Tools and Equipment

Tools and equipment in Subnautica 2 are the items players carry, craft, and use to interact with the world of Planet Zezura. The game features a mix of returning tools from the original Subnautica series and entirely new devices. Players start with basic gear and find recipes for more advanced equipment as they explore deeper biomes. Crucially, Subnautica 2 has no weapons of any kind; every item in the player's toolkit is classified as a collection, survival, or utility tool.

Confirmed tools

Scanner

The Scanner returns from previous games with a significant upgrade. Dev Vlog 1 (April 23, 2025) showed the new Scanner featuring an integrated radar hologram that hovers above the device. This radar helps players locate scannable objects, materials, and fauna across Zezura's large map. The basic scanning function (analyzing creatures and objects to populate the PDA database and unlock Fabricator blueprints) remains unchanged.

The radar complements the new resource-specific node system. Since resources on Zezura appear as distinct, identifiable nodes on the seafloor rather than randomized breakable rocks, the radar helps players find the specific nodes they need without wandering blindly.

Biosampler

The Biosampler is the signature new tool of Subnautica 2 and the entry point for the DNA Adaptation System. Players use it to extract genetic material from living creatures, study the samples, and apply those adaptations to their own body. The Steam store page describes it: "Use your bio sampler to take samples for study. As you learn more about this world, evolve your genetics to adapt your body for survival."

The Biosampler was originally designed for the first Subnautica as the "Transfuser" tool, which would have let players inject DNA between creatures to modify them. That version was cut before release. In Subnautica 2, the mechanic was revised to focus on modifying the player character rather than creatures, narrowing the scope while deepening the survival narrative. See the dedicated Biosampler article for full details.

Cutting Tool

The Cutting Tool replaces the Survival Knife from the original Subnautica and Below Zero. It was confirmed in a Discord Q&A in April 2025 by developer UWE_uly, who stated: "There's a knife replacement. You can still slug things in the face with it." The Cutting Tool is classified as a utility tool, not a weapon, consistent with the no-weapons design philosophy.

The developer acknowledged that the Cutting Tool may not fully replace all the roles the knife served in previous games: "I don't think we've given enough replacement options to the old lethal solution yet. We'll get there." This suggests additional non-lethal interaction tools are planned for Early Access updates. No visuals or crafting details for the Cutting Tool have been released.

Flares

Flares are throwable light sources confirmed as a tactical tool for dealing with hostile creatures. They were detailed in Dev Vlog 3 (September 16, 2025) alongside the Collector Leviathan reveal. AI Gameplay Lead Antonio Munoz Gallego explained that the Collector "constantly re-evaluates the situation in real time" using a stimulus system that reacts to light, sound, and movement.

Flares exploit this reactive AI. By throwing a flare away from the player's position, the light stimulus draws the Collector's attention toward the flare and away from the player, creating a window to swim clear. The Collector's dual utility reasoning means it weighs the flare's stimulus against the player's presence, so the distraction is temporary rather than permanent. The creature also has a shockwave attack capable of knocking flares away, limiting how reliably they can be used as a sustained distraction.

Flares represent the no-weapons philosophy in action: rather than killing the Collector, players must outsmart its AI through environmental manipulation. Quiet swimming in dark water, using terrain as cover, and deploying flares as decoys are all confirmed evasion strategies.

Wakemaker

The Wakemaker is the franchise's first wearable underwater booster, replacing the handheld Seaglide from previous games. It was redesigned to be "invisible" or minimally intrusive on screen, solving the Seaglide's persistent complaint of blocking the player's view. Being wearable rather than handheld means both hands remain free for other tools. See the dedicated Wakemaker article for full details.

No-weapons design philosophy

Subnautica 2 has no weapons of any kind. Leviathan-class organisms are mechanically invincible and cannot be killed, unlike the original Subnautica where leviathans could technically be killed with enough stab damage. Design Lead Anthony Gallegos has been direct about the rationale:

• "We don't want you killing predators, straight up. Interact with them. Run from them. The solution shouldn't just be bash them until dead. That's boring af."

• "If we do have 'weapons,' they would be tools used to help creatures and the world, not eliminate natural parts of the environment that bother you."

Developer UWE_uly added: "Find a solution to the problem that doesn't involve something that kills the critter." In a PC Gamer interview, Gallegos addressed why survival games make players instinctively want weapons: "Everyone's little monkey brains like shelter and food," explaining that the desire to convert resources into weapons is a primal reflex that Subnautica 2 deliberately resists.

Community reaction to the no-weapons approach was divided. Supporters cited the availability of "a million other combat-based games" and argued that removing weapons makes Subnautica uniquely tense. Critics called it "outrageous for a survival game" to remove the knife. The developers have not reversed the policy but acknowledged that additional non-lethal tools and evasion methods are still being developed.

Advanced equipment

Beyond the confirmed tools listed above, the game's official description states that players can find "recipes for more advanced tools, equipment, and submersibles" as they explore. Leaked milestone documents from May 2025 (confirmed authentic by KRAFTON) showed that the number of tools and equipment in the Early Access build was reduced from the original development targets. The specific items that were cut or retained were not enumerated in the leak.

Expected additional equipment categories based on the franchise's design patterns include:

• Diving suits with enhanced depth ratings or environmental protection

• Advanced scanning or analysis tools

• Specialized equipment for interacting with specific biomes or creatures

• Upgrades for existing tools to extend their capabilities

Additional tools will be added throughout the Early Access period. Gallegos stated players would "be there when we first add new vehicles, craftables, biomes, and leviathans," confirming that the tool roster will expand over time.