Reactors now throw off heat and leak radiation when damaged, fuel rods are dangerous physical objects you carry by hand or with tongs, and a botched repair can melt the core down. Radiation splits into sickness you treat and contamination you scrub off.
| Type | Detection | Effect | Cure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Radiation Sickness | Hidden until advanced; the early clue is burns appearing all over the body. Does NOT self-heal. | Damage over time; needs active treatment | Activated Carbon Tablets (low amounts) |
| Contamination | Only detectable with a Geiger Counter | A contaminated person spreads radiation sickness to nearby crew (contamination itself isn't transmissible) | Potassium Iodide Tablets (low amounts), or Deconsol sprayed on |
You only become contaminated from a radiation source: started fuel rods, leaking reactors, radioactive ores/minerals. Radiation & heat respect distance, walls and doors — more distance and more obstacles = weaker exposure. Close doors and put walls between you and the source.
Working near a reactor, or near an active/uncontained fuel rod, slowly overheats you. Once overheating you randomly pass out and slowly burn.
Radioactive things: all started fuel rods (not crafted depleted ones); Uranium / Thorium / Fulgurium ores & minerals; and corpses that died contaminated (they keep irradiating — dispose of them).
| Item | Effect | How to use / notes |
|---|---|---|
| Geiger Counter | Detects radiation; checks if a person is irradiated/contaminated | Use in the health interface on a person, or as a melee weapon. Recharges like a battery. |
| Potassium Iodide Tablets | Light radiation protection; cures low contamination | Take before diving wrecks / approaching a leaking reactor or contaminated crewmate |
| Activated Carbon Tablets | Cures low poisoning & radiation sickness | Useless vs contamination. Excessive use is harmful. |
| Deconsol | Decontaminates a person | Load into a sprayer and spray onto the contaminated person |
| Hazmat Suit | Protects from heat & radiation | Diving-suit slot, needs an O₂ tank but is NOT a diving suit — no pressure protection. Long exposure can still irradiate through it. Acts as a diving suit for bots so they won't take it off. |
| Fuel Rod Tongs | Hold a fuel rod without burning your hands | Storable in toolbelts. The mod forces tong use when exchanging rods from the reactor. |
| Fuel Rod Crate | Safely stores & shields up to 8 fuel rods | Open by pressing Use/"E" while it's on the ground. Can be loaded into a depth-charge loader to dump rods into the ocean. |
| Fuel Rod Crate Shelf | Holds 2 fuel rod crates | Stops crates flying around on impacts |
| Radioactive Material Crate | Stores up to 9 stacks of radioactive ores/minerals | Shielded storage |
| Radioactive Material Container | Stores up to 6 stacks of radioactive minerals | Shielded storage |
| Nuclear Cartridge | Ammo for the Rapid Fissile Accelerator | Crafted from any fuel rod; different rods yield different quantities |
| Depleted Fuel Rod (crafted) | Non-radioactive crafted rod | Deconstruct/craft sink |
Bots can exchange fuel rods, but: equip the reactor operator with a craftable Hazmat Suit (they won't equip it themselves), and give them a "clean up items" order at higher priority than operating the reactor so they store spent rods in the correct container instead of dropping them on the floor.
Not bot-compatible — the reactor must be player-managed. Fuel rods give less power (need multiple for full output) but last longer, and every reactor gets a module slot with four craftable modules:
Swap modules with the reactor OFF — there was a bug where swapping on a live outpost reactor caused an explosion (since fixed).
Other patches: Baroverhaul Compatibility Patch (3262062128), Hazardously Enhanced Reactors bridge (3062069071), Talent Merger Compatibility Patch (3065722159), Better Performance (3306583912, obsolete with client-side Lua).