Tadpole upgrades: depth, recipes and a useful four-slot loadout
Quick answer
Prioritize Depth Module Mk. 1 for trips below 250 m. It raises the Tadpole’s rating to 450 m. Craft modules at a Modification Station, then install them in the top upgrade panel. A crafted module left in inventory changes nothing.
“Subnautica 2 Modification Station Location Guide. How to Get Modification Station Blueprint Unlock” by Ape Knight Gaming · May 17, 2026 · Early Access launch window (uploaded 2026-05-17); predates the Adaptive Measures and Buddy System updates
On screen: Inside a base corridor at about 139 m, the diver reaches a small room under a window and scans a boxy device marked Scan Modification Station; a MODIFICATION STATION UNLOCKED notice then appears at the left.
Check the guide’s version notes before following older footage.
“Subnautica 2 Modification Station Location Guide. How to Get Modification Station Blueprint Unlock” by Ape Knight Gaming · May 17, 2026 · Early Access launch window (uploaded 2026-05-17); predates the Adaptive Measures and Buddy System updates
Build the station with 2 Titanium, 2 Celestine and 2 Copper. Collect the individual module’s blueprint before looking for its recipe.
Craft the module. Open the Tadpole’s top upgrade panel beside the Power Cell and move it into a slot. Check the displayed depth rating before descending.
Use the Research Base’s NOA Terminal clue for Ruby’s second black box, south-southeast near the Needler nest. The reported initial bearing is about 165°.
Locate the cave below the rock platforms. Leave an unmodified Tadpole above 250 m and swim the final approach only with sufficient oxygen to return.
At the broken Tadpole, collect the Mk. 1 data card and scan the nearby Haul Chassis fragment. Return and craft the depth module before attempting the deeper upgrade circuit.
Table on the right when entering the Research Base.
Strike Armor
Platform about 60 m south-southwest of the base, around 190 m deep.
Photovoltaic Charger
Follow Iso’s black-box signal to the Cicada wreck, roughly 120° from the base. Repair the broken door; search the room containing the recording. Bring the Repair Tool.
Cavitation Muffler
Past the Power Plant toward the green-water region, on a cliff-edge platform around 370 m deep near the Early Access boundary. Take Mk. 1 first.
Kingy’s suggested deep-trip starting point is Mk. 1, Strike Armor and Engine Efficiency. Use the fourth slot for a second Efficiency module on a long resource trip, or a Muffler where noise matters. This is a planning recommendation, not a tested best build.
There are four slots. Four Efficiency modules would leave no slot for depth protection. Buddy System also fixed equipping duplicate modules whose effects do not stack.
GameWith reports the 800 m Mk. 2 module as Creative-only. The official release notes checked for this edition do not establish a Survival unlock. Treat it as unavailable for this route; do not budget a Survival expedition around finding it.
A Creative screenshot, console-spawned item or database entry does not establish a collectible blueprint. This guide will add the route when a released build and reproducible evidence support one.
Sources · 9Official · Walkthrough · Reported · checked 23 Oct 2026 · Research checked 8 Oct 2026
Official Steam announcements ↗Released update history through Buddy System Hotfix 2 on October 6, including the September 3 turbine amendment. Older prelaunch announcements are historical.Official ·
Base construction and power facilities ↗Generator and terminal construction recipes; Modification Station cost. Habitat Beacon cost and reported placement atop a base section.Walkthrough ·
Stuck? Tell us where
Say where you’re stuck in Subnautica 2. You get one hint at a time from a published kingy.wiki guide, and the answer and its clip stay covered until you ask.
If nothing matches, we keep your words (without emails, links or long numbers) to decide which answers to write next. Privacy
0:53–1:03 · 10 sScanning the Modification Station in an Alien Ruins base