Subnautica 2 Tools — Full List
Handheld tools — scanners, builders, weapons, and more.
11 total
| Name | Biomes | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Air Bladder | Emergency rapid-ascent flotation. Inhale to fire a buoyancy burst that surfaces you in seconds, or share a few breaths with a nearby diver. The difference between a near-drowning and a respawn. Carry one starting at the 0–50m tier. They're cheap (1× Titanium) and don't consume a tool slot during normal play — they live in your hotbar. | |
| Bioscanner | A late-game **Scanner attachment** that performs deep biological scans — the only way to unlock **biomods** beyond the four defaults. Crafted at a **Modification Station**, found in the **Alien Ruins area**. Bioscan progress only counts scans done *after* the Bioscanner is built; pre-existing Scanner data does **not** carry over. | |
| Distraction Flare | A palm-sized pyrotechnic stick that burns bright and hot for several seconds after being lit. Throw it ahead of you to draw the attention of light-attracted predators — most notably the Collector Leviathan, which can be briefly diverted while you sprint through its patrol zone. Crafts in stacks of 3, making it one of the cheapest life-insurance items in the game. Can also be dropped at your feet as a stationary light source in dark passages. | |
| Feedback Resonator | Upgraded **Sonic Resonator** that uses a bacterial feedback loop to shatter the **armored (purple/pink)** Bloom Cankers blocking the Alien Ruins Angel Comb chain. Required for **Axum Vision Adaptation** (251–450m tier). Fires from longer range than the standard Resonator and only damages cankers while they're open. Time your shots to the canker's breathing cycle. | |
| Flashlight | A compact, battery-powered LED torch that clips to the Pioneer's wrist and casts a wide-angle cone of light. Essential in the game's many dark caves, shadowed wrecks, and deep biomes where ambient bioluminescence alone won't cut it. Powered by a standard Basic Battery; upgrade to an Advanced Battery for dramatically longer runtime. The Wakemaker's built-in torch is a secondary option, but the Flashlight frees up your tool hand. | |
| Habitat Builder | Builds **everything**: corridors, foundations, hatches, fabricators, solar panels, planters, the Biolab, the Vehicle Fabricator. Tap to place ghost geometry, hold to confirm, hold deconstruct to refund **100%** of materials. The single most-used tool in the game past hour 2. Carry one. Always. | |
| Repair Tool | Combination scanner + portable fabricator. Repairs broken hull, vehicle damage, and importantly: **opens stuck doors** in alien ruins and Cicada wrecks. Required to recover **Iso's Blackbox** in the EVA Prep Cicada Wreck (~1782m E of Lifepod, 95m depth). | |
| Scanner | The Pioneer's primary intel tool. Holds steady on any object — wreck, plant, creature, Axum panel — for 2–6 seconds and converts it into a **databank entry** plus, where applicable, a **fabrication blueprint**. Scan progress is shared across the entire co-op party. Doesn't scan biology for biomod unlocks — that's the **Bioscanner's** job. Don't confuse the two. | |
| Sonic Resonator | Industrial sound amplifier. **Required** to destroy blue-cored **Bloom Cankers** at close range — the gate to the **Heat Tolerance Adaptation** chain (51–75m tier). Cleared cankers crumble into harvestable Bloom Spores and Conduit Crystals. Cannot crack **armored** purple/pink cankers — those require the upgraded **Feedback Resonator**. | |
| Survival Multitool | Your first crafted tool. Cuts harvestable plants (Acid Raion pouches, Lucifer Rotsacs, Macaron Sponges), digs loose ore deposits, and finishes off small fauna for organic mat. The multitool is the **only way** to harvest the Acid Raion's medical gel sac without triggering the toxin defense — strip the side pouches first. Keep it equipped through the entire 0–75m tier. Replaced for combat by knives later, but never fully retired (still the cheapest gatherer). | |
| Wakemaker | The Wakemaker is Subnautica 2's answer to the Seaglide — a forearm-mounted water-jet thruster that propels the Pioneer at 6 m/s, roughly double unassisted swim speed. An integrated torch activates while in motion, eliminating the need for a separate Flashlight during transit. Runs on a Basic Battery (swap for Advanced Battery on long hauls). Essential before you unlock the Tadpole — and still valuable afterwards for tight cave navigation where the sub won't fit. |