Last updated: 3 July 2026

Subnautica 2 Vehicles Guide — Tadpole, Chassis & Depth Modules

Swimming gets you through the early game; the Tadpole submersible gets you through everything else. A vehicle fundamentally changes Subnautica 2: it acts as a moving oxygen supply, absorbs creature attacks that would end your dive, and carries resources back to base even when your personal inventory is full. The Tadpole is modular — three chassis variants reshape how it handles entirely, and a set of upgrade modules let you push it into biomes that would crush the bare hull in seconds. This guide covers the whole process, from your first Moonpool to choosing the right configuration for deep-water exploration.

01When to Build Your First Vehicle — and the Moonpool Requirement

The Tadpole becomes available once you've established a base with a Moonpool. The Moonpool is a specialised base module that sits below a habitat room and provides an underwater docking bay. It serves three purposes: it houses the Vehicle Fabricator (the station where vehicles are built), it charges docked Power Cells automatically while the vehicle is parked, and it lets you swim directly in and out of your base without going through a hatch.

You don't need a vehicle in the first hour — the Seaglide handles the shallow starting biome comfortably. The tipping point comes when you want to push below 100 metres consistently, run long-distance resource routes, or bring multiple players along to carry materials. That's when building a Moonpool starts paying for itself.

• Build the Moonpool using your Habitat Builder — it attaches to the underside of a compatible room module.
• Inside the Moonpool structure you'll find the Vehicle Fabricator. This is entirely separate from the basic Fabricator in your escape pod — it is the only place where vehicle blueprints can be crafted.
• Also inside the Moonpool is the Vehicle Upgrade Console — the workbench used to install upgrade modules once the vehicle is already built.
• Build a Tadpole Dock adjacent to the Moonpool to park the vehicle inside your base with its chassis attached, keeping it charged and ready.

02How to Unlock and Craft the Tadpole

The Vehicle Fabricator will not show you the Tadpole recipe until you have scanned at least three Tadpole fragments. These appear in wrecks, sunken debris fields, and cave systems scattered across the ocean floor. Approach each one and hold the scan button — on the third scan the full vehicle blueprint unlocks.

With the blueprint active, head to the Vehicle Fabricator inside your Moonpool and craft the Tadpole. The materials are mid-game accessible: 2× Titanium Ingots, 1× Glass, 1× System Chip, and 1× Power Cell. The vehicle appears directly in the Moonpool docking bay, ready to board.

• Titanium Ingots are smelted from standard Titanium at a Fabricator — check the recipe if you haven't made them before.
• System Chip is a mid-game craft using a Computer Chip and two Wiring Kits — you'll be making these for base upgrades anyway.
• Power Cell is two Batteries linked together, the same cell used in the Seaglide.
• These material costs reflect the May 2026 Early Access build. EA games can adjust recipes in updates — cross-check your in-game PDA if something looks different.

The default Tadpole has a top speed of 8 m/s, one pilot seat, four upgrade module slots, one hardpoint for external storage, and a base crush depth of 250 metres. Below that depth, the hull takes progressive damage.

03Chassis Variants — Scout Ray, Haul, and Seafrog

The Tadpole's chassis is swappable at the Moonpool. Each chassis physically reconfigures the submersible and rewrites its handling — you do not build a new vehicle, you slot in a different chassis. All chassis variants share the Tadpole's four upgrade module slots.

Scout Ray Chassis — the speed build. Fits wing-style hydrofoil panels to the hull, raising top speed to 10 m/s with very high acceleration. This is the choice for solo exploration in high-threat biomes where quick manoeuvring matters and escaping a Leviathan encounter is a realistic concern. Find the chassis fragments docked at the Tadpole Pens facility in the mid-depth zone and scan the chassis at the facility's far end.

Haul Chassis — the cargo build. Attaches catamaran-style cargo pods along both hull sides, reducing acceleration sharply (slowest of the three configurations) but expanding seating to four players. Built for co-op resource ferry runs — the slower speed doesn't matter when the goal is carrying a full load safely back to base. Haul chassis fragments are found at alien ruins approximately 1,300 metres east of the lifepod. Blueprint requires 4× Titanium Ingots, 3× Strontium, 3× Enameled Glass, and 1× Dedicated Core.

Seafrog Chassis — the walker build. Converts the Tadpole into an exosuit-style submersible capable of walking along the seafloor and entering narrow spaces too small for the standard hull. Confirmed by Unknown Worlds as part of the vehicle roadmap but not yet available in survival mode as of the May 2026 Early Access launch — it is slated for a future update.

• Only one chassis can be installed at a time — they don't stack.
• The base Tadpole (no chassis) is a solid middle ground at 8 m/s with standard acceleration. Use it while you hunt for chassis fragments.
• Chassis do not occupy upgrade module slots — your four slots remain fully available regardless of which chassis you use.

04Depth Modules — Unlocking Deeper Biomes

The most critical upgrade you'll install is the Depth Module Mk.1. Below the base Tadpole's 250-metre crush depth, the hull takes continuous pressure damage that will destroy the vehicle and everything aboard if you don't ascend. The Mk.1 extends the safe limit to 450 metres, opening up the Needler Nest, upper Graveyard, and the deeper regions of the Sparse Plains.

The Mk.1 blueprint is found near a crashed Tadpole inside the Needler Nest biome — which starts just below the 250-metre line. Take the base Tadpole as deep as you safely can, then swim the rest on foot to retrieve the blueprint. Once scanned, craft it at a Modification Station using 3× Celestine, 2× Enameled Glass, and 1× System Chip, then install it at the Vehicle Upgrade Console in your Moonpool.

The Depth Module Mk.2 extends the crush depth further to 800 metres, unlocking the deepest biomes including the full Thermal Spires. As of the May 2026 Early Access build, Mk.2 is available in Creative Mode only — it cannot yet be crafted or installed in survival mode. Expect it in a future EA content update.

• The crush-depth warning sounds 20 seconds before damage begins — ascend immediately on hearing it, don't grab one more resource first.
• Crush damage is continuous once you breach the limit and ramps up fast. A few seconds at 260 m is survivable; 30 seconds at depth will destroy the vehicle.
• Mk.1 and Mk.2 do not stack — Mk.2 replaces Mk.1 in the same upgrade slot when it becomes available.
• Each depth module uses one of the Tadpole's four upgrade slots, leaving three for the upgrades below.

05Other Upgrade Modules Worth Prioritising

Beyond depth modules, four upgrades make meaningful differences in how the Tadpole performs day to day. Craft them at a Modification Station and install them via the Vehicle Upgrade Console inside your Moonpool.

• Engine Efficiency — reduces power consumption by 20% per installed module and stacks up to four times (80% total reduction). Two or three modules is the practical target, freeing remaining slots for other upgrades. Blueprint: Alien Ruins Research Outpost. Materials: 1× Titanium Ingot, 2× Glass, 1× System Chip.
• Cavitation Muffler — reduces engine noise, narrowing the detection range of Leviathan-class creatures patrolling deeper biomes. Prioritise this before pushing into the Needler Nest or Graveyard. Blueprint: Karakorum Metal Farms (southwest worksite).
• Strike Armor — reduces incoming physical damage by 50%. Combined with the Cavitation Muffler, it forms the core defensive package for high-threat zones. Blueprint: Alien Ruins area (south-southwest of the Research Outpost).
• Photovoltaic Charger — recharges the Power Cell using solar input while the Tadpole is within 40 metres of the surface during daylight, at roughly 15–30% per hour. Lower priority than defensive modules but useful if you spend time in shallow biomes and want free passive top-ups.

Recommended slot priority for most playthroughs: Depth Module Mk.1 → Engine Efficiency ×2 → Cavitation Muffler. This fills all four slots with the highest-impact upgrades in order of when you'll need them. In high-threat biomes where Leviathans are frequent, swap one Engine Efficiency slot for Strike Armor.

06Upcoming Vehicles — PRAWN Suit and Trident

The Tadpole is the only vehicle in the initial May 2026 Early Access build. Unknown Worlds has confirmed two additional vehicles for future updates:

PRAWN Suit — a mech-style exosuit returning from the original Subnautica, redesigned for Subnautica 2 with co-op-oriented changes and integration with the game's DNA modification system. The PRAWN Suit is confirmed for EA Update 1.1 — the first major content drop after launch — with an estimated arrival of mid-to-late July 2026. No official release date has been announced; treat any specific date as an estimate until Unknown Worlds confirms it. Unlike the Tadpole, the PRAWN Suit is rated for depths beyond any current module limit and can walk along the seafloor.

Trident — the spiritual successor to the original Subnautica's Cyclops. A large multi-crew submarine designed to serve as a mobile base: it docks smaller vehicles internally, houses crafting stations, and can be operated solo or with a full crew in co-op. Announced in the First Dive Showcase on 9 May 2026, the Trident cannot be built in survival mode in the current EA build. It is scheduled for a later update after Update 1.1 — no target date has been given.

• The Seafrog chassis (Tadpole walker variant) is also confirmed but unavailable in survival mode as of EA launch — it is a separate addition from the PRAWN Suit.
• Recipe details for both the PRAWN Suit and Trident have not been finalised — check the PDA and in-game notice board once the updates drop.
• Placeholder assets for the Trident exist in the current game files but the vehicle cannot be spawned in survival mode.