The Tadpole is the primary vehicle at Early Access launch and the centrepiece of Subnautica 2’s vehicle design. Rather than a fixed submersible with internal upgrade slots, the Tadpole is built around a hardpoint system: physical attachment points on the hull where modules are bolted on. What you slot changes both how the Tadpole behaves and how it looks.
Hardpoints, not slots
Every module is a visible, physical part of the craft. Two players’ Tadpoles can look — and handle — completely differently depending on their builds. This makes the Tadpole the expressive, identity vehicle of the game.
Chassis variants
You craft the base Tadpole at the Vehicle Bay, then unlock and fit a chassis variant that defines its core behaviour:
| Chassis | Strength | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Haul | Very high cargo capacity | Slow |
| Seafrog | Exosuit-style walker — traverses the seabed on foot | Specialised locomotion |
| ScoutRay | Fastest swim acceleration of any chassis | Lower carry capacity |
Strategy
Treat the Tadpole as a loadout, not a single vehicle. Run ScoutRay for fast scouting, swap to Haul for resource hauls, bring Seafrog for terrain that punishes swimming. The hardpoint system means your “fleet” is really one chassis and a parts locker.