Biomods

Subnautica 2's Biomods are swappable abilities chosen at a Biolab, 5 active and 10 passive on the launch build, four of them known from the start and the rest unlocked by scanning creatures with the Bioscanner. Update 1.1 added two Biolabs and passive slots earned by scan counts, and Early Access 2 (December 2026) moves Dash to the Fins and adds new Biomods.

7:57 Subnautica 2's Biomods are abilities learned from the planet's creatures and swapped at a Biolab: on the launch build there were 15, five active (pressed to use, with a cooldown) and ten passive (always on), and the player could equip one of each at a time (TheGamer, May 22, 2026). Dash, Pathfinder, Sea Skimmer and Oxygen Control are available from the start; the others unlock by scanning a listed creature with the Bioscanner, an upgraded Scanner. Update 1.1 (Jul 8, 2026) added two Biolabs, raised the Biomods unlockable from Biolabs from four to six, and made extra passive slots unlock as the Bioscan count grows. Unlike Adaptations, Biomods can be changed at any Biolab. Effects below are from guides on the launch build and may have been tuned since. The clip is Kysen's May 14, 2026 guide, on the launch build, powering the Welcome Center's Biolab and trying all four starting Biomods.

Quick facts

Count (launch build)	15: 5 active, 10 passive (TheGamer, May 22, 2026)
From the start	Dash, Pathfinder (active); Sea Skimmer, Oxygen Control (passive)
Unlock the rest	Scan the listed creature with the Bioscanner (a plain scan does not count)
Where to equip	A Biolab: Welcome Center; since 1.1 also Coral Gardens and Axum Ruins; or build one
Slots	Launch: one active, one passive; since 1.1 more passive slots unlock by number of Bioscans
Creative mode	All Biomods unlocked (since 1.1)
Next	Early Access 2, December 2026: new Biomods; Dash moves to the Fins

Sources: TheGamer, May 22, 2026; TheGamer stats guide, May 20, 2026; Unknown Worlds, Jul 8, 2026; Unknown Worlds, Nov 3, 2026; GamingBolt, Oct 15, 2026.

Active Biomods

Biomod	What it does	Unlock
Dash	A quick burst of about 12 m; 5-second cooldown	From the start
Pathfinder	Leaves a pheromone trail to follow back out of caves	From the start
Sonic Echo	A sonar ping that shows nearby ore (not food or plants)	Bioscan the Collector Leviathan
Chum Cloud	Releases bait that lures and distracts predators; 20-second cooldown	Bioscan the Toxic Sponge or the Houndgar
Electric Discharge	An 800-volt shock that drives off nearby creatures	Bioscan the Electric Geordie (deep, past the Alien Ruins)

Source: Game Rant (Mehrdad Khayyat), May 20, 2026, the launch build; unlock creatures agree with TheGamer, May 22, 2026.

Game Rant notes that reaching the Electric Geordie takes the Alien Ruins and a depth module on the Tadpole. Scanning the Collector Leviathan for Sonic Echo means getting close to the most dangerous creature in the game; see its page before trying.

Passive Biomods

Biomod	What it does	Unlock
Sea Skimmer	Faster swimming near the seafloor	From the start
Oxygen Control	Less oxygen used while still (Game Rant: 1 unit every 4 seconds)	From the start
Bioluminescence	The diver glows: a light with no battery	Bioscan the Sandspear or the Electric Geordie
Homing Sense	Points toward nearby powered bases	Bioscan the Surge Jelly or the Hammerhead
Water Retention	In-game text: more water from sources; Game Rant found it slows thirst instead	Bioscan the Coral Crab
Camouflage	Hides the diver from predators while still	Bioscan the Bullethead
Threat Sense	A sound cue for hostile creatures nearby, even unseen	Bioscan the Hoverthorn
Dermal Garden	Grows algae on the skin: +5 food every 210 seconds	Bioscan the Needler Mango
Slow Metabolism	Slows hunger	Bioscan the Nibbler Mango
Water Secretion	Filters seawater: +5 water every 150 seconds	Bioscan the Water Slug

Sources: Game Rant (Mehrdad Khayyat), May 20, 2026; TheGamer (Kaitlyn Peterson), May 20, 2026; both on the launch build.

15:34 Where two creatures are listed, Game Rant says to scan both and TheGamer either one; scanning both settles it. Patch notes have changed two of these: 1.1 fixed Camouflage not working while still on the water's surface or attached to a Tadpole, and 1.2 stopped Camouflage from making the Collector Leviathan release a player it had caught. Water Secretion and Dermal Garden are the passive picks that cut trips for food and water. Lucky Ghost's May 14, 2026 video, on the launch build, shows Water Retention doing what its text says, a 40-point Water filling 80, and Slow Metabolism halving the hunger drain to one point every 40 seconds instead of 20.

Biolabs

1:02 A Biolab is where Biomods are equipped and swapped. The first is in the Welcome Center, about 85 m southeast of the Lifepod: put a Basic Battery in its wall panel to power it and the NOA there (Destructoid, May 14, 2026). Game Rant's oxygen guide recommends doing this early to get Oxygen Control and Dash (May 14, 2026). Update 1.1 added two more Biolabs, one in Coral Gardens and one in Axum Ruins, and badges for newly unlocked items in the Biolab. A base Biolab costs Titanium x3, Copper Wire x1 and Mild Acid x1 with the Habitat Builder (Destructoid, May 16, 2026). IzPrebuilt's May 14, 2026 video, on the launch build, crafts that battery at the Lifepod Fabricator first, and notes the choice is never permanent: Biomods can be swapped at the Biolab at any time.

What 1.1 changed

0:40 Adaptive Measures (Jul 8, 2026) "smoothed out Biomod progression throughout the early game":

Two more Biolabs (Coral Gardens, Axum Ruins).
Six Biomods can be unlocked from Biolabs around the world, up from four.
Extra passive Biomod slots unlock by scanning creatures with the Bioscanner, and the Biolab shows how many scans each slot needs and the total so far.
Creative mode unlocks every Biomod.
Biomod recipes can be unpinned again, and saves keep Biomods unlocked before the update.

2:14 Unknown Worlds did not list which six Biomods the Biolabs give or how many scans each slot needs, and no guide read for this page has published either since (as of Nov 4, 2026). TheGamer's "one active and one passive" describes the launch build; with 1.1 a player can run more than one passive. More on the update: Adaptive Measures Update. Spyro ZA's Jul 10, 2026 video, on 1.1, finds the two new Biolabs at Camp One near the start and at a forward base just past the Axum Observatory, and says plants count toward the Bioscan total as well as creatures.

The Bioscanner

14:39 Biomod scans must be made with the Bioscanner: a plain Scanner scan does not count, and creatures scanned earlier must be scanned again (TheGamer, May 20, 2026; Game Rant, May 16, 2026). It is a Scanner upgraded at the Modification Station with two Enameled Glass and three Conduit Crystals, from a blueprint in a crashed base about 540 m at 125 degrees from the Alien Ruins, so every Biomod beyond the starting four comes late. Details: Tools and Modifications. gameranx's May 16, 2026 video, on the launch build, calls the Conduit Crystals the main bottleneck and found them around the giant purple roots that link the Angel Combs, at about 250 m or deeper.

Early Access 2: Dash to the Fins and new Biomods

1:21 Unknown Worlds' Nov 3, 2026 post promises "the biomods and chassis introduced in this update", due with Early Access 2 in December 2026, without naming them. In the Oct 15, 2026 vlog Creative Director Anthony Gallegos said Dash moves to the Fins, so it no longer takes a Biomod slot (GamingBolt, Oct 15, 2026). See Early Access 2 and Equipment.

Unconfirmed: datamined Biomods

Dexerto's Biomod index lists many more Biomods tagged "Deprecated" in the game's files, such as Aerated Feast, Hypnotize and Roar, and negative ones such as Hemophiliac and Small Stomach, with "Genome Point" costs (Dexerto, May 18, 2026). None is in the game, no patch note names them, and they may never appear. They are not part of the lists above.

Frequently asked questions

How many Biomods are in Subnautica 2? 15 on the launch build (5 active, 10 passive), per TheGamer's May 22, 2026 guide. Early Access 2 in December 2026 adds new ones that Unknown Worlds has not named yet.

How do I unlock Biomods in Subnautica 2? Scan the listed creature with the Bioscanner (for example the Water Slug for Water Secretion), then equip the Biomod at a Biolab. Dash, Pathfinder, Sea Skimmer and Oxygen Control are available from the start.

Where is the first Biolab in Subnautica 2? In the Welcome Center about 85 m southeast of the Lifepod; power it with a Basic Battery in the wall panel. Since 1.1 there are Biolabs in Coral Gardens and the Axum Ruins too, and you can build one.

How do I get more passive Biomod slots in Subnautica 2? Since update 1.1 (Jul 8, 2026), scan creatures with the Bioscanner; the Biolab shows how many scans each new slot needs.

What does Dash do in Subnautica 2? It is an active Biomod that lunges about 12 m with a 5-second cooldown (Game Rant, launch build). Early Access 2 moves it to the Fins.

How do I get Sonic Echo in Subnautica 2? Bioscan the Collector Leviathan. Sonic Echo pings nearby ore.