How to Unlock Tadpole Wings in Subnautica 2

The Tadpole Wings in Subnautica 2 – officially called the Scout Ray Chassis – are the speed upgrade your Tadpole needs for serious exploration. You unlock it by scanning a single fragment inside the Tadpole Pens, then crafting it at your Vehicle Fabricator using mid-game materials.

What the Tadpole Wings Actually Do

The Scout Ray Chassis bolts a pair of folding wings onto your Tadpole, each one carrying extra engines. The result is a noticeable jump in top speed, acceleration, and turning responsiveness – everything you want when you’re pushing into new biomes or trying to shake a predator. When the Tadpole is docked and not in use, the wings fold away automatically.

There’s one real tradeoff: the wings make your vehicle much wider. Most of the time that’s fine, but in tight cave systems it can be a problem. The good news is you can detach the chassis at any point and leave it behind, running the base Tadpole through the squeeze and picking the Scout Ray back up on the way out. The chassis also has its own hardpoint, so you can attach a Portable Locker to it for extra carry space even though the chassis itself adds none by default.

How to Unlock the Tadpole Wings – Step by Step

Getting the Scout Ray Chassis requires a bit of progression first. The fragment is locked behind the Tadpole Pens, a story-connected area in a hot biome that you can’t safely reach until you have the Heat Tolerance adaptation. Make sure you’ve picked that up before heading out.

Step 1 – Get Heat Tolerance

Heat Tolerance is an adaptation unlock you’ll come across through normal story progression. You need it to safely explore the hot eastern biome where the Tadpole Pens are located. Without it, the environment will damage you and make the run miserable. Get this first before attempting the trip.

Step 2 – Find the Tadpole Pens

From your Lifepod, head 650 meters due east, then dive straight down. That’s where the Tadpole Pens are. Bring your Tadpole – the area has hostile threats and deeper routes that are rough to navigate on foot. Check the Subnautica 2 interactive map for a precise marker if you need it.

Step 3 – Scan the Scout Ray Fragment

Inside the Tadpole Pens, look for the Tadpole Scout Ray Fragment near the docking structures and Tadpole equipment. You only need to scan one fragment to unlock the blueprint, but scan both if you find them – Unknown Worlds may increase the requirement in a future update and you’ll be glad you did. The unlock notification pops as soon as the scan completes.

Step 4 – Craft at the Vehicle Fabricator

Head back to base and open your Vehicle Fabricator. The Scout Ray Chassis will now be available to build. Gather your materials and craft it – then dock your Tadpole to equip it.

Scout Ray Chassis Crafting Recipe

These are mid-game materials, so you may need to do some biome hunting before you can craft. The Dedicated Core and Strong Acid in particular require deeper exploration to source.

• Plasteel Ingot x2: A refined metal material you’ll have been crafting for a while by this point. Farm the relevant ore deposits if you’re running low.
• Advanced Wiring Kit x1: Mid-tier electronics component. Check your fabricator recipes for what you need to make it if you don’t have one.
• Dedicated Core x1: A deeper-progression material – expect to push into new biomes to find what you need to craft this.
• Strong Acid x1: Another mid-game resource. Harvested or crafted from materials found in more hostile areas of the map.

How to Equip the Tadpole Wings

The Scout Ray Chassis mounts to the Tadpole’s built-in hardpoint. One important thing to know: if you already have something mounted on that hardpoint, you’ll need to remove it first – the chassis can’t dock if the slot is occupied. Once it’s clear, here’s how to equip it:

• Dock your Tadpole at your vehicle docking station.
• Open the chassis management interface and select the Scout Ray Chassis.
• Undock the Tadpole – it will immediately handle with the Scout Ray’s speed profile.

To detach it in the field, use the Tadpole Detach Chassis option. You can drop it, swim through a tight gap with the bare Tadpole, and come back for it afterward.

Tips for Getting the Most Out of the Tadpole Wings

Tip 1 – Get Heat Tolerance Before You Go

It’s worth repeating: don’t head to the Tadpole Pens without Heat Tolerance unlocked. The hot eastern biome will drain your health without it, and the Pens area has enough threats that you don’t want to be fighting the environment at the same time. Sort the adaptation first and the run becomes straightforward.

Tip 2 – Scan Both Tadpole Wings Fragments

You only need one scan to unlock the Scout Ray Chassis blueprint right now, but if you spot a second fragment in the Tadpole Pens, scan it anyway. Unknown Worlds could bump the requirement in an update, and spending ten seconds on the second scan now is way better than making a second trip later.

Tip 3 – Detach Tadpole Wings in Tight Spaces

The Scout Ray Chassis makes the Tadpole significantly wider, which can block you from narrow cave passages. Don’t let that stop you from using it everywhere else. Detach the chassis before squeezing through, leave it just outside the gap, do what you need to do inside, and dock back up on the way out. It takes seconds and means you get full speed everywhere the wings fit.

Tip 4 – Use the Chassis Hardpoint for Storage

The Scout Ray Chassis doesn’t add cargo slots by default, but it does have its own hardpoint. Attach a Portable Locker to it and you get extra carry capacity alongside the speed boost – best of both worlds for longer exploration runs where you want to bring back materials.

Tip 5 – Prioritise It for Dangerous Biome Runs

The Scout Ray Chassis is the right choice any time you’re pushing into unfamiliar or hostile territory. The speed and turn improvement makes escaping aggressive creatures a lot more reliable. Save the base Tadpole or a storage-focused chassis for resource runs in safe areas – when things might go sideways, run the wings.

More Subnautica 2 Resources

Looking for more help in Subnautica 2? Check out these MetaForge tools and guides:

• Subnautica 2 Interactive Map – Find biomes, locations, and points of interest.
• Subnautica 2 Item Database – Full list of crafting materials, blueprints, and gear.
• Subnautica 2 Guides – All MetaForge guides for Subnautica 2.