Tools Guide: Best Items to Craft First

Discover the best tools to craft first in Subnautica 2! Our guide covers how to unlock and build the Scanner, Habitat Builder, Wakemaker, and other essential equipment.

All Subnautica 2 Tools Ranked by Priority

Scanner

Every blueprint, databank entry, and creature log in this game runs through the Scanner. You cannot make meaningful progress without one. Point it at fragments to unlock new crafting recipes, point it at wildlife to understand what you are dealing with. It is the first thing worth building when you leave the Lifepod, and it stays relevant long after.

Survival Multitool

Three Titanium. That is the entire ask. The Multitool lets you cut plants, corals, and Bloom Cankers that you cannot harvest by hand, and most early crafting materials -- Fibrous Pulp, Coral Shavings, Lucifer Rotsacs -- come from exactly those sources. Build it immediately. You will use it constantly.

Habitat Builder

The Habitat Builder is required for everything beyond the Lifepod. It builds base rooms, corridors, lockers, power sources, the Fabricator inside your base, and every placed item in the game.

To unlock the blueprint, scan two Habitat Builder fragments. One can be found under the Welcome Center and another inside Camp One.

Sonic Resonator

The Sonic Resonator is used to mine large ore deposits, destroy Bloom Cankers, and deter aggressive creatures like the Marrowbreach with a charged blast. It takes a moment to charge, but the shockwave it produces buys enough time to escape most predators.

Wakemaker

Arm-mounted wrist jets that significantly increase swimming speed. It also has built-in toggleable lights, making it a practical replacement for the Flashlight. Faster movement means less time exposed in open water, quicker escapes from predators, and more ground covered per dive.

Repair Tool

Repairs damaged vehicles and doors in Cicada wreckages. Essential before any long expedition in the Tadpole. Without it, a damaged vehicle far from base can become a serious problem. Cicada wreck interiors are also locked behind broken doors that only the Repair Tool can open.

Distraction Flare

The most accessible defensive tool in the game. Distraction Flares draw hostile creatures away from you, buying time to escape or collect resources. They are especially effective against Marrowbreaches, which actively hunt players, and against swarms of Nibbler Mangos. Several can be found for free in crates around the starting area.

Air Bladder

The Air Bladder propels you to the surface when activated, making it the fastest emergency exit you have when oxygen runs low. It can also be inhaled directly to buy a few extra seconds of air underwater, which is useful when you are close to a surface pocket but not quite there yet. Craft one as soon as you have the materials and keep it on your hotbar.

Other Tools and Late-Game Upgrades

Flashlight

The Flashlight illuminates dark underwater areas, but it is the one tool you can comfortably skip. The Wakemaker's built-in toggleable lights do the same job once you have it, and you will have the Wakemaker well before dark biomes become a concern.

Bioscanner

The direct upgrade to your Scanner. The Bioscanner analyzes Axum technology and Protean biology, things the regular Scanner cannot read at all. The blueprint becomes available in the Alien Ruins area after you scan it at the Cicada Wreck. Build it as soon as you can, since several story objectives require it.

Feedback Resonator

An upgraded Sonic Resonator with increased range and a stronger shockwave. More importantly, it is the only tool capable of destroying Armored Bloom Cankers, the type surrounding the Angel Comb in the deep Karakorum. Without the Feedback Resonator, you cannot complete the final Angel Comb sequence and the story will not progress. Scan two Feedback Resonator fragments to unlock the blueprint, then build it before heading to the Power Plant.

Related Articles

Recommended Guides

Walkthrough (Early to Late-Game)	Where to Go and What to Do Next	Tadpole Pens: How to Open the Locked Door
Plant Farming Guide	Cooking and Recipes Guide	Best Biomods
Best Tadpole Upgrades	Metal Farm Guide

Progression & Priorities
Early Game	Mid-Game	Endgame

Lists

All Leviathans	All Items List	Biomes & PoI List
Blackbox List	Recipe Data Cards (Blueprints)	Vehicle List
Buildings & Facilities List	Best Base Locations	Best Tools to Craft

Notable Items

Salt	Silver	Copper
Lead	Lucifer Rotsac	Conduit Crystals
Creature Enamel	Enameled Glass	Troilite
Celestine

Guides for Beginners

Multiplayer Guide	How to Eat Food (Digestion)	How to Craft Items
Drinking Water Guide	How to Craft Air Tank?	How to Get Basic Fins
Scanner Station Guide	How to Manage Your Oxygen?	Base Guide
Alien Ruins	How to Use Coordinates	Tadpole Guide
How to Get More Storage	How to Get a Rebreather	Bioscanner Guide
Night Survival Guide	How to Heal	Angel Comb Guide
How to Power Your Base	How to Recharge Batteries and Tools	How to Get the Repair Tool
World Tree Guide	Flashlight Guide	Strong Acid Guide
How to Get Heat Tolerance	Scanner Guide	How to Get Tadpole Depth Module Mk. 2
How to Get a Wakemaker	How to Get Fibrous Pulp	How to Get a Wiring Kit
How to Get Advanced Wiring Kit	How to Get the Entangled Power Cell	How to Refund Bases

Pre-Game Guides

Specs Requirements	New Game Features	Is There Crossplay?
Supported Devices	Update & Roadmap	How Long to Beat?
Can You Play Subnautica 2 on PS5 and PS4?	Is Subnautica 2 on Xbox?	Is Subnautica 2 on Steam?
Is Subnautica 2 on Switch?