How to Unlock Tadpole Vehicle and Upgrades in Subnautica 2

The Tadpole is the first underwater vehicle that you will unlock in Subnautica 2. It completely changes how you explore the depths of the oceans, and long-distance dives start to feel safer than ever. The Tadpole has an onboard oxygen support, a storage support, and even some speed boost modes. But among all these, you will require the Tadpole for progressing deep into the Subnautica 2 biomes. So, learn how to unlock and upgrade the Tadpole in Subnautica 2 by scanning the Tadpole fragments in the game.

How to Find All Tadpole Fragments in Subnautica 2

Unlocking the Tadpole blueprint requires you to scan three Tadpole Fragments in Subnautica 2. There are nine known fragment pieces across the whole map, so you can choose to scan any three that are nearest to you. However, before you start the search, consider enabling all landmark signals from the PDA settings to find the wrecks and habitats easily.

With that said, here are all the Tadpole Fragment locations in Subnautica 2:

Tadpole Fragment #1 – Great Jaw Cliffside

For the first fragment, you can head off in the 190 southwest direction and travel for around 145 meters to find a cliffside near the Great Jaw organism. Dive down to the cliff below, and you will find a Tadpole fragment on the ground. Now, you can scan it using your Scanner.

Tadpole Fragment #2 – Old Habitat Rear Area

From your lifepod, head in the North direction, past the cliffs and purple corals, to find an Old Habitat story location. Instead of sitting in the main structure, the fragment is located behind the place. Swim past the habitat, and you can find the second Tadpole fragment on the ground.

Tadpole Fragment #3 – Past Purple Jellyfish

From the Old habitat area, head towards the east direction, past the purple jellyfish organisms. After traveling for around 480 metres, alongside the cliff, you will come across a few containers on the ground and the Tadpole Fragment lying at the center.

Tadpole Fragment #4 – Plateau Near Alterra Wreck

The second fragment can be found on top of a plateau when you travel 420 meters in the northeast direction from your Lifepod. To identify this area, you can use the huge Alterra ship as the landmark and a bunch of stones emerging from the ground. Furthermore, you can also find the Ruby blackbox recording here.

Tadpole Fragment #5 – Cicada Wreck

From the Great Jaw cliffside, you can travel 380 meters northeast and find a Cicada Wreck. Inside the wreck, you can find a Tadpole Fragment near a scannable Bioreactor.

Tadpole Fragment #6 – Northeast Canyon Current

Head northeast from your Lifepod, and you will find a trench with a strong downward current. Follow the current into the canyon, and you will eventually spot a cargo container with a Turbine. The Tadpole fragment will be beside this turbine, which you can scan later.

Tadpole Fragment #7 – Colonist Bunker

Travel to the southwest, and you will find the Cicada wreck building after you dive down the huge water drop in the ocean. Beside the wreck, you can find a small pathway to a building. Enter inside, and you will find another Tadpole fragment on the shelf.

Tadpole Fragment #8 – Zezuran Desert

To find more Tadpole fragments, you would need to head to the Zezuran Desert biome located around 500 meters east of your Lifepod. Consider getting an improved heat resistance, and then exploring the region. You would find one Tadpole fragment on the floor near an arch.

Tadpole Fragment #9 – Tadpole Pens

The final Tadpole fragment location is inside the Tadpole Pens in Subnautica 2. It is a late-game area with multiple scannable items. Once there, head inside to find the scannable fragment inside the room.

How to Build a Tadpole Vehicle in Subnautica 2

Once you have scanned three Tadpole Fragments, the vehicle blueprint is automatically unlocked. However, you would require a proper base setup before spawning the Tadpole vehicle. So, this is what you must do:

• Start by building a reasonably large room using the Habitat Builder.
• The Tadpole requires a large Moonpool installation, and smaller rooms do not provide enough placement space.
• Build a Moonpool using 5x Titanium, and here, you must attach the Tadpole Dock and the Vehicle Fabricator.
• While the Tadpole Dock requires 2x Titanium Ingots, 1x Silver Ingots, and 2x Copper Ingots, a Vehicle Fabricator requires 2x Titanium Ingots, 1x Copper Ingots, and 2x Glass.

• Once the setup is ready, left-click on the Vehicle Fabricator, select Vehicles, and then left-click on Tadpole to craft it.
• Crafting a Tadpole requires 2x Titanium Ingots, 1x Glass, 1x System Chip, and 1x Power Cell.

The System Chip can be made using Wiring Kit and Quartz, but the Power Cell is more complicated, as it requires Strong Acid. You can get strong acid by using Necrolei Cysts in Subnautica 2. Now that your Tadpole is ready, go near the vehicle and left-click to get inside and explore the oceans far safer than before.

All Tadpole Upgrades in Subnautica 2

The very first and important upgrade for the Tadpole in Subnautica 2 is the Scout Ray Chassis. You can find its blueprint inside the Tadpole Pens. Later, it can be crafted using the Vehicle Fabricator and easily attached to the Tadpole by moving the vehicle near it.

The Scout Ray Chassis greatly improves the acceleration, turning speed, and overall movement handling. Crafting this attachment requires 2x Plasteel Ingots, 1x Advanced Wiring Kit, 1x Dedicated Core, and 1x Strong Acid.

With that said, here are all the other modular upgrades for the Tadpole in Subnautica 2:

Depth Module Mark 1

The Depth Module Mark 1 is essential for deep exploration because it raises the Tadpole Crush Depth from 250 meters to around 450 meters. You can find it after receiving the NOA Terminal signal at the Alien Base. You must then go southeast, inside a cave guarded by a Needler Mango creature. Crafting the Depth Module Mark 1 requires the following:

Depth Module Mark 1 Crafting Recipe

• 3x Celestine
• 2x Enameled Glass
• 1x System Chip.

Engine Efficiency Module

The Engine Efficiency Module reduces the power consumption by 20%. You can further stack up multiple such modules to save energy. It can be found inside the Alien Base and requires the following materials to craft it:

Engine Efficiency Module Crafting Recipe

• 1x Titanium Ingot
• 2x Glass
• 1x System Chip.

Photovoltaic Charger

The Photovoltaic Charger slowly restores the vehicle’s energy when the Tadpole remains in Shallow waters during the daylight hours. You can find it inside the Cicada Wreck EVA Prep section after receiving the blackbox recording signal. The materials required to make this are:

Photovoltaic Charger Crafting Recipe

• 1x Copper Ingot
• 1x Strong Acid
• 1x Troilite.

Cavitation Muffler

The Caviation Muffler module can reduce the vehicle’s noise output. This makes it less likely to detect your vehicle from the hostile creatures. You can find it near the Metal Farms biome southeast of the Alien Base. Since this area is near the map edge, beware of the Leviathan-class threat lurking in the ocean. Crafting a Cavitation Muffler just requires:

Cavitation Muffler Crafting Recipe

• 3x Titanium
• 2x Strontium.

And that is all about how to unlock the Tadpole vehicle in Subnautica 2. Did this guide help you? Or, are you stuck at the beginner levels for making Titanium Ingots in Subnautica 2? Let us know in the comments below.