The best way to farm Quartz depends on your progress. This guide covers the best Quartz locations, farming routes, and Scanner Station tips to make each run faster and more reliable.
1. What Quartz Is Used For in Subnautica 2
Quartz
Quartz is a materials resource used for silica glass and optical memory. In the early game, the most important crafts are the Scanner, Flashlight, and Glass.
| Quartz Deposit | Harvest Method | Yield |
|---|---|---|
| Small Node | Pick up by hand | 1 Quartz |
| Medium Node | Pick up by hand; use the Survival Multitool if prompted | 3 Quartz |
| Large Deposit | Sonic Resonator | 5 Quartz |
2. Best Quartz Farming Locations in Subnautica 2
Quartz is easiest to farm when you stop searching the open seafloor and focus on the right landmarks. In the early game, the best Quartz comes from Coral Domes around the Lifepod. Later, once you unlock the Sonic Resonator, large deposits become the better farming target in deeper areas.
2.1. Spider Dome
Spider Dome
The Spider Dome is the best early Quartz farming location in Subnautica 2. From the Lifepod, head between 240 and 245 degrees for roughly 220m to 240m. Look for a huge orange Coral Dome raised from the sand by several leg-like arms.
Check the outside shell first, then swim inside and look across the walls and ceiling. The interior is filled with small nodes that can be picked up by hand, making this the fastest early route for crafting the Scanner, Flashlight, Glass, and basic base modules.
2.2. Coral Domes Around the Lifepod
Coral Dome
Coral Domes are the best early-game Quartz source. These orange, hollow shell-like structures appear in the shallow waters around the Lifepod, usually around 10m to 30m deep. Swim inside and check the roof, walls, and side surfaces for white Quartz growths.
Coral Domes can be found east, northeast, and northwest of the Lifepod. The northwest route is especially useful for early farming because several domes can be searched in one run without needing major upgrades.
2.3. Halfway Between the Lifepod and Tadpole Pens
Coral Dome Interior
Another strong early Quartz route sits roughly 300m east of the Lifepod and 350m west of the Tadpole Pens. This area has Coral Domes and Coral Crabs, so look for domes that are not occupied by crabs and check their interiors for Quartz.
This route is useful after clearing the Spider Dome because it keeps you close to the early-game area while giving you another cluster of structures to search.
2.4. Shallow Rock Structures North of the Lifepod
North of Lifepod
There is a Quartz farming spot about 260m north of the Lifepod at roughly 20m depth. This area is close to an important story location and has Quartz nodes on top of nearby rock structures.
Because it is shallow and close to the starting area, this is a good backup route when you need a few extra pieces without committing to a deeper farming run.
2.5. Old Habitat Trench
Old Habitat Trench
The Old Habitat trench is roughly 350m to 400m north of the Lifepod, near a water current. This is a strong early-to-mid farming route because it contains Quartz along with other useful materials like Titanium, Copper, Silver, and Lead.
Use this route when you need more than Quartz. It is one of the better mixed-resource runs before you move into deeper late-game farming zones.
2.6. Camp One
Purple Octopus Structure For Easy Identification
Camp One is a good mid-game location. It sits roughly 300m northeast of the Lifepod and is made up of collapsed habitat wreckage. Around the wreck, search the flat island-like rock formations for large Quartz deposits.
This route requires the Sonic Resonator, since the best Quartz here comes from large deposits. Look for purple octopus-like creatures with glowing blue orbs nearby; they are a useful landmark that tells you the right rock formations are close.
2.7. Alien Ruins Gap Route
Alien Ruins
The Alien Ruins route is found on the other side of the large gap between the Alien Ruins and the Tadpole Pens. The farming spot is about 240m south of the Alien Ruins and 150m northwest of Ruby’s second blackbox.
This area goes beyond 250m depth, so only run it when you can handle the depth, bring the Sonic Resonator for large deposits, and watch for aggressive Needler Mango nearby.
2.8. Axum Biome
Axum Biome
The Axum biome has a strong late-game Quartz farming route about 1,434m east of the Lifepod at roughly 286m depth. Save this route for later, when your oxygen and Tadpole upgrades can safely handle the roughly 286m depth.
Axum is valuable for deeper Quartz farming, but it sits close to the current content boundary. Do not push too far past the farming area, or you may run into a dangerous creature near the edge of the playable space.
3. How to Track Quartz with the Scanner Station
Scanner Station
The Scanner Station is one of the best base modules for Quartz farming because it tracks individual resource deposits within a 300m range. Once built, set Quartz as the target resource, and the station marks nearby nodes on your HUD. This turns a blind search into a directed farming route.
For early Quartz coverage, place a Scanner Station near the cluster of Coral Domes northeast of the Lifepod. That placement covers multiple shallow Quartz sources and makes repeated farming faster. Later, the same logic can be used near deeper Quartz farming areas.
4. How to Duplicate Quartz with the Metal Farm
The Metal Farm can duplicate mineral deposits after a set amount of time, making it useful once a base has stable power. Quartz is one of the materials worth duplicating because it is constantly spent on Glass, electronics, power pieces, and base construction.
For Quartz, the Metal Farm takes only 2 minutes to duplicate the mineral. The device needs power to duplicate materials, so build it near a powered base rather than placing it away from your active power grid.
5. Quartz Farming Tips
Quartz farming becomes much easier once routes are planned around landmarks, deposit size, and inventory space. A few small habits can save a lot of backtracking.
- Enable all landmark signals before leaving the Lifepod so routes are easier to follow.
- Clear the Spider Dome early if you need Quartz for the Scanner, Flashlight, Glass, or early base modules.
- Check both the inside and outside of Coral Domes, since some outer shells and broken fragments can also carry Quartz.
- Do not rely on random seafloor drops near the Lifepod; they can appear when small crabs dig in the sand, but Coral Domes are far more consistent.
- Bring the Sonic Resonator before attempting large deposit routes.
- Use a Scanner Station near Coral Dome clusters to mark Quartz within 300m.
- Respect content boundary warnings near Axum and the deeper Power Plant route, where dangerous creatures can appear if you push too far.
- Use the Metal Farm near a powered base when repeated Quartz duplication becomes more efficient than another long mining trip.
