Virulence is how much harm a pathogen causes; small mutations can make a strain far more aggressive.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: +12% damage (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsPetri LabLineage & Generations
Codex
Traits
Every trait a mutation orb can offer.
On this page40
- Virulence
- Rapid Replication
- Streamlined Capsid
- Lipid Envelope
- Segmented Genome
- Neuraminidase Boost
- Reassortment
- Pyrogenic Fever
- NSP4 Enterotoxin
- Cold Adaptation
- M2 Ion Channel
- Lytic Burst
- Cell-to-Cell Spread
- Fomite Ricochet
- Endosomal Recycling
- Satellite Virus
- Syncytial Pulse
- Lateral Budding
- Stolen Membrane
- Glycan Armor
- Incubation Period
- Shedding Burst
- Febrile Wake
- Toxic Wake
- Cold Snap
- Ion Surge
- Aerosol Plume
- Transcytosis
- Tail Contraction
- Heat Shock Hijack
- Spring-Loaded Fusion
- Superinfection Exclusion
- High-Affinity Binding
- Helper Virions
- Guide RNA Library
- Spacer Acquisition
- Cas Cascade
- Gene Drive
- Oncolytic Payload
- Elemental Potency
A faster polymerase means more copies of the genome per hour.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: Fire 8% faster (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsSkill TreePetri LabRun ModifiersLineage & GenerationsGear Stats
Smaller, tighter capsids let virions spread more easily.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: +6% move speed (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsPetri LabLineage & Generations
Enveloped viruses wrap themselves in membrane stolen from the host cell.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: +15 max HP and heal it (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsLineage & Generations
Influenza's genome is split into 8 RNA segments, packaged together in each virion.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: +1 projectile per shot (40% damage) (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Neuraminidase cuts through sugar chains so new virions can escape and spread.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: Shots pierce +1 cell (at common tier).
When two flu strains infect one cell, their segments can mix into a new strain.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: Antigenic Shift charges 30% faster and refills now (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Pyrogens are molecules that trigger fever. Infections release them and the body heats up.
In the game
Effect trait from mutation orbs: Shots set cells burning: 4 damage/s for 3s (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsLevel Unlocks
Rotavirus makes NSP4, the first viral enterotoxin discovered, which damages gut cells.
In the game
Effect trait from mutation orbs: Shots poison: stacks up to 10, 1.5 dmg/s per stack (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Rhinoviruses (common colds) replicate best at 33°C, the cooler temperature inside your nose.
In the game
Effect trait from mutation orbs: Shots have a 30% chance to slow a cell by 25% for 2s (one slow at a time) (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Influenza's M2 protein is an ion channel that pumps protons into the virion to trigger uncoating.
In the game
Effect trait from mutation orbs: Shots turn electric: +60% damage to shields (not armor), chance to shock, arcing to a nearby cell (at common tier).
Lytic viruses burst open their host cell, releasing a flood of new virions at once.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: Shots burst on impact for 40% damage around them (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsSynergiesLevel UnlocksThe Codex
Many viruses pass directly from one cell to the next, never exposed to antibodies outside.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: Shots jump to 1 more cell for 60% damage (at common tier).
Fomites are contaminated surfaces: virions bounce from doorknob to hand to face.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: Shots bounce off walls and tissue 1 time (at common tier).
Cells recycle their endosomes back to the surface; some viruses hitch a ride both ways.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: Shots fly out to full range and back, hitting again on the return; each extra pick adds another round trip at 60% of the previous trip's damage (at common tier).
Satellite viruses can only replicate alongside a helper virus, orbiting its life cycle.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: 1 satellite virion orbits you, 10 dmg each (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
RSV fuses neighbouring cells into giant multinucleated syncytia.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: Every 3.0s, pulse 12 damage around you (at common tier).
Enveloped viruses bud off the sides of an infected cell, each new virion pinching away to find a cell of its own.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: Every 1.5s, small homing darts bud off both your sides for 45% of your damage; every 2 power adds another pair (up to 3) (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Enveloped viruses wear a membrane stolen from the host, hiding behind 'self'.
In the game
Defence trait from mutation orbs: 16 shield that recharges after 6s without damage (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsLevel Unlocks
HIV coats its spikes in dense sugars (a glycan shield) that block antibodies.
In the game
Defence trait from mutation orbs: 24 armor absorbs 35% of each hit, regrows after 7s (at common tier).
Appears inTraitsLineage & Generations
The incubation period is the silent stretch between infection and symptoms, when a virus multiplies unnoticed.
In the game
Survival trait from mutation orbs: +1 extra life: next time you'd die, go dormant and respawn. Revive health +10% (from 30%, up to 75%) (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Viral shedding is the release of new virions from an infected host, often in bursts.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Dashing bursts for 18 damage where you leave, then leaves a ring that keeps hitting for 6 every half second · more burst levels make the ring bigger and last longer (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Fever raises body temperature to slow viral replication, damaging tissue along the way.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Dashing bursts where you leave and leaves a ring that sets cells burning: 6 damage/s for 3s · more burst levels make the ring bigger and last longer (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Some viral proteins act as toxins, like rotavirus NSP4 disrupting gut cells.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Dashing bursts where you leave and leaves a toxic ring: the burst adds 2 poison stacks, the ring 1 more every half second · more burst levels make the ring bigger and last longer (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Many respiratory viruses survive longer in cold, dry air, which is one reason flu peaks in winter.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Dashing bursts where you leave and leaves a chilling ring: a chance to slow cells by 30% for 2s (one slow at a time) · more burst levels make the ring bigger and last longer (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Viroporins punch ion channels into host membranes, scrambling the cell's electrical balance.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Dashing bursts where you leave and leaves a charged ring: a 10 jolt, then 14 electric damage per hit · more burst levels make the ring bigger and last longer (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
A cough or sneeze releases a plume of tiny aerosol droplets that can carry virus several metres.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Dash bursts and their rings are 30% bigger (needs a dash burst trait) (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Transcytosis carries cargo straight through a cell, in one side and out the other; some viruses use it to cross barriers.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Your dash becomes a teleport through cells and tissue walls, reaching 20% farther (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
A bacteriophage lands on a cell and contracts its tail sheath, slamming a tube through the cell wall like a spring-loaded syringe.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Where a dash ends, a shockwave knocks cells 80 back and deals 100% of your damage (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Many viruses hijack the cell's heat shock proteins, the chaperones that protect it from heat and toxic stress, to keep their own proteins working.
In the game
Defence trait from mutation orbs: Map hazards (bile jets, synapse arcs, sneezes and coughs, air-sac slams) deal 26% less damage to you (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Influenza's hemagglutinin is spring-loaded: the right trigger releases it, and it snaps out to fuse the virus with the cell.
In the game
Dash trait from mutation orbs: Hold dash to charge it: an arrow shows how far you'll go, up to 85% farther than a normal dash, fully charged in 0.8s. With Tail Contraction the dash also shoves cells in your path out to the sides; with Transcytosis the take-off blasts cells away too (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Once a cell is infected, many viruses make it shut the door on more viruses of the same kind, keeping other virions away.
In the game
Projectile trait from mutation orbs: Your shots push the first cell they hit 52 away (each cell at most once a second; bosses stand firm) (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
A few small changes in a virus's binding protein can make it grip its receptor many times more tightly, so far more of its contacts end in an infection.
In the game
Stat trait from mutation orbs: +5% critical hit chance and +25% critical hit damage (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Defective virions can't replicate alone, but ride along with a complete 'helper' virus and spread beside it.
In the game
Companion trait from mutation orbs: A little helper virion follows you and shoots the nearest cell every 1.1s for 28% of your damage; each pick adds another (up to 4) (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
CRISPR uses a library of guide RNAs to find and cut matching DNA.
In the game
Power-Up trait from mutation orbs: Every power-up (CRISPR too) lasts 3s longer (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Bacteria add new 'spacers' to their CRISPR array after every viral attack, remembering it.
In the game
Power-Up trait from mutation orbs: Every power-up (CRISPR too) appears 60% more often (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Cas enzymes can shred DNA far beyond their first cut once they're switched on.
In the game
Power-Up trait from mutation orbs: Every power-up starts and ends with a blast for 4x your damage around you (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Gene drives use CRISPR to copy themselves into every generation, spreading fast.
In the game
Power-Up trait from mutation orbs: Every kill while a power-up is running adds 0.4s to it (at common tier).
Appears inTraits
Oncolytic viruses infect and burst cancer cells; some are approved cancer treatments.
In the game
Cancer trait from mutation orbs: Deal 40% more damage to tumors and their cells (at common tier).
Appears inOncolytic VirusTraitsRun Modifiers
Viruses soak up whatever the cell around them offers, from ions to lipids, and turn it to their own use.
In the game
Power-Up trait from mutation orbs: Elemental power-ups are 30% stronger (at common tier).
Appears inTraits