Your Mycopunk codex is the single inventory tab that ties weapons, upgrades, skins, and data logs to your account — and the 1.0 launch quietly reshaped how it works. This Mycopunk codex guide walks through every setting, control, and Steam Deck knob that affects how the codex reads, loads, and tracks your unlocks, so you spend less time digging through menus and more time running missions on New Atlas. it works. This Mycopunk codex guide walks through every setting, control, and Steam Deck knob that affects how the codex reads, loads, and tracks your unlocks, so you spend less time digging through menus and more time running missions on New Atlas, and once you're comfortable tracking your solo unlocks, our Mycopunk How To Play Solo breakdown covers the loadout and pilot-build choices that make those codex runs actually count.
The "Codex" achievement, which unlocks the in-game journal feature, requires players to log every enemy variant they encounter, and according to the official Mycopunk Steam announcement, the codex tracks over 50 distinct fungal enemies with full lore and weakness details.
What the Codex Actually Does After Patch 1.8.2
The codex is the in-game encyclopedia that catalogs weapons, upgrades, employees, skins, and data logs. Patch 1.8.2 — the official procedural-loading and Codex skin-count fix published on May 1, 2026 — corrected a long-running bug where the codex would list employees as having more undiscovered skins than they actually had available. If you played during Early Access, you may notice skin counters in the codex now match the real unlock pool, which makes tracking cosmetic progress accurate for the first time.
The codex is also the surface where data log discovery feeds into the Fulfillments system. As of October 2026, the developer has not published a complete list of data logs, and the 1.0 Known Issues list still flags two Fulfillments that do not progress correctly. When you check the codex today, treat any "0/2" or "0/X" tracker as a soft indicator rather than a hard checklist.
Where to Find It and How It Loads
The codex lives in the pause menu under a dedicated tab. Because the HUB itself was reworked in 1.0, the in-game navigation has changed: the codex is no longer a "wall" of collectibles you scroll through — it is a layered panel that opens directly from the pause overlay. That matters for Steam Deck players, because the pause overlay is the fastest way to glance at progress without closing the action.
Loading performance also improved in 1.8.2. The patch optimized building surfaces and particle systems attached to navigation meshes, which indirectly speeds up the codex window because the same meshes the game streams in are the ones the codex indexes. On Steam Deck in particular, you will feel this when the codex window opens quickly even after a long mission.
What It Tracks vs. What It Doesn't
| Codex Category | What It Tracks | What It Does NOT Track |
|---|---|---|
| Weapons | Unlock status, level, equipped upgrades | Detailed damage numbers, hidden stats |
| Upgrades | Rarity, Pattern Infusion history, slotted position | Drop source per item, full drop-rate math |
| Employees | Level 1–30 progress, skins, ability names | Detailed ability cooldowns (developer has not published all of them) |
| Skins | Per-item skin ownership | Lottery Larry reroll tokens spent (not surfaced) |
| Data Logs | Discovery status | Lore text search |
The codex is a tracker, not a wiki. It tells you what you have and what you have not seen, but it does not explain mechanics, and it deliberately does not spoil upgrade names the developer has chosen not to publish. For example, the Snowball Grenade's full upgrade list is unpublished by design, and the codex will simply show "Locked" until you unlock them.
Mycopunk Controller Settings That Actually Matter
The controller layout in Mycopunk is built around a co-op shooter feel, but the default mapping is not ideal for everyone. Because the game is mission-based and supports up to four-player squads, controller settings affect both solo runs and coordinated team play. Below is the breakdown of what to adjust, what to leave alone, and what the developer has confirmed versus what community testing suggests.
According to the official Mycopunk Steam announcement detailing the Codex system, the in-game codex catalogs every enemy, weapon, mutation, and lore entry players discover, automatically filling out entries as encounters occur during a run. The default controller layout maps movement to the left stick, aim to the right stick, jump to A, crouch/dodge to B, and reload to X. For most players, the only changes worth making on day one are:
The Default Layout and What to Change
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Swap crouch and reload if you frequently dodge-cancel — B for reload and X for crouch feels more natural in a left-thumb-driven playstyle
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Lower stick deadzone if you use a standard Xbox or DualSense — the default is tuned for older third-party pads and feels sluggish on first-party hardware
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Increase ADS sensitivity by 10–15% over hipfire — the scope sensitivity slider is independent, and most players under-scope at the default
The developer has not published a recommended sensitivity curve, so the numbers above are based on community reports from the Early Access beta branch.
Aim Assist, Vibration, and Trigger Deadzones
Aim assist is on by default and the game expects it for controller play. There is no published "off" benchmark for competitive play because Mycopunk is PvE-only — no PvP mode exists, so the meta does not punish raw aim. Vibration strength is a personal call, but on Steam Deck you will want it at 30% or lower to save battery and reduce stick drift over time.
| Setting | Default | Recommended for Most | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stick Deadzone | 15% | 8–10% | Snappier 180° turns during Overclocked fights |
| Hipfire Sensitivity | 50 | 50–60 | Personal preference; the codex does not track aim stats |
| ADS Sensitivity | 40 | 50–55 | Faster target acquisition on Missiles and Brutes |
| Aim Assist | On | On | PvE shooter; raw aim is not rewarded |
| Vibration | 70% | 30–50% | Battery life + stick longevity on Steam Deck |
| Trigger Deadzone | 10% | 5% | Faster grenade throws and melee pops |
Mycopunk Graphics Settings for Smooth Missions
Because Mycopunk is a procedural looter shooter with heavy particle systems — explosion decals, elemental VFX, the Splinter Virus burst chain, and Amalgamation spawn animations — graphics settings have an outsized impact on frame pacing. The game does not have a public benchmark, but the 1.8.2 patch specifically optimized building surfaces and particle systems, which means some settings that tanked Early Access performance now hold steady.
Resolution, Frame Cap, and VSync
VSync should stay ON unless you are running a variable-refresh-rate monitor. The frame cap is best set to match your display's refresh rate — capping at 60 on a 60Hz monitor, capping at 120 on a 120Hz panel. There is no official "uncapped" mode, and forcing it through driver-level overrides can break the pause overlay rendering.
The Settings That Move the Needle
| Setting | Performance Cost | Visual Trade-off | Worth Lowering? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shadows | High | Medium | Yes on mid-range GPUs |
| Anti-Aliasing | Medium | Low | Yes — TAA is heavy here |
| Particle Density | Very High | Low | Yes — most VFX still read at Medium |
| View Distance | Medium | Medium | Only if your CPU is the bottleneck |
| Texture Quality | VRAM-bound | High | Only if you have 6 GB VRAM or less |
| Ambient Occlusion | Low | Medium | Optional — barely visible in dense combat |
Particle Density is the single biggest FPS win for most players. The game's elemental effects (cryo shatter, plasma burn, acid rot, blood explosions) all stack, and a single Amalgamation pull can spawn hundreds of particles at once. Dropping Particle Density from Epic to High recovers 8–12 FPS in dense fights on mid-range hardware, with almost no readability loss for the actual elemental cues.
The 1.8.2 Connection
The May 2026 patch notes specifically called out that "building surfaces and particle systems attached to meshes were optimised." This means a lot of the most expensive particles now have a faster attachment path to the meshes that spawn them, which in practice means fewer frame hitches when an Abomination spawns mid-room. If you were playing during Early Access and the game felt stuttery during heavy fights, a fresh graphics pass with these settings plus the 1.8.2 optimizations is enough to stabilize most mid-range hardware.
Mycopunk Steam Deck Settings That Work
The Steam Deck is the most-tested handheld for Mycopunk because the game has been in Steam Early Access since July 2025, and the community has had a year to tune presets. As of the October 2026 launch, the game runs well on Deck with the right combination of TDP, frame cap, and in-game settings. The official Steam page confirms Steam Deck support, but the developer has not published a "Verified" or "Playable" badge update for 1.0 at the time of writing.
According to the official Mycopunk announcement on Steam, the Codex is tied directly to enemy encounters: each new specimen you analyze in the field is automatically catalogued and added to your personal codex, with lore entries unlocking alongside combat data as you progress.
According to the official Mycopunk Steam community announcement, each of the four playable characters can equip an ultimate ability that charges as you deal damage and unleashes a powerful effect once full, giving your squad a defining tool to break through overwhelming hordes.
The Preset That Works Out of the Box
| Setting | Value | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| TDP Limit | 12W | Headroom for Amalgamation fights without thermal throttle |
| Frame Cap | 40 FPS | Smooth on Deck's 60Hz panel, saves battery |
| In-Game Resolution | 1280×800 (native) | FSR/DLSS upscaling is not officially supported at 1.0 |
| VSync | On | Prevents screen tearing on the 60Hz LCD panel |
| Particle Density | Medium | Most expensive setting per frame on Deck |
| Shadows | Low | Visible but not distracting on the 7" screen |
| Texture Quality | Medium | 16 GB Deck models handle this comfortably |
| Anti-Aliasing | Off or TAA Low | Deck's native resolution masks aliasing |
The 40 FPS cap is the single most important Steam Deck setting. The 60Hz panel will display 40 FPS without screen-tearing artifacts, and the lower cap recovers enough thermal headroom to keep the APU out of throttle during a 30-minute Incursion run. The 30-second Amalgamation timer means you cannot pause to let the device cool, so the cap has to hold steady.
Steam Deck-Specific Quirks
The Steam Deck's built-in controls overlay can fight with the in-game radial menu for grenades. The community-reported fix is to launch the game once with the overlay disabled, then re-enable it for screenshot capture only. Because the in-game pause system was reworked in 1.0 to support solo play, you can pause mid-mission to check the codex or the upgrade grid, which is invaluable on Deck where the small screen makes menu reading harder.
The game also has a known issue where the Swarm Launcher's reload audio and VFX would keep playing when a reload was cancelled — this was fixed in 1.8.2, but if you are on the beta branch, double-check that the fix is in your build. The audio glitch was specifically tied to the procedural loading path, which Steam Deck users hit more often because of the smaller texture pool.
Putting It All Together: A 30-Second Setup Routine
Once you have the settings dialed in, the routine is fast. Open the pause menu, check the codex to confirm your skin counters and data log progress are accurate post-1.8.2, then drop back into the mission. On Steam Deck, this routine runs at 40 FPS and uses the pause overlay as a tactical tool rather than a system menu.
The 1.0 launch was the developer's first day out of Early Access, and the Steam page shows about 1,839 concurrent players and 4,825 reviews (4,261 positive) at build time. That context matters because it means most of the public guidance is still based on Early Access community testing, and any number that was true in EA may shift as more players report from 1.0 specifically. Treat the settings above as a starting point, not a final word.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where is the codex in the pause menu?
The codex is its own tab in the 1.0 pause overlay. On Steam Deck and controller, hold the pause button to bring up the radial, then move to the codex tab. The data log fix in 1.9.6 also corrected an error that fired when opening the codex before discovering any data logs, so the tab now opens cleanly for new accounts.
Does the codex show every skin I can unlock?
After 1.8.2, yes — the codex skin counter matches the real unlock pool. Early Access had a bug where the codex over-counted undiscovered skins, which is now fixed. The 1.0 Known Issues list still flags a missing Mycologist cape, so that specific skin may not appear in your counter until the developer pushes a follow-up patch.
Should I run the game at native resolution on Steam Deck?
Yes. Mycopunk does not have official FSR or DLSS support at 1.0, so native 1280×800 with TAA Low is the cleanest path. Running above native without an upscaler tanks performance, and the in-game resolution scaler does not work on Deck because it conflicts with the VSync setting.
What is the best Mycopunk Steam Deck settings preset for long missions?
The preset in this guide — 12W TDP, 40 FPS cap, Medium particles, Low shadows — holds steady for 30-minute Incursion runs. Drop Particle Density to Low if you plan to chain multiple missions back-to-back, because thermal buildup over an hour will start throttling even at 12W.
Can I turn off aim assist on controller?
Yes, but it is not recommended. Because Mycopunk is PvE-only, there is no competitive reason to disable it, and the controller mapping is tuned assuming aim assist is on. Players who turn it off report a much harder time tracking Missileheads and Brutes at range.