Blueprints and scanning form the core progression system in Subnautica 2. Most recipes are not handed to the player; they are unlocked by scanning fragments of objects and wrecks found in the world. This scan-to-unlock loop is the main way the player expands what they can build, which makes exploring and scanning the engine that drives the rest of the game forward.
The Scan-to-Unlock Loop
The progression loop is built around finding and scanning fragments. Wrecks, debris, and other structures scattered across Proteus contain broken pieces of equipment and technology. By scanning enough fragments of a given object with the Scanner, the player learns the blueprint for that object and can then craft it. This means progression is gated by discovery: to unlock a new tool, vehicle, or base part, the player generally has to go out, locate its fragments, and scan them.
Explore: search the world for wrecks and debris fields that hold fragments.
Scan fragments: use the Scanner on the fragments of an object. Scanning enough of them completes the blueprint.
Unlock the blueprint: the recipe becomes available, and the object can now be crafted if the player has the materials.
Craft and dive deeper: new gear extends the player's reach, which opens up further areas, which hold further fragments.
The Scanner
The Scanner is the central tool of this system. It is what turns a found fragment into progress: pointing it at scannable fragments and holding to scan is how the player builds up toward a complete blueprint. In Subnautica 2 the Scanner has also been given radar-style help for locating scannable objects and resource nodes in the surrounding area, which reduces time spent searching across the game's larger map. Scanning is therefore both how the player learns recipes and, with the radar assist, part of how they find the things worth scanning in the first place.
Scanning is also used on the moon's wildlife to fill in databank entries, though learning creatures and unlocking buildable blueprints are tracked separately. For progression in the building sense, the fragments of wrecks and objects are what matter.
From Blueprint to Built Item
Unlocking a blueprint is only half of the loop; the player still has to craft the item. Crafting in Subnautica 2 is split across two stations depending on what is being made, which is a meaningful change to how building works. Gathering and using the materials is covered in more depth on the crafting and resources page.
Station | What It Makes |
|---|---|
Small-item fabrication: tools, equipment, food, and other handheld or consumable items. | |
Processor | Bulk ore processing: refining raw ore into ingots for larger builds. |
In short, the Fabricator handles small-item fabrication, while a separate Processor turns raw ore into ingots in bulk. Splitting these jobs means heavier builds depend on processing ore into ingots first, while everyday tools and consumables come straight off the Fabricator.
Why Scanning Drives Everything
Because most recipes are locked behind fragments, scanning is what paces the whole game. A player cannot simply craft their way to the best gear from the start; they have to find the fragments first, and those fragments are spread across progressively more dangerous and harder-to-reach areas. This ties building progression directly to exploration, so each new blueprint tends to mark a real step forward in where the player can go and what they can survive.
See Also
Scanner, the tool used to scan fragments.
Crafting and Resources, for the materials side of building.
Fabricator, the station for small-item fabrication.