The Tadpole is most likely the first vehicle you’ll get in Subnautica 2, provided you find the locations of every Fragment and build it.
It is essentially a compact single-user submarine. While it requires a lot of effort to make, it makes exploring the vast oceans infinitely easier than just swimming everywhere!
In this guide, I’ll tell you how to get this handy vehicle for yourself.
How to Find Tadpole Fragments
Fragment 1
For the very first Tadpole Fragment, you’ll need to go about 400m directly north of the starting Lifepod location. Dive deep down once you’re that far away and you should see an underground ruined facility.
To find the Tadpole Fragment here, just go a bit northwest of the facility itself. You’ll find the fragment on the sea floor there, so just use your Scanner to scan it. The video below shows how to find it easily.
Fragment 2
For the next fragment, you’ll need to go about 215m south of the Lifepod. Once you get there, dive down and you should see a huge chasm below you.
Dive into the chasm and try to look for a red light, which signals the location of a circular hatch to enter an underwater habitat. Once you spot it, swim right in!
When you get inside of the habitat, just scan the handlebar on the shelf to your left to get another Tadpole Fragment. As before, the next video shows how to find this one easily.
Fragment 3
For the third and final fragment, start in the same habitat as the one from the second fragment. Just exit and swim straight ahead, going south. You should spot another chasm you can dive into there.
As before, find the chasm and dive into it. You’ll find the Tadpole Fragment stuck on the ground there, right in front of the massive clam-like coral structure.
Now, oxygen can be a problem here, so do keep an eye on how much you have left. Do note there are also plants nearby that you can use to get some extra air!
Regardless, the video below shows where to find this Tadpole Fragment.
How to Build the Tadpole

So, you’ve found all 3 Tadpole Fragments… but how do you actually build the Tadpole itself? Well, that’s where things get a tad more complicated, as you’ll need to have built the following:
- Room – A basic room made with 5 Titanium. You need one that’s decently large, or at least large enough.
- Moonpool – Used to enter and exit a habitat with the Tadpole, it’s also built with 5 Titanium. Your room needs to be large enough to fit this.
- Tadpole Dock – Built with 2 Titanium Ingots, 1 Silver Ingot, and 2 Copper Wire. Used to recharge the Tadpole while it’s docked.
- Vehicle Fabricator – Built with 2 Titanium Ingots, 1 Copper Ingot, and 2 Glass. Used to make the Tadpole itself, as well as other vehicles.

Once you have everything set in place, and I know that’s easier said than done, you can finally make the Tadpole itself. Use the Vehicle Fabricator to make it with 2 Titanium Ingots, 1 Glass, 1 System Chip, and 1 Power Cell.
So, there you have it! That’s all you need to be able to make your very own Tadpole in Subnautica 2, including easy locations to get all 3 Fragments.
Are you finding it hard to swim to all of these Tadpole Fragments as is? Well, you can speed things up with the right tool! For details, check out our guide on how to get the Wakemaker.

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