Swimming everywhere in Subnautica 2 gets old fast. The Tadpole is your personal submersible and the single biggest upgrade you can make to your exploration setup early on. It generates its own oxygen supply, moves faster than any swim speed you can achieve on foot, and opens up deeper parts of the ocean that are simply out of reach otherwise. Getting one takes a bit of setup, but the process is straightforward once you know where to look.
What do you need before building the Tadpole?
Before you touch the Vehicle Fabricator, you need three things sorted: three scanned Tadpole Fragments to unlock the blueprint, a Moonpool placed in your base with enough clearance underneath it, and a Processor already running so you can smelt ingots. If your base is cramped or built too close to the seabed, you may need to expand or relocate before the Tadpole Dock will fit. The game is best approached with at least four interconnected rooms before attempting the build.
Enable all landmark signals in your character menu before hunting fragments. They make distant structures much easier to spot while swimming.
Where to find Tadpole fragments
You need to scan exactly three Tadpole Fragments to unlock the crafting blueprint. There are at least nine fragments scattered across the seas of Zazura, as documented by GameSpot, but these are the most accessible in the early game.
Fragment 1: South of the Lifepod (115 meters)
Swim directly south from the Lifepod for around 115 meters. You will see a large piece of wreckage hanging over a cliff edge. Drop to the base of that cliff and scan the fragment sitting in the seabed below the overhang. This is the closest fragment to your starting position.
Fragment 2: Southwest Colonist Bunker (250 meters)
Head roughly 250 meters southwest of the Lifepod at around 90 meters depth. Past another cliff-edge wreck, look for a red hatch built into the cliff wall. This is the Colonist Bunker (Unauthorized NoA Modification). The fragment is mounted on a wall rack inside.
Fragment 3: East-northeast ravine (250-280 meters)
Swim east-northeast from the Lifepod, around 250 to 280 meters out. There is a fast-moving water current that drops into a canyon below. Look under the archway spanning that canyon and you will find a small wreckage platform with the fragment nearby. Per PC Gamer, this ravine is the same location where you can find lead early on.
Fragment 4: Old Habitat ruins (430 meters north)
This one sits at the back of the Old Habitat colony ruins, approximately 430 meters north of the Lifepod. NOA will likely send you here as part of normal story progression to find Quaker's black box. While you are there, scan everything in the area, including the Sonic Resonator and the Processor fragments if you have not already.
Fragment 5: Abyssal crater edge (northeast)
This fragment sits near colony wreckage on the edge of the abyssal crater to the northeast. It is close to The Great Jaw, so PC Gamer recommends boosting your O2 with Air Bladders and the Standard Air Tank upgrade before heading out here. The Wakemaker arm-jets also help you cover the distance faster.
The Tadpole Pens location (a story mission) also contains multiple fragments and the Vehicle Fabricator blueprint, but you need the heat tolerance adaptation before you can safely enter. Do not attempt it without that unlock.
How to build the Moonpool and supporting structures
Once you have three fragments scanned, the Moonpool blueprint unlocks automatically after your second scan. Build a large room in your base with plenty of open space underneath. The Tadpole Dock extends a significant distance downward, so clearance beneath the Moonpool is non-negotiable.
Here is everything you need to build the full Tadpole setup:
All ingots are produced in the Processor. Glass comes from Quartz in the Fabricator. The System Chip requires a Wiring Kit (Silver and Copper) plus two Quartz. The trickiest material is the Power Cell, which needs 2x Basic Batteries, 1x Strong Acid, and 1x Salt. Strong Acid is made from Necrolei Cysts found in the Jelly Barrens north of spawn. Salt is abundant in the cave near Chap's habitat. Check our sulfur and resource location guides if you need help tracking down harder-to-find crafting materials.
Build your Moonpool room large enough before placing the Tadpole Dock. If the base sits too low or lacks clearance beneath the floor, you will have to demolish and rebuild elsewhere.
How to craft the Tadpole
With the Moonpool placed and the Vehicle Fabricator attached to one of its sides, walk up to the fabricator and interact with it. The Tadpole recipe will be available in the menu. Confirm the craft and your submarine will appear in the Moonpool below.
The Tadpole Dock is a separate structure that attaches to a different side of the Moonpool. While docked and with your base powered, it recharges the vehicle's Power Cell automatically. You do not need the dock to build the Tadpole, but you will want it before you go on any serious dive. Running out of power mid-ocean is a bad situation.
What are the Tadpole's key limitations?
The Tadpole is faster than swimming and provides unlimited oxygen while operational, but it comes with real constraints you need to plan around.
- Crush depth: By default, the Tadpole can only handle pressure down to 250 meters. Below that, the hull takes ongoing damage. The Depth Module Mark I extends this to 450 meters, but you need to find its blueprint in the Alien Base later in the story.
- Power drain: The Power Cell depletes as you drive. You can swap it manually via the hatch on top of the vehicle, or dock it to recharge passively.
- Noise: The Tadpole is loud. In the safer early areas this barely matters, but once you reach the eastern edge of the map near the Metal Farms area, the noise can attract a Leviathan. The Cavitation Muffler module addresses this.
- Fragility: Both sources from PC Gamer and PCGamesN flag this clearly. The Tadpole is built with glass and takes damage from bumping obstacles or creature attacks. Unlock the Repair Tool as early as possible.
What upgrades can you add to the Tadpole?
Upgrades fall into two categories: structural attachments built via the Vehicle Fabricator, and modules crafted at the Modification Station (which requires 2x Titanium, 2x Celestine, and 2x Copper to build).
The Scout Ray Chassis blueprint is found inside the Tadpole Pens. The Engine Efficiency module blueprint is in the Alien Base. The Depth Module Mark I requires following a NOA Terminal lead south-southeast at bearing 165 degrees from the Alien Base, where a Needler Mango guards the location. The Photovoltaic Charger is at the Cicada Wreck (EVA Prep) past the Alien Base. The Cavitation Muffler is at the Metal Farms area, 700 meters east-southeast of the Alien Base.
Craft a spare Power Cell before your first long trip. Stacking even two Engine Efficiency modules significantly extends your range between recharges.
Multiplayer note
If you are playing co-op, passengers can grab the latches on the sides of the Tadpole while you pilot it. There is also a hard point on the back where you can attach a Portable Storage, which makes the vehicle genuinely useful for resource farming runs. Check out our full Subnautica 2 guides collection for more on base building, Biomods, and surviving the deeper zones of Zazura's ocean.