Fabricator
The Fabricator is the primary crafting station in every game in the Subnautica franchise. It is a wall-mounted device that converts raw materials into tools, equipment, consumables, and components. A Fabricator is available from the very beginning of each game, making it the first and most fundamental crafting interface players interact with.
In the original Subnautica
In the original Subnautica, a Fabricator comes pre-installed in Lifepod 5. Players use it immediately to craft basic survival items: Filtered Water from Bladderfish, cooked fish for food, and the Scanner for unlocking blueprints. The Fabricator organizes recipes into tabs: Personal (food, water, first aid), Tools (Scanner, Flashlight, Seaglide, Repair Tool, etc.), Equipment (Fins, Oxygen Tank, Radiation Suit), and Resources (processed materials and advanced components).
Additional Fabricators can be built inside player bases. The crafting system also includes specialized stations:
Station | Function |
|---|---|
Fabricator | General-purpose crafting of tools, equipment, food, water, and components. |
Habitat Builder | Constructs base modules, rooms, corridors, and interior furniture. |
Vehicle Upgrade Console | Builds vehicle upgrade modules. Installed in a Moonpool. |
Modification Station | Upgrades existing items (e.g., standard O2 tank to high-capacity tank). |
Scanner Room Fabricator | Builds camera drones for the Scanner Room base module. |
Crafting progression
Fabricator recipes are gated behind blueprint discovery. New recipes unlock when players scan technology fragments with the Scanner or pick up data boxes scattered across the world. This ties the crafting system directly to exploration: reaching new biomes reveals fragments for more advanced equipment, which in turn enables access to even deeper and more dangerous areas.
In the Cyclops
The Cyclops submarine included a wall-mounted Fabricator in its interior, allowing players to craft items while on deep-sea expeditions without returning to base. This turned the Cyclops into a self-sufficient mobile base for late-game exploration.
In Below Zero
Below Zero retained the same Fabricator design. The Seatruck's Fabricator Module added a wall-mounted Fabricator to the modular vehicle, serving the same role as the Cyclops Fabricator from the original game.
In Subnautica 2
Specific Fabricator types and crafting trees for Subnautica 2 have not been officially detailed. The game follows the same five-stage crafting loop: Explore, Discover, Craft, Build, Survive. Players will unlock new recipes by scanning objects and exploring Planet Zezura's biomes. The resource gathering system has been overhauled with resource-specific nodes, and the base building system has received significant improvements, but the Fabricator's role as the central crafting station is expected to continue.