Morb

This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-587362***). It was last updated for *LU-356355*. It may contain inaccuracies.
This article has not been revised for the current version (***U50-587362***). It was last updated for *LU-356355*. It may contain inaccuracies.

**This article may need cleanup to meet quality standards.**

## Morb

Morbs are attracted to unhygienic conditions and frequently excrete bursts of Polluted Oxygen.

### Excrete

Polluted Oxygen 200 g at random frequency
(up to 1 kg of pressure)

### Incubation Time

N/A

**Morbs** are non-hostile, land-based critters that can be found naturally in the Caustic Biome. If an Outhouse is filled, not disabled and left unemptied, a Morb will spawn near it after 2 cycles. While they cannot be tamed, they can be captured with a Critter Trap and delivered to a Critter Drop-Off. They passively excrete Polluted Oxygen and consume nothing.

## Mechanics

* Periodically, they will emit a cloud with 200g of Polluted Oxygen infected with 200 germs of Slimelung if their current tile meets certain conditions:
	+ Not in Vacuum or occupied by Liquids
	+ Pressure below 1000g
	+ Arrived at this tile on its last movement
	+ If the second tile above them is not blocked, Morbs will show an "emission" animation at this point. It is not required.
* Morbs can be used to farm Polluted Oxygen, but exact rates of production have been difficult to specify precisely.
	+ Morb emissions are randomized. Your precise rate of production will vary.
	+ The Morb rate of Polluted Oxygen emissions is affected by game speed. Running the game at 2x and 3x speeds reduces Morb in-game emission rates by 1/2 and 1/3 respectively.
	+ A single Morb with 5 tiles of running space in a 10x3 (sized for an Outhouse) closed chamber of ~500g of polluted oxygen at 20 C was tested as producing 33 emissions, or 6.6 kg in one cycle (11 g/s) at 1x speed.
	+ A "stable" of at least 5 tiles for running is needed for optimal production, and at least 2 tiles is needed for any production at all. Morbs will not produce in a 1 tile restricted space. Having only 2 to 4 tiles for running appears to reduce production amounts by as much as 50%.
	+ A "stable" of tiles that require jumping is not optimal. Tests indicate roughly 1/4 peak production in jumping stables.
	+ Morbs cannot be overcrowded or unhappy, so you can put a large number of them in a small room and it will not additionally impact their production rate. This has been tested from 2 up to 256 Morbs in a 5x3 stable without significant reduction in production rate. However, multiple Morbs in the same stable tend to have a polluted oxygen rate of around 2.5 g/s per Morb at 1x speed, which is about 1/4 of a single Morb alone. The drop in per Morb rate is made up for by sheer numbers with the break-even being about 4 Morbs.
	+ Gases heavier than Polluted Oxygen will displace the emission clouds, allowing you to maintain a steady atmospheric pressure for your Morbs even in rooms above 1000g.
	+ Placing Vents with a low rate of output (e.g. 5 g/s Carbon Dioxide) behind the Morbs can provide a similar protection from Vacuum penalties if you have Gas Pumps harvesting the emission clouds.
* Combining Morbs' production of Polluted Oxygen with Pufts' conversion of Polluted Oxygen into Slime can enable the renewable production of Algae by using an Algae Distiller or Coal via Hatches.
* Morbs produce Slimelung germs.
* Morbs can be intentionally spawned by reloading the game or by disabling and enabling the Outhouse, making refilling it unnecessary.

## Behavior

Morbs are not hostile and will try to flee when attacked. They will wander in one direction until they cannot travel further, then turn and travel back, they have the ability to jump walls that are 2 tiles high, or across a tile gap. Like other critters, they may be trapped permanently inside of doors and Mesh Tiles.

Morbs, like Pufts, only achieve their maximum production rate if their mobility is limited and if never over-pressured. They will otherwise spend much of their time traveling or idling instead of producing.