Subnautica Diamonds — Where to Find Them and Every Use

Diamonds in Subnautica come from Shale Outcrops, which have a 38.5% drop rate for diamond per outcrop — and the fastest safe farm early on is the Jellyshroom Cave or the Mushroom Forest edges, while the legendary infinite farm is the Sea Treader's Path, where walking leviathans churn up fresh shale as they migrate. You need diamonds to build the Laser Cutter, the Modification Station, the Reinforced Dive Suit and the Prawn Suit Drill Arm, so the resource gates your entire mid-game. This guide covers every shale biome, the exact farm routes, and what to spend your haul on.

Here's what you'll learn:

• How diamonds spawn (shale drop rates vs loose seabed crystals)
• The best early, mid and late diamond farm locations
• The Sea Treader's Path infinite farm, step by step
• All five major diamond crafting uses and how many you'll need

Official resources: Steam store page · Official Subnautica Wiki — Diamond · Official Subnautica Wiki — Shale Outcrop · IGN Subnautica page

How Diamonds Spawn

Diamonds appear two ways, and understanding the difference saves you hours:

1. Loose crystals on the seabed — rare, scattered, and unreliable. They sit directly on the ocean floor in deeper biomes like the Grand Reef, Bulb Zone and Crash Zone mesas. Grab them when you see them, never farm for them.
2. Shale Outcrops — the real source. Shale is a grey rock node found in almost every biome except the Safe Shallows, Kelp Forest and Grassy Plateaus. Break it by hand and it drops one of three materials.

Per the official Subnautica Wiki, Shale Outcrops contain: "Gold — 30%, Lithium — 31.5%, Diamond — 38.5%."

That 38.5% is why shale farming beats seabed hunting every time — roughly two out of five outcrops pay a diamond, and the same runs stock you with lithium (31.5%) for the Prawn Suit and depth modules you'll need anyway. The official Diamond page adds that Sea Treader Leviathans "reveal" shale as they walk, which is the foundation of the infinite farm below.

Best Early Farm: Jellyshroom Cave, Mountain Island and Mushroom Forest

Three spots give you diamonds in the first few hours with minimal teeth:

• Jellyshroom Cave (safest density farm) — Enter through a crevice in the Grassy Plateaus (the big pink mushrooms are visible from the entrance). Shale clusters line the cave walls and floor around the Degasi base. It's compact, repeatable, and the only real predators are Crabsnakes that rarely chase. A 300-meter Seamoth (MK1 depth module) or a standard O₂ tank with good planning is enough. Expect 2–6 diamonds per run.
• Mountain Island (the "Google answer") — The island and its underwater cliffs carry heavy shale concentrations, plus surface-accessible outcrops. It's accessible early, but Warpers patrol the deeper edges. Circle the island underwater, dip into the caves, beacons strongly recommended.
• Mushroom Forest (zero-stress option) — Shale sits on the seafloor around the giant tree mushrooms and on rock ledges. No aggressive predators of note; the official wiki lists it as one of the recommended diamond locations. Slower than the other two, but you'll never panic.

Best Mid/Late Farm: the Sea Treader's Path (Infinite)

The Sea Treader's Path, southwest of Lifepod 5, is the community's unanimous "infinite diamond" answer — and the official wiki's Diamond page recommends it first: "to obtain a large quantity of Diamonds, it is recommended to go to the Sea Treader's Path and break the Shale outcrops that the Sea Treader Leviathans reveal."

The loop:

1. Get a vehicle with depth — the biome spans 170–425 meters, so a Seamoth with at least MK1 depth (300m) is the minimum, MK2 (500m) is comfortable.
2. Find the Sea Treader herd — they're huge, slow, and completely passive (they will stomp you if you stand directly in their path, but they never chase).
3. Follow behind them. Their footsteps unearth fresh Shale Outcrops in the seabed.
4. Break every outcrop, scoop the drops, let them walk another twenty meters, repeat.
5. The seabed also holds loose diamond, lithium and gold, and Wreck 7 sits on the path if you want a databox break.

The herd never stops walking and the outcrops respawn along the migration route, which is why this is the only farm you can do indefinitely. Depth module required, Reapers not present, Warpers occasionally — bring a beacon for the entrance and a spare O₂ tank for when you hop out of the Seamoth.

Every Diamond Use (and How Many You Need)

Diamonds feed five key recipes, cross-checked across the wiki and crafting reference guides:

A widely-cited community count (from the ChemicalApes diamond guide, 244k views) totals 31 diamonds to craft everything in the game — that figure is a community estimate, not an official number, but it gives you the scale: a couple of Jellyshroom runs plus one Sea Treader's Path session will carry you through the entire campaign. If you're only planning, prioritize in this order: Laser Cutter → Modification Station → Reinforced Dive Suit → Drill Arm → Purple Tablet.

FAQ

Where can I find diamonds in Subnautica?

Diamonds drop from Shale Outcrops (38.5% per outcrop) found in Jellyshroom Cave, Mountain Island, Mushroom Forest, Sea Treader's Path, Grand Reef, Bulb Zone, Crash Zone mesas, Lost River and the Inactive Lava Zone. Loose crystals also appear on the seabed in the deeper biomes.

What is the fastest way to get diamonds in Subnautica?

Early: a Jellyshroom Cave circuit. Late: follow the Sea Treader herd on the Sea Treader's Path and break the shale they expose — the only infinite diamond source in the game.

What are diamonds used for in Subnautica?

The Laser Cutter (2), Reinforced Dive Suit (2), Modification Station (1), Purple Tablet (2) and Prawn Suit Drill Arm (5). They are also part of several late-game recipes via those items.

How many diamonds do I need in Subnautica?

A community estimate puts the total at about 31 diamonds to craft everything in the game. In practice, 10–15 covers the entire campaign's critical path.

Can diamonds spawn as large deposits?

No — unlike lithium, magnetite and nickel, diamonds have no drillable large deposit in the base game. Shale farming is the only mass source. (The wiki's gallery still shows an old, removed large-diamond-deposit model.)

Related Guides

• Subnautica Magnetite — Where to Find It & Every Use
• Subnautica Modification Station — Recipe, Fragments & Upgrades
• Subnautica Lost River — Entrances, Biomes & Resources
• Subnautica Cyclops Guide — Fragments, Upgrades and Pilot Tips

Last updated: August 13, 2026.