Game Mechanics

"You got me wrong. You will be dying here much faster than in the Capital. Your body is wasting away just as a boat sinks with its hold full of water. Breathe in this air. Can you feel it?"

- Eva Yan, Day 1 of Pathologic

The Town is unlike a normal world—people can starve or tire themselves to death within a single day. Locals claims that it's in the air; that every breath you inhale is slowly killing you.

The player must manage a variety of stats to stay alive, each function closely linked to the other. Along with basic bodily functions such as health or hunger, the player is also faced with outside forces such as reputation or the flow of time.

Health

 * The player's core stat. It is tied to all other functions—if you become hungry, exhausted, or infected, your health will suffer. Health can also be lost during combat.


 * Health is increased by healing items such as tourniquets or bandages. Additionally, painkillers increase health should they be taken before the player sleeps.

Immunity

 * Immunity is tied directly to the player's infection and acts as a "buffer" between the plague and the player's other stats. While the immunity meter is full, it slows the progress of infection or can prevent it altogether.


 * It can be be managed and increased by immunity-boosting medicines, preventative vaccines and clothes.

Hunger

 * Naturally, hunger is sated by food items. Increases hourly. If the meter is full, the player's health will decrease continually until hunger is decreased, or death.


 * Food can be bought at stores, traded for with patrolmen, or occasionally found. Different kinds of food can affect stats in different ways: for example, lemons strengthen immunity but increase hunger, while water lowers hunger but increases exhaustion.

Exhaustion

 * Fatigue increases as the day passes. If the meter reaches full, the player's health will slowly decrease.


 * The ideal way to deal with exhaustion is to sleep—but you can only sleep in the beds of private homes, such as the houses of Bound characters. Coffee can also be used to decrease exhaustion at the expense of health.

Infection

 * The player's level of sickness. Once infected, the meter increases continually; the higher the infection, the more health the player loses over time.


 * Infection cannot be fully removed without the use of special items or flamethrowers' fire, but can be managed by using antibiotics.

Reputation

 * The level of respect the townspeople have for the player. The lower the meter, the higher the chances the player has of being attacked and losing services. It can change greatly depending on the day or the choices of the player.


 * Reputation can be increased in a number of ways: completing quests, helping plague victims, getting rid of bandits, or donating money to sickly men. Likewise, it can also be reduced by killing or insulting townsfolk.


 * While the Bachelor begins the game at full reputation, both the Haruspex and the Changeling begin with low reputation. In addition, the Changeling's reputation is constantly decreasing.

Time

 * Like in our world, the days in the Town remain divided into 24 hours. One in-game hour corresponds to around five real-world minutes.


 * Midnight marks the deadline for quest completion and events, though 7:00AM is considered the start of the next day. Be warned—if quests remain uncompleted by the end of the day, they will be failed and one of the player's Bound will fall ill.

Character Mechanics

 * All characters have access to an oil lamp. This lamp is not an item, but an innate ability. It requires kerosene to work and if the player has kerosene, they may press 'F' to use it. The lamp's only function is to improve the lighting around the player should they wish to see the environment more clearly.

Bachelor

 * The Bachelor has access to the Plaguefinder. It is not an item that can be equipped or found in the inventory, but an innate ability that can only be utilized by the Bachelor.


 * When used, the Bachelor can see Sand Plague clouds further than initial eye sight. By using lenses, the Bachelor is able to upgrade the Plaguefinder and increase the range at which it can detect Plague clouds.


 * The Bachelor can also participate in the Ring of Suok.

Haruspex

 * The Haruspex has the ability to find Herbs throughout the Steppe and in the Town. These can be used to brew tinctures such as Twyrine Extracts and Dead Gruel in the Haruspex's Lair. These herbs can also be traded for from Worms at gatherer huts and traded to Andrey Stamatin in Andrey Stamatin's Pub.


 * For details on trading with Worms, see here. For details on trading with Andrey, see here.


 * The Haruspex can also participate in the Ring of Suok and in Rat Racing.

Changeling

 * The Changeling has the ability to find Herbs throughout the Steppe and in the Town. These herbs can be traded to Andrey Stamatin at Andrey Stamatin's Pub.


 * For details on trading with Andrey, see here.


 * The Changeling has a special melee attack that can also heal infected townsfolk from up close in exchange for some health, which grants her reputation. The Changeling can also participate in Rat Racing.

Trading

 * All playable characters have the ability to trade with the townsfolk. Trading with different townsfolk allows the player to obtain resources that may be difficult to obtain, if not otherwise impossible.


 * For details on trading and the various types of trades available, see Trading.

Health

 * The player's core stat. If it is depleted entirely, the player will die.
 * Health is primarily lost during combat, however if the player's hunger or exhaustion are at their maximum limit, or the player has contracted Plague, their health will diminish incrementally. If already infected, interacting with infected surfaces, people, clouds, or air will result in additional loss of health. Health can also by lost by consuming certain rations (such as Coffee) and drugs (namely Antibiotics).
 * Health can be regained by using healing items such as Tourniquets and Bandages, or by sleeping (+25% HP/2 hrs). If the player consumes a Morphine or Painkiller prior to sleeping, the rate at which they recover health will increase. Damage received during combat can be mitigated by wearing clothing.

Immunity

 * Immunity serves two purposes: Stopping the player from becoming infected, and reducing the rate at which infection grows (after infection has set in). As immunity is depleted, a visual haze will encroach upon the player's screen, signifying that infection is imminent. Soon after infection is exhausted, the player will become infected with Plague. If this occurs, the immunity meter will be renamed "Infection", however both immunity and infection will be represented visually within said meter, in green and red respectively. If the player is infected, their immunity level affects the rate at which their infection increases passively: The higher their immunity, the slower the rate at which infection will grow. In turn, as infection expands, immunity's total capacity is limited, as is its potential for passive generation, which will always amount to half of immunity's remaining portion of the status meter.
 * Immunity is most commonly lost by being outside in infected districts, or interacting with infected surfaces, people, or plague clouds. When looting cabinets within houses, some drawers on the the looting interface will have black smudges on them, while others will be visibly clean: Opening smudged drawers will diminish immunity, and occasionally spawn a rapid plague cloud animation (resulting in additional loss of immunity). Additionally, consuming Rotten Food and Muddy Water will reduce Immunity.
 * Immunity can be increased by consuming Immunity Boosters, Twyrine, or Tinctures. If the player consumes home-brewed Antibiotics or Painkillers made with a kidney, their immunity will raise by a small amount. In addition to mitigating combat damage, clothes will also minimize negative impacts on immunity. As long as the player is not outside in an infected district, and their immunity is below 50% of its current capacity, their immunity will passively recover to its midway point. If starting from 0% immunity, and the player is uninfected, it will take approximately 3.25 in-game hours to reach 50% immunity.

Infection

 * Infection represents the player's level of sickness. As stated above, upon infection, the meter titled "Immunity" will be renamed "Infection", which is represented by a red portion that will grow from the meter's left side. Severity of infection determines its rate of growth and level of passive health loss, both of which increase exponentially. As already stated, interacting with infected surfaces, people, clouds, or air will result in additional health loss. As well, the player's infection level reduces immunity's maximum capacity for passive recovery.
 * Infection cannot be fully removed without the use of a cure, however it can be managed via Antibiotics and maintaining a high level of immunity (which will reduce rate of infection growth). In the same vein as immunity, damage incurred via additional sources of infection can be mitigated by wearing clothes.

Exhaustion

 * So long as the player is awake, their Exhaustion will passively increase. If their Exhaustion meter is maxed out, their health will diminish incrementally.
 * The most straight forward way to reduce exhaustion is to sleep (-20% Exh./1 hr). The Haruspex is able to sleep at the Haruspex's Lair, Shelter, Willows, Peter Stamatin's Loft, Lump and, if the correct quest is completed, the Stillwater. Lemons and Coffee can be eaten to decrease exhaustion, however Coffee will also negatively affect player health and hunger. "Medrel" Tinctures (+) slightly reduce exhaustion, as do Antibiotics and Painkillers made with Brains or Livers. It takes approximately 16.5 in-game hours for the exhaustion meter to deplete entirely, and 5 hours spent sleeping to recover it entirely.

Hunger

 * Hunger constantly increases throughout gameplay, however its rate of growth is reduced by 60% when sleeping. Like exhaustion, if hunger reaches its maximum capacity, player health will diminish incrementally.
 * Hunger is decreased by consuming rations, most of which increase thirst in turn. "Yas" Tinctures (+) slightly reduce hunger, as do Antibiotics and Painkillers made with Hearts. It takes approximately 6.5 in-game hours for the hunger meter to deplete entirely.

Stamina/Thirst

 * Stamina and thirst are represented within the same meter in green and red respectively, and have a relationship similar to immunity and infection, in that stamina's room for expansion is limited by thirst's growth. Stamina is temporarily drained while running, jumping, and fighting. Running increases the player's movement speed by 70%. Whenever stamina recovers from these losses, thirst will grow in turn, thus reducing stamina's total capacity. The smaller the player's stamina, the more of a disadvantage they'll have when next they need to fight or run. Be mindful of how low the stamina meter depletes: If it enters the bottom 15% of its current value, performance while fighting or running will temporarily worsen, and thirst's rate of growth will increase.
 * Stamina can be recovered rapidly by blocking, so long as the player character is in combat. This can help turn around fights that would otherwise be lost, as it both reduces incoming damage and allows the player to compose before their return volley. Outside of combat, the blocking animation loses this recovery buff, however it will become available if ever enemies are in pursuit, meaning you do not need to actively engage them before reaping the benefits.
 * Thirst is decreased most commonly by drinking water, but can also be reduced by consuming Milk, Tan, or Apples. "Zürkh" Tinctures (+) reduce thirst, as do Antibiotics and Painkillers made with Blood. If necessary, thirst can be recovered by drinking Muddy Water, at the expense of immunity.

Reputation

 * The level of respect the townspeople have for the player. As player reputation diminishes, the player will be denied the right to stores and trading, and eventually openly attacked in the street. Reputation is most commonly lost by attacking innocent townsfolk, looting inappropriate houses, and harvesting most organs outside of the Hospital.
 * Reputation in Pathologic 2 is determined per district, and an action's magnitude decides the severity and proximity of the ensuing punishment. Some actions (such as stealing) will only affect reputation for the current district, while others (such as fighting) will also impact neighboring districts.


 * Reputation can be increased in a number of ways, such as killing bandits, completing hospital quests, [|curing] the infected, and completing trades at a loss.


 * On Day 1 the Haruspex will rapidly lose reputation until his name is cleared by Big Vlad, which is scripted to occur around 20:00.

Time

 * In Pathologic 2, there are no quicksaves outside of the Prologue. The only way to save the game is to do so at a clock. Clocks can be found in most major buildings such as Bound Character homes and the Town Hall. Hovering over buildings from map view will reveal whether they have a clock available via an icon that resembles a clock (similar icons appear for locations with a bed and stores).

Progression

 * Like in our world, the days in the Town remain divided into 24 hours. As the game progresses, time will move faster: Each new day at dawn (07:30), time's progression is increased slightly, wherein the following 24-hours in-game will be 4 minutes shorter in real-time. On Day 1, 1 hour in-game lasts 4 minutes real time (100 minute cycle). By Day 11, 1 hour in-game lasts 2 minutes & 30 seconds real time (60 minute cycle).


 * Time stops during dialogue and within most menu screens (such as trade, diagnosis, and autopsy), however it does not stop while looting or while using the Alembic or Brewery.

Quest availability

 * Some quests last only one day, and others several. There is no way to know which is which without experience, so it is best that the player do all that they can with the time they have.

Midnight

 * Most notably, midnight marks the deadline for tending to any Bound who are in danger or infected. New districts will become infected for the day, and those that were previously infected will become burned. The Theatre will open for the night, as will the Dead Item Shop. Midnight will also prompt children to go home for the night, and bandits to appear in turn. Stores' inventories will refresh, store prices will increase, trash bins' inventories will refresh, and dropped items contained within cloth sacks will despawn from the game.

Dawn

 * At 07:30, the player will typically receive new quest markers, observe cutscenes, and/or receive scripted messengers that are relevant to the new day. Both the Theatre and Dead Item Shop close for the night. Dawn is also when herbs respawn, Children's Caches refresh, and trash bins' inventories refresh again. Bandits will disperse and children will return outdoors. As already stated, dawn marks a subtle increase in time's progression.

Clothing

 * Clothes can be acquired and equipped in four slots: Head, Torso, Hands and Feet. Quality and type of clothing determines the degree to which the player is protected from combat, fire, and plague. Each clothing category excels in defending against one of the four major plague threats, which are as follows:


 * Masks protect from plague clouds
 * Cloaks protect from contacts with diseased people
 * Gloves protect from infected surfaces
 * Footwear provide great protection from passive infection in infected districts


 * Clothing items lose durability whenever taking physical- or plague-based damage.


 * As mentioned below, cloaks are essential items for upgrading the Haruspex's inventory capacity.

Weapons

 * There are two slots for Weapons: one for guns, and one for melee weapons. Guns are powerful, however their bullets and repair items are both relatively costly. Conversely, melee weapons' upkeep is less expensive, but they require close range engagements. Some melee weapons can also serve as surgical tools for autopsy, while others can pick locks. With each use of a weapon (including autopsy), its durability will will lower.

Repair

 * As equipped items' durability degrades, their performance will worsen. Weapons will do less damage, surgical tools will fail during autopsy, guns will jam, and if allowed to reach 0%, clothing items will be destroyed entirely. To avoid this, they must be repaired periodically, either by using the workbench in the Haruspex's Lair or by interacting with some of the Townsfolk. Keep in mind that cloaks can also be used for upgrades made to the Haruspex's inventory regardless of their condition.


 * Durability is divided into tiers, which determine the cost of repair. Each repair tier will require more to ascend to the next one, so it is advisable to keep items maintained at their highest durability. As an example, below is a table demonstrating that the worse a Scalpel's durability becomes, the more its cost of maintenance will compound.

Inventory

 * In Pathologic 2, each item occupies a given number of slots in a grid, which serves to represent containers. At the start of the game, the Haruspex's inventory is limited to two 2x4 grids and a bigger 5x5 one. As the game progresses, his inventory can be expanded so that he may carry more items at once.
 * The first upgrade can be acquired as early as 07:30 on Day 2, by speaking to Aspity after Isidor Burakh's funeral in the Cemetery. It adds a 5x2 grid under the central one.
 * The remaining four upgrades are made by using the workbench inside the Haruspex's Lair, which can be accessed later in Day 2. Each additional upgrade will require more valuable items than the last, some of which may not be available until certain points in the game.


 * Repellant Cloaks and Sewing Boxes are not available in tailors until Day 4, and Army Cloaks become available in tailors on Day 9. In very rare occurrences, cloaks can be looted from houses before their arrival date in stores.

Trading

 * See Trading
 * The ability to trade is available from the beginning of the game. Trading with different townsfolk allows the player to obtain resources that may be difficult to obtain, if not otherwise impossible.

Combat

 * The player receives a combat tutorial during the Prologue. Throughout the game, the player will have to choose between when they should fight and when they should run. Although most encounters can be solved without fighting, there may be situations where combat is unavoidable so the player should seek to familiarize themselves with the combat system.


 * Pressing '1' causes the player to take out their fists. During this time, left-clicking with a mouse will cause the Haruspex to perform a simple attack. Holding the left-click will cause him to perform a larger attack that uses more stamina. Sneaking up on an enemy and attacking from behind will perform a stronger attack. Right-clicking performs the block animation, which also recovers stamina rapidly. Fists deal 20 damage by light attack, 30 damage by heavy attack and 40 damage by backstab.


 * Pressing '2' causes the player to take out their gun, if they have one equipped. If they have the correct ammo in their inventory, the Haruspex will load the weapon. Left-clicking causes the gun to shoot while right-clicking can help the player aim by lining up the gun's barrel. All guns have a chance to jam at any durability, with the chance of jamming increasing as durability decreases.


 * Pressing '3' causes the player to take out a melee weapon, if they have one equipped. Similar to fighting with fists, a single left-click will perform a simple attack while a held left-click will perform a stronger attack. Sneaking up on an opponent from behind and then attacking will also deal more damage. Right-clicking performs the block animation, which also recovers stamina rapidly.


 * Pressing '4' takes out an oil lamp. This does not take up space within the inventory and is not a weapon, but is still useful to the player. When the player has matches in their inventory, they can press 'F' to light the lamp when the lamp is equipped. Aside from lighting up the environment, it can also be used to dispel Plague clouds.

Lockpicking

 * When the player has a lockpick in their inventory, they will have the option to attempt to lockpick locked doors they come across. In order to successfully do so, the needles on either side must be aligned with the red section. By default left and right click (or trigger, if using a controller) will lift the corresponding side. Each click will damage lockpick durability: it is therefore preferable to try to reach the red at the same time on both sides, rather than "floating" one side while the other catches up.

Menkhu Knowledge

 * ''See Menkhu Knowledge
 * As a Menkhu the Haruspex is able to to find Herbs, create Tinctures and Painkillers, diagnose patients and prescribe Antibiotics, boost immunity and decrease pain. These mechanics are collectively known as "Menkhu Knowledge".

Autopsy

 * ''See Menkhu Knowledge
 * As a Menkhu the Haruspex is able to autopsy corpses and collect organs, both health and infected.

Bound Infection

 * Every day from Day 3 onwards, a number of districts will become infected. Every day at midnight Bound currently living within an infected district will be under threat of being infected with the Sand Plague. The Haruspex is able to bolster Bound's immunity via prophylaxis, wherein he can issue Immunity Boosters, tinctures, or Twyrine. Improving Bound's immunity improves their chances of staying healthy, however it is not a guarantee. At midnight, those at risk of becoming infected will receive "infection rolls", and those who are infected with the Sand Plague will have "death rolls." The Haruspex may assist the Bound character by decreasing their infection with antibiotics but, like immunity, assisting a Bound character's infection does not guarantee their survival.

The Fund

 * At the beginning of the Sand Plague outbreak, the powers of the Town create a Fund to support the Town's doctors. On Day 4, the Haruspex will be able to retrieve a Fund reward (consisting of food, medical supplies, and money) from the Town Hall. In order to be eligible for future daily Fund rewards, he will need to have completed the daily chore at the Hospital the day prior. Each daily fund reward can be further bolstered by curing infected individuals on the street and killing looters in burned districts. Applying antibiotics -- even incorrect ones -- to infected Townsfolk will increase the Fund meter, however correct diagnosis is awarded much higher. Progress made toward the following day's Fund reward can be tracked via the Fund meter, which appears at the top of the basic menu UIs (Town/Things/Thoughts/People).

Death

 * Upon every death (after Day 1), the Haruspex will wake in the Theatre. With every death the director, Mark Immortell, will apply a penalty to all of the Player's saves in their individual file. Most penalties are a decrease in total health but other punishments such as a decrease in total hunger, a decrease in total exhaustion, and miscellaneous punishments such as being cursed to occasionally find Cotton Wool instead of organs in corpses all apply.


 * The only way to remove the punishments for death is to restart the game with a new save file, or take the Fellow Traveler's deal.

Punishments
For further details on what happens upon dying, see Theatre of Death.

Health

 * This makes the player more vulnerable to dying in the future. Maximum health is decreased during deaths 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, and 20. If the player receives all of the health deduction punishments, the health bar will have been decreased to 50% of its maximum.

Hunger

 * The player will take damage from hunger sooner. Maximum hunger is decreased during deaths 4, 12, and 21.

Exhaustion

 * The player will take damage from exhaustion sooner. Maximum exhaustion is decreased during deaths 6 and 16.

Other

 * On death 10, Mark will remove the player's ability to touch. Occasionally, the player will now find Cotton Wool rather than organs when performing autopsies.