Your oxygen capacity is always going to limit your exploration, and much of the progression in Subnautica 2 can be measured by how you expand your oxygen reservoirs and swimming speed, and hence your exploration range. Both of these are achieved largely by crafting new equipment and tools, and in the case of improving your oxygen supply from its base 45 seconds, fabricating a Standard Air Tank is a necessary first step. Before long, however, this expanded 75 second oxygen capacity will prove insufficient, but fortunately another upgrade awaits in the first biome for those who are willing to explore. This page will cover how to find the recipe for the High Capacity Oxygen Tank and how to craft it in Subnautica 2.
Page Breakdown¶
Look for a wrecked portion of the Cicada 280 meters south, southwest of the Lifepod.
Enter the Cicada ruins, turn left and search atop a console to find the blueprints for the High Capacity Air Tank.
High Capacity Air Tank Location¶
Unlike most tools, equipment is generally less fussy when it comes to getting their recipes - find one example out in the wild and you’ll be able to craft it. That said, there are often fewer of these bits of defunct equipment lying about for you to scan, so it balances out a bit. Before you go off searching for the blueprint to a High Capacity Air Tank, note that you may need to have already expanded your oxygen capacity by fabricating a Standard Air Tank. It’s a bit of a deep dive (at least for the first biome), so having some reserves may prove useful. Note, however, that you do NOT need the Scanner for this.
When you’re ready to brave the depths, swim south, southwest from the Lifepod. Your goal is a section of Cicada wreckage around 280 meters away, 90 meters under the water. You can find the Colonist Bunker (Unauthorized NOA Modification) built into the cliffs nearby (north, northwest of this wreckage) which has its own breathable atmosphere - a good staging point for exploring the Cicada ruins nearby.
Simply swim into the ruins, turn left and search for a case on a console you can find, which will yield this recipe. Simple!… assuming you know where to look and have the oxygen to reach it.
While the blueprint seems simple enough, you cannot craft a High Capacity Air Tank at the Lifepod’s fabricator.
Also for the Plasteel Ingot you need a Processor, which requires you to build a base.
Crafting a High Capacity Air Tank¶
Alas, actually building a High Capacity Air Tank is a bit more work, as you cannot craft it at your Lifepod’s Fabricator. For this bit of handiwork you’ll need a full Fabricator, which means you’ll need to build a base of your own, which in turn requires you to craft a Habitat Builder. This requires a fair bit of Titanium, and we encourage you to check out the linked pages for more information on how to achieve both of these goals. Finally you will also need the Standard Air Tank, as it’s one of the components required to craft the High Capacity Air Tank.
As for the recipe itself, it’s deceptively simple: in addition to the aforementioned Standard Air Tank, you need a Plasteel Ingot. The catch? There is no such thing as naturally-occuring Plasteel, nor do natural minerals tend to organize themselves helpfully into ingots. Plasteel Ingots are man-made alloys of 2x Titanium and 1x Lithium, and you’ll need the Processor to craft these ingots.
(1 of 3) If you need some Lithium, search south, southwest of the Cicada ruins where you found the blueprint.
Check out the linked page for information on getting a Processor (hint: you’ll need a base for this, too). [Lithium] is also worth discussing, as it’s somewhat rare in the starting biome, being much more common in the geothermal vent biome, where, like Copper, it’s often found in caves… albeit ones much deeper than the sort typically found in the starting biome. Fortunately you can find some limited Lithium deposits in the first biome - in fact you should find some on an artificial platform (actually a Tailing Table, which you can scan if you want some more decoration options for your base) just southeast of the same Cicada wreckage where you found the blueprint for the High Capacity Air Tank.
If you need more, swim south, southeast of the wreckage and you’ll find a massive valved orb structure - actually a clam-like creature called a “Great Jaw”. This is roughly 350 meters south, southwest of the Lifepod, around 80 meters under water. In the midst of this creature is a pod, which contains several Lithium deposits. Just be careful, as your oxygen efficiency will decrease near this pod unless you have a Rebreather (consuming two oxygen per second instead of the standard one), and if you disturb the filaments spanning the openings in this pod the Great Jaw will close… ponderously, but you can still drown if you don’t have enough oxygen and a Rebreather. Best to quickly dart in, grab a Lithium deposit, and retreat.
Create the Plasteel Ingot when you have the Processor and the required ore, then upgrade your Standard Air Tank into a High Capacity Air Tank and enjoy having 120 seconds of oxygen capacity!
No Comments