Subnautica: Below Zero Walkthrough: Key Unlocks
The game files do not hold the order of the story: the precondition field of every item goal is empty. What they do hold is 11 goals that unlock 57 blueprints, 6 map beacons with positions, and the fixed pins of every key blueprint. This page is "key unlocks and where they are", not a story order.
- Goals that unlock1157 blueprints in all
- Map beacons6story signals with positions
- Key blueprints10with their nearest pin
- PDA logs67in 13 areas
I read the goal files, the fragment pins and the recipe table. I do not retell the story and I do not copy the PDA text; the logs have titles and places here, and a checklist.
On this page
What the files give and what they do not
Two goal tables survive: one says which item reaching you fires a goal, the other says what each goal unlocks or signals. The ordered, compound and branching goal tables, which would give the story's order, did not decode. So the page follows the unlocks, which are exact, and not the plot, which is missing.
Goals that unlock blueprints
Each row is a goal that unlocks at least one recipe. "Fired by" is the item that fires it; goals with no item are fired by something the files do not name.
All 11 goals that unlock recipes
| Goal | Fired by | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| OnPickupBuilder | Habitat builder | 23: Wall locker, Ladder, Hatch, Vertical connector, Reinforcement, Window and more |
| UnlockBasicBlueprints | not named | 12: Fins, Survival knife, Standard O₂ Tank, Flashlight, Scanner, First aid kit and more |
| OnBuildEssentials | Standard O₂ Tank | 8: Repair tool, Flashlight, Scanner, Pipe, Floating air pump, Wiring kit and more |
| OnTetherToolPickup | Tether Tool | 3: Seatruck Teleportation Module, Tether Tool, Aerogel |
| OnColdSuitUnlock | Cold suit | 2: Cold suit gloves, Cold suit helmet |
| OnEnergyEfficiencyUpgradePickup | Seatruck Energy Efficiency Upgrade | 1: Seatruck Energy Efficiency Upgrade |
| OnHorsePowerUpgradePickup | Seatruck Horsepower Upgrade | 1: Seatruck Horsepower Upgrade |
| OnPerimeterDefenseUpgradePickup | Seatruck Perimeter Defense Upgrade | 1: Seatruck Perimeter Defense Upgrade |
| OnAfterburnerUpgradePickup | Seatruck Afterburner Upgrade | 1: Seatruck Afterburner Upgrade |
| OnPrecursorIonBatteryPickup | Ion battery | 2: Ion battery, Ion power cell |
| OnLilyPadResourcePickup | tech 8005 | 3: Hydrochloric acid, Polyaniline, Benzene |
The builder is the big one
When the Habitat Builder reaches you, the goal OnPickupBuilder unlocks 23 base blueprints. Picking up the Tether Tool unlocks the Seatruck Teleportation Module and Aerogel; the Cold Suit unlocks its gloves and helmet.
The story beacons on the map
6 goals place a signal at a fixed spot. I show each with the area of the nearest map pin; the goal's text is not mapped in the files, so I name each beacon by its goal.
| Beacon | Area | Nearest pin | Position (x, z) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early supply cache | Arctic Kelp | First Aid Kit (supply crate) (1 m away) | -589, 23 |
| Sanctuary hint | Shallow Twisty Bridges | Disinfected Water (supply crate) (34 m away) | -502, -458 |
| Rocket signal | Delta Island | Light stick fragment (12 m away) | -149, -568 |
| Glacial Basin signal | Glacial Basin | Jellyfish egg (3 m away) | -1,268, -808 |
| Radio tower approach | Delta Island | Light stick fragment (4 m away) | -225, -747 |
| Ion battery signal | Delta Island | Light stick fragment (4 m away) | -225, -747 |
Key blueprints, from the surface down
These are the blueprints most players ask for. The order is by the shallowest fixed pin of each, which is my choice, not the game's: it puts the ones you can reach without a deep dive first.
| Blueprint | Fragments | Shallowest fixed pin | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|
| Habitat Builder | 1 | Delta Island, 42 m above sea level | Open |
| Snowfox | 3 | Glacial Basin, 18 m above sea level | Open |
| Laser Cutter | 3 | Glacial Basin, 17 m above sea level | Open |
| Cold Suit | 1 | Glacial Basin, 17 m above sea level | Open |
| Prawn Suit | 4 | Tundra void, 15 m above sea level | Open |
| Seaglide | 3 | Outpost Zero, 13 m above sea level | Open |
| Parallel Processing Unit | 3 | Purple Vents, 86 m below sea level | Open |
| Seatruck | 3 | Purple Vents, 101 m below sea level | Open |
| Thermal plant | 2 | Delta Island, 276 m below sea level | Open |
| Architect Organs | 1 | Lily Pads, 825 m below sea level | Open |
Items that fire a goal
Some goals fire when a finished item reaches you: the Seatruck being built, each of the three Architect parts (a goal each), the Parallel Processing Unit, an Ion battery and a resource from the Lily Pads. The files name the goals, not the story reason for them. For how to get the parts: the Seatruck, the Architect parts.
PDA logs by area
There are 67 logs placed in the world. The files hold their titles and places; their text is the studio's and is not copied. The checklist lists all of them with a tick for each.
PDA logs by area
Common mistakes
- Looking for a story order here. It is not in the files.
- Reading a beacon as a quest. The files name the goal, not the task.
- Skipping the surface blueprints. The first rows of the key table are above or just below the waterline.
About these numbers
Every number here is read from the game files of the Steam build of 12 Aug 2025. Fixed pins and recipes are exact. Spawn chances come from a model of the game's spawner tables and have not been checked in a running game. Anything the files do not hold is marked on the page.
The goal tables are read as they are; item and recipe names come from the game's own recipe table by id, and ids with no name in it are shown as "not named".
Pages to keep open
Related pages
Sources
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