Welcome to this comprehensive Mycopunk beginner guide, designed to help new robot recruits navigate their first harrowing hours on the job. Developed by Pigeons At Play and published by Devolver Digital, this co-op shooter plunges you into a planetary fungal catastrophe where survival requires mastering unorthodox mechanics. Whether you are playing solo or grouping up, this Mycopunk beginner guide covers everything you need to know about employee classes, weapon customization, and tactical combat.
Choosing Your Employee Class
Saxon Industries requires all new hires to select an employee class before dropping into hazardous zones. While weapon loadouts are flexible, each employee brings a distinct mobility tool and active capability to the squad. According to community reports, all four available options are exceptionally powerful for newcomers.
| Employee Class | Mobility Tool | Specialization |
|---|---|---|
| Bruiser | Shield & Ground Slam | Holding ground, defensive frontline pushes |
| Wrangler | Grappling Hook & Dash | High-mobility cowboy engagement |
| Scrapper | Grappler Pole & Jetpack | Vertical traversal and aerial movement |
| Glider | Wingsuit & Shoulder Missiles | High-speed aerial bombardments |
You can freely switch your active employee class at any time while hanging out in the hub. Simply open up your pause menu and click on your character icon to swap roles instantly.
Mastering Combat and Dismemberment Mechanics
Combat in the game extends far beyond simply aiming for heads. Every enemy is constructed of breakable parts, including armor layers, shields, weapons, and invulnerability generators. When you destroy an enemy core, its detached parts remain scattered on the ground. Player experience shows that even small enemy cores can pick up powerful dropped boss weapons and use them against you, making target prioritization crucial.
| Combat Feature | Description | Tactical Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Armor Stripping | Heavy targets feature multiple armor layers. | Focus your fire on a single side to reach squishy cores faster. |
| Ammo Regeneration | Dealing damage with one weapon regenerates ammo for the other. | Continuously swap between your two equipped weapons to maintain pressure. |
| Grenade Cooldowns | Explosives are infinite but operate on a cooldown timer. | Use grenades frequently to crack multiple armor pieces at once. |
If you take fatal damage, your robot body shatters into two pieces flung across the map. Teammates can quickly revive you by picking up your severed parts and tossing them back together.
Grid-Based Upgrades and Weapon Customization
As detailed in the publisher description reproduced on the Mycopunk Fandom wiki, the game features a one-of-a-kind grid-based upgrade system. Upgrades drop randomly from enemies as glowing pyramids or can be unlocked via your skill tree. Rather than selecting upgrades from a static list, every modification has a unique geometric shape that you must manually puzzle into your hex grid.
The beginner tutorial lists common, rare, epic, exotic, and especially rare oddity upgrades. Enemy drops, skill-tree unlocks, and hidden crates are described as ways to obtain upgrades.
Upgrades also feature random stat rolls. For instance, two copies of the same demolition upgrade might roll with significantly different damage multipliers. Be sure to inspect your inventory to compare stats before breaking down unwanted duplicates into scrap material.
Resource Gathering and Mission Exploration
Funding your gear unlocks requires collecting a variety of common and uncommon resources across static, massive regional biomes. Common resources are distributed across specific planet sectors.
| Resource Name | Collection Method | Regional Availability |
|---|---|---|
| Rompus | Attached to random enemies or drops | Found in Farms and City maps |
| Gusula | Growing on stalks; punch twice to harvest | Found in Farms and Desert maps |
| Bizia | Locked inside blue puzzle containers | Found in Desert and Tundra maps |
| Yuko | Thrown at small enemies to apply status | Found in City and Tundra maps |
Saxonite stands out as the rarest common resource and acts as your primary progression bottleneck. You can acquire Saxonite reliably by completing missions on higher difficulty settings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best weapon to unlock first in Mycopunk?
New players are prompted to choose between the DMLR rifle and the Swarm Launcher. Community reports suggest starting with the Swarm Launcher if you prefer close-range crowd control for high-hazard missions, while the DMLR suits medium-to-long-range precision play. You can quickly unlock whichever option you skip.
How does the grid upgrade system work?
Upgrades must be physically placed into a hex-shaped grid attached to your weapons or employee profile. More powerful upgrades feature larger, more complicated patterns that require careful puzzle-solving to fit alongside your other active modifications.
Can I play Mycopunk in single-player and co-op?
Yes, the game fully supports both solo play and cooperative multiplayer matching, allowing you to tackle planetary fungal hazards alone or with a squad of robot rejects.