Strong Acid is one of the key crafting steps in Subnautica 2, and players need it to make Power Cells and build the Rebreather. That makes Necrolei Cysts, the material used to craft Strong Acid, a priority the moment deeper water starts to matter.
The search begins by heading north-northwest from the lifepod for about 450m. The right area is marked by giant turquoise and pink neon anemones about 20m below the surface, a bright patch that stands out even before the sea floor does. The Necrolei Cysts grow off green, rotund Stilt Orbs held up by glowing purple tentacles, and the way to harvest them is simple: use your Multitool on the flower on top of the Stilt Orb.
That matters because the Rebreather is not just another upgrade. Once players push beyond 100m, breathing underwater becomes harder without it, which turns Strong Acid from a side item into a survival requirement. In practice, the route to the material is as important as the recipe itself, since the game does not hand the player a clean line between the lifepod and the supplies they need.
There is also a small catch. When the first cluster runs dry, more Stilt Orbs can be found by heading further down the ravine that flanks the anemone cluster. If they still cannot be found immediately, players should keep pushing north. That turns the hunt into a moving search rather than a single stop, with the ravine acting as the real trail to follow once the first growth has been stripped.
The result is a useful early-game loop: find the neon anemone field, collect Necrolei Cysts from the Stilt Orbs, make Strong Acid, and turn that into the gear that lets you stay underwater longer. For players trying to move past the shallow opening of Subnautica 2, that sequence is the difference between exploring and running back to the surface.
