- Last Updated on
As you approach the lategame stage of Subnautica, there will be a few rare materials that you’ll want to get your hands on. Some can be harvested from specific biomes and used immediately, while others must be crafted first. Polyaniline falls into the latter category. To craft it, you’ll need a couple of different ingredients, but doing so is well worth your time.
Crafting Polyaniline in Subnautica
Crafting Polyaniline is fairly easy to do, as the material only requires two ingredients – one piece of Gold and one bottle of Hydrochloric Acid. At this point in your playthrough, you probably have a decent stash of Gold and know where to get more if you need it. Hydrochloric Acid, on the other hand, might be a little more difficult. That said, it’s easy to have a self-sustaining supply of both ingredients needed to craft it. If you’re having trouble getting either of these ingredients, here’s where to look.
Finding Gold in Subnautica
Gold is a pretty valuable material in Subnautica, but it isn’t nearly as rare as you might think. It can be found in Shale Outcrops, which can be found in most biomes outside the Safe Shallows, and has roughly a 33% chance of dropping the precious metal. You can also find Gold in Sandstone Outcrops, though the drop chance is lower than in Shale Outcrops. As both Outcrops are fairly common, you should have no problem gathering a decent amount of Gold. For an easier time, you should build a Scanner Room and craft the HUD chip. Together, these tools can pinpoint the exact location of both Shale and Sandstone outcrops, along with a bunch of other materials and points of interest, making finding Gold almost effortless.
Another way to easily gather lots of Gold and other valuable materials is by heading to the Sea Treader’s Path. You can reach this area quite easily by heading southwest of your Lifepod. You should encounter the southwest Blood Kelp Trench, which will be useful for future ingredients and is right on the border of the Sea Treader’s Path. Head onto the Path and look out for the Sea Treader Leviathans; these guys kick up Shale Outcrops regularly, giving you an infinite supply of Gold, Lithium, and Diamond. Make sure to bring an empty inventory and a Seamoth with some storage modules, and one trip will set you up for the rest of your playthrough.
💥 Don't Miss These Latest Deals 💥
- 27 inch QHD (2560*1440) display with the DCI-P3 90% wide color gamut brings what you’re watching to life in over 16.7M colors
- Nvidia ampere streaming multiprocessors
- 2nd generation rt cores:
- 3rd generation tensor cores
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Ti GPU
- 12th Gen Intel Core i7 14-Core CPU
- Next-Gen Vapor Chamber Cooling
Crafting Hydrochloric Acid in Subnautica
Once you’ve scrounged up a decent stash of Gold, you can move on to collecting the ingredients for Hydrochloric Acid. This material requires two ingredients – 3 Deep Shrooms and 1 Salt Deposit. Both can be farmed with ease, but I’ll get to that later. Salt can be found in a fair few biomes, from the relatively shallow Grassy Plateaus and Kelp Forests, to the deeper Bulb Zone and Blood Kelp Zone. You won’t need much, so it’s best to stick to the shallower areas for this material. If you need a hand, a Scanner Room and HUD chip will make your search a piece of cake.
Next up are Deep Shrooms. These mushrooms can be found readily in the Blood Kelp Zone and the Lost River, though the latter biome is a little tougher to reach. For the sake of both efficiency and safety, you should stop by the southwestern Blood Kelp Trench on your way to the Sea Treader’s Path and grab a few of these mushrooms, rather than make a dedicated journey for them. With both the Deep Shrooms and Salt Deposits in hand, you can head back to base and craft some Polyaniline.
To make your life easier, you can set up a simple farm for both of these materials, making it so you can harvest a load of both without ever leaving your base. For Salt Deposits, you’ll need to build a Water Filtration Machine in your base, which will produce two Filtered Water and two Salt Deposits every fifteen minutes or so. As for the Deep Shrooms, you will still need to go out and obtain one, but that’s all you’ll need. Build an Exterior Growbed at your base and plant the Deep Shroom, then hit it for seeds. Plant the seeds, and before long, you’ll have an infinite supply of Deep Shrooms right on your doorstep.
Uses for Polyaniline
Polyaniline is mainly used in vehicle upgrades, making your Seamoth and Cyclops capable of venturing into the depths of the final biomes of Subnautica. It can also be used to upgrade your fins at the Modification Station, but that’s the only equipment upgrade available with this material. Here’s an overview of what you can craft:
- Swim Charge Fins – The first and only equipment upgrade that requires Polyaniline is the Swim Charge Fins. This tool charges whatever handheld tool you have equipped as you swim, including the Seaglide, provided you swim fast enough. Wearing the Reinforced Dive Suit will slow you down too much, rendering the fins ineffective.
- Seamoth Engine Efficiency Module – This Seamoth upgrade reduces the amount of energy drained while moving by 15%. Can be crafted at the Vehicle Station.
- Seamoth Perimeter Defense System – This Seamoth upgrade is a great weapon against anything that gets too close to your little submersible. Even a Reaper Leviathan can be shocked enough to leave you alone, at least for a few seconds. Can be crafted at the Vehicle Station.
- Prawn Suit Thermal Reactor – This Thermal Reactor is excellent for the endgame biomes in Subnautica. With it, you can charge up your Prawn Suit passively in hot areas, letting you explore to your heart’s content. Must be crafted at the Vehicle Station.
- Cyclops Engine Efficiency Module – This upgrade makes your Cyclops’ engine more efficient, using less power while moving. Can be crafted at your Cyclops Upgrade Console.
- Cyclops Thermal Reactor Module – Like the same upgrade for the Prawn Suit, this allows your Cyclops to recharge its Power Cells while in hot areas. Useful for exploring the endgame biomes. Can be crafted at the Cyclops Upgrade Console.
- Cyclops Shield Generator – The final upgrade that can be crafted with Polyaniline is the Shield Generator. It allows you to create a protective shield around your Cyclops, protecting it from all damage while active. In exchange, it’ll drain your Power Cells rapidly, so it’s best to rely on it as a last resort. Can be crafted at the Cyclops Upgrade Console.
That’s everything you need to know about Polyaniline in Subnautica. While it doesn’t have as wide a range of uses as some other materials, the upgrades it can create are must-haves for lategame exploration. One trip to the Sea Treader’s Path and some self-sufficiency at your base will give you more than enough Polyaniline for an entire playthrough and then some.
