The Handheld Scanner is one of the most essential items in Subnautica as it is required in order to unlock blueprints for other items. Now is also a good time to gather materials for the Flashlight.
There are a few new ingredients needed for these tools, indicated in bold in this list.
First, the new intermediary products required for these tools:
- Battery (2x Acid Mushroom + 1x Copper Ore)
- Glass (2x Quartz)
Here are the tools we’ll be constructing:
- Scanner (1x Battery + 1x Titanium)
- Flashlight (1x Battery + 1x Glass)
Finding Copper Ore
Copper Ore can be obtained by breaking open Limestone Outcrops, which can be found in the area around your Lifepod.
Finding Acid Mushrooms
These are extremely easy to find all around the Lifepod, so only pick what you need and don’t bother storing any extras in your inventory.
Fabricate Batteries
Once you’ve obtained the Copper and Acid Mushrooms, you can make batteries that will be needed in the construction of your Scanner and Flashlight. Again, each Battery requires 1x Copper Ore and 2x Acid Mushrooms.
Fabricate the Scanner
Once you’ve found at least 1 Titanium and enough Copper and Acid Mushrooms for 1x Battery, fabricate your Scanner immediately because you need it to scan item fragments in order to unlock more Blueprints.
More on that in the next chapter, for now let’s move on to building your Flashlight.
Finding Quartz
Quartz deposits are also easily found in the area surrounding your Lifepod. The inside of nearby caves and very large Tube Coral tubes can be good places to look for Quartz, but watch out for Crashfish. You’ll need 2x Quartz in order to make the Glass needed for your Flashlight.
Fabricate 1x Glass
Once you have 2x Quartz you can convert them into 1x Glass to make your flashlight.
Fabricate the Flashlight
Once you’ve fabricated 1x Glass and 1x Battery, go ahead and combine them to fabricate your Flashlight.
Although not as critical as the Scanner, the Flashlight is also very important as it’ll allow you to gather materials at night and in dark places.
With these two important tools in hand, it’s time to move on to building some more exciting items, the Seaglide and the Grav Trap.