Subnautica 2 Vehicle Fabricator — Recipe & What It Builds
Subnautica 2 Vehicle Fabricator: the base station that builds the Tadpole, its chassis and the future Trident. Recipe: Titanium Ingot ×2, Copper Ingot, Glass ×2.
Last updated: 2026-06-23
What is the Vehicle Fabricator?
The Vehicle Fabricator is a base station that assembles raw resources into vehicles and chassis. It's where you build your first Tadpole — no Vehicle Fabricator means no vehicle, so it's the key early step out of "swimming everywhere by hand."
💡 It has a different job from the Modification Station: the Vehicle Fabricator builds the vehicle body and chassis, while the Modification Station installs upgrades onto a finished vehicle. Build both and your Tadpole is complete.
How to build it
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Build tool | Habitat Builder |
| Materials | Titanium Ingot ×2 + Copper Ingot ×1 + Glass ×2 |
| Requires | Placed inside a base room (takes a wall/floor slot) |
The cost is light — Titanium Ingot, Copper Ingot and Glass are all easy to produce early. Build one as soon as you can and get the Tadpole in the water; it's an immediate step up in exploration range. See the Base Building guide.
What you can build here
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Tadpole | The core single-seat submersible — your main vehicle throughout |
| Tadpole Haul Chassis | Dockable passenger/cargo chassis for more capacity |
| Scout Ray Chassis | High-speed chassis tuned for acceleration and handling |
| Seafrog Chassis | Another Tadpole chassis variant |
| Trident | The large multi-crew submarine — not yet in Early Access, coming in a later update |
In short, the Tadpole body and its three chassis are all crafted here, and you swap chassis to suit the job (Haul for capacity, Scout Ray for speed, Seafrog for its own profile). For each recipe and the depth modules, see the Tadpole guide.
Placement & usage tips
Put the Vehicle Fabricator near a docking station / moonpool so a new build drops straight into the water with no ferrying. Keep it in the same base as your Modification Station for a smooth "build vehicle → install upgrades" loop. It needs base power to work — see the Base Power guide for setups.
Vehicle Fabricator vs Fabricator: these are two different stations. The plain Fabricator makes handheld tools, food and materials; the Vehicle Fabricator only builds vehicles and their chassis. If a Tadpole or chassis recipe isn't showing up, make sure you're at the Vehicle Fabricator and not the regular Fabricator — established bases usually keep both.
FAQ
Q: How do I build the Vehicle Fabricator?
A: With the Habitat Builder — Titanium Ingot ×2 + Copper Ingot + Glass ×2, placed inside a base room.
Q: What can it build?
A: The Tadpole body, its Haul / Scout Ray / Seafrog chassis, and the future Trident.
Q: How is it different from the Modification Station?
A: The Vehicle Fabricator builds vehicle bodies and chassis; the Modification Station installs upgrades like depth modules onto them.
Q: Can I build the Trident now?
A: No — the Trident is only placeholder data in the current Early Access build; it opens up in a later update.
Q: Where should I place it?
A: Near a docking station / moonpool so vehicles deploy straight away, and make sure the base has steady power.
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