Search “Subnautica 2 vehicles” and you’ll find lists that treat the Tadpole, Scout Ray, Haul, and Bullfrog as four separate rides. They’re not. Subnautica 2 ships with exactly one vehicle — the Tadpole — and a set of swappable chassis attachments that reshape what it can do. Confusing that distinction is the single biggest reason players waste fragment scans on the wrong blueprint order.
This guide breaks down what’s actually craftable right now, the fragment-to-Fabricator unlock chain that gets you there, and where the Trident and Prawn Suit — both confirmed, neither released — fit into the roadmap. Everything below is checked against the official Subnautica 2 Wiki and the EA Update 1.1 “Adaptive Measures” patch notes.
Verified against the official Subnautica 2 Wiki and EA 1.1 (July 8, 2026) as of August 2026. Early Access changes fast — the Vehicle Fabricator menu in-game is the final word if something here looks out of date.
Quick Start: Getting Your First Vehicle Online
- Scan Tadpole fragments as you find them — the blueprint needs three before it unlocks.
- Build a Moonpool. The Vehicle Fabricator can only be placed on its edge.
- Craft the Vehicle Fabricator: 2x Titanium Ingot, 1x Copper Ingot, 2x Glass. It unlocks automatically once the Tadpole blueprint is in your PDA — no separate scan needed.[5]
- Build the base Tadpole: 2x Titanium Ingot, 1x Glass, 1x System Chip, 1x Power Cell.[1]
- Decide your first chassis based on what you’re actually doing — cargo runs or exploration — before you burn scan time (see the comparison below).
- Pick up data cards as you explore. They unlock Modification Station upgrade modules separately from chassis.
If you’re brand new to the game entirely, our Subnautica 2 Beginner’s Guide covers the DNA and base-building systems this vehicle chain plugs into.
How Vehicle Unlocks Actually Work: Fragment to Fabricator
Every vehicle-related item in Subnautica 2 follows the same three-step chain, and the step players skip is the middle one. Scan → Blueprint → Build at the right station. Where people lose time is not realizing there are two different “right stations” doing two different jobs:
- Vehicle Fabricator — builds the Tadpole itself and all chassis attachments (Scout Ray, Haul, and eventually Bullfrog). Unlocked from scanning fragments in the world.
- Modification Station — crafts upgrade modules (depth, engine, armor, noise, charging) from data cards, not fragments. These slot into the Tadpole’s four external upgrade ports regardless of which chassis is attached.[5][6]
That split matters because the two unlock sources don’t overlap. You can have every upgrade module recipe in your PDA and still be stuck with the base Tadpole if you haven’t found a single chassis fragment — and vice versa. If your Tadpole feels underpowered, check which category you’re actually missing before assuming you need to explore deeper.
Decision point: if you’re not sure which chassis to chase first, ask what’s slowing you down right now. Getting killed by exposure in open water because you can’t outrun a threat points to Scout Ray. Running back and forth to base because your cargo hold is full points to Haul. Neither problem points to Bullfrog yet — it isn’t buildable in the current build (see below).
The Base Tadpole: What You’re Actually Working With
Before any chassis goes on, the bare Tadpole is a single-pilot submersible: 8 m/s top speed, 100 HP, a 250m crush depth before hull damage starts, and zero built-in storage.[1] It runs on unlimited oxygen while powered, has four upgrade module slots, and one rear hardpoint for a Portable Locker. That crush depth number is the one beginners underestimate — without a Depth Module, the Tadpole starts taking structural damage well before most mid-game biomes bottom out, which is why the depth upgrade line (below) isn’t optional for anyone pushing past the starting zone.
Three Chassis, Three Different Jobs
Two chassis are live and craftable today. A third is confirmed but not yet buildable — treat any guide that lists it as available as out of date.
| Chassis | Status | Speed | Capacity | Best For | Avoid If |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scout Ray | Live | 10 m/s (max acceleration/turn rate)[3] | No added storage; adds hardpoint | Exploration, escaping predators, tight-space work (detaches freely)[3] | You need cargo capacity — folding wings add width, not hold space |
| Haul | Live | 8 m/s (no speed bonus)[2] | 4 total seats, 2 hardpoints[2] | Resource runs, co-op passenger ferrying, cargo hauls[2] | You’re pushing into dangerous territory — official guidance explicitly advises against it for that use case[2] |
| Bullfrog Workmech | Confirmed, not yet craftable | Not released | Not released | Seabed walking, wall-climbing terrain traversal (planned: thrust, sprint, dash, gravitize to surfaces)[4] | You need it now — no recipe exists in the current build |
The Haul chassis costs more to build than it looks: 4x Titanium Ingot, 3x Strontium, 3x Enameled Glass, and 1x Dedicated Core, against Scout Ray’s 2x Plasteel Ingot, 1x Advanced Wiring Kit, 1x Dedicated Core, and 1x Strong Acid.[2][3] If you’re choosing based on scarce materials rather than pure utility, Scout Ray is the cheaper build for most early-game inventories — Strontium in particular isn’t a resource you’ll be tripping over in the first few biomes.
Total Materials for a Fully-Kitted Tadpole
Nobody publishes the combined shopping list, so here it is: building the Vehicle Fabricator, the base Tadpole, and both live chassis in one pass costs 8x Titanium Ingot, 3x Glass, 3x Enameled Glass, 2x Plasteel Ingot, 3x Strontium, 2x Dedicated Core, 1x Copper Ingot, 1x System Chip, 1x Power Cell, 1x Advanced Wiring Kit, and 1x Strong Acid.[1][2][3][5] Titanium is the resource to overstock before you commit to a build session — it’s the only ingredient that shows up in three of the four recipes, and running short mid-build means a return trip with nothing to show for it.
Naming note (cross-reference): most early press coverage, including guides still circulating as of this writing, calls the third chassis “Seafrog.” That was the working name during a Discord community poll — “Bullfrog” won and is the name used on the official Subnautica 2 Wiki.[4] If you see “Seafrog” in another guide, it’s referring to the same planned chassis, not a separate one. We’re using the wiki’s current terminology here since it’s the primary source.
Upgrade Modules: What’s Worth Building First
Modules come from data cards, not fragments, and slot into any chassis configuration. Six are documented; not all are currently obtainable.
| Module | Effect | Stacks? |
|---|---|---|
| Engine Efficiency | -20% power use | Yes, up to 4x (-80% total)[6] |
| Depth Module Mk.1 | Raises crush-depth threshold beyond the base 250m | No[1][6] |
| Strike Armor | Reduces physical damage from impacts and attacks | No[6] |
| Cavitation Muffler | Reduces vehicle noise, lowers threat attraction | Not specified[6] |
| Photovoltaic Charger | Recharges power cell in shallow water during daytime | Not specified[6] |
| Depth Module Mk.2 | Further depth increase beyond Mk.1 | No — and reported unavailable in survival mode as of this writing[6] |
With only four module slots on the base Tadpole, Depth Module Mk.1 earns a slot before Strike Armor for most players — the 250m crush depth is a hard wall you hit on a schedule dictated by the map, while combat damage is avoidable with better piloting. Engine Efficiency is the one module worth stacking multiple copies of if you have slots to spare, since a fully powered Tadpole spending long stretches away from a charging point is the most common reason players get stranded mid-dive.
What’s Not Live Yet: Trident, Prawn Suit, and the Real Roadmap
Two vehicles get mentioned constantly in Subnautica 2 discussion and neither is playable yet.
The Trident is the confirmed Cyclops successor — a multi-crew submarine sitting at the top of the vehicle hierarchy, the only planned entry in the submarine class. Unknown Worlds confirmed it at the May 9, 2026 First Dive Showcase for a future Early Access update, not the May 14 launch build. Its recipe already exists in the game’s files but is marked deprecated and hidden from crafting menus — a sign it’s further along internally than the public roadmap suggests, but still not a near-term release. Unlike the original Cyclops’s mostly passive role, early footage shows compartment-based flooding and internal stations that make the sub itself part of the survival challenge, not just a mobile base.[8]
The Prawn Suit is a returning mech exosuit, and its status is the clearest example of why a version-verification note matters on a live EA title: it was widely expected to ship with EA Update 1.1 (Adaptive Measures) and didn’t. As of this writing it remains unreleased, and EA 1.2 is confirmed to focus on multiplayer and base-building systems rather than new vehicles — so there’s no near-term window for it either.[9][10] If a guide states a release date for the Prawn Suit, that date isn’t coming from an official source; none has been published.
Practically, this means the current vehicle tech tree has a ceiling: base Tadpole → Scout Ray or Haul chassis → upgrade modules. That’s the entire buildable chain until Unknown Worlds ships more content.
Which Vehicle Path Should You Actually Prioritize?
| Player Type | Priority | Why |
|---|---|---|
| New player | Base Tadpole + Depth Module Mk.1 before any chassis | Crush depth kills more new players than lack of speed or storage — fix the hard limiter first |
| Casual player | Scout Ray chassis, skip Haul entirely | Cheaper materials, doubles as your escape tool, and you’re not running a dedicated cargo loop |
| Hardcore / optimizer | Haul chassis + stacked Engine Efficiency modules | Maximizes resource throughput per trip; efficiency-focused players get more value from fewer, larger runs than fast solo scouting |
| Completionist | Scan every fragment type even before deciding which chassis to build | Blueprints don’t expire and fragment locations are finite per biome — banking scans now avoids backtracking once you’ve moved past a zone |
If you’re playing co-op, the Haul chassis’s four-seat capacity changes this calculus for the whole group — one player building Haul while others keep a Scout Ray active covers both the transport and scouting roles simultaneously, which single-player runs can’t do without switching chassis mid-session.
FAQ
Do the Seamoth, Cyclops, and Prawn Suit all return in Subnautica 2?
Only the Prawn Suit is confirmed to return, and it isn’t live yet. The Seamoth and Cyclops don’t return under their original names — Unknown Worlds built a new modular system instead, where one submersible (the Tadpole) takes swappable chassis rather than shipping several fixed vehicles. That’s a deliberate co-op design choice: a modular chassis is easier to balance for four players sharing gear than a fixed roster of single-role vehicles would be.
Is the Scout Ray or Haul chassis better for solo play?
Scout Ray, for most solo runs. The Haul chassis’s extra seating is wasted with no passengers, and its official guidance explicitly recommends against using it for exploration into dangerous territory — the exact situation solo players spend most of their time in. Haul only pulls ahead when you’re running a dedicated resource-hauling loop between a known-safe route and your base.
Why can’t I find the Bullfrog Workmech blueprint anywhere?
Because there isn’t one to find yet. It’s confirmed as future content on the official wiki, with a planned recipe (3x Plasteel Ingot, 3x Hydraulic Bulb) already documented but not active in the current build. Guides calling it “Seafrog” are describing the same chassis under its earlier community-poll working name, not a different item you’ve missed.
Should I wait for the Bullfrog chassis before pushing into canyon or vent biomes?
No — waiting costs you more than the Bullfrog will save. Scout Ray already detaches for tight spaces, and a Depth Module gets you past most crush-depth walls in those biomes today. The Bullfrog’s advantage is walking stability on foot, not access; you can reach the same locations now, just with more careful piloting.
Can I run two chassis on one Tadpole at the same time?
No. Chassis attachments mount to the same point on the Tadpole’s command module and detach when you switch — the official wiki describes both current chassis as designed for detachment “for flexible operations,” which only makes sense if swapping, not stacking, is the intended workflow. Upgrade modules are separate from this and stay installed regardless of which chassis is attached.
When is the Trident submarine coming out?
No date has been announced. It was confirmed for a future Early Access update at the May 9, 2026 showcase, and its recipe already exists in game files but stays deprecated and hidden. Given Unknown Worlds’ own two-to-three-year Early Access estimate and EA 1.2’s confirmed focus on multiplayer and base building rather than vehicles, treat any specific Trident release date you see elsewhere as unofficial speculation.
Do I need to rebuild the Fabricator or Tadpole every time I switch chassis?
No, and this trips up players used to games where vehicles are separate inventory items. The Vehicle Fabricator and the base Tadpole are built once. Chassis are attachments you dock onto the existing Tadpole and detach freely — swapping from Scout Ray to Haul mid-session costs nothing but the trip back to a Fabricator with the other chassis already unlocked. Treat the base Tadpole as permanent infrastructure and the chassis choice as a loadout decision you can revisit as often as you want.
Sources
- Subnautica 2 Wiki — Tadpole
- Subnautica 2 Wiki — Tadpole Haul Chassis
- Subnautica 2 Wiki — Tadpole Scout Ray Chassis
- Subnautica 2 Wiki — Bullfrog Workmech
- Subnautica 2 Wiki — Vehicle Fabricator
- Game8 — List of All Modules
- All Things How — Subnautica 2 Trident: What the Cyclops Successor Submarine Is
- GameBrief — Subnautica 2 Vehicles: All Submersibles in Early Access 2026
- Subnautica 2 Wiki (subnautica2wiki.net) — EA Update 1.1 Adaptive Measures
I've been playing video games for over 20 years, spanning everything from early PC titles to modern open-world games. I started Switchblade Gaming to publish the kind of accurate, well-researched guides I always wanted to find — built on primary sources, tested in-game, and kept up to date after patches. I currently focus on Minecraft and Pokémon GO.