Type
Utility recipe
Base resource locator
Subnautica 2 Scanner Station Guide
Utility recipe
The Scanner Station turns a general resource hunt into a specific destination. It can locate resources, wrecks, bases and anomalies within range, then place a signal on a selected contact. Build it when you are ready to use a powered base as the start of repeated gathering trips.
Reviewed .
Recipe version: PC build 128456; ingredient counts from current recipe data.
Station
Habitat Builder
Route
Camp One blueprint route
Status
Recipe data
Blueprint facts
Use this row set when you need the station, unlock condition, output, and downstream planning without losing the route context.
Category
Habitat systems
Produces
1 Scanner Station
Crafted at
Habitat Builder, in a base room
Unlock requirement
Complete the Scanner Station blueprint scan before building your own station.
Scan requirement
1 complete Scanner Station scan.
Used in
Resource location, Wreck and base searches, Biohacking Chamber searches
Recipe or unlock row
1 System Chip + 3 Titanium + 1 Wiring Kit → 1 Scanner Station
Route order
Follow the unlock order before spending materials on lower-priority extras.
Step 1
Find and scan the blueprint
Camp One is an early published scan route around 250 m north-northeast of the Lifepod. Bring your Scanner and use the linked map route to plan the trip. Complete the Scanner Station scan; carrying its construction materials alone does not unlock it.
Step 2
Craft two Wiring Kits
Turn four Copper into two Copper Wire, then combine each wire with one Silver. You now have two Wiring Kits. A station needs one kit directly and another inside its System Chip, so crafting just one leaves the chain short.
Step 3
Finish the System Chip
Combine one Wiring Kit with two raw Quartz at the Fabricator. Leave the second Wiring Kit untouched and add three Titanium to your construction loadout.
Step 4
Place the station in a room
Use the Habitat Builder inside a base room. A corridor-only camp is too small for this station. If placement stays red, check the room, floor space and nearby objects before collecting the same ingredients again.
Step 5
Power the base before using the scanner
Budget 10 energy per second for an active Scanner Station in PC build 128456. Keep additional output available for the habitat and other equipment. Check the base display after selecting a filter; the station needs a working supply before it can find contacts.
Step 6
Choose a filter and a contact
Select the resource or exploration category you need and wait for contacts to populate. Select a contact in the holographic map to create a world signal. Use the distance and depth difference to decide whether the trip suits your current oxygen equipment.
Step 7
Turn a signal into a returnable route
Start with a nearby target and take only the tools and supplies needed for that trip. Follow its depth as well as its direction, gather the resource, then return before your oxygen margin is gone. A scanner signal locates a target; it does not create a safe passage to it.
Step 8
Stop scanning when you finish
Select the currently active filter again to deselect it. With no active filter, the station's scanning load falls to zero. Use this control when you need to free power for charging or processing, then choose a filter again for the next search.
What it unlocks
A base resource-search station
Selectable world signals
Filtered searches for nearby exploration targets
Player decisions
Complete raw budget
3 Titanium + 2 Silver + 4 Copper + 2 Quartz. This covers only the station; Habitat Builder, room, hatch and power are separate costs.
Filters to use first
Try a resource such as Silver, or an exploration category such as Alterra Bases. The Biohacking Chamber filter is useful when looking for permanent upgrade terminals.
Silver for your next upgrade
The Silver search includes loose pickups, resource nodes and deposits. A signal is not a promise that you can collect it by hand: check the target when you arrive and bring the appropriate mining tool for deposits. Reserve two Silver for a Standard Air Tank or two for a Scanner Station built from scratch.
Strong Acid without the hot-zone route
Choose Necrolei Cyst when you need the plant ingredient for Strong Acid. Bring the Survival Multitool to cut the cyst from a Stilt Orb. Two cysts make one Strong Acid at a Fabricator; keep another if you also intend to plant it after unlocking Growbeds.
Inventory upgrades or abandoned buildings
Use Biohacking Chamber for player-upgrade signals and Alterra Bases for abandoned-base signals. Read the reward at the destination: a building signal is not a guarantee of a backpack upgrade, and a quick-slot upgrade solves a different problem from inventory capacity.
A target above or below you
Compare the contact depth with your own depth before leaving. A nearby signal can lie in a cave reached from another direction. Follow the approach landmarks and keep a known route back to oxygen.
No signals found
Check power, the selected filter and the displayed range. A blank result for one filter does not show that the whole surrounding area is empty. Try another category before planning a move.
Signal but no visible resource
Read Depth Difference and Planar Distance separately: a target may be below or above your route. Buddy System also fixed scanner contacts for nonexistent resource nodes; compare the installed version when investigating an old report.
October 6 resource accuracy fix
Buddy System Hotfix 2 fixes the Scanner Station not finding resources accurately. If old contacts point to empty locations, update before repeating the trip, then select the intended filter and inspect the new contacts. Range, depth and the cave approach still matter when following a contact.
Active and inactive power
PC build 128456: 10 energy/s while a filter is active; 0 scanning load with no active filter. Two active stations require 20 energy/s before the rest of the base. A 20% reserve makes the scanner-only targets 12 and 24 energy/s respectively.
Scanner Station versus Scanner
The handheld Scanner unlocks blueprints. The base Scanner Station finds targets within range. The Bioscanner is a separate handheld upgrade for biological and alien research.
Map route links
These map entries point to the route stops that matter for this blueprint or recipe.
Questions people ask
What is the Scanner Station recipe?
One System Chip, three Titanium and one Wiring Kit, built with the Habitat Builder inside a base room after the blueprint scan.
Where can I look for the Scanner Station blueprint?
The Camp One route north-northeast of the Lifepod includes a Scanner Station scan target. Use the linked map route as a navigation lead and complete the scan before returning to build.
Why does the Scanner Station need two Wiring Kits from scratch?
One kit is a direct construction input. The second becomes the System Chip when combined with two Quartz. The full raw budget is three Titanium, two Silver, four Copper and two Quartz.
Can I build a Scanner Station in a corridor?
Use a base room. The larger Scanner Station needs room space rather than a corridor-only camp, as well as electrical power.
How do I mark a resource with the Scanner Station?
Power the station, select a resource filter, wait for contacts and select one on the holographic map. That creates a world signal for the selected contact.
How much power does the Scanner Station use?
In PC build 128456, an active filter adds 10 energy per second of Scanner Station demand. With no active filter, its scanning load is zero. Add the rest of the base equipment separately when sizing generation.
How do I turn off the Scanner Station?
Open the filter selection and select the currently active filter again. This deselects it and removes the scanning power demand. Select a filter again when you want to resume searching.
Why does my Scanner Station point at an empty location?
First compare the contact depth and planar distance: the target may be in a cave above or below your approach. Buddy System Hotfix 2, released October 6, fixes inaccurate resource finding. Update, choose the filter again and check the new contacts before repeating the route.
Can the Scanner Station find inventory upgrades?
Its Biohacking Chamber category searches for player-upgrade signals. Visit the contact and read the terminal reward; backpack capacity, quick slots and passive Biomod slots are separate upgrades.
Is this the Scanner Room from the first Subnautica?
In Subnautica 2 the facility is called Scanner Station. Use its own blueprint, room-placement rules and recipe rather than a Scanner Room recipe from the earlier game.
Sources for this recipe
Related recipe and blueprint pages
Unlock a room for the station
Processor scans and the Room data-card route expand a corridor-only base.
Necrolei Cyst collection
Find Stilt Orbs, cut the cysts and reserve the Strong Acid or planting budget.
Scanner power budget
Use the active Scanner Station preset and add your other base loads.
System Chip recipe
One Wiring Kit and two Quartz for the station electronics.
Wiring Kit recipe
Reserve two kits when building the station from raw materials.
Two-Silver gathering route
Plan the Silver portion and keep air-tank materials separate.
Build and power your base
Habitat Builder, rooms, storage and electrical supply.
Inventory and quick-slot upgrades
Permanent upgrades, the sixth tool slot and portable storage.
Bioscanner upgrade
Creature research and Biomod progression use a different scanner.