Leave rising exposure before treating it
In the demo, radiation comes from contaminated environmental hazards, particularly spent fuel in the Wasteland, and radiation-related layer conditions. Watch absorbed radiation in the health panel and leave the source or advancing hazard zone before relying on Anti-rad.
A Geiger counter can measure radiation, while radiation-sickness indicators help you recognize the effects on your character. Use these signs to make an early route decision instead of waiting until breathing and thinking become difficult.
Keep demo and prototype advice separate
This page covers documented demo hazards. The health-panel shortcut follows Steam demo 7.0.1; older itch prototype item values should be kept separate from that build and from the full release. Check your own interface before applying medication values from an older version.
For route planning, check the run's layer time limit rather than assuming every preset behaves alike. The demo's Unchipped preset removes the artificial timer but also disables the usual health panel. That trades away useful medical information alongside the time pressure.
Respond to a radiation warning
- Leave the suspected source or advancing hazard zone. Escaping exposure comes before deciding how much treatment to spend on its effects.
- Open the health panel with R to inspect absorbed radiation and radiation sickness. These readings give you a more useful assessment than waiting for severe symptoms.
- Check blood pressure and consciousness for newly developing complications. This helps identify whether the immediate problem extends beyond the radiation warning itself.
- Use available Anti-rad cautiously for radiation treatment. It can be overdosed, so reassess your condition instead of repeatedly consuming it while remaining exposed.
- Continue toward the next transition when the layer's punishment line is advancing. Drop optional looting from the route so the moving hazard does not dictate a desperate retreat.
Recognize radiation sickness as it worsens
| Indicator | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Absorbed-radiation reading | Use the health-panel reading to recognize exposure before severe symptoms develop. |
| Uncomfortable radiation moodle | Irritation and discomfort can be an early radiation-related warning; inspect exposure rather than dismissing it as mood. |
| Radiation sickness moodle | Fever, nausea and hot, painful skin indicate a more serious condition that needs attention. |
| Severe radiation sickness | Widespread aching and difficulty breathing or thinking call for immediate reassessment of your medical condition. |
Treat the warning name and the exposure reading together. Nausea alone is a poor reason to assume you know the entire problem. After leaving, inspect the other medical warnings so an unrelated injury does not go untreated.
Route around the punishment line
The chip-controlled layer timer creates pressure to descend. Once the time limit expires, the radiation line pushes you toward the exit and makes lingering dangerous. It changes your route from an open-ended search into a decision about reaching the next transition.
Before making an optional detour, consider whether it still leaves a practical path forward. Once the line is advancing, favor progress toward the transition over returning for leftover loot. Treat supplies as support for your escape rather than a reason to stay inside the hazard.
Recheck complications after escaping
Leaving the source and treating the character are separate actions. After escaping, review absorbed radiation, radiation sickness, blood pressure and consciousness. Anti-rad does not replace care for unrelated bleeding or cardiac problems.
New breathing trouble, fading consciousness or circulation warnings should redirect your attention to the affected system. Severe hypoxemia can progress lethally, and severe hypotension can lead to fibrillation. Do not keep treating only the radiation label while those warnings worsen.
Judge the next action from the readings you now have. If complications remain, continue addressing them before resuming optional exploration. An escape is the opportunity to reassess, not a reason to stop checking your condition.