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Bioscanner
July 22, 2026 at 02:35 AM
Created page covering the Bioscanner: how the Scanner upgrade is unlocked, its recipe, and how creature scans unlock BioMods and passive slots
The Bioscanner is an upgraded Scanner in Subnautica 2. Adding Axum components to the standard scanner lets it read two things the base tool cannot: alien technology that otherwise returns nothing, and the biology of the moon's native lifeforms.
That second capability is what ties it to progression. Scanning a lifeform for the first time unlocks the BioMod associated with that species, if it has one, and counts toward opening additional passive BioMod slots at a Bio Lab. Scanning more individuals of a species the player has already recorded does not add to the count, so the meter only moves by finding something new.
The blueprint unlocks by scanning a Bioscanner found inside one of the CICADA wreck sections, in the section used for suit preparation. The route in runs through charred doors that must be opened with the Repair Tool, so a repair tool should be built before making the trip. The same wreck holds one of the crew blackboxes, so the two objectives are usually cleared together.
The upgrade is built at a Modification Station and consumes a standard Scanner.
Component | Quantity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
1 | Consumed by the upgrade | |
Enameled Glass | 2 | Refined glass component |
Conduit Crystal | 3 | Alien-derived crystal |
Axum technology. Alien installations that return nothing to a standard scanner become readable, including the turbine at the Karakorum Power Plant. This is the tool that turns those structures from scenery into a data source.
Lifeforms. A first scan of a species records it and unlocks that species' BioMod where one exists. The count of unique bio scans is what opens further passive slots.
Progress tracking. Since Early Access 1.1, the interface shows how many scans each slot unlock needs alongside the player's running total, so the requirement is no longer opaque.
The Bioscanner and the Biosampler are separate tools that both interact with the moon's biology, and it is easy to conflate them. The Biosampler takes genetic material used by the Adaptations system, which permanently rewrites the diver. The Bioscanner records species to unlock BioMods, which are equipped and swapped at a Bio Lab and can be changed at any time. Official patch notes use the Bioscanner name for the creature-scanning tool that opens passive BioMod slots.
