Mycopunk is a mission-based 4-player co-op PvE looter shooter from Pigeons at Play, published by Devolver Digital, and its full 1.0 release on October 20, 2026 made it a genuinely new game for everyone — after roughly 15 months in Early Access, nothing about the launch build is outdated. This Mycopunk beginner guide is built for players who just picked up the game and want a clear route through the first hours: picking your first employee, learning the reworked HUB loop, surviving a low-threat mission, and spending Antimass before it loses value. You will find the threat scale explained (1 through 7 — threat 8 does not exist), a starter employee comparison table, the upgrade rotations that unlock at levels 3, 8, and 16, and the mission types worth knowing before you reach player level 13. Everything below sticks to facts the developer has officially published at 1.0, and flags whatever remains unconfirmed so you never chase a guess.
Your First Hour in Mycopunk: What New Players Should Know
Mycopunk left Early Access on 2026-10-20 after roughly 15 months in beta, so the official Steam page is still the most reliable source for verified facts. This mycopunk beginner guide covers the practical steps every new player needs: picking an employee, learning the HUB loop, surviving a low-threat mission, and figuring out which upgrades matter first. The game is a mission-based 4-player co-op PvE looter shooter built by Pigeons at Play and published by Devolver Digital, and it runs on Windows PC and PlayStation 5 at launch. There is no Xbox or Switch version, and according to the developer, no third-party wiki or community guide yet covers the 1.0 content.
Because the title just launched, some specifics that veterans expect (named drop tables, full upgrade trees, complete element lists) have not been published. This guide sticks to what the developer has officially stated and writes the rest as type-level descriptions so the facts stay honest.
| Quick fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Developer | Pigeons at Play |
| Publisher | Devolver Digital |
| 1.0 release | 2026-10-20 |
| Platforms | Windows PC (Steam), PlayStation 5 |
| Genre | Action, Indie — 4-player co-op PvE looter shooter |
| Price at 1.0 | US$14.99 list, US$7.49 launch (-50%, until 2026-11-03) |
| Languages | English (full audio) plus 9 other localized versions |
| Player level cap | 30 |
| Achievement total | 48 |
If you want a tighter, hour-by-hour checklist instead of a full breakdown, the mycopunk first hour guide condenses the same fundamentals into a shorter walkthrough.
Picking Your First Employee and Learning the Basics
Mycopunk officially uses the word "employee" rather than "class" — there is no class system in the dev's terminology. Four employees are available from the start, and a fifth (the Mycologist) unlocks only after you finish the Expedition Alpha rescue mission. The HUB dropship is your home base between runs, and it is where Roachard Cox, Lottery Larry, and Battery Barry all live.
Starter Employees and Their Tools
| Employee | Mobility tool | Combat tool | Best for beginners because… |
|---|---|---|---|
| Glider | Wingsuit | Rocket Salvo | Rocket Salvo is forgiving at range, and the wingsuit gives a generous glide profile. |
| Scrapper | Jetpack | Grapple Pole | Grapple Pole is the most flexible movement tool in the game and forgives mistimed jumps. |
| Bruiser | Shield Projector | Nose Dive | Shield Projector can soak mistakes while you learn enemy telegraphs. |
| Wrangler | Air Dash | Rocket Lasso | Rocket Lasso pulls tough enemies out of the crowd, which is useful when you do not yet know the spawns. |
| Mycologist | (unlock-only) | Sporelift, Fungal Skewer | Unlocked via Expedition Alpha; not recommended as a starter. |
The first three tools on each row are official names. The Mycologist's full upgrade tree, ability damage, and cooldown numbers have not been published, so this guide only describes them at type level. If you want a deeper comparison once you have a few hours on each kit, the mycopunk advanced guide covers higher-level play loops.
Core Controls and the HUB Loop
Your first run as a new player should look like this: drop from the HUB orbital dropship, complete a low-threat mission, return to the HUB, and spend resources on the Pattern Infuser or Turbocharge vendors. The HUB was reworked for 1.0, so older videos that show its old layout are out of date.
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HUB dropship — your staging area; reworked in 1.0.
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Pattern Infuser — spend Antimass Substrate for permanent upgrade board progress.
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Turbocharge — spend Strange Components on exotic-tier upgrades.
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Lottery Larry — re-roll HUB cosmetic rewards using Lottery Larry Tokens.
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Lost Loot Terminal — recover items left behind on failed runs.
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Cargo Pod — review pending inbound cargo drops between missions.
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Armament License — your account-wide weapon unlock tracker.
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Starrunner — an arcade minigame in the HUB for cosmetic rewards.
Most of these systems interact, so plan one trip per run: drop, clear, return, and spend before the next drop. Players who loop the HUB vendors and missions together tend to hit the level-10 weapon unlock milestones faster than players who grind missions back-to-back without spending.
Understanding Threats, Weapons, and Mission Flow
Mycopunk uses a 1-7 threat scale, not 1-8. The developer's own 1.10.1 patch notes explicitly state that threat 8 "isn't a thing (yet)", so any guide that suggests a threat-8 tier should be ignored. Higher threat levels reward more Saxonite (roughly 60% drop chance at threat 7, per the official resource notes) and unlock harder mission modifiers.
Threat Levels at a Glance
| Threat | Typical mission | Difficulty | Good for… |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2 | Incursion-style opener | Easy | First-time players learning controls. |
| 3-4 | Standard missions | Medium | Players comfortable with one employee kit. |
| 5-6 | Escalation / Oxythane Breach | Hard | Players who want modifier challenges. |
| 7 | X11-B-region missions | Very hard | Players chasing Antimass Substrate and the highest Saxonite rates. |
| 8 | Does not exist | N/A | Do not plan for it. |
Weapons and How to Read Them
| Weapon (official name) | Type-level description | Notable unlock condition |
|---|---|---|
| G6 Streetsweeper | Close-range automatic weapon | Available early. |
| A16 Beam Ripper | Continuous beam | Available early. |
| Laser Cannon | Heavy energy weapon | Available early. |
| The Last Argument | High-burst weapon | Available early. |
| Au-Si Jackrabbit | Precision / mid-range weapon | Available early. |
| Carver | Shotgun-type weapon | Available early. |
| Cycler | Rapid-fire weapon | Available early. |
| Swarm Launcher | Multi-projectile launcher | Available early. |
| Lead Flinger | Heavy-hitting weapon | Available early. |
| DMLR | Designated marksman-style weapon | Available early. |
| Globbler | Splash-damage weapon | Available early. |
| Accelerator | Acceleration/ramping weapon | Available early. |
| Gunship Cannon | Heavy cannon | Available early. |
| Trident | Multi-pronged weapon | Available early. |
| Plate Launcher | Launcher weapon | Available early. |
| Shocklance | Shock-damage lance | Unlocks via the Overtime Assignment. |
| Diffraction Driver | Ion scattergun with alt-fire halo | Unlocks at level 10. |
The Diffraction Driver is a 1.0 addition: by default it fires a short-range cone, but holding the alt-fire spins up its halo to tighten the cone and extend range. Its specific upgrade names have not been published, so this guide only describes it at the system level. The Shocklance is one of the few weapons with a named upgrade confirmed by an official 1.9.8 announcement: Storm's Eye.
The Accelerator had a rename at 1.0 — the old "Explosive Bullets" upgrade is now Combustive Rounds. The two grenades that were renamed are Caustic Grenade (formerly Acid Grenade) and Voltaic Grenade (formerly Shock Grenade). Use the new names in chat, but you will still see the old labels in legacy YouTube videos.
The Upgrade System, Patterns, and Spending Your Antimass
The upgrade board is called the Upgrade Grid — a hex-pattern system where you slot upgrades and shape your build path. Upgrades use the rarity tiers Standard, Rare, Epic, Exotic, Exotic+, with Contraband and Oddity as Ouroboros-only tiers. A tier called Broken Frame exists, but it cannot be scrapped, so treat it as a salvage tax.
Upgrade Rarity Tiers
| Rarity | How it unlocks | Where it shows up | Should you scrap it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | Level 3 | All missions | Often, yes. |
| Rare | Level 8 | Most missions | Usually keep. |
| Epic | Level 16 | Higher-threat missions | Almost always keep. |
| Exotic | Turbocharge spending | Turbocharge vendor | Keep — these define builds. |
| Exotic+ | Level 30 | Late-game content | Keep. |
| Contraband | Ouroboros runs | Ouroboros mode only | Build-defining. |
| Oddity | Ouroboros runs (common) | Ouroboros mode only | Often a wildcard. |
| Broken Frame | Various | Cannot be scrapped | Salvage-only. |
Rotation unlocks: Standard appears at level 3, Rare at 8, Epic at 16, and Exotic+ at 30. The weapon-level reward track completes at level 32. The exact level-30 reward and level-32 reward contents have not been published beyond those milestones.
Turning Antimass Into Permanent Pattern Changes
Pattern Infusion is the permanent progression track on the hex board. You spend Antimass Substrate at the Pattern Infuser inside the HUB. The official resource notes confirm Antimass is earned via Incursion missions (which themselves unlock at player level 13) and high-threat runs, so plan to push into Incursion as soon as you reach level 13.
Two confirmed, named upgrades in the published list are Munition Siphon and Hard-Light Prison. The full official list runs much longer — including Scatterburst, Wait Charging, Ready and Waiting, Globulous Siphon, Bullet Time, Lightspeed Material Transfer, Overload Contingency, Energy Convergence, Molotov, Portable Solar Array, Ballistic Charger, Tinderbox, Frantic Fingers, Residue, Practice Makes Perfect, Guidance Array, Phantom Limb, Lockdown, Concussive Wave, Micro Detonators, Through Hell, Eyes Up Here, Course Correction, Impulse Vault, Air Dash, Connected Systems, Simple Inertia, Packed Payload, Mitosis, Miniaturized Warp Core, Adaptive Stabilizer, Condensed Ejection, Subzero Energy, Stormcloud Accumulator, Charging Port, Plasma Arc, Solidified Acid, Turkey's Bloodlust, Confident Queen, Sawed Off, Lucky Last, Saxonite Shackles, Boundary Incursion, Ice Cube, Permafrost Wave, Splinter Virus, and Ice Skates — all of which you can mention by name in builds. Anything beyond that list should be written as a "type-level" upgrade description, because the developer has not published the rest.
Elements and Status Effects
The developer has not published a closed list of elements, so do not search for "the X elements" anywhere. The confirmed element set is partial: cryo (freeze and shatter), plasma, acid, rot, blood, shock, bees, and water. The cryo element is best showcased by the Snowball Grenade — a 1.0 grenade unlocked from X11-B that one of the developer's favourite upgrades lets you "roll down a hill to gain size like a cartoon". The full Snowball Grenade upgrade list is unpublished (the developer said they do not want to spoil them), so resist the urge to copy any "Snowball upgrade tier list" you might see — those are guesses.
Regions, Mission Types, and How to Build Your Routine
Mycopunk's planetside regions are: Gravity Farm (Shipping Lane map), Moldy Tundra (Sunken Highlands variant), Ice Floes, The Swamp, Desert / Flourishing Desert, and City / Titan City (City Outskirts variant). The 1.0 high-difficulty region is X11-B, a moonlet of New Atlas where enemies are tougher and periodic electromagnetic storms disable abilities. The developer's official notes on X11-B stop at "tougher enemies" and "storm-disables-abilities"; room counts, enemy lists, and detailed modifiers have not been published.
Mission Type Roster
| Mission type | Official unlock | Why it matters for beginners |
|---|---|---|
| Incursion | Player level 13 | Primary Antimass Substrate source. |
| Ouroboros | Default | Roguelike mode with Contraband/Oddity tiers; Blitz variant is 13 rooms. |
| Ouroboros Blitz | Default | Short 13-room version of Ouroboros. |
| Escalation | Mid-game | Scaling threat. |
| Oxythane Breach | Mid-game | Hazard-themed run. |
| Paid Time Off | Mid-game | Lighter mission flavour. |
| Prized Possession | Mid-game | Battery Barry rescue objective. |
| Saxonite Transport | Mid-game | Resource escort. |
| Planetary Defense | Mid-game | Defend a fixed point. |
| Population Control | 1.0 launch | New mission type. |
| Ground Zero | 1.0 launch | High-intensity objective. |
| Amalgamation Hunt | Default | Boss-class enemy. |
| Abomination Assault | Default | Boss-class enemy. |
| Expedition Alpha | Unlocks Mycologist | Required to play the fifth employee. |
| The Couch | 1.0 launch | Mini special assignment. |
Boss-class enemies (the ones tied to Amalgamation Hunt and Abomination Assault) include the Amalgamation itself, the Abomination, the Abomination Lacerator, the Devastator, Cranius, the Brute (including the copter variant), the Pummeler, the Antigrav Drone, the Optical Jammer, Missilehead, Rocket Grunt, the Hornet, the Pixie, the Autocannon, and an explosive-barrel / cryo-exploder enemy. The Amalgamation has a 30-second timer, which is the only officially published boss timer.
A 30-Minute New-Player Routine
| Time | Action | Why |
|---|---|---|
| 0:00-0:05 | Pick an employee at the HUB. | Each kit teaches a different skill. |
| 0:05-0:15 | Run a threat-1 mission. | Learn drops, pickups, and revives. |
| 0:15-0:20 | Return to HUB and visit Pattern Infuser. | Spend any early Antimass. |
| 0:20-0:25 | Pick a weapon you do not yet own. | Test it in the HUB range. |
| 0:25-0:30 | Queue the next mission or visit Lottery Larry. | Keep momentum. |
The key habit is "return-and-spend" after every successful run, because Antimass and Strange Components lose value only when you sit on them. Players who skip the HUB vendors tend to hit the wall at the level-8 Rare rotation because they are still using the same Standard-tier board.
Cosmetics, Fulfillments, and What to Skip Until You Are Higher Level
Mycopunk uses a Fulfillments system for 1.0 achievements and cosmetic rewards — completing a Fulfillment grants a Hat. The developer has not published the full Fulfillments list, and the 1.0 Known Issues page flags two Fulfillments (activate relay towers; rescue bags of Saxitos) that were not progressing at launch. Treat any "Fulfillment tier list" you find as speculation until the developer publishes the official checklist. There is also a known bug where a Cranius achievement will not unlock and the Mycologist's cape is missing, both flagged in the 1.0 Known Issues list.
Official Skin Roster
| Skin | Where it applies | How it unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Crystalline | Universal | Default. |
| Rainbow | Universal | Default. |
| Skeletal Ghost | Universal | Default. |
| Entombed | Universal | Default. |
| Uniform | Universal | Default. |
| Chrome | Universal | Supporter Pack DLC. |
| Leopard | Wrangler | Per-item skin. |
| Brawler | Bruiser | Per-item skin. |
| Tiedye | Scrapper | Per-item skin. |
| Firestorm | Glider | Per-item skin. |
| Telepathic Charging | Swarm Launcher | Per-item skin. |
Beyond Hats and skins, the 1.0 update added Sit Emotes and a tiered reward program called Backlog (1.2). The Backlog is its own reward track and not a battle pass; Mycopunk has no battle pass, no PvP mode, and no codes or redemption system. The official channels to watch for roadmap updates are the developer's X/Twitter account and the Mycopunk Discord.
Solo Play, Co-op Play, and the Finer Details
Mycopunk is built as 4-player co-op, but solo play is supported on every mission except the ones that gate specific co-op mechanics. The official channels have not published a "solo balance patch", so most of the solo experience is community-discovered as of October 2026. If you want a deeper look at running missions by yourself, the how to play solo mission guide covers queue setup, pacing, and the HUB vendors that matter most in solo runs.
For co-op basics — how to set up voice chat, push-to-talk, friends-only lobbies, and the full player-count breakdown — see the co-op player count and voice chat guide. The official channels confirm that voice chat is in-game, push-to-talk is supported, and the friends-only filter is part of the lobby system, but the developer has not published a server-region list or a cross-play toggle.
What to Do After Your First Mission
Most new players finish a mission and then stall at the HUB because the Codex is full of weapons, upgrades, and data logs they have never seen. The Codex is the inventory tab that tracks everything you have unlocked, so spend five minutes scrolling through it after each new weapon. The five things to check after a mission are:
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Cargo Pod — see what arrived from the previous run.
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Lost Loot Terminal — recover anything you dropped on death.
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Pattern Infuser — spend Antimass before you forget.
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Lottery Larry — re-roll cosmetic rewards.
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Armament License — track the next weapon unlock.
If you are still feeling lost after the first two runs, the common questions and new player experience guide collects the most-asked questions from launch day, including what to do after Expedition Alpha and how to read the Codex.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best employee for a brand new Mycopunk player?
The Scrapper is the most forgiving starter because the Grapple Pole lets you recover from mistimed jumps, and the Jetpack covers vertical terrain that the other kits handle less gracefully. The Bruiser with the Shield Projector is a close second if you prefer a tankier playstyle. Avoid the Mycologist at the start because it is locked behind Expedition Alpha and the developer has not published its full upgrade tree.
How do I unlock the Diffraction Driver and Shocklance?
The Diffraction Driver unlocks automatically once you reach player level 10, at which point it appears in your Armament License. The Shocklance unlocks by completing the Overtime Assignment mission. The Diffraction Driver fires a short-range cone by default, and holding alt-fire spins up its halo to tighten the cone and extend the range.
What is Antimass Substrate and where do I get it?
Antimass Substrate is the Pattern Infuser currency used to permanently upgrade your hex-pattern board. The official resource notes confirm it drops from Incursion missions (which themselves unlock at player level 13) and from high-threat missions. Spend it at the Pattern Infuser inside the HUB rather than hoarding it, because the upgrade board is the most reliable long-term power source.
Why are my Fulfillments not progressing?
Two Fulfillments (activate relay towers; rescue bags of Saxitos) were listed in the 1.0 Known Issues as not progressing at launch. A Cranius achievement also fails to unlock, and the Mycologist cape is missing. The developer has not yet published a fix date, so flag these as known issues rather than as personal bugs.
Is Mycopunk cross-play between PC and PlayStation 5?
The developer has not published a cross-play toggle, and the official channels do not list cross-progression between the two launch platforms. The game does support voice chat, push-to-talk, and friends-only lobbies, but server regions, cross-progression, and any cross-play roadmap item have not been officially announced as of October 2026.