How to Build a Scanner Station & Track Materials in Subnautica 2

TL;DR

• Scan a broken Scanner Station at Camp One (~240 meters northeast of the Lifepod) to unlock the blueprint.
• Build the Scanner Station inside a base room using the Habitat Builder.
• Recipe: 3x Titanium, 1x Wiring Kit, 1x System Chip.
• The Scanner Station tracks all ores, plants, wrecks, Bloom Infestations, and Anomalies within a 300-meter radius.
• Interact with the hologram, click a resource node sphere to tag it, and a waypoint appears on your HUD.
• It uses 10 energy per second while active — make sure your base has enough power before switching it on.
• One station tracks one resource type at a time. Changing resources removes the previous tags.

The Scanner Station is one of the most useful base modules in Subnautica 2. Once built, it turns resource hunting from a guessing game into a directed search. Instead of swimming in circles hoping to stumble on Silver or Necrolei Cysts, you select what you need from the station and it shows you exactly where to swim. For anything you farm repeatedly — Titanium, Quartz, Silver, Fibrous Pulp — this is a massive time saver.

This guide walks you through finding the blueprint, gathering every material needed, building it, and using it to its full potential. Not yet set up with a base? Start with our guide on how to unlock the Habitat Builder and start building a base first.

What Does the Scanner Station Do?

The Scanner Station is a base-mounted radar system. Once powered and activated, it scans a 300-meter radius around the station — a 600-meter wide sphere of coverage — and displays the location of every resource node, plant, wreck, Bloom Infestation, and Anomaly within that range.

You interact with a 3D holographic map projected from the station podium. The map shows three rings representing 100, 200, and 300 meter distances from the station. Small glowing spheres on the map represent individual resource deposits. Click on any sphere in the hologram to tag it, and a waypoint icon appears on your HUD while you are out exploring. Aim at the icon and it shows you the resource type and your distance to it.

The waypoint vanishes when you are within 20 meters — close enough that you can find the node yourself. It is not a perfect pin, but narrowing any resource down to a 20-meter search area is a dramatic improvement over swimming blind.

Beyond raw ores, the Scanner Station can also locate:

• Alterra Bases and colony ruins
• Cicada Wrecks
• Bloom Infestations
• Anomalies

This makes it useful not just for resource farming but also for finding story-relevant locations and blueprint-rich ruins you may have missed.

Step 1: Find and Scan the Scanner Station Fragment

You need to scan one broken Scanner Station to unlock its blueprint. There are multiple fragments scattered around the map, but the easiest and closest one is inside Camp One, located roughly 240 meters northeast of the Lifepod.

To reach it:

1. Float directly beneath the Lifepod and face northeast — keep your compass on the 60-degree marker.
2. Swim in a straight line for approximately 240 meters.
3. Look down to find Camp One — a long series of connected corridors, a ruined colonist settlement on the seafloor.
4. Enter Camp One through the hatch near the seafloor level.
5. Swim upward through the vertical corridor inside the structure.
6. Find the tilted room — it is rotated almost 80 degrees on its axis. The Scanner Station fragment is attached to the floor inside this room.
7. Equip your Scanner and scan the fragment. Blueprint unlocked.

Camp One is also an excellent scanning destination in general. It contains fragments for multiple tools and base pieces. Scan everything you can find on the walls, floors, and ceilings while you are there. Every scan is a potential new recipe unlock. Our guide on how to unlock blueprints and crafting recipes explains the full scanning system in detail.

Make sure your handheld Scanner has battery charge before heading out. If it runs low, swap in a fresh Basic Battery using R to open the recharge menu. Our guide on how to craft and use the Scanner covers battery management.

Step 2: Gather the Scanner Station Materials

The Scanner Station recipe requires three materials: Titanium, a Wiring Kit, and a System Chip. Here is the full breakdown of everything you need to gather and craft.

Titanium x3

Raw Titanium is common throughout the starting biome — on the seafloor, in caves, and around rocky formations near the Lifepod. Three pieces is a very small amount and should already be in your base storage from early resource runs. See our guide on how to get Titanium if you need more.

Wiring Kit x1

Craft the Wiring Kit at the Fabricator using:

• Silver x1 — Found in caves roughly 200 meters north of the Lifepod. See our Silver guide for exact cave locations.
• Copper Wire x1 — Craft at the Fabricator using 2x Copper Ore. Copper is found in caves throughout the starting area and is very common.

Silver is the only ingredient here that takes a dedicated trip. Once you have it, the Wiring Kit comes together at the Fabricator in seconds. Wiring Kits are also used in many other recipes — the Wakemaker, Scanner Station, and several electronics chains — so crafting extra is never wasted.

System Chip x1

Craft the System Chip at the Fabricator using:

• Wiring Kit x1 — Yes, a second Wiring Kit. The System Chip requires its own Wiring Kit on top of the one used directly in the Scanner Station recipe.
• Quartz x2 — Found inside Coral Domes throughout the shallow starting biome. The Spider Dome (~220 meters southwest of the Lifepod) has nearly 100 Quartz nodes in a single run. See our Quartz guide for the fastest locations.

In total, building the Scanner Station requires two Wiring Kits — one for the System Chip and one for the station itself. Plan accordingly and gather enough Silver and Copper before your crafting session. Here is the full raw material list to gather before you start:

• Titanium x3
• Silver x2
• Copper Ore x4 (for 2x Copper Wire, which makes 2x Wiring Kits)
• Quartz x2

Step 3: Build the Scanner Station

Once all materials are ready, craft the Wiring Kits and System Chip at the Fabricator, then follow these steps:

1. Enter your base and equip the Habitat Builder.
2. Open the build menu and navigate to Habitat Systems.
3. Select the Scanner Station and place it inside a room in your base. It must be placed inside a room compartment — it cannot be placed in corridors or outside the base structure.
4. The station will anchor to the floor and power up once your base has sufficient energy.

The Scanner Station itself does not need to be placed in a specific location within your base, but positioning your base thoughtfully matters. A base placed centrally within your most-farmed resource zone gets the most coverage from the 300-meter radius. Build it near Coral Dome clusters, Silver caves, or wherever you farm most often for the best return.

Step 4: Power the Scanner Station

This is the part that trips players up most often. The Scanner Station draws 10 energy per second while active. That is a significant power demand — more than the Processor, which also draws 10 energy but only when processing a batch.

Before you switch on the Scanner Station, check your base power output. A small starter base with two or three Solar Panels will be significantly drained by the station running at full. At night, when Solar Panels produce near zero power, turning on the Scanner Station could cut power to your base entirely — including the life support that keeps oxygen flowing inside your rooms.

Recommended power setup before running the Scanner Station actively:

• Multiple Solar Panels — add several to the roof of your base if you plan to use the station frequently during the day.
• Hydroelectric Turbines in nearby ocean currents — far more consistent than solar and generate power day and night. These become available later but are worth prioritising. Connect them via Power Transmitters.

The station only draws power while you are actively using it — it does not drain power passively when idle. So you can safely leave it built without it hurting your base power budget. Only switch it on when you need it, and only when your power surplus can absorb the draw. For base power setup tips, see our guide on what to build in your base first.

Step 5: How to Use the Scanner Station

With the Scanner Station powered and built, here is exactly how to use it:

1. Walk up to the Scanner Station podium and select the “Use Scanner Station” prompt.
2. A 3D holographic map projects above the station. The central sphere represents your base. Three rings around it mark 100, 200, and 300 meter distances.
3. Select a resource type from the list. The map populates with small glowing spheres showing every available deposit of that resource within 300 meters.
4. To tag a specific node, interact with one of the glowing spheres on the hologram. The sphere glows yellow to confirm it is tagged.
5. Exit the station and head out diving. The tagged resource now appears as a bullseye icon on your HUD while you swim.
6. Aim at the icon to see the resource type and your distance to it. The icon disappears when you are within 20 meters — close enough to find it manually from there.

You can tag multiple nodes of the same resource type at once — click several spheres on the hologram before leaving your base. All tagged nodes will show as waypoints simultaneously while you explore.

Important Limitations to Know

• One resource type at a time. The Scanner Station tracks one type of resource per session. If you change the selected resource, all previous tags disappear. Plan your run before switching.
• 300-meter range only. Deposits outside that radius are not shown. As you push further from your base into new biomes, consider building a second outpost base with its own Scanner Station to extend coverage.
• The icon vanishes at 20 meters. This is intentional — you still have to do a small manual search to find the exact node. The system directs you to within arm’s reach but does not do the last step for you.
• Multiple stations are not worth it early. Building two Scanner Stations in the same base to track different resources simultaneously is theoretically possible, but the combined 20 energy per second draw will collapse most early base power grids instantly. Stick to one station and change the target as needed.
• Signals can be toggled. You can manage and toggle your active Scanner Station resource markers in the main Signals menu while out exploring.

What Can the Scanner Station Track?

The resource list shown in the Scanner Station only includes materials that are actually present within its 300-meter range. If something is not in the list, it simply is not nearby. As you explore new areas and discover new resource types, those will appear in the station menu once they are within range. Here are the main categories the Scanner Station covers:

• Ores and minerals — Titanium, Copper, Silver, Quartz, Lead, Lithium, and more. Any ore you have discovered and are within 300 meters of will show up.
• Plants and biological resources — Fibrous Pulp plants, Necrolei Cysts, Lucifer Rotsac, and other harvestable flora.
• Wrecks — Cicada Wreck sections and other structural debris on the seafloor.
• Alterra Bases — Colony ruins and abandoned outposts with scannable blueprints inside.
• Bloom Infestations — Active Bloom zones near your base that need to be cleared.
• Anomalies — Story and exploration-relevant locations.

Best Resources to Track First

When you first get the Scanner Station running, here is a priority order for what to track based on early game needs:

• Silver — Hard to find by swimming blind. The Scanner Station makes Silver cave hunting dramatically faster. See our Silver guide for more.
• Necrolei Cyst — You need a steady supply for Strong Acid crafting. Tracking cyst locations saves repeated trips to the jellyfish forest.
• Quartz — Constant demand for Glass and System Chips. Tracking it in bulk saves time as your base expands. Our Quartz guide covers all farming locations.
• Titanium — You always need more. Having the Scanner Station point you to nearby large Titanium deposits makes stock management effortless. See our Titanium guide for the best deposit zones.
• Alterra Bases — Tracking ruins helps you find scannable blueprints you may have missed during early exploration.

Scanner Station Placement Tips

• Build your base centrally within your farming zone. A base placed near the dense Coral Dome clusters to the northwest, or near the Silver caves to the north, gets better return from the 300-meter radius than one built in an empty area.
• Use multiple outpost bases in the mid-game. As you push further into the map, a small secondary base with its own Scanner Station at a new location extends radar coverage into new biomes without having to move your main base.
• Power your base properly before activating it. Add Solar Panels or connect Hydroelectric Turbines before relying on the station heavily. A dead base with no oxygen is worse than no Scanner Station at all.
• Tag several nodes before leaving. The hologram is only accessible from the station. Tag as many nodes as you want before heading out so you have multiple waypoints active during your dive.

Summary: How to Build the Scanner Station

1. Swim 240 meters northeast from the Lifepod to Camp One. Enter through the seafloor hatch, swim up the vertical corridor, and scan the broken Scanner Station fragment in the tilted room.
2. Gather 3x Titanium, 2x Silver, 4x Copper Ore, and 2x Quartz.
3. Craft 2x Copper Wire, 2x Wiring Kit, and 1x System Chip at the Fabricator.
4. Use the Habitat Builder inside your base room to place the Scanner Station.
5. Ensure your base has enough power — the station draws 10 energy per second while active.
6. Interact with the podium, select a resource from the list, click spheres on the hologram to tag them, and head out diving with waypoints on your HUD.

The Scanner Station is one of the cleanest quality-of-life upgrades in the game. Every resource run becomes faster and more deliberate once you have it running. Stop swimming in circles and start mining with purpose.

For more help with base building and resource progression, check our guides on how to get Fiber and Fibrous Pulp, how to get Rubber, how to harvest large resource nodes, best early upgrades and progression path, and our full Subnautica 2 co-op multiplayer guide. Grab the game on Steam or Xbox Game Pass.