TL;DR
- Improved Fins increase your swimming speed by 1m/s and equip to the feet slot.
- You need to scan 3 blueprint fragments to unlock the crafting recipe.
- All three fragments are located near the large alien tower, roughly 1,300 meters east of the Lifepod.
- The third fragment is past 250 meters deep — prepare your oxygen and depth gear.
- Craft at the Fabricator using 1x Basic Fins, 1x Fiber Mesh, and 2x Conduit Crystal.
Improved Fins are one of the best early movement upgrades in Subnautica 2. They boost your swim speed, help you cover ground faster, and make escaping danger much easier. The catch is that the blueprint is not handed to you. You have to find all three fragments yourself, and they sit in a more dangerous part of the map. This guide walks you through every location and how to craft them once you are back at base.
What Are Improved Fins in Subnautica 2?
Improved Fins are a piece of equipment that you wear in your feet slot. They give you a direct swimming speed increase of 1m/s over your base movement. That might sound small, but it makes a noticeable difference during long dives, resource runs, and creature encounters.
They are a step up from Basic Fins, which you likely already have. Unlike Basic Fins, Improved Fins are not unlocked from the start. You need to scan three blueprint fragments before the recipe becomes available. To go even faster after getting these, see our full guide on how to swim faster in Subnautica 2.
What You Need Before Going
The fragment locations are in the mid-game eastern region. Going unprepared is a waste of a trip. Make sure you have the following before heading out:
- Tadpole submarine – The area is roughly 1,300 meters east of the Lifepod. Riding there is much faster and safer than swimming the whole way. Check our guide on how to build a Tadpole if you have not done so yet.
- Good oxygen setup – The third fragment is past 250 meters deep. Make sure your oxygen can handle that. See how to increase oxygen if you need more dive time.
- Depth module for the Tadpole – You may need to park your Tadpole and swim the last stretch manually if you have not upgraded it yet. See how to go deeper with the Tadpole Depth Module.
- Flashlight – The deeper sections and abandoned areas get dark. Bring it. Here are all the Flashlight blueprint locations if you still need one.
- Food and water – It is a long trip through more aggressive territory. Stock up. Check our best early food sources guide to stay topped off.
- Scanner – You need this to scan all three fragments. See how to craft the Scanner if you do not have one. Once you are in the second region, consider also grabbing the Bioscanner while you are out there.
Where to Find All 3 Improved Fins Blueprint Fragments
All three Improved Fins blueprint fragments are in the eastern region near the massive alien tower. You need to scan all three to fully unlock the crafting recipe.
Fragment 1 – Below the Alien Tower Abandoned Area
Head roughly 1,300 meters east of the Lifepod. Your target is the large alien tower structure in this region. You will know you are in the right area because the tower dominates the skyline.
Near the tower, you will spot an abandoned underwater area. Do not enter the main structure. Instead, look slightly below the surface level of the abandoned zone. Swim downward along the outside edge. The first Improved Fins fragment is on a table in that underwater section, just below the tower-side ruins. Scan it to collect the first blueprint piece.
Fragment 2 – Inside the Abandoned Complex
After scanning the first fragment, stay in the same area. Move through the nearby passage in the abandoned complex and continue straight ahead. The second fragment is very close to the first. It sits inside a small basket-like container in the connected section. Scan it to collect the second blueprint piece.
These two are close enough together that you can grab both in one quick pass if you move efficiently.
Fragment 3 – Deeper to the Northeast
From the second fragment location, head northeast and keep swimming in that direction. This is where the route gets more serious. The third Improved Fins fragment is on an alien structure in deeper water, past the 250-meter mark.
If your Tadpole does not have a depth module yet, you will need to park it and swim down manually. Plan your oxygen carefully for this section. Once you spot the alien structure in the deeper northeast zone, search it for the final fragment and scan it. That completes the blueprint unlock.
There may be more scannable Improved Fins fragments out in the world, but these three are the closest together and most reliable to find in one trip.
How to Craft Improved Fins
Once all three fragments are scanned, the Improved Fins recipe becomes available at your Fabricator. Here is the full crafting recipe:
Improved Fins Crafting Recipe
- 1x Basic Fins – Your existing Basic Fins are used as the base. Craft these first if you do not have them.
- 1x Fiber Mesh – Crafted at the Fabricator from Fibrous Pulp. See our guide on how to get Fiber and Fibrous Pulp.
- 2x Conduit Crystal – Found near the Alien Power Plant in the far eastern region. These grow near corrupted Rockbore and Angel Comb areas.
Go to your Fabricator, open the equipment tab, and craft the Improved Fins once you have all three materials. Then equip them in your feet slot to replace your Basic Fins.
Where to Get Basic Fins
Basic Fins are craftable at the Fabricator from the start. They require 2x Rubber. Rubber comes from Lucifer Rotsac plants found near the seafloor around your Lifepod. Check our guide on how to get Rubber from Lucifer Rotsac for more help.
Where to Get Fiber Mesh
Fiber Mesh is crafted from Fibrous Pulp at the Fabricator. Fibrous Pulp comes from several underwater plants including Macaron Sponge, Freesia Flower, Fern Kelp, and Tallshroom. Our full guide on how to get Fiber and Fibrous Pulp covers all the best locations.
Where to Get Conduit Crystal
Conduit Crystal only grows in the far eastern region near the Alien Power Plant. These look like kelp-type growths and tend to spawn near corrupted Rockbore formations and Angel Comb areas. Each deposit usually drops just one unit, so comb the area carefully and plan to gather enough for future upgrades too. The Conduit Crystal you farm here is the same material needed for the Angel Comb puzzle and other alien-tier upgrades.
Do You Need a Processor for Improved Fins?
Some guides mention needing a Processor for the materials. This is because Fiber Mesh requires Fibrous Pulp, and some players need the Processor to convert raw materials elsewhere in their build. The Improved Fins recipe itself is crafted purely at the Fabricator. But if your crafting chain is incomplete, see our guide on how to build a Processor and craft ingots to fill in any gaps.
Tips for Getting Improved Fins
- All three fragments are close enough together that you can grab all of them in a single trip if you plan the route properly.
- Bring extra inventory space. You will pass through resource-rich areas on the way. See how to increase inventory space before you go.
- The eastern region has more aggressive creatures. Move with purpose and do not linger.
- If you are heading this far east, consider picking up the Bioscanner blueprint in the same trip. It is also in this region. Our guide on how to get the Bioscanner has the exact location.
- Farm extra Conduit Crystal while you are there. It is used for other upgrades like the Bioscanner and the Feedback Resonator, so picking up more saves you a return trip.
- After crafting, remember to actually equip the Improved Fins in your feet slot. They do nothing sitting in your inventory.
Are Improved Fins Worth Getting?
Yes, without question. The +1m/s swimming speed boost might sound minor on paper, but in practice it changes how the whole game feels. You reach resources faster, you escape threats more reliably, and long cross-map swims feel less punishing. The fact that the recipe uses your existing Basic Fins also means you are not building from scratch — it is a genuine upgrade in the truest sense.
If you are still setting up your base and want to know what else to prioritize, check out the best early upgrades and progression path and what to build in your base first.
Subnautica 2 is currently in early access on Steam and Xbox Game Preview. Fragment and resource placements may shift slightly as the game updates, but the general eastern alien tower area has remained consistent across the current early access build.
