Below the Research Station
Descend beneath the plateau supporting the Alien Ruins Research Station. The cavern underneath contains one group of viral blooms.
Use the Feedback Resonator from outside the flowers’ closing distance.
Alien Ruins · story route
Power Plant & Observatory Walkthrough
The Observatory opens after you restore the Alien Power Plant. That means healing the Angel Comb below it, gaining Axum Vision, repairing the turbine and finishing the control-room puzzle.
Route: Feedback Resonator → three Angel Comb branches and center → Axum Vision → lower console → turbine → green controls → Observatory west entrance.
Updated . Story-route spoilers below; the Observatory scene itself is left undescribed.
1. Prepare at the Alien Ruins Research Station
Use the Research Station as your supply stop. Bring a charged Tadpole with a depth upgrade suited to the route, repair supplies, a Habitat Builder and a Feedback Resonator. Check the vehicle’s displayed crush depth before descending into the green-pool area; leave yourself an oxygen return margin while scanning outside the vehicle.
The Feedback Resonator matters because the Alien Ruins blooms retract when you approach. Its ranged shot lets you hit an open bloom. The earlier northwest comb uses the Sonic Resonator to unlock Heat Tolerance; this later comb gives a different adaptation.
Still missing the Feedback Resonator scans?
From the station, descend east to the main purple tube, follow it to the central Angel Comb, then follow the northeast tube through the ravine toward the green-glowing pools and Metal Farm pillars. The two scan stops in PC Gamer’s May route are a table beside three stacked barrels on the left edge of the first pool, and a platform on a ledge at the far end of the pools.
This is a deep predator area. Prepare repairs before leaving your Tadpole and keep its return route clear. After the two scans, use the Feedback upgrade recipe at a Modification Station.
PC Gamer’s scan route and demonstration · May 2026 →2. Clear the three branches, then claim Axum Vision
The central comb sits below the Power Plant, east of the Research Station. Large purple tubes connect it to the infected side chambers. Use these tubes as landmarks and clear the side areas before finishing the central chamber.
The right-hand ravine
Head east-southeast from the station and descend beside the large purple tube leading toward the central comb. Before reaching the center, follow the tube that branches right into a smaller ravine.
Clear this branch before returning to the main purple tube.
The cave beneath the wreck
From the central comb, follow the northeast tube through the ravine. Before the green-glowing pools, take the tube entering the cliff on the right. Ascend the cliff to the wreck, clear the Bloom Biofilm blocking its entrance, then descend through the ship into the cave below.
Look for oxygen tunic plants inside, while keeping enough air to retrace the route.
Bloom Biofilm at a blocked doorway can be cleared with a charged Resonator blast. Once all three branches are clear, return to the central comb and destroy the remaining viral blooms around it. Interact with the opened comb to receive Axum Vision. Clearing the flowers and claiming the adaptation are separate actions.
Axum Vision lets you perceive the polarized displays used by Axum technology. Confirm it in your adaptations before moving to the control rooms.
See PC Gamer’s three branch demonstrations · May 2026 →3. Use the control room overlooking the comb
Find the alien room built into the crater wall, facing the central Angel Comb. Enter it and interact with the console beside the window. This is the lower control-room step; the turbine and its restart controls are higher up on the circular Power Plant structure.
If the display remains unreadable, return to the opened comb and confirm that you actually collected Axum Vision.
4. Scan and rebuild the damaged turbine
Ascend from the comb to the large circular structure above it. Travel around to its east side and look for colony crates and a blue light above the damaged turbine. Scan the broken turbine, then use the Habitat Builder to complete the construction target with its required materials.
Make a separate supply run after you locate the target. The table below covers one complete turbine construction target in PC build 128456. Check your active construction panel for the remaining amount after partial construction or a later update.
| Finished material | Amount | Processor supply chain |
|---|---|---|
| Titanium Ingot | 10 | 30 Titanium through the Processor. |
| Axum Ingot | 10 | 10 more Titanium Ingots + 10 Atacamite + 10 Troilite. |
| Strontium | 10 | 20 Celestine through the Processor. |
Raw-material total for that turbine: 60 Titanium, 20 Celestine, 10 Atacamite and 10 Troilite. Half of the Titanium becomes the ten Titanium Ingots handed directly to the turbine; the other half becomes the ten additional ingots used to make Axum Ingots. Older guides call Axum Ingot “Mangalloy Ingot.”
Keep any Metal Farm seed and your tool-upgrade materials separate from this total. A Tadpole Haul Chassis or staged deliveries can help move the finished components without sacrificing your repair kit and return supplies.
5. Set the controls to green and restart the plant
After completing the turbine, enter the control room directly opposite it. Work through the alien consoles, adjusting each dial and slider until its indicator turns green. Finish the individual controls, then interact with the central console to start the Power Plant.
The important completion signal is the green state of each control. Building the turbine alone does not finish this sequence or open the Observatory.
Watch the control-room demonstration on PC Gamer · May 2026 →6. Find the Observatory’s west entrance
Return to the tall Observatory near the Alien Ruins Research Station. Circle around to the west side of the tower, facing away from the main ruins. With the plant running, the doorway is open. Enter and operate the lever inside to continue the story sequence.
This is the final story sequence in the May 2026 Early Access walkthrough. The next story chapter belongs to the planned larger expansion; see the roadmap for announced content and dates.
Stuck at a step?
The viral flowers close before I can hit them.
Use the Feedback Resonator’s ranged shot. Stay far enough away for the flower to remain open, then fire; closing the distance with the ordinary Sonic Resonator does not solve this branch.
The Angel Comb is still closed.
Revisit the three side areas, including the cave below the wreck, then clear the flowers around the central comb. Finishing a side branch alone does not complete the whole comb.
I cannot read or use the alien controls.
Check that you claimed Axum Vision from the opened Alien Ruins comb. Digestion and Heat Tolerance are different adaptations. Then return to the control room overlooking the comb.
The turbine construction ghost disappeared.
Install the current update and reload the save before gathering replacement materials. The September 3 follow-up to Buddy System Hotfix 1 restores affected in-progress turbine ghosts and allows that recovery construction to finish free. This repair does not make a newly reached turbine free.
I repaired the turbine but the Observatory is closed.
Visit the control room opposite the turbine. Finish the individual dial and slider adjustments, then activate the central console. After power returns, approach the Observatory from its west side.
Materials and connected routes
Troilite
Keep your turbine ingredients and any Metal Farm seed separate.
Atacamite
Combine with Troilite and Titanium Ingot to make Axum Ingot.
Celestine
Prepare Strontium as well as any unfinished station or vehicle upgrades.
Metal Farm
Plan a powered production route if your gathered Troilite is running low.
Sonic and Feedback Resonators
Check the upgrade materials before returning to the closing viral blooms.
Alien Ruins Research Station
Return to the station for power, local crafting and the Modification Station.
Power Plant and Observatory FAQ
How do I open the Observatory in Subnautica 2?
Clear the Alien Ruins Angel Comb and claim Axum Vision, activate the lower control room, rebuild the damaged Power Plant turbine, then set the upper control-room dials and sliders to green and use its central console. The Observatory entrance is on the west side of the tower near the Research Station.
Where do I get Axum Vision?
From the opened Angel Comb beneath the Alien Power Plant. Clear the branches below the Research Station, in the right-hand ravine and beneath the wreck, then finish the central chamber. The closing blooms require the Feedback Resonator’s ranged shot.
How much does the Power Plant turbine cost?
The PC build 128456 budget for one complete turbine construction target is 10 Titanium Ingots, 10 Axum Ingots and 10 Strontium. With Processor conversions, that is 60 Titanium, 20 Celestine, 10 Atacamite and 10 Troilite. Tools, vehicle upgrades and Metal Farm seed are additional costs; check the active construction panel for your save’s remaining amount.
Is Mangalloy Ingot the same material as Axum Ingot?
Older walkthroughs use Mangalloy Ingot. The later in-game name is Axum Ingot, made at the Processor from one Titanium Ingot, one Atacamite and one Troilite.
Is the Observatory the end of Early Access?
The Observatory is the final story sequence in the May 2026 Early Access walkthrough. The next story chapter is part of the planned larger expansion; follow the roadmap for later announcements.
Route references
The landmark route and linked demonstrations were published in May 2026. The turbine table specifies its PC build; a partially completed objective shows its own remaining requirements.