Resources
Six resource categories that drive progression in a Subnautica game. Real material names go in once the EA build is unlocked, but the categories themselves are stable.
Pre-launch read. Subnautica 2 hasn't published a full material list, so this page uses series-based resource buckets instead of inventing item names. We will swap in real names after May 14.
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Survival basics
Food, water, oxygen sources
🏗️
Construction
Base building materials
🔋
Battery inputs
Power and energy sources
⚙️
Upgrade parts
Tool and equipment upgrades
⚗️
Crafting catalysts
Advanced recipe components
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Rare finds
High-value deep-sea materials
Resource categories at a glance
From the original Subnautica's material economy, written as planning categories rather than confirmed item lists.
| Category | Typical examples | When you need them |
|---|---|---|
| Survival basics | Food, water, bandages, emergency oxygen | You will spend the first hour collecting these and ignoring everything else. Cure for food/water depletion, raw materials for emergency healing. |
| Base building stock | Titanium-equivalent, glass-equivalent, rubber-equivalent | The boring backbone. Walls, hatches, corridors, storage modules. Stockpile early so you stop swimming back for one missing piece. |
| Power and electronics | Copper-equivalent, batteries, advanced components | Powers your fabricator, charges your tools, runs your base. Original Subnautica gated mid-game progress on this category, so treat it as a priority bucket until the real list lands. |
| Vehicle and tool parts | Specialty alloys, lubricants, propulsion modules | Mid-tier resources, gated behind scans of larger fragments. Required for your first Seamoth-equivalent. This is when the game opens up. |
| Rare and deep finds | Diamond-equivalent, lithium-equivalent, deep-zone catalysts | High-risk, high-reward. Usually in zones that want to kill you. Plan dives around two or three of these at a time, not solo runs. |
| Story / progression keys | Story-locked items, scan triggers, alien tech | You will know them when you see them. Do not gate other progress on these until the EA narrative is clearer. |
Gathering habits that survive any patch
Specific recipes will change, but these patterns held through the original's entire EA run.
Build one storage locker per category before mixing materials. Future-you will thank past-you.
Mystery resources go in their own locker. Do not auto-craft them away if you do not know the use yet.
Note the biome where each material comes back rather than the exact rock. Locations get patched.
In co-op, agree on naming and storage before anyone fills a locker. Renaming after the fact is the worst.
Gathering notes
Group resources by biome and repeatable travel path.
Material demand
Link resources back to tools, base modules, and vehicle upgrades.
Related resource pages
Use these pages to connect gathering with crafting, biomes, and early survival choices.