Subnautica 2 creature enamel comes from Enamel Husks, large deposits stuck to the walls of the Needler Nest in the Overgrown Ruins, and you break them open with a Sonic Resonator. The official wiki lists no other natural source. Once you have a single piece, a Metal Farm can grow more, two at a time. It goes into exactly one crafting recipe, Enameled Glass, but that glass feeds several important tools and Tadpole upgrades.
This guide reflects the official Subnautica 2 Wiki and the Unknown Worlds patch notes as of Buddy System Hotfix 2 (October 6, 2026). Subnautica 2 is in Early Access, so recipes, locations and balance can change in later updates. It is a sourced guide, not a hands-on test, and undocumented details are marked as unconfirmed.
01
Where to find Creature Enamel
The Needler Nest is a tall mesa in the Overgrown Ruins, the westernmost biome of the Karakorum Ruins region. The wiki places it just east of the Rosetta Stone and west of the Karakorum Power Plant, between the Observatory island and the power plant. Enamel Husks sit among the spent Needler tusks that dot the mesa, on its outer walls as well as inside its two-level cave. Look for a dark, soft-looking mass full of big cavities with white needles stuck in it; the wiki adds that the current husk model looks like a placeholder, with simple geometry and almost no texture.
Players often ask whether creature enamel is found near alien ruins, and the answer is yes. The Axum are an intelligent alien species native to Proteus, the Karakorum Ruins region was once their industrial site, and the nest's two uppermost plateaus hold a pair of ancient Axum ruins. You will also see the name searched as "creature enamal", but the in-game spelling is Creature Enamel. For the wider region layout, see the map and biomes guide.
These are the coordinates listed on the official wiki for the nest and the useful finds around it:
| Spot | Coordinates (X, Y) | Depth listed |
|---|---|---|
| Needler Nest (point of interest) | -202056, 451382 | 300 m |
| Rosetta Stone, the landmark just west of the nest | -213863, 449442 | 125 m |
| Time of Day Display fragment, in wreckage at the nest | -202573, 448976 | 265 m |
| Tadpole Haul Chassis fragment, inside the nest | -200430, 450385 | 290 m |
| Tadpole Depth Module Mk. 1 Recipe Data Card | -200191, 450554 | 295 m |
The wiki does not give a coordinate for each individual husk, and its interactive maps have no Enamel Husk layer. Treat the nest coordinates as your target and sweep the walls once you arrive.
02
How to get Creature Enamel, step by step
If you are wondering how to get creature enamel in Subnautica 2 from a fresh save, the route looks like this:
- Unlock the Sonic Resonator. Scan two Sonic Resonator fragments, then craft it at the Fabricator from 2 Titanium Ingot, 2 Lead, 1 Wiring Kit and 1 Basic Battery. The wiki lists eleven fragment spots, many of them shallow, such as a shelf in the Old Habitat at -337674, 392986 @ 55m. The tool needs a battery to run.
- Cross to the Overgrown Ruins. The wiki calls it a mid-game biome that you reach by crossing a large trench patrolled by a Collector Leviathan.
- Find the husks. Spent tusks embedded in cliffs and pillars tell you that you have entered Needler territory. The larger husks among those tusks are the harvestable ones.
- Break them. Aim the resonator at a husk. When the target is valid, the crosshair grows and turns green and a prompt appears. A blast takes about one second to charge and fires when you release it (letting go early cancels it), then you collect the Creature Enamel that drops.
- Scan it. Scanning a husk or a piece of Creature Enamel adds the Enamel entry to your databank.
How many pieces a single husk drops is not documented on the official wiki yet.
03
Staying safe at the Needler Nest
The nest is home to Needler Mangos, aggressive predators that chase you and fire volleys of six needles. The wiki lists 2 to 3 damage per needle, and it notes that Needlers will also attack your Tadpole even while nobody is piloting it. An enormous Needler, three times the usual size, patrols the water above the nest, although it deals no more damage than a normal one.
Your resonator doubles as a defence. The wiki says it stuns most creatures for up to 10 seconds, a duration the Buddy System update (August 19, 2026) extended. A sensible routine is to stun the nearest Needler, break a husk or two, then move on. Gateway Spires on the nest's western side let you move quickly through some of its interior spaces.
On the way in, the Collector Leviathan in the trench cannot be killed, so avoid it. The wiki suggests Distraction Flares to pull its attention and the table-like rocks in the trench as cover, though if you hide under them too long it can reach in with its tentacles.
04
Farming Creature Enamel in a Metal Farm
The Metal Farm is a seabase cultivation structure that grows a mineral deposit from a sample you place inside it, and Creature Enamel is on its production list.
- Blueprint: scan the Axum metal farm structures at the Karakorum Metal Farms. The wiki lists three fragments.
- Build: Habitat Builder, using 1 Axum Ingot and 1 Axum Bacterial Culture.
- Seed it: place one Creature Enamel in the farm's storage. The sample is not used up.
- Output: 2 Creature Enamel every 10 minutes, according to the wiki's production table.
- Keep it running: the farm has to be submerged and connected to power, the wiki lists a draw of 20 units of electricity, and the timer pauses whenever power runs short.
- Harvest: break the finished deposit with the Sonic Resonator. The farm only starts a new cycle after you do.
The Buddy System update also fixed several Metal Farm bugs, including an exploit where swapping the resource in a busy farm kept the old growth timer and farms that kept producing while the interface reported no power. For more on the structure itself, see the Metal Farm guide.
What about respawning? The wiki does not say whether Enamel Husks grow back. Its Mineralized Clinker page calls those clinker deposits an exception that respawns, unlike most resource nodes, so do not count on husks returning. The same page recalls that early in Early Access, players who used up their Troilite before seeding a farm could get stuck. Keep at least one Creature Enamel in a locker so you can always start a farm later.
05
Enameled Glass recipe
Subnautica 2 enameled glass is the only crafting use of Creature Enamel listed on the wiki. You make it at the Fabricator from 1 Glass and 1 Creature Enamel, and each craft gives you one Enameled Glass. The wiki is inconsistent about the menu section: the item's own page says Basic Materials, while its infobox and the Fabricator page list it under Advanced Materials. Its item description presents it as reinforced glass built to cope with higher pressure.
Glass itself is cheap. The Fabricator turns 2 Quartz into Glass, a recipe available from the start of the game, and the Processor can make it from 2 Salt in two minutes. Every Enameled Glass therefore costs one Creature Enamel plus two Quartz or two Salt, which you can track down with the resources guide.
06
What Enameled Glass unlocks
The wiki's uses list currently shows six recipes that call for Enameled Glass:
| Product | Crafted at | Ingredients |
|---|---|---|
| Bioscanner | Modification Station | 1 Scanner, 2 Enameled Glass, 3 Conduit Crystal |
| Feedback Resonator | Modification Station | 1 Sonic Resonator, 2 Enameled Glass, 2 Conduit Crystal, 2 Strontium |
| Strike Armor | Modification Station | 2 Enameled Glass, 2 Strontium |
| Tadpole Depth Module Mk. 1 | Modification Station | 3 Celestine, 2 Enameled Glass, 1 System Chip |
| Tadpole Haul Chassis | Vehicle Fabricator | 4 Titanium Ingot, 3 Strontium, 3 Enameled Glass, 1 Dedicated Core |
| Time of Day Display | Habitat Builder | 1 Titanium, 1 Enameled Glass, 1 Copper |
The Tadpole Depth Module Mk. 1 raises the Tadpole's safe diving depth from 250 m to 450 m, and extra modules do not stack. Its Recipe Data Card lies next to a crashed Tadpole on the nest's lower level, so one trip can get you the blueprint and the enamel. It also needs Celestine, which the wiki lists at the Needler Nest too; see the Celestine guide.
The Bioscanner is an upgraded scanner that reads Axum technology a normal Scanner cannot, such as the turbine at the Karakorum Power Plant, and it unlocks Biomods when you bio-scan lifeforms. Its blueprint comes from scanning the Bioscanner at the EVA Prep wreck, and it needs three Conduit Crystal. The Feedback Resonator adds a small projectile with an effective range of 25 m that can destroy armored Bloom Cankers from a distance.
Strike Armor cuts incoming damage to the Tadpole by 50 percent, with one module allowed at a time. The Haul Chassis adds two seats, an extra handlebar, two hardpoints and storage, enough for four players to share one vehicle. The Time of Day Display is a wall hologram for your base that shows dawn, day, dusk or night.
Most of these recipes need a Modification Station, and the Pioneer worksite beside the nest's lower Axum ruins has scans for it. Crafting each item above once takes 12 Enameled Glass, which means 12 Creature Enamel, so a Metal Farm pays off quickly.
07
Common questions about Creature Enamel
Can the Scanner Station find Creature Enamel? The wiki's list of resources the Scanner Station can scan for does not include Creature Enamel or Enamel Husks, so navigate to the Needler Nest by its coordinates instead.
Does it respawn? Not documented. Rely on a Metal Farm for steady supply rather than waiting for husks to return.