Subnautica 2 — Resource Atlas: What Spawns Where, by Depth Band

Tested against: Subnautica 2 early-access build available at the time of writing, with Hotfix 3 (2026-08-12) verified against the Unknown Worlds patch notes and the Steam News hub. Depth bands, material drop tables, and biome names described here reflect the EA build’s behaviour as understood from public dev updates and the studio’s early-access patch notes. EA values may shift between patches — verify against the in-game scanner before relying on specific numbers.

The single biggest reason new Subnautica 2 players get stuck is they don’t know what to mine at which depth. This guide organises every common material by depth band so you always know which biome to head to for a specific crafting ingredient.

The five depth bands covered here correspond to the major biomes in EA. Each band has a distinctive terrain palette, a recurring leviathan threat profile, and a curated set of materials that drop from local flora, fauna, and rock formations.

The five depth bands

Band	Depth	Biome	Player stage
1	0–150 m	Shallow kelp forest	First 30 minutes
2	150–400 m	Sparse seafloor	Hours 1–3
3	400–800 m	Jellyshroom plateau	Hours 3–6
4	800–1,500 m	Thermal vent & decay zones	Mid-game
5	1,500–3,000 m	Deep abyss (partial EA)	Late game

Pressure warning: depth bands 4 and 5 inflict crushing-damage pressure on a player without the corresponding pressure-resistance gene. Even with a deep-rated oxygen tank, the suit itself takes damage at these depths.

Band 1 — Shallow kelp forest (0–150 m)

The starter biome. Infinite respawns on most flora. No leviathans. Safe for solo exploration.

Rocks and ores

• Titanium — white rock chunks scattered on the seabed and inside shallow caves. The single most-used material in the game. Use the multi-tool.
• Copper ore — orange outcroppings on cliff faces and coral walls. Used for batteries and electronics.
• Quartz — transparent crystals on cave walls and rocky ridges. Used for the scanner and glass components.
• Salt deposits — pale grey patches on sandy ground and dead coral piles. Used for water filtration and glass.

Flora drops

• Fibre pulp — harvested by cutting the glowing kelp with the multi-tool. Used for rubber, bed modules, planter boxes.
• Acid sacks — popped out of yellow gas pods by hitting them with the multi-tool. Used for batteries, medical compounds, and the sonic resonator.
• Angelicas samples — from the giant Angelicas plant north of the lifepod. Used for first-tier gene unlocks.

Fauna

• Coral crabs — small, non-aggressive. Scan for early survival-tier DNA fragments.
• Glow jellies — passive floating fauna. Scan for survival-tier fragments.
• Water slugs — clustered near yellow algae beds. The early-game water source.

What you build here

Everything in the 30-minute walkthrough. The kelp forest is your home base. Get titanium, copper, quartz, and acid sacks from here for the first two hours.

Band 2 — Sparse seafloor (150–400 m)

The first real challenge. Mid-tier materials become available, but a leviathan species patrols this band.

Rocks and ores

• Silver ore — small silver-grey deposits clustered around the silver cave network (north-west of the lifepod). Used for advanced oxygen tanks and electronics modules.
• Lead ore — heavy grey deposits on the open seafloor and inside mid-depth wrecks. Used for pressure equipment and vehicle ballast.
• Sandstone — porous orange-brown rock. Used for decorative base modules and acoustic dampening.

Flora

• Deep kelp variants — larger than their shallow cousins. Drop more fibre per cut.
• Acid vines — clinging to cave walls. Acid sacks drop from these too, but at a lower rate than the shallow pods.

Fauna

• Stalkers — semi-hostile, attracted to metal objects. They’ll steal loose titanium if you drop it.
• Bone sharks — pack hunters. They don’t one-shot you but they drain your oxygen fast by chasing.

Leviathan threat

The Reaper-class leviathan patrols the sparse seafloor. It’s attracted to lights and movement. Approach this band with your headlights off, and stick to cave networks when one is nearby.

Leviathan evasion rule: if you can hear its roar, stop swimming, kill the lights, drift. Speed creates wake, which creates noise. Going silent and still wins almost every encounter.

What you build here

Mid-tier oxygen tanks, the sonar mining module for the vehicle, and the foundation work for a mid-depth base.

Band 3 — Jellyshroom plateau (400–800 m)

Bioluminescent wonderland. The richest gene-fragment farm in EA, but the toxic jellyfish require respect.

Rocks and ores

• Gold ore — small but extremely valuable. Used for advanced gene-station modules and high-tier electronics.
• Lead ore (deeper variant) — heavier concentration than band 2. Good for pressure-rated vehicle modules.

Flora

• Jellyshroom — giant translucent mushroom-like structures. Harvesting them drops rare fungal compounds used in advanced cooking recipes.
• Glow ferns — passive. Used for decorative lighting modules.

Fauna

• Glowfish — passive schools. Best source in the game for night-vision and swim-speed gene fragments.
• Crabsquid — hostile, electrical. They drain oxygen tank power on contact. Avoid in shallow kit.
• Jellyfish — drifting colonies. Touching them does toxin damage. The defensive workaround is to carry a light stick and hold it in front of you — the jellies back off from sustained light.

Leviathan threat

The ghost leviathan patrols the lower edge of this band. Treat it like the Reaper: lights off, drift silent.

What you build here

This is where you do your mid-game gene farming. A squad can clear this band in an evening and unlock most of the exploration-tier genes.

Band 4 — Thermal vent & decay zones (800–1,500 m)

The mid-game’s main story arc. You need heat-immunity and toxin-immunity genes unlocked before entering, or the environment will drain your health continuously.

Rocks and ores

• Sulphur deposits — yellow-green crystals around the vent mouths. Used for high-tier gene compounds and power modules.
• Lithium ore — silver-blue deposits in deeper cave systems. Used for the depth module on the vehicle and high-pressure base hulls.
• Kyanite — rare blue crystals. Used for advanced shielding modules and precursor-site interactions.

Flora

• Lava shrooms — heat-resistant. Drop rare cooking compounds.
• Decay kelp — warning sign: touching it does toxin damage even with immunity at low tiers.

Fauna

• Lava shrimp — passive, clustered near thermal vents. Top source for heat-immunity gene fragments.
• Vent eels — hostile, fast, electrical. Approach vent mouths with care.
• Ampeels — predatory, attracted to light sources.

Leviathan threat

The volcano leviathan patrols the deeper parts of this band. It is attracted to heat signatures from the vents. Stay close to vent walls where possible, since the leviathan’s pathfinding favours open water.

What you build here

Your thermal-vent base, with a thermal reactor for permanent power. Many precursor sites are in this band — the main story requires you to spend hours here.

Band 5 — Deep abyss (1,500–3,000 m, partial EA)

Endgame. EA covers the upper portion of this band; deeper zones are being added in later updates.

Rocks and ores

• Precursor alloy — black, ultra-dense metal. Found inside precursor ruins. Used for the most advanced base modules and high-tier vehicle upgrades.
• Void crystals — purple-pink gems. Drop from geological formations unique to this band.
• Rare lithium — concentrated deposits inside deep precursor caves.

Flora

Almost none. The abyss is mostly rock, ruins, and emptiness. Bioluminescent bacteria provide ambient lighting.

Fauna

• Leviathan-class predators — multiple species. Treat every shadow as a potential leviathan.
• Abyssal scavengers — passive, edible. Provide the late-game food source.

What you build here

The endgame base. Pressure-rated hulls (not standard ones) are mandatory. The reactor of choice is a thermal reactor on top of a deep vent — solar panels don’t function in the abyss.

Cross-band resources

A few materials span multiple bands:

• Titanium — universal, but the highest concentrations are in bands 1 and 2.
• Acid sacks — found in bands 1 and 2.
• Bones — ancient remains of large fauna, scattered across bands 2 and 3.
• Scrap metal — from human wrecks across bands 1–4.

The “find it fast” cheat sheet

If you’re missing a specific ingredient, here’s the fastest lookup:

You need	Go to	Depth	Notes
Titanium	Kelp forest	0–150 m	Infinite respawns
Copper	Kelp forest cliffs	0–150 m	Orange outcroppings
Quartz	Kelp caves	0–150 m	Transparent crystals
Acid sacks	Kelp gas pods	0–150 m	Hit with multi-tool
Silver	Silver caves NW	150–400 m	Cluster of small deposits
Lead	Sparse seafloor	150–400 m	Heavy grey rocks
Gold	Jellyshroom plateau	400–800 m	Small, valuable
Lithium	Vent caves	800–1,500 m	Blue-silver deposits
Sulphur	Vent mouths	800–1,500 m	Yellow-green crystals
Precursor alloy	Abyss ruins	1,500+ m	Inside precursor sites

Common issues and fixes

”I keep finding copper but no titanium”

You’re scanning the wrong terrain. Copper is on vertical surfaces (cliffs, walls). Titanium is on horizontal surfaces (seabed, cave floors). Move from cliffs to flat ground.

”I can’t find acid sacks”

Look for yellow gas pods specifically. They look like translucent yellow balloons clinging to kelp stalks. Hit them with the multi-tool. Don’t confuse them with regular glowing kelp bulbs.

”The mid-depth silver cave is empty”

Silver deposits respawn, but slowly. If a cave is empty, give it one in-game day and try again, or move to a different cave in the network.

”Lava shrooms aren’t dropping gene fragments”

You’re scanning with the wrong tool. Use the biology sampler, not the standard scanner. Creatures scanned with the scanner don’t yield gene fragments.

Hotfix 3 (2026-08-12) — what changed for resource hunters

The August 12, 2026 Hotfix 3 didn’t add new depth bands, but it changed two things that affect how you gather the materials above.

1. Hammerhead AI no longer chases Tadpole lights

Hammerheads were rebalanced in Hotfix 2 (2026-05-22) so they no longer get pulled out of their patrol path by your Tadpole vehicle’s headlight. Before that patch, you could not pass a silver cave network without the Hammerhead following you back to the surface. After Hotfix 2 and through Hotfix 3, the AI now treats the Tadpole as a non-prey object unless you’re moving aggressively. The practical effect: silver runs are now safe to solo at depth 150–400m with just the headlight on — no need to drag a decoy flashlight or hug cave walls to evade them. The Hammerhead still does a curiosity check when you stop, so don’t idle inside their territory.

2. New sulfur-arsenite vein clusters (band 4 only)

Hotfix 2 also added sulfur-arsenite vein clusters inside the deep thermal vent caves. These are distinct from the existing yellow-green sulfur deposits that ring the vent mouths — sulfur-arsenite is a deeper, blue-green crystal that only spawns inside cave walls past 1,100 m. You’ll need the high-pressure suit module before venturing for them. Sulfur-arsenite is used for the advanced vehicle plating tier and the precursor alloy upgrade path introduced in Hotfix 3. Treat sulfur-arsenite as a “find it once, plan a return trip” resource — vein clusters respawn, but only every 5 in-game days.

3. DLSS 4.5 crash on long dives

Hotfix 3 fixed a crash that triggered when you stayed submerged past 30 real-time minutes with DLSS 4.5 enabled in band 4 or 5. If your loadout runs DLSS, the crash is now resolved — you can stay underwater indefinitely. If you previously turned DLSS off to avoid the crash, turn it back on: the 8/12 patch removed the trigger.

4. Xbox Series X|S certification still pending

Hotfix 3 did not ship the Xbox Series X|S build. As of 2026-08-31, Subnautica 2 on Xbox is still in certification. The PC build is the EA reference; crossplay with Xbox will be enabled once the certification finishes (Unknown Worlds has not published a date — estimates from the Steam community hub are Q4 2026). Until then, PC players and Xbox players are in separate populations — invite friends on the same platform only.

5. Band 2 silver deposit density bump

Side effect of Hotfix 2 that’s not in the official notes: silver deposit density in band 2 cave networks (150–400 m) increased by roughly 30%. If you previously found a cave empty and gave up, return trips with Hotfix 3 applied are noticeably more productive. The silver cave network north-west of the lifepod is the most consistent farm — three dives there will load your inventory with silver for the rest of the EA run.

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Frequently asked questions

Q: Is there a single best resource to stockpile? A: Titanium. It is the most-used material in the entire game. Every base module, every tool, every oxygen tank requires it. If you’re ever unsure what to bring back from a dive, bring titanium.

Q: Does the depth band affect oxygen consumption? A: Indirectly. Deeper depths have higher pressure, which the suit interprets as faster oxygen drain. The actual oxygen depletion rate per second is biome-independent, but the effective drain rate increases with depth.

Q: Are there any materials that only spawn in one band? A: Yes — several. Lithium only spawns in vent caves (band 4). Void crystals only spawn in the deep abyss (band 5). Some precursor materials only spawn inside specific ruins.

Q: Do I need to explore the deep abyss to finish EA’s main story? A: No. EA’s story arc finishes inside band 4. The deep abyss is for endgame content and side exploration. You can finish the story without ever going below 1,500 m.

Next steps

• Gene Modification System — DNA, the gene tree, tier strategy
• Tools & Equipment Priority — what to build, in what order (coming soon)
• Underwater Base Building — site selection, power, layout (coming soon)
• Biomes & Dangerous Fauna — what each band is like, how to survive (coming soon)

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