Every Subnautica 2 Biomod and How to Unlock It
All 79 Subnautica 2 biomods, 8 active and 71 passive, with the creature bio-scans each one needs.
Biomods are Subnautica 2’s body upgrades. They’re mutations you equip at a Biolab, and they change how you swim, breathe, eat and spot danger. The game files list 79 of them. Here’s every one that needs a bio-scan, and the creature you need to find for it.
How biomods work
There are two kinds:
- Active biomods (8) are abilities you trigger yourself.
- Passive biomods (71) are always on, as long as their conditions are met.
Four come unlocked from the start: Dash, Pathfinder, Sea Skimmer and Oxygen Control. For everything else you need the Bioscanner. The official wiki says its blueprint comes from a fragment in the EVA Prep Cicada wreck, and you craft it from your Scanner at a Modification Station. After that, scanning the right creature unlocks the biomod at the Biolab.
One catch: creatures you scanned with the regular Scanner don’t count. You have to scan them again with the Bioscanner.
The 8 active biomods
| Biomod | What it does | Bio-scan needed |
|---|---|---|
| Dash | Dash in any direction to avoid predators or hazards | Unlocked by default |
| Sonic Echo | Emit a sonar pulse to highlight nearby resources | Collector Leviathan |
| Electric Discharge | Emit an 800 volt electric shock to deter medium and large predators | Electric Geordie |
| Chum Cloud | Release a cloud of delicious bait to distract predators | Toxic Sponge, Houndgar |
| Technological Sensitivity | Detect nearby human technology | Geordie |
| Ferrokinesis | Attract nearby metal | Geordie, Water Slug |
| Pathfinder | Release a trail of pheromones you can follow to find your way | Unlocked by default |
| Predator Sense | Detect nearby threats with specialized hair cells | Nibbler Mango |
Passive biomods that need bio-scans
| Biomod | What it does | Bio-scan needed |
|---|---|---|
| Bioluminescence | Glow in the dark | Sandspear, Electric Geordie |
| Camouflage | Become invisible to predators while not moving | Bullethead |
| Water Retention | Gain more water from all sources with enlarged, orca-like kidneys | Coral Crab |
| Homing Sense | Detect nearby bases with electrical power | Surge Jelly, Hammerhead |
| Filter Feeding | Gain food by swimming | Geordie |
| Threat Sense | Detect nearby threats with specialized hair cells | Hoverthorn |
| Dermal Garden | Slowly grow nutritious algae on your skin | Needler Mango |
| Oxygen Therapy | Slowly regain health when at full oxygen | Geordie, Halfmoon, Water Slug |
| Rheo-Taxi | Currents do not affect you | Nibbler Mango |
| Slow Metabolism | Your microbiome becomes more efficient making food loss slower | Nibbler Mango |
| Snorkeling | Reduce oxygen use while swimming near the surface | Nibbler Mango |
| Dive Bladder | Sink more quickly when descending feet first | Nibbler Mango |
| Water Secretion | Slowly fills a water packet by filtering fresh water from the sea | Water Slug |
Toxic Sponge and Nibbler Mango don’t have creature pages on the site yet, so they aren’t linked.
The other passive biomods
That leaves 55 passive entries with no unlock recorded in our data. Some, like Hemophiliac, Maladapted and Small Stomach, read like drawbacks rather than upgrades. Others are variants of one ability, such as the three Powerful Kicks entries. We haven’t confirmed how these unlock, so we’re not going to guess. Each one has its own page in the biomod list.
Good early picks
Going only by what the descriptions say:
- Sonic Echo highlights nearby resources. That saves a lot of time when you’re hunting Silver or Lead.
- Water Retention gets you more water from every source, and it only needs a Coral Crab scan.
- Electric Discharge gives you an 800 volt shock to scare off medium and large predators.
Sources
- Biomods, Subnautica 2 Wiki
- Bioscanner, Subnautica 2 Wiki
- Game data from Subnautica 2 build 3388.
FAQ
How do you unlock biomods in Subnautica 2?
Four are unlocked from the start: Dash, Pathfinder, Sea Skimmer and Oxygen Control. The rest come from scanning creatures with the Bioscanner, then equipping the biomod at a Biolab.
How many biomods are there in Subnautica 2?
The game files list 79 biomod entries: 8 active and 71 passive. One name, Oxygen Control, appears twice.
What is the difference between active and passive biomods?
Active biomods are abilities you trigger, like Dash or Sonic Echo. Passive biomods are always on, as long as their conditions are met.
Which creature do you scan for Sonic Echo?
The Collector Leviathan.
Do I need to rescan creatures I already scanned?
Yes. Biomod requirements only count scans made with the Bioscanner, not the regular Scanner.
