Crafting a tadpole in Subnautica 2 involves a somewhat tedious search for submarine fragments and a moonpool blueprint. Without those items, you won’t unlock the tadpole crafting recipe. It’s important to craft this mini-submarine as soon as possible though, as it’s the only way to explore the deepest parts of the ocean planet.
Here’s how to unlock the tadpole blueprint and craft your first submarine in Subnautica 2.
[Ed. note: Before you dive in, be sure to open the character menu and enable all landmark signals. This will make it easier to spot the locations mentioned in this guide.]
How to unlock the tadpole blueprint in Subnautica 2
The tadpole is the first submarine to unlock in Subnautica 2. To obtain the tadpole blueprint (the crafting recipe), you must scan a total of three tadpole fragments. Tadpole fragments are broken tadpole pieces left by other pioneers, so you typically find them around old human structures. Since they’re quite rare, here are three tadpole fragment locations you can visit.
About 70 meters southwest of the Welcome Center, you will see some ruins on the edge of the cliff. Below that cliff lies a Tadpole Fragment.
Not long after curing the Angel Comb and obtaining heat tolerance, you’ll be sent to investigate the Tadpole Pens. Here you can find two more Tadpole Fragments; the first is in the crate directly left of the Tadpole Pens entrance, and the second is docked inside, in the moon pool.
While you’re there, interact with the blueprint crate on the desk next to the tadpole submarine to obtain the moonpool blueprint. Without this crafting recipe, you can’t build your tadpole.
How to craft a tadpole submarine in Subnautica 2
To craft a tadpole submarine, you must first create a fairly large room using the habitat builder. Next, choose the moonpool from the “standard elements” building category and place it on the floor. This requires five titanium.
At the bottom of the “standard elements” category, select the vehicle fabricator and place it on the edge of the moonpool. This requires two titanium ingots, one copper ingot, and two glass. Put away the habitat builder and interact with the vehicle fabricator to find the tadpole crafting recipe.
Here’s what you need to craft your first submarine in Subnautica 2:
- 2 titanium ingots
-
1 glass
- Made from two pieces of quartz.
- 1 system chip
- 1 power cell
Although you don’t need a tadpole dock right away, you must add one eventually to recharge your tadpole’s energy. Make sure you don’t run out of energy while you’re in the middle of the ocean!
If you’re starting out in Subnautica 2, we have a plethora of guides to help you navigate the deep blue sea. Our Subnautica 2 beginner’s guide will set you off in the right direction and our base building tips will assist in planning out your sprawling base. Don’t forget to stock up on food and water, too. (And if you want to get fancy with your food, you’ll want salt!)
If you need help finding materials, we explain how to get the sonic resonator, which you’ll want to mine tons of materials. We have guides on where to find these resources, like lead, sulfur, copper, quartz, and gold.
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