Prawn Suit (Subnautica)
<infobox> <title source="title1"><default>Prawn Suit (Subnautica)</default></title>
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It is normal when first piloting a Prawn suit to feel a sense of limitless power. Prawn operators receive weeks of training to counteract this phenomenon. You will have to make do with self-discipline. File:PrawnVO.ogg
― PDA, Dialogue

The Pressure Reactive Armored Waterproof Nano Suit Mk.III (abbv. PRAWN Suit Mk.III) is a bipedal mechanical walker, designed for use in extreme-pressure and zero-gravity environments. A plasteel-reinforced canopy of enameled glass protects the single occupant, and dexterity is provided by hydraulic limbs that are capable of striking with enough force to crush bone and pulverize rock. When not in use outside of water, the vehicle assumes a seated position.
Lateral movement is provided by mechanical legs that propel the vehicle along the ground at a top speed of 14 Mph (23 kph), and a pair of boosters on the back of the vehicle provide vertical thrust. The PRAWN Suit also comes with its own beacon, similar to the Cyclops and the Seamoth.
Before the PRAWN Suit can be constructed, its fragments must be scanned. Four wrecked PRAWN Suits can be found in the Aurora's vehicle bay, each of which account for a quarter of the blueprint. While many smaller arm fragments (each counting 5% towards unlocking the blueprint) can be found among various wrecks, there aren't enough arm or suit fragments outside of the Aurora to fully unlock the blueprint.
A 3D model can be found on Sketchfab.
Overview
The PRAWN Suit can be used to explore places that are too deep for the Seamoth and too narrow for the Cyclops. It has a base crush depth of 900 meters and can be upgraded to withstand a maximum depth of 1,700 meters, making it one of the most useful deep-sea exploration vehicles (second only to the Cyclops). However, due to its limited mobility in the vertical dimension, it may be wise to use a Cyclops as a transport, as certain biomes such as the Blood Kelp Zone or Underwater Islands may be difficult for the PRAWN Suit to get out of on its own.
Unless the power supply is depleted, the player's Oxygen tank will be replenished upon entering, as is the case with the Seamoth and the Cyclops. Just like the other vehicles, the Prawn Suit cannot move or function until one charged Power Cell is put on one of the sockets near the back.
The PRAWN Suit has a health meter, and reaching zero will cause the vehicle to malfunction catastrophically and explode. Unlike the Seamoth, however, it is heavily armored and can endure most things that would otherwise severely damage or destroy a Seamoth, such as a Reaper Leviathan's grip. The Sea Dragon Leviathan is also capable of picking up the Prawn Suit.
Alternatively, the PRAWN Suit can be used on land for exploration of dangerous areas (keep in mind that the PRAWN Suit is not as mobile on land. The thrusters are nearly useless, even if the Jump Jet Upgrade is equipped). As the suit is immune to heat and poison (though not direct contact with lava), the PRAWN Suit is also great for collecting resources in hazardous areas such as near Lava Geysers or collecting Gas Pods, or for simple protection against most low-to-mid tier predators.
The PRAWN Suit requires energy from Power Cells to operate, which can be interacted with or switched out from the two sockets on either of the shoulder plates. It can be docked in a Cyclops vehicle bay or a Moonpool to recharge the onboard power cells.
The vehicle comes equipped with a 24-slot inventory space, accessed from outside in the rear. Any items picked up with the default Claw Arm or drilled with the Drill Arm are automatically placed in the PRAWN Suit's inventory if there is room. Bear in mind though that there is a slight delay between clicking and activating the respective Claw Arm on the suit, so a player may accidentally punch a creature they are trying to collect or miss a falling item.
Light
The PRAWN suit has a front-facing light that is always on. The light can be turned off only by removing the Power Cell in the left socket.
Recipe
(no target detected)
How to Use
Controls
Action | Mouse & Keyboard | Xbox One | PlayStation 4 | Nintendo Switch |
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Enter Prawn | ![]() |
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Piloting the Prawn | ![]() |
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Exit Prawn | ![]() |
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Using Prawn Arms | ![]() ![]() |
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Jumping (Hold to use Thrusters) | ![]() |
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Upgrades and Customization
The Prawn Suit can be customized with the Vehicle Upgrade Console, which the player can use to craft upgrades and change the vehicle's name and color scheme (The depth module Mk. II is crafted at the Modification Station). Upgrades can be installed and swapped via a panel on its left shoulder. Opening the panel reveals six slots - four for vehicle upgrades and two for arm attachments. The Storage, Hull Reinforcement and Engine Efficiency modules are compatible with the Seamoth.
Depth Module |
Increases the vehicle's maximum crush depth, enabling it to survive greater pressure. Each successive module increases the crush depth by 400 meters. This effect does not stack. Mk I Recipe Mk II Recipe ×5
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Increases maximum onboard storage capacity by six slots. This effect stacks with multiple modules.
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Strengthens the chassis with a diamond lattice, increasing hull durability. Decreases collision damage by 50%; each successive module adds half the damage resistance of the last. Damage from aggressive fauna remains unchanged. Effect stacks with multiple modules. Useless for the Prawn Suit, as it does not take damage from collisions.
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Increases maximum battery life by recycling engine thermal waste and decreases total power consumption by 15%. Effect stacks with multiple modules.
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Replenishes the onboard power supply by harnessing thermal energy in areas with an ambient temperature of 35ºC or greater. The charge rate depends on the amount of heat in the surrounding environment.
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Greatly increases thruster power and provides greater acceleration and maneuverability. Useful for reaching high ledges when used in conjunction with the grappling arm; burst-fire greatly increases lateral jump range. (Activate by pressing and holding the spacebar on PC and Mac, the LB button on Xbox One or the L1 button on PlayStation 4) | |||||||||||||||
Claw Arm |
Standard-issue environmental manipulation appendage. Useful for smashing small rocks for resources or delivering quick strikes to fend off predators. Items picked up are transferred to the onboard storage unit. Deals 50 damage per jab. Can be applied to both arms. (Activate by pressing the corresponding mouse button on PC and Mac, trigger on Xbox One and Left or Right button on PlayStation 4) | ||||||||||||||
Allows for the drilling of Large Resource Deposits, breaking them down into manageable fragments. Also an effective weapon against larger creatures. Can be applied to either arm. (Activate by pressing the corresponding mouse button on PC and Mac, trigger on Xbox One and Left or Right button on PlayStation 4) | |||||||||||||||
Fires a magnetic grappling claw that latches onto any solid object and pulls the vehicle toward it. Useful for retrieving items from otherwise inaccessible areas and reaching high ledges when used in conjunction with the jump jets. Can also be used to latch onto leviathans. Can be applied to either arm. (Activate by pressing the corresponding mouse button on PC and Mac, trigger on Xbox One and Left or Right button on PlayStation 4) | |||||||||||||||
Functions identically to the Propulsion Cannon tool, albeit considerably stronger. It is capable of lifting certain objects, creatures, and any item and launch it a significant distance using a gravitational distortion field. Useful for retrieving items from otherwise inaccessible areas. Can be applied to either arm. (Activate by pressing the corresponding mouse button on PC and Mac, trigger on Xbox One and Left or Right button on PlayStation 4) | |||||||||||||||
Functions identically to the Seamoth torpedo launcher. Can hold up to six and fire two torpedoes simultaneously. Can be applied to both arms, providing a maximum of twelve torpedoes and a four-shot salvo. (Activate by pressing the corresponding mouse button on PC and Mac, trigger on Xbox One and Left or Right button on PlayStation 4) |
Audio
Upon entering: File:Prawn Suit Enter.ogg
Data Bank Entry
The Pressure Re-Active Waterproof Nano Suit is a range of mechs designed to protect the pilot from extreme environments. The Mk.III is the latest iteration, and has so far only been rolled out by Alterra for their own high-value, phasegate-related operations. - The suit is fully insulated from the outside environment 'The Prawn Suit: It's got you covered.' |
Achievement
Spoiler alert: The following section contains story related material.
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Ordered the Prawn Build a Prawn Suit
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Gallery
<tabber> |-|Screenshots=
The Prawn Suit in the Cyclops
A Reaper Leviathan holding a Prawn Suit
A Prawn Suit with a Lava Larva on the glass.
|-|Videos=
- Exosuit animations 01
|-|Concept Art=
|-|Models=
Models from Sketchfab
Prawn Suit interior model from Sketchfab
The Prawn Suit with the Torpedo arm, seen in Sketchfab.
The Prawn Suit with the Grappling arm, seen in Sketchfab.
Prawn Suit Upgrade from Sketchfab.
|-|Other=
The Prawn Suit with the Propulsion Cannon Arm, seen in Trello.
The Prawn Suit with the grappling arm, and the torpedo launcher arm, seen in Trello.
The Prawn Suit damaged model, as seen on Trello.
</tabber>
Trivia
- The Prawn Suit's current design is credited to an artist named "Mikhail". No information is known about him and his only other confirmed design is the Reaper Leviathan.
- The former name for the Prawn Suit was the P.R.A.W.N Suit, and in earlier development, Exosuit.
- In the early builds where the Prawn Suit could only be spawned in using the dev console, taking it on land would crash the game.
- The idea for the Prawn Suit may be taken from the Exosuit from Natural Selection 2, another game made by Unknown Worlds Entertainment.
- Early animations for the Prawn Suit can be viewed here and here.
- The Prawn Suit is the only vehicle from Subnautica to reappear in Subnautica: Below Zero.
- The Prawn suit will sit down when not in use on land, allowing access to its storage and upgrades which would otherwise be too tall for the player to reach.
- Shooting the prawn suit with a stasis rifle while it is sitting will cause the prawn suit to stand up. When the bubble dissipates, the prawn suit will sit down again.
Bugs
For a variety of reasons, the Prawn Suit can end up clipping into the ground and falling, sometimes far below the map. The most common cause is when the terrain's collision despawns before the Prawn Suit, allowing it to fall through. Other causes include hitting wall/floor before collision can take effect and hitting a certain spot on terrain allowing clipping, such as certain slopes and corners.
If the player docks a Prawn Suit in a Moonpool and then builds a Multipurpose Room under the Moonpool so that it clips the Prawn Suit's legs, one can then undock the Prawn Suit which will get it stuck inside the Multipurpose Room. Exiting the Prawn Suit at this point will allow the player to swim around inside the Multipurpose Room.
A speed boost commonly referred to as "strafing" in the Prawn Suit can be performed. As long as the W key and either the A held or D key is held, as well as the camera is turned at a 45 degree angle away from where the player would like to travel, the player can move at twice the normal speed.
- During the grappling animation the prawn suit has a tendency to glitch mid-air causing the game to assume you are actually on the ground.
- When pressing the left arm and right arm buttons at the same time to pick up an item, it is possible for you to pick up 2 items instead of 1.