How to Craft Strong Acid in Subnautica 2 (Necrolei Cyst)

As you progress through Subnautica 2, you’ll find that crafting materials gradually increase in complexity as the projects become more advanced. While there is a wide range of these enhanced crafting materials, in this guide, we’ll be looking at Strong Acid specifically. This potent material is used in many of the mid-level crafting projects that help you transition from the early-game sections into the mid-to-late-game areas. Power Cells, a key part of several mid-tier blueprints, will require them every time they are crafted. In this guide, we’ll show you how to craft Strong Acid in Subnautica 2.

Strong Acid Crafting Overview – Subnautica 2

Items Needed: Necrolei Cysts x2 – found in Stilt Orb jelly lifeform, Processor
Location: Field of purple sea plants 250 meters north of the Lifepod. Follow a 345 bearing in a straight line near the surface. The field extends to the north and north-west well beyond this starting location.
Depth: 30 meters – the first Stilt Orbs can be found around 25–35 meters below the surface.
Appearance: Stilt Orbs are green spherical orbs that float above underwater rocks, with purple tentacle-like strands that descend from the orb to the floor. Necrolei Cysts are star-shaped objects on top of the orbs that can be removed with a Survival Multitool.
Crafting Instructions: Using the Processor, insert two Necrolei Cysts to craft one bottle of Strong Acid. The Strong Acid recipe should be available as soon as you craft Mild Acid and build a Processor.
Alternative Recipes: Once you discover Gold and Sulfur in Subnautica 2, you can insert one of each into the Processor to craft Strong Acid.

Strong Acid Needs Checklist:

If you are wondering what you need to craft Strong Acid in Subnautica 2, here is a list of a few items I found particularly useful:

Item Needed	Item Use
Survival Multitool	You’ll need to carry the Survival Multitool, as it is required to remove the Necrolei Cysts from the Stilt Orbs.
Processor	Strong Acid can only be crafted in the Processor. To unlock the Processor, you must scan one in the field. Several buildings have them, including the Old Habitat, which sits a little over 300 meters north of the Lifepod, next to the Wu “Wu” Lianghai building. You will need to build a Processor in your own base, as it requires its own power.
Beacon	While it is not required, placing a Beacon at the location of the Stilt Orbs will be a great help when you need to return later.

How to Get Necrolei Cysts and Craft Strong Acid in Subnautica 2

Strong Acid Basic Crafting Guide:

Strong Acid is an important crafting material, used as a key component in several important projects. For example, the Power Cell you’ll need to build the Tadpole vehicle will require Strong Acid.
To make Strong Acid in Subnautica 2, you’ll need two Necrolei Cysts, which can only be found on the unique Stilt Orb lifeform.
Stilt Orbs are only found in one location in Subnautica 2. To reach the area, head north from the Lifepod for approximately 250 meters. The exact bearing will be 345 degrees on the compass, just west of exactly north. If you keep this heading, you will not need to use any signals, or environmental markers. Simply follow the 345 bearing for 250 meters.
Look for a field of large purple sea life that resemble massive purple anemones. The Stilt Orbs are found among these unnamed creatures. If you approach at night, the sea will appear to glow purple as you approach the field.

Using the Processor to Make Strong Acid:

As mentioned earlier, you can only make Strong Acid in the Processor. Once you’ve collected the required Necrolei Cysts, return to your Processor and add them to the “Configure Processor” bin.

When the Processor menu appears, you’ll see two options at the bottom: Load Processor and Change Recipes.

Once you’ve selected a recipe and picked the items to load into the Processor, you can press Load Processor multiple times to automatically load more materials to craft additional items.

Select ‘Change Recipes’ and choose Strong Acid. Each Strong Acid has a processing time of 30 seconds. Once they are complete, you can collect them from the output section on the right side of the Processor.

Are There Any Other Ways to Make Strong Acid in Subnautica 2?

Yes, Subnautica 2 features many Alternative Recipes for specific items. Strong Acid can also be made with the following resources:

Sulfur x1
Gold x1

Simply check the Alternative Recipes tab at the bottom of the recipe list to locate Strong Acid. This recipe was unlocked for me when I located and scanned both Sulfur and Gold in the wild. Both of these items can be found near the heated vents in the Graveyard region in eastern Proteus.

2026-05-22 11:44