Rubber and Grease are two of the earliest fabricated materials in Subnautica 2, and both come from the same source plant cluster sitting just outside your lifepod. Rubber feeds into fins, the Air Bladder, and the Standard Air Tank, while Grease is the gating component for the Wakemaker. Once you know what to pick, you can stockpile both in a single dive.
Quick answer: Craft Rubber from 2x Lucifer Rotsac and Grease from 1x Lucifer Rotsac at any Fabricator, including the lifepod unit. Grease has an alternate recipe using 2x Halfmoon.
Rubber and Grease recipes in Subnautica 2
Both items are listed under Basic Materials in the Fabricator menu. The lifepod Fabricator is enough for both, so you do not need to build a base before producing them.
| Item | Ingredients | Station |
|---|---|---|
| Rubber | Lucifer Rotsac x2 | Fabricator |
| Grease | Lucifer Rotsac x1 | Fabricator |
| Grease (alternate) | Halfmoon x2 | Fabricator |
The alternate Grease recipe unlocks once the game registers the Halfmoon as a known ingredient. If you only see the Lucifer Rotsac version in the menu, pick up or cook a Halfmoon first and the second entry will appear.
Where to find Lucifer Rotsacs
Lucifer Rotsacs are small, orange, glowing pods that sit nestled inside the teal, antler-like Cradle Shootroot plants. The plant is common in the shallow area surrounding the starting lifepod, often clustered on sand patches and around rock outcrops.
You do not need a tool to take the Rotsac itself. Swim up to a Cradle Shootroot, look for the orange orb glowing between its stalks, and interact with it directly to pick it up. The Shootroot stays in place and can be cut later with a Survival Multitool for Fibrous Pulp.
Tip: A single Cradle Shootroot can hold more than one Rotsac, so circle each plant before moving on. Two Rotsacs are enough for one Rubber, and the same two will give you two Grease if you split them.
Step-by-step: Crafting Rubber
Step 1: Equip nothing special and dive into the shallows around your lifepod. Locate any Cradle Shootroot cluster and harvest two Lucifer Rotsacs by interacting with the orange orbs inside the plants.
Step 2: Return to the lifepod and open the Fabricator. Navigate to Resources, then Basic Materials, and select Rubber. The recipe consumes both Rotsacs and outputs one Rubber.
Step 3: Confirm the craft by checking your inventory for the Rubber icon. The Fabricator's progress bar must complete fully before the item appears, so remain in front of the device while it runs.
Step-by-step: Crafting Grease
Step 1: Harvest at least one Lucifer Rotsac from a Cradle Shootroot near the lifepod. If you have Halfmoon fish on hand instead, two of those will work as the alternate input.
Step 2: Open the Fabricator and select Grease under Basic Materials. Each craft uses either one Rotsac or two Halfmoons and produces one Grease.
Step 3: Verify the Grease entry in your inventory before leaving the Fabricator. Grease is required for the Wakemaker, so most players queue two or three units before moving on.
What Rubber and Grease are used for
| Material | Used in | Recipe cost |
|---|---|---|
| Rubber | Basic Fins | Rubber x2, Fiber x2 |
| Rubber | Standard Air Tank | Titanium x2, Rubber x1, Silver x2 |
| Rubber | Air Bladder | Titanium x2, Rubber x1 |
| Rubber | Stool (furniture) | Titanium x1, Rubber x1 |
| Grease | Wakemaker | Silver x1, Wiring Kit x1, Grease x1, Basic Battery x1 |
Plan your Rotsac harvest around these costs. A first survival loadout (Basic Fins plus Standard Air Tank plus Air Bladder) needs four Rubber, which translates to eight Lucifer Rotsacs. Add one more Rotsac if you also plan to build a Wakemaker in the same trip.
Common reasons the recipe will not craft
- The Fabricator has no power. The lifepod unit runs on its own cell, but a base Fabricator needs a Solar Panel or other generator connected.
- You picked up a different orange item. Cherimoya Rotsac and Lucifer Rotsac look similar in inventory thumbnails, but only the Lucifer variant feeds the Rubber and Grease recipes.
- The Halfmoon alternate Grease recipe is missing because no Halfmoon has been collected yet. Catch one to unlock it.
Subnautica 2 is currently in Early Access, so recipe counts and ingredient sources can shift between patches. The Lucifer Rotsac route to Rubber and Grease has stayed consistent through the current build, and the Cradle Shootroot fields around the starting lifepod remain the fastest farming spot.