Finding your way around the land and water in Subnautica: Below Zero is a task in and of itself. This becomes even harder to manage when looking for a specific resource for crafting necessary items. After all, not everything is available in an instant when surviving the harsh conditions of the Arctic in 4546b.
Staying off the menu of the large leviathans and fierce creatures of Subnautica: Below Zero should be a top priority for any adventurer looking for their sister — particularly when you’re just out to gather Spiral Plant pieces to craft yourself better gear to survive. Don’t worry; this guide can help.
Before you set off for the elusive plants you seek, gear up properly. No sense in knowing where they are if they are impossible to get to or to harvest. There isn’t a lot that most folks won’t have at their disposal by the time they begin hunting for this resource. Still, having the knowledge of the bare minimum as well as the extras to make this job easier is not something to forgo.
Everyone should have a knife when they set off to get some Spiral Plants. If you don’t have a knife on your hot bar, in your inventory, or just hanging around in a storage module somewhere, MAKE ONE. It is needed to harvest any samples from the plants in question. Each Spiral Plant can take 2 hits from a knife and yield 2 samples for you to take with you, but only if you have it ready to go.
Now you can use just a Seaglide or your own swimming power to get to the Spiral Plants, but a Sea Truck is recommended to make it faster and easier. The plants dwell within the water normally below 200m. That means a minimum of a Mk 1 Depth Module is needed when taking the Sea Truck, but it’s better to have the Mk 2 Depth Module. Spiral Plants can be found down at depths below 300m, so should your plan be to stick inside your Sea Truck as much as possible, grabbing the Mk 2 Depth Module is ideal.
The other option would be swimming down with a string of Oxygen Pipes, but as the plants aren’t in precise spots, this can end in disaster. However, having a compass will help with navigation, so bring one of those too. Food and water are also necessities, but everything else, including your trusty scanner, is optional — encouraged but optional nonetheless.
Location
Spiral Plants aren’t super abundant, but they can be found in a decent concentration if one knows where to look. Between Delta Island and the East Arctic lies a region called the Purple Vents. It is home to a Leviathan called Chelicerate. Normally, it would be prudent to avoid the Leviathan’s home territory as much as possible, and this remains the case when heading into the Purple Vents to get some Spiral Plants. However, Chelicerate dwells near where the Spiral Plants are located, so swinging out around its area-wide and coming in from the Lilypad Islands area is the better option.
Once you have made your way to the Southeastern part of the Purple Vents, players should locate the Mercury II Thruster Wreckage that rests about 150 meters below the surface. It isn’t far from the Chelicerate territory but is still normally out of its normal hunting area. There is a shelf that runs along the Northwest of the wreckage that can have some Spiral Plants at 150 meters. The larger share will be farther down in the depths to the East-Southeast of this shelf.
In this cave system, there are still purple vents all about, but there are also rock formations that look like purple pools. This area is about 240 meters down and should have a decent supply of Spiral Plants for harvesting. Sticking to the chasm and following in the South will yield the range of the plants. They will be found in depths as far down as 330 meters down in this area. Going farther down is not necessary unless you’re having a hard time finding as many Spiral Plants as you need.
Uses
There is only one true use for Spiral Plants in the game — making Synthetic Fiber. Making Synthetic Fiber isn’t just the Spiral Plant and a fabricator, though. You will also need to have a ruby to go with each plant clipping to make the material. It is a somewhat expensive craftable that can be tricky to get your hands on the required items. There also isn’t a huge demand for Synthetic Fiber in Subnautica: Below Zero, but the things it does go into are some of the most useful items in the game.
For those looking to change into the Stillsuit for recycled water or the Reinforced Divesuit and Reinforced Gloves, Synthetic Fiber made from Spiral Plants is a must. If suits don’t interest you, but you’d like to upgrade your Depth Modules, Spiral Plants are still a necessity. Both the Prawn Suit Mk 1 Depth Module and the Sea Truck Mk 2 Depth Module need Synthetic Fibers to be crafted at the Vehicle Upgrade Console. Eventually, everyone will need some Synthetic Fiber for something they want to craft, so why not grab 6 or more to be able to craft everything in one go?
