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Metro 2039Graveyard
The Graveyard is Subnautica 2's hot, orange-watered biome, 0 to 266 m deep, that needs the Heat Tolerance Adaptation; it holds Gold, Salt, Sulfur and Lithium, the Tadpole Pens, Tailings Village, a Cicada Wreck, Nahema's Lab and hundreds of Water Slugs.
The Graveyard is Subnautica 2's hot biome: orange-tinted water, scorched terrain and a heat warning that hurts you until you have the Heat Tolerance Adaptation, 0 to 266 m deep by All Things How's launch-build count (May 20, 2026), and the place for Gold, Salt, Sulfur and Lithium. It holds the story's Tadpole Pens, Tailings Village, a Cicada Wreck, Nahema's Lab, a Hot Cave going down to about 400 m, and so many Water Slugs that Unknown Worlds improved its effects in 1.2 "for the players who collect hundreds of Water Slugs" (Unknown Worlds, Aug 19, 2026). "Graveyard" is an official name, used in that update's notes.
Quick facts
| Depth | 0 to 266 m; Graveyard Caves 88 to 401 m (All Things How, May 20, 2026) |
| Where | About 450 m from the Lifepod; west for All Things How, east and southeast for other guides |
| Needs | Heat Tolerance, from the Angel Comb near the Anemone Hills |
| Points of interest | Tadpole Pens, Tailings Village, Cicada Wreck (Empty Hold), Nahema's Lab, the Hot Cave |
| Resources | Gold, Salt, Sulfur, Lithium, Titanium, Water Slugs, Deepwing Egg Clumps |
| Creatures | Marrowbreach, Houndgar, Halfmoon, Jelly Ring; Tallshrooms and Radiator Coral (Beebom) |
| Leads to | The Tar Cascades and the Collector Leviathan crossing |
Where is the Graveyard in Subnautica 2?
Guides disagree on the direction, all on the launch build. All Things How sends you about 450 m west of the Lifepod to the Graveyard and Tailings Village. Most other guides put the heat east and southeast: Dexerto's "geothermal hot zone" lies east of the Lifepod at about 30 m, with scorched orange terrain and murky water (Dexerto); Game Rant finds Sulfur in hot water around Chap's bunker 232 m southeast; Dexerto's best Gold is by the Cicada Wreck about 450 m east; and the story's colonist directive sends you east to the Tadpole Pens (Beebom). Unknown Worlds also names a Thermal Area and Heat Zones in its notes without saying where they are; see Tufa Zone. Head toward the orange water and the heat warning. IGN's May 19, 2026 map tour, on the launch build (the clip above), gives a third reading: the region so hot that you need the Angel Comb upgrade fills "the north and northwest areas" of the starting region.
Jade's May 16, 2026 guide, on the launch build, heads east from the Lifepod into the heat warning, and finds Salt in plenty on the white structures of the "dead crab zone, otherwise known as the graveyard", 491 to 500 m out. The lava zone itself lies in a trench; keeping to its outer edge on the right takes you there without the heat.
Heat: what you need
Without Heat Tolerance the hot water damages you; All Things How lists the Graveyard, its Hot Cave and the Thermal Vent Clusters as the places it opens (May 20, 2026). You get it by clearing the Bloom around the infected Angel Comb with the Sonic Resonator, on Anemone Hills. Game Rant notes that Salt on the white domes of the Dead Coral area, 500 m southeast, needs no Heat Tolerance.
Where to find Gold in Subnautica 2
Gold grows as golden, perforated spheres on Radiator Corals in the volcanic vent area, 50 to 250 m deep; small ones come by hand, large ones need the Sonic Resonator and give 5 ore each (Game Rant, May 16, 2026). Dexerto's best spot is a large lava coral structure near the Cicada Wreck about 450 m east, where one Resonator run can give 40 or more. Gold makes Gold Ingots, the Advanced Wiring Kit, the Thermal Plant and, with Sulfur, Strong Acid. See Resources.
Breathtaker's May 18, 2026 resource guide, on the launch build, finds Sulfur in small and large nodes around the edge of the Graveyard, close enough to duck in before the heat burns you, and Gold in the same places but rarer at the edge, sometimes on the northern edge before Heat Tolerance; with it, bigger Gold nodes come from the Graveyard's rock formations and caves.
| Resource | Where (launch build) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Gold | Radiator Corals, 50 to 250 m; the lava coral by the Cicada Wreck | Game Rant, Dexerto |
| Sulfur | Yellow patches with a flashing gas light around Chap's bunker, 232 m southeast | Game Rant |
| Salt | Cave walls by Chap's blackbox at 40 m; dead coral domes 500 m southeast | Game Rant |
| Lithium | Lava caves with glowing green grass, 250 m south-southeast (compass 120) at 125 m; Sonic Resonator only | Game Rant |
| Water Slugs | Everywhere, by the hundred | Unknown Worlds |
The Tadpole Pens
The Tadpole Pens are the main story stop here: after the Old Habitat, the objective "Investigate Tadpole Pens" leads to a locked door (Beebom). Game Rant finds the keycode in a supply crate about 310 m deep in a cave southwest of the Pens, about 540 m from the Lifepod, and warns to park the Tadpole at 240 m because its default limit is 250 m; Beebom ties the code to the Zip blackbox. Inside are scannables, among them a Repair Tool, and a NOA terminal whose talk, with a quiz (1.2 corrected its "Question 6"), points you to the Alien Ruins. PCGamesN says scanning at the Pens also unlocks the Tadpole, its Dock and the Vehicle Fabricator (PCGamesN). Next: the Tar Cascades and Observatory Island; the full route is on Story Walkthrough.
Jade's guide finds the Tadpole Pens "pretty much directly underneath" the hot zone, ringed by trenches. In a cave off one trench, among the ruins of a colonist village, Lithium, Gold and Sulfur grow together, with only a few Houndgar, which the Sonic Resonator scares off; she puts it about 500 m from the Lifepod on a bearing of 75 and suggests a small forward base there on thermal power.
Tailings Village, the Cicada Wreck and Nahema's Lab
Tailings Village is an abandoned colonist settlement; the notes call a related log "Tailings Settlement" and Tailings furniture a buildable (1.2 notes). The Cicada Wreck (Empty Hold) is a piece of the colony ship. Two Upgrade Biobeds here need Heat Tolerance: Nahema's Lab, 355 m southeast, which gives Dexterity (+1 quickbar slot), and the Cicada Wreck, 475 m east (Game Rant, May 23, 2026). The blackbox "SOPHIE: In pursuit of Nahema" ties the lab to Sophie's Retreat in the Plateaus.
The Graveyard Caves and the Hot Cave
Under the Graveyard, tunnels lead 88 to 401 m down into heated volcanic chambers with Gold, Sulfur and Lithium; oxygen drains quickly at depth, so All Things How recommends going in a Tadpole (May 20, 2026), and Beebom warns of hostile creatures that can damage vehicles. Below 250 m the Tadpole needs a Depth Module Mk. 1, which Game Rant says raises its limit to 450 m. See Tadpole Upgrades.
Kysen's May 14, 2026 guide, on the launch build, reaches the Hot Cave base camp on Zip's quest: past the structures and off a ledge, swim down through the larger of two round holes, past oxygen bubbles, to a colonist structure with a NOA terminal and downloads that give extra build recipes and a power storage. He recommends a Rebreather, or several Air Bladders, for the dive.
Frequently asked questions
How do you survive the heat in the Subnautica 2 Graveyard? Get the Heat Tolerance Adaptation from the infected Angel Comb near the Anemone Hills, after clearing its Bloom with the Sonic Resonator; until then the orange water damages you.
Where is Gold in Subnautica 2? In the hot Graveyard area: on Radiator Corals 50 to 250 m deep, and best at the large lava coral by the Cicada Wreck about 450 m east of the Lifepod, where Dexerto reports 40 or more Gold per Sonic Resonator run on the launch build.
Where are the Tadpole Pens in Subnautica 2? In the Graveyard area, reached after the Old Habitat; the keycode is in a supply crate about 310 m deep in a cave southwest of the Pens, about 540 m from the Lifepod, per Game Rant.
Where is Sulfur in Subnautica 2? Yellow patches with a flashing yellow gas light on the seafloor around Chap's bunker, about 232 m southeast of the Lifepod, in hot water.
Why is the water orange in Subnautica 2? You are in the Graveyard's heat zone. The orange water comes with a heat warning, and only the Heat Tolerance Adaptation makes it safe.
Sources
- Subnautica 2 Regions and Biomes Reference (Early Access), All Things How (Pallav Pathak), May 20, 2026
- All Subnautica 2 Biomes and Regions, Beebom (Bipradeep Biswas), May 19, 2026
- How to Investigate Tadpole Pens in Subnautica 2 and Get Keycode, Beebom, May 2026
- Subnautica 2 - All Collector Leviathan locations, Dexerto, May 2026
- Gold, Dexerto, May 14, 2026
- Where to Find Gold, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 16, 2026
- Sulfur Location, Game Rant (Chris Jecks), May 14, 2026
- Where to Find Salt, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 14, 2026
- How to Get Lithium, Game Rant (Hamza Haq), May 16, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Tadpole Pens Code, Game Rant (William Parks), May 14, 2026
- How to build a Tadpole in Subnautica 2 and all upgrades, PCGamesN (Christian Vaz), May 18, 2026
- How to Go Deeper with the Tadpole, Game Rant (Nahda Nabiilah), May 16, 2026
- Subnautica 2: All 7 Biobed Inventory Expansion Locations, Game Rant (Christopher Norman Worcester), May 23, 2026
- Subnautica 2 Early Access 1.2 - Buddy System Update, Unknown Worlds, Aug 19, 2026
- Subnautica 2 - Biome Maps and Secret Locations, IGN, May 19, 2026 (video)
- SUBNAUTICA 2 How To get Every Resource! Deepwing Eggs! Silver! Metal Farms And More Full Guide, Jade PG CRAFTED, May 16, 2026 (video)
- How To Get Every Resource In Subnautica 2, Breathtaker, May 18, 2026 (video)
- Subnautica 2 - The Ultimate Beginner Guide!, Kysen, May 14, 2026 (video)
Moments
Subnautica 2 - Biome Maps and Secret Locations
IGN
SUBNAUTICA 2 How To get Every Resource! Deepwing Eggs! Silver! Metal Farms And More Full Guide
Jade PG CRAFTED
How To Get Every Resource In Subnautica 2
Breathtaker
Subnautica 2 - The Ultimate Beginner Guide!
Kysen
Related
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Coral GardensCoral Gardens and North Coral Gardens are Unknown Worlds' names for Subnautica 2's early coral areas around the Lifepod; update 1.1 (Jul 8, 2026) put a second Biolab and more Silver there, and 1.2 gave North Coral Gardens its own music.
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Dolerite SpiresThe Dolerite Spires are a maze of jagged volcanic pillars in Subnautica 2's starting region, shallow to mid depth, with Lithium and Titanium, Quaker's Meetinghouse and two Spires wrecks that All Things How lists for the High Capacity Air Tank and the Rebreather on the launch build.
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Metal FarmsThe Axum Metal Farms are the far eastern edge of Subnautica 2's Early Access map, about 2,000 to 2,200 m east-northeast of the Lifepod beside the Karakorum Power Plant, the only source of Troilite and Atacamite and where you find the Axum Bacterial Culture to build a Metal Farm of your own.
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Necrolei HillsThe Necrolei Hills are Subnautica 2's infected hills about 300 m northwest of the Lifepod, the main source of Necrolei Cysts for Strong Acid, with Copper, Titanium, Deepwing Egg Clumps and fauna mutated by the Bloom.
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Observatory IslandObservatory Island is Subnautica 2's Axum tower rising out of the sea about 1,000 to 1,200 m east of the Lifepod, with the Alien Ruins (Unknown Worlds' Axum Ruins), the Rosetta Stone, a Biolab since 1.1 and the Axum Observatory, where the Early Access story stops.
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PlateausThe Plateaus are Subnautica 2's rocky biome about 300 m northeast of the Lifepod, 23 to 119 m deep by All Things How's count, with Camp One, the Old Habitat and the caves that hold the early Silver; the sandy Lead Zone lies nearby.
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Root CanyonRoot Canyon is Subnautica 2's deepest explorable biome, a pitch-black canyon 365 to 750 m deep in the far east, with root-like walls, the Control Room, Tech Sites, Blight Nodes, a Cold Zone, colonist Dive Elevators and the Axum Metal Farms; the Collector Leviathan patrols its lower reaches.
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ShallowsThe Shallows are Subnautica 2's starting biome, the bright coral reefs around the Lifepod, 3 to 224 m deep by All Things How's count, with the Welcome Center about 85 m southeast, the first Angel Comb, Quartz-filled Coral Domes and caves of Copper and Titanium below.
See also
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AdaptationsSubnautica 2 has four Adaptations, permanent body changes taken from Angel Combs, as of Nov 4, 2026. Pressure Tolerance comes in the opening, Digestion from an Angel Comb about 130 to 180 m north-northeast of the Lifepod, Heat Tolerance from an infected Angel Comb about 200 m northwest once the Sonic Resonator clears it, and Axum Vision from an Angel Comb about 1,800 m east.
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Anemone HillsThe Anemone Hills are Subnautica 2's biome of towering pink-and-green anemones about 300 m northwest of the Lifepod, 0 to 151 m deep, where the infected Heat Tolerance Angel Comb waits behind Bloom you clear with the Sonic Resonator.
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Tar CascadesThe Tar Cascades, in the area Unknown Worlds calls the Sparse Plains, are Subnautica 2's dark, tar-coated crossing about 700 m east of the Lifepod, 0 to 250 m deep, where the Collector Leviathan guards the way to the Axum ruins; cross low along the bottom in a Tadpole.
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Collector LeviathanThe Collector Leviathan is Subnautica 2's giant squid, found in the trench about 700 m east of the Lifepod past the hot Graveyard waters; it cannot be killed, so you cross its trench low along the bottom in a Tadpole. Scanning it teaches the Sonic Echo Biomod.
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Tufa ZoneThe Tufa Zone, which guides call Tufa Towers, is the biome of tall rock towers about 400 m south of Subnautica 2's Lifepod, home of the Great Jaw clam and its Lithium; it and the Thermal Area got their own music in update 1.2 (Aug 19, 2026).
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ResourcesSubnautica 2's resources run from Titanium, Copper and Quartz around the Lifepod, through Silver and Lead to the north and northeast and Gold, Sulfur and Lithium in the hot volcanic area, to Celestine, Conduit Crystal, Troilite and Atacamite in the far east. This page lists each one with where guides found it on the launch build, the tool it needs and what it makes.