Abiotic Factor glossary: game terms, mechanics, and NPC reference

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A

Anomaly — A hostile creature or entity from an Anteverse dimension. Distinguished from normal facility enemies (Order soldiers, Pests) by their otherworldly origin. Anomalies include Leyaks, Exors, Composers, Reapers, and others. Many require specialized weapons or X-Ray technology to counter.

Anteverse — The alternate dimension from which portal worlds originate. Different portal worlds correspond to different Anteverse designations (Anteverse 1 = Flathill/Far Garden/Train World, Anteverse 2 = Mycofields, Anteverse 33 = Night Realm, Anteverse 42 = Reactors-adjacent worlds).

Antejuice — A liquid found in bowl-shaped plants in Mycofields. Functions like clean water and provides double the thirst fill. Safe to drink.

Armored Exor — A tougher variant of the Exor found in the Hydroplant. Same drop table as standard Exor but significantly more durable.

Assault Event — A scripted night attack where enemies spawn around the Crafting Bench closest to a player. Triggered on certain nights after story progression milestones. Announced in-game the afternoon before with "The air feels strange."

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B

Benchmarks (story progression) — Key story events that unlock new Assault Event types: placing your first Crafting Bench (Portal Storms), opening Silo 3 (Exor/Peccary), meeting the Blacksmith (Order Assaults), completing the furniture store (Zombie Horde).

Bio Scrap — Harvestable material from enemy corpses. Requires using a sharp weapon on remains.

Blunt damage — One of the two basic melee damage types. Increases the Blunt Melee skill. Effective against enemies that are weak to physical impact. See the enemy weakness guide.

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C

Carapace — Drop item from Scuttlebugs and Exors in Mycofields. Used in crafting.

Carbuncle Mushroom — Collectible fungal item found in Mycofields. Used in cooking recipes.

Composer — Large alien creature found in Flathill (Anteverse 1). Completely deaf — cannot hear the player moving. Safe to run past in most cases. Visually distinctive due to size.

Corpse harvest — The mechanic of using a sharp weapon on a killed enemy's remains to collect the full drop table. Without harvesting, you only collect direct drops, not Bio Scrap or quality-dependent items.

Crafting Bench — The central workstation of your base. Must be powered. Projects the Safe Area (Home Sweet Home) radius when powered. Has an upgrade tree including Portal Suppression Field, Item Transporter, and healing effects.

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D

Dark Lens — A story-critical item located in the Residence Sector. Required for late-game progression. The sector has extreme cold and storm mechanics.

Damage types — Abiotic Factor uses four damage classes (Light, Medium, Heavy, Super) plus specific type categories (Blunt, Sharp, Bullet, Electricity, Plasma, Laser, Fire, etc.). Shields block damage at or below their class rating.

Death — On death: inventory items drop and remain on your corpse at the death location. Hotbar items stay with your character but lose durability. Respawn location is your active Makeshift Bed; if none is set, you return to the cafeteria.

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E

Energy Brick — A crafting component. Used in recipes and certain tech devices. Not a power source. Frequently confused with Power Cells. See FAQ.

Exor — A mid-tier anomaly creature found across multiple sectors and portal worlds. Confirmed drop table: Raw Exor Heart (100%), Exor Arm (100%), Exor Quill (3-5), Raw Alien Drumstick (50%).

Exor Monk — Variant Exor that teleports after laser attacks. Nets prevent the teleport.

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F

Far Garden — Anteverse 1 portal world accessed from Office Sector Silo 2. First portal world most players reach. Primary resources: Anteverse Wheat and Jump Pad blueprint.

Flathill — Anteverse 1 portal world accessed from Office Sector Silo 3. A fog-covered South Dakota town used by GATE as "Perforation Site Zero." Contains Bounty Basket food supply and the NPC Marion.

Fog Brain — Temporary debuff applied when exiting Flathill. Clears after time.

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G

GATE — The research organization that operates the GATE Cascade Research Facility where the game takes place. Full name: GATE (Global Anomalous Threat Entity, or similar — wiki notation varies). Their operations led to the containment failure that begins the game.

GATEPal — A player device that functions as an in-game compendium. Unlocked early in the game. Used to track objectives, read compendium entries, and check game progress.

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H

Home Sweet Home — The buff name for the Safe Area created by a powered Crafting Bench. Suppresses enemy respawns within the radius. Does not prevent Assault Events.

Hotbar — The equipped item slots in the UI. Items in the hotbar remain with the player on death but lose durability.

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I

IS-0017 — A machine in Cascade Laboratories that allows job and trait changes. Resets all skills to level 3 when used. The only way to change your job after character creation.

Item Transporter — A Crafting Bench upgrade that automatically pulls materials from nearby storage containers into the crafting queue. Does not affect display-style containers, only standard crates.

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J

Jobs — Character classes selected at creation. Provide skill bonuses, XP rate modifiers, and trait point allocations. Some jobs force specific starting traits or provide starting items. Changeable via IS-0017.

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K

Keypad Hacker — A tool used to bypass locked keypads on doors and panels. Multiple tiers available; higher-security doors require higher-tier hackers.

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L

Lab Rat (INQUISITOR) — An Order soldier type with enhanced hearing and melee combat. Drops radioactive spore clouds on death.

Leyak — An anomaly creature from Anteverse 33 (Night Realm). Moves only when not in direct line of sight or when beyond a certain distance. Repelled by X-Ray technology (X-Ray Tower, X-Ray Lamp, OX Lamp variant).

Night Essence — Dropped by the Reaper in the Night Realm when struck by laser, holy damage, or X-Ray exposure. Cooldown: ~2.5 minutes. Required for Cascade Labs access and specific crafting recipes.

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M

Makeshift Bed — The primary respawn anchor. Must be placed and interacted with to set as active respawn. On death, you return to this bed's location. If no bed is set, respawn is the starting cafeteria area.

Medi-Shroom — Exit buff applied when leaving Mycofields. Provides healing effects.

Mycofields — Anteverse 2-B portal world. A hot, lava-terrain environment with fungal life. Requires Fire Proximity Suit or +3 heat resistance and Airtight Seal mask. Contains Anteverse Gel, Carapace, Carbuncle Mushrooms, and an Exor figurine collectible.

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N

Night Helm — Required headgear for the Night Realm. Without it, staying in the Night Realm causes rapid health drain.

Night Realm (The Night Realm) — Anteverse 33 portal world. Contains the Reaper, Inkfish fishing, and Night Essence farming.

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O

Order soldiers — The human military faction attempting to retake the GATE facility. Four types: TRIARII (slow melee), LEGATE (melee + pistol), EXSURGO (rapid-fire ranged), INQUISITOR (enhanced hearing, spore drops).

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P

Peccary — A boar-like creature from the Anteverses. Multiple variants including standard, Alpha, Snow, and Mushroom Peccary (Mycofields). Primary meat source for cooking.

Pest — Common early-game enemy. Variants include standard, Electro-Pest (charged ring attack), and Volatile Pest (explosion on death). Each variant requires a different combat approach.

Plasma damage — A damage type effective against certain high-tier enemies including the Tarasque.

Plug Strip — Expands a single wall socket into multiple connection points. Does not increase total power budget — all connected devices share the socket's capacity.

Portal Suppression Field — Critical Crafting Bench upgrade. Suppresses enemy activity around the bench during Assault Events. Should be the first upgrade purchased.

Portal World — An alternate dimension accessible through portals in the facility. Resources reset twice weekly. Player structures persist through resets.

Power Cell — Powers specific devices, doors, and the portal suppression systems. Not a crafting component. Frequently confused with Energy Bricks.

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R

Reaper — The anomaly entity that creates gateways to the Night Realm in the Security Sector. Drops Night Essence when struck by laser, holy damage, or X-Ray exposure. Drop cooldown: ~2.5 minutes.

Rise — An Anteverse portal world accessed through the Cascade Labs laser puzzle. Primary farming target for medkits and healing items.

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S

Safe Area — See: Home Sweet Home. The radius around a powered Crafting Bench where enemies do not respawn.

Sharp damage — One of the two basic melee damage types. Increases the Sharp Melee skill.

Souper Satisfied — A buff from eating soup. Reduces hunger and thirst drain by 20% for 10 minutes. Available from 26 different soup recipes.

Symphonist — A boss-tier anomaly creature related to Flathill's music-based threat. Drops Maestro Armor.

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T

Tainted Water — Contaminated water found in pools, puddles, and containers throughout the facility. Can be boiled at 4:1 ratio to produce clean water. Drinking it raw causes negative status effects.

Tarasque — A boss-tier anomaly in Containment Block. Weak to electricity and plasma damage. Located in Anteverse 42.

Traits — Character modifiers selected at creation alongside your job. Affect fitness, speed, crafting, and combat. Changeable via IS-0017 at the same time as job changes.

Tram — The facility's internal rail transport. Connects sectors. Requires Tram Station Keys to unlock routes. Keys unlock the route permanently.

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U

Ulrich Thule (Dr.) — The first NPC encountered. Located in the cafeteria. Speaking with him triggers the initial objective chain.

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V

Voussoir — A portal world accessed through Hydroplant's flooded tunnels via the Neutrino Detector. Features vertical climbing mechanics and significant fall damage risk.

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W

Water Cooler — Storage container holding 4,500ml of clean water. Not renewable on its own — once emptied, you need a new source or to refill it from a purified supply.

Warren (Security Officer) — NPC located in the Office Sector. Part of the initial objective chain. Points players toward Manufacturing West.

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X

X-Ray Lamp — A portable device that repels Leyaks and triggers Night Essence drops from the Reaper when aimed at it. The portable version of the X-Ray Tower defense structure.

X-Ray Tower — A placeable base defense device. Repels Leyaks within its range. Used in Leyak farming setups to control spawn areas.

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About This Glossary

All definitions were sourced from the official Abiotic Factor wiki. Terms that rely on community testing rather than official documentation are marked with (community). The glossary is updated when major patches introduce new mechanics or change existing ones.

If a term is missing, submit it via the Contact page with a brief definition and a wiki or community source.

See Also

• Abiotic Factor FAQ
• All Bosses and Enemies Guide
• Beginner First Day Survival
• Portal World Resource Comparison