The Mycologist is the brand-new employee class in Mycopunk 1.0, who is a member of the first expedition to New Atlas and revolves around an Infection mechanic. This guide will provide you with tips and tricks on how to unlock Mycologist in the game, including some of the best builds for this new class.
How to Unlock the Mycologist & Abilities
Mycologist is not available by default like some other classes, so you need to complete the special “Expedition Alpha” mission and rescue her before you can use this new employee. You can find the “Expedition Alpha” mission select screen in the HUB, which appears as a new special assignment mission in the 1.0 update. Once you complete this mission successfully, you can choose Mycologist in the HUB.
She comes with over 30 unique employee upgrades, which are mostly focused on her Infection kit. Note that new employee upgrade trees now start at Rare rarity for more interesting early options. But her three main abilities are as follows:
| Abilities | Effects |
|---|---|
| Passive – Infection | Infection builds up when you take damage or use your mobility skill. Higher Infection also strengthens your utility, but stacking it too high reduces your maximum health, so let it drop to stay alive. |
| Sporelift | Hold the jump button to launch yourself upward. The longer you hold it, the stronger you jump, but using it also increases Infection, so use it carefully. |
| Fungal Skewer | Summons fungal spikes from the ground that immobilize enemies. You can also spend Infection for additional damage on the spikes for some very strong crowd control. |
Best Mycologist Builds & Upgrades
You can easily turn Mycologist into a hybrid mobility and crowd control specialist, leaning heavily into high-risk, high-reward Infection system. She excels at dealing with enemy packs, which synergizes well with the new Population Control mission type and vertical maps. Here are some of the best weapons and gear you can use:
- Diffraction Driver: New ion scattergun unlocked at Level 10 that tightens and lengthens with alt-fire spin-up, making it great for Skewer lockdown.
- Snowball Grenade: New cryo grenade unlocked via X11-B moon missions that offers control synergy with Skewer, where the freeze and immobilize combo is simply brutal.
- Cycler also works great, especially elemental or infinite-ammo styles.
- Plate Launcher for area denial and new healing plate options.
Also, be sure to consider Swarm Launcher, Shocklance, Globbler, or Carver for a more aggressive playstyle. When it comes to extra grenades, Voltaic, Caustic, and Incendiary types work great for elemental cocktails that work well on pinned targets.
Mycologist will work really well in a team comp with Bruisers, Gliders, or Wranglers. She particularly shines in 3–4 player squads for locking down packs while your other teammates can focus on firepower. Generally, prioritize upgrades that boost Sporelift and Infection buildup rate, then stack upgrades that improve Fungal Skewer.
