May 18, 2026

Subnautica 2: How To Set Up A Base

Saad Bin Asif

One of the initial important tasks in Subnautica 2 is to set up a base for convenience and to use crucial items like the Processor to make material ingots; it also feels like home.

This is a step-by-step guide on setting up a base in Subnautica 2, including the process of activating it to use all the demanding electronics inside.

Getting The Scanner in Subnautica 2
Crafting A Habitat Builder
- Habitat Builder #1
- Habitat Builder #2
Setting Up A Base In Subnautica 2
- Powering Up The Base

Getting The Scanner in Subnautica 2

Subnautica 2 How to Set Up Base — **Holding The Scanner In The Ocean.**

The first goal towards building your base in the game is to craft a Scanner to scan blueprints and further items. It’s a default item available in the lifepod fabricator’s Personal section. However, to craft it, you will need at least x3 Titanium, x2 Quartz, and x1 Basic Battery.

Titanium chunk is silver colored and can be found easily on the ocean bed. For Quartz, go at least 50 meters away from the lifepod and visit the caves. There, you will find white colored blocks; they are Quartz. Basic Battery is a craftable item that requires x2 Copper and x1 Acidic Raion Pouch.

Copper is easily discoverable in the ocean, but for the Acidic Raion Pouch, craft a Survival Multitool and cut down the purple plants with a medical sack in the middle.

With all these items, return to the fabricator and then craft the Scanner. The first step to creating a base is now complete.

Crafting A Habitat Builder

Now that you have the Scanner, it’s time to get the Habitat Builder, which is the item that lets you create a base. Before you can craft, you will have to scan two of its fragments.

Habitat Builder #1

**The First Habitat Builder Near The Welcome Center.**

For the first Habitat Builder, go 90 meters south of the lifepod to find the Welcome Center. Near its entrance, you will find it hidden inside a box. Scan it to complete the first fragment.

Habitat Builder #2

The second Habitat Builder is located exactly 161 meters northwest of the lifepod at 20 meters of depth inside a box. Scan it to unlock the blueprint finally. Return to the lifepod and use the fabricator to craft it.

A Habitat Builder requires x2 Titanium, x1 Glass, x1 Basic Battery, and x1 Copper Wire. You can check their respective crafting recipes.

Setting Up A Base In Subnautica 2

With the Habitat Builder in your hands, it’s now time to set up a base. It has three different modes:

Destruction Mode
Move Mode
Creation Mode (Menu)

Before anything, you will need numerous blueprints to craft the base. The best way to get the interior/exterior blueprints is to visit the multiple wreckage across Proteus’ ocean, including the prologue’s Camp One and The Old Habitat.

Scan everything you can, and then go to a place where you would like to create your base; I prefer it near the lifepod.

Press right-click to enter Creation mode and select the room first. If the floor is clear, you can place the base, and then extend it at your leisure; it requires Titanium, so make sure you have enough of it before starting. After placing the room, attach a hatch for entrance/exit.

The basics are now complete. However, it can’t create oxygen if you’re underwater without a power source, and interior items like the Fabricator and Processor won’t function either.

Powering Up The Base

To power up your base in Subnautica 2, you will need solar panels. Solar panels are available by default in the Habitat Explorer, and to craft them, you will need x1 Titanium and x2 Quartz.

Place the solar panels at the top of your base. If done correctly, you will see a power meter that shows the flow at the top-left of the screen. More solar panels equal a better power flow.