A Scanner costs one Titanium. Drowning because you didn’t have an Air Bladder costs you the last 20 minutes of gameplay. The math is obvious.