Botany: The Guide, Shift-Start Procedure, Strange Seeds, Tips and Tricks

Guides
1

WIP

The main guide, which the below suppliments, can be found here: Botany: The Guide

Table of Contents

  1. Shift-Start Procedure
  2. Strange Seeds
  3. Tips and Tricks

Shift-Start Procedure

Required Tools

  • Plant Analyzer
  • Plant Bag
  • Cultivator
  • Spade
  • Plant Data Disks
  • Bucket
  • Beaker, 100u
  • Robust Harvest, Bottle
  • Banana Seed
  • Ambrosia Vulgaris Seed
  • Pineapple Seed
  • Wheat Seed
  • Pumpkin Seed

It’s recommended that one uses the bucket to apply Unstable Mutagen, as its minimum transfer value is 5, and reserve the use of the beaker for applying reagents such as Saltpeter - as some effects of reagents are maximized when more of a reagent is transferred at once. A touch of Biomass will allow one to produce an empty bottle from the Biogenerator, which is a far faster way to apply small amounts of Unstable Mutagen - in the rare case you should need to.

Step 1: Perennial Growth

  • Acquire a Banana Seed (or any seed containing P-Growth) from the Seed Vendor
  • Acquire Plant Data Disks from the Botany lockers
  • Insert the Banana Seed into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Insert a Plant Data Disk int the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Extract Perennial Growth
  • Place the Plant Data Disk containing Perennial Growth into the adjacent Disk Tray for later use

Step 2: Ambrosia Gaia

  • Plant Ambrosia Vulgaris Seed
  • Continually use 5u Unstable Mutagen on it, until it mutates into Ambrosia Deus
  • Continually use 5u Unstable Mutagen on the Ambrosia Deus, until it mutates into Ambrosia Gaia
  • Ensure that the Ambrosia Gaia’s Yield is at least 1
  • If it is not, apply 1u Unstable Mutagen until Yield is at least 1
  • Apply 200u Saltpeter to maximize Potency
  • Apply 1u Robust Harvest to maximize harvest, and to prevent mutation
  • Harvest when ready
  • If at least 5 Ambrosia Gaia branches are attained, use 4 to upgrade a tray
  • Use at least one Ambrosia Gaia branch on the Seed Extractor
  • Take the resulting Ambrosia Gaia seed to the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Insert the Perennial Growth Trait into the Ambrosia Gaia seed
  • If a Tray was upgraded, plant your modified Ambrosia Gaia seed in it (this is because Ambrosia Gaia typically has a huge vulnerability to weeds)
  • Continually harvest when ready, until the desired number of trays have been upgraded - remembering to apply 1u Robust Harvest after each harvest to prevent mutation, and maximize the amount of produce attained

Step 3: Biomass Wheat

  • Place the Pineapple Seed into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Place a Plant Data Disk into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Extract Nutriment 20%
  • Place the Wheat Seed into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Remove Nutriment 4% from the Wheat Seed
  • Insert Nutriment 20% into the Wheat Seed
  • Insert a Plant Data Disk containing Perennial Growth into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Insert Perennial Growth into the Wheat Seed
  • Plant your modified Wheat Seed
  • Apply 200u Saltpeter to maximize Potency
  • Apply 1u Robust Harvest
  • Harvest when ready
  • Place the harvested Wheat’s produce into the Biogenerator
  • Process inserted Wheat into Biomass
  • Continue to harvest, until no more Biomass is desired. Remember to apply 1u Robust Harvest after every harvest
  • Recommended: Two further Trays containing seeds generated from your modified Wheat, this will generate a substantial amount of Biomass, very quickly

Step 4: Ammonia Wheat

  • Plant the Pumpkin Seed
  • Apply 5u Unstable Mutagen, until the Pumpkin mutates into a Blumkpin
  • Ensure the Blumpkin has a Yield of at least 1
  • If it does not, apply 1u Unstable Mutagen until Yield is at least 1
  • Apply 1u Robust Harvest
  • Wait until harvest, and then apply the Blumpkin’s produce to the Seed Extractor
  • Place a Blumpkin Seed into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Place a Plant Data Disk into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Extract Ammonia 20%
  • Place a modified Wheat seed, created as a result of finishing Step 3, into the Plant DNA Manipulator
  • Remove Nutriment 20%
  • Insert Ammonia 20%
  • Relabel the modified Wheat seed as “Ammonia Wheat”, using a pen
  • Plant the Ammonia Wheat seed
  • Apply 1u Robust Harvest
  • Wait until harvest. Place produce into the Grinder
  • Place Beaker, 100u into the Grinder
  • Grind 5 (4?) Ammonia Wheat to yield 100u Ammonia
  • Transfer all 100u Ammonia at once (Ensure transfer amount is 100, and that the beaker contains 100u Ammonia!) onto a plant which has not had Robust Harvest applied to it, in order to increase the Yield of the target plant by 1
  • Repeat harvest and grinding cycle as necessary, remembering to apply 1u Robust Harvest after every harvest

Strange Seeds
If there is no immediate threat to the station, and after the needs of Shift-Start procedure, the Chef, and Cargo have been fulfilled - one should end up with a substantial, continual source of Biomass. This could take anywhere from about 25 minutes, up to about 45 minutes. The above conditions met, one should explore Strange Seeds as a way to improve the functionality of whatever plant one has the goal of creating.
Strange Seeds, by default, cost 5000 Biomass each. They contain an entirely random set of Core, Secondary, and Reagent genes. Most notably - the range of potential Reagent genes spans far, far beyond what one can acquire from existing plants. The number of reagents in the gene is random as well.

The following are reagents that have a great impact, either in a positive or negative way. Additionally, the below either cannot be acquired from any other source, or are excessively difficult to acquire from another source. ((TODO: Precise mechanics, instead of generalities))

Beneficial Reagents

  • Stimulants: Stamina Regeneration, Speed Increase. Rapid metabolism. Overdose 60u
  • Pump-Up: Damage Slow-Down Immunity, Stun Immunity, Sleep Immunity, Stamina Regeneration. Overdose 60u.
  • Regenerative Jelly: Heals all damage types.
  • Changeling Adrenaline: Knockdown Time Reduction, Stamina Loss Reduction. Rapid Metabolism. Overdose 60u.
  • Changeling Haste: Movement Speed Increase, Light Toxins Damage.
  • Muscle Stimulant: Slow-Down Immunity.
  • God Blood: Identical to Omnizine, except Overdose 150u.

Harmful Reagents

  • Slime Jelly: Potent Toxins Damage
  • Mint Toxin: Instantly Gibs fat characters
  • Mulligan Toxin: Randomizes the apperance of those who ingest it, as well as their name
  • Ghoul/Zombie Powder: Instant Knock-Down, and prevents speech. Very rapid metabolism.
  • Beer: Actually Chloral Hydrate, but renamed
  • Toxic Micro-capsules: Delayed Toxins Damage, no symptoms prior to damage

Tips and Tricks
The following are simply useful tibits relating to Botany that don’t really fit in elsewhere.

  • Apples and Golden Apples are always eaten in a single bite, regardless of the number of reagents within
  • Omega Weed can carry a maximum of 420u of reagents
  • Sweet Potatoes carry the Vitamin 10% Reagent Gene, the highest default Vitamin Reagent Gene in the module
  • Tobacco, by default, has Yield 10
2

Side note, you can use 2 units of mutagen to have a bigger impact on the stats than 1u. You can also use 2u mutagen until you get 10 yield and 1 production speed (Super RNG sometimes) (Potency can be saltpetered). Make sure that the weed and pest numbers aren’t too high.

3

The mechanics of mutation are pretty accurately described in the main guide. The reason why 2u Unstable Mutagen has a bigger impact than 1u, is because 1u triggers a Soft Mutation - and 2u triggers a Hard Mutation. I recommend 1u above, because we only need to raise the Yield to 1. Hard mutations simply increase the range of possible negative and positive modifiers. The chance to actually get a positive value is the same, it’s just that the amount raised or lowered is potentially higher or lower, respectively. In this case, using 2u would just have the slight disadvantage of wasting 1u of Unstable Mutagen.
In the Shift-Start portion of the guide, I explain how Ammonia can be used to eliminate the RNG of raising Yield, with the added benefit that it doesn’t potentially harm other stats. Using Unstable Mutagen to raise Yield has the chance of being exponentially faster, or exponentially slower - such is RNG.
Absolutely though - do read the main guide first, since it explains some things that could go wrong with the above, especially regarding Weed/Pest levels.

4

I have a small correction/different strategy here. Instead of using the gaia plant itself, i always extract the earthblood trait and put it into the prepared 20% nutriment wheat seed. This has the benefit of having your trays upgraded faster and removes the hassle with the weed vulnerability of ambrosia gaia. You also only have to use 200u salpeter once instead of twice. This is only a very small change of course and in the end it comes down to personal preference. Awesome guide overall!

EDIT: To make it clear, nutriment does not give more points for a tray upgrade, the „faster“ in my text refers to the production speed of wheat which is 1 per default.

5

Yeah, I thought I’d make mention of Wheat. However - I like to keep the Earthsblood in Gaia. This is because, with the appropriately applied amount of Saltpeter - production is lowered to be identical to Wheat. Wheat doesn’t upgrade trays any faster when accompanied by Nutriment - I believe. I’d need to check the code to confirm, but I don’t remember seeing that. Weed vulnerability is a good point, though. If you want to go for something that is just flat out optimal, I’d say Tobacco is a better bet than Wheat. Default 10 Yield.
I also like to keep Gaia around, so that I can execute what one of my tips and tricks will focus on - making it safe to ingest without brain-damage, and adding other healing reagents. You could do the same thing for other plants, but people already know what Gaia looks like, and generaly what they can expect it to do.

6

Yes i understand what you mean, my way is definitely not the most optimal one. I like to use wheat because it grows fast from the beginning and the low yield can be offset with stuff like bees or robust harvest. I never used salpeter for production speed because of its randomness. Its just not reliable in my opinion. My strategy allows you to get biomass fast and all your trays upgraded while using only one plant typ (gaia/20% nutriment wheat) which in return requires alot less „babysitting„. Getting biomass fast can be important on certain shift types but is of course far from optimal.

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I did forget to add the formula in the guide, but 100u Saltpeter guarantees 1 Production lower. Generally you’re correct as well - including both in one plant makes things easier. Still, one should be upgrading trays pretty rapidly from the above, so it’s not nearly as much of a concern.
You’re right about shift types. I’ll include some optimal things for various antags!

8

Can you get traits through mutation? Like if I were to use mutagen or uranium on something, it could suddenly get the perennial growth trait or chlorine production?

9

With 2 or 1 u mutagen you can get some traits, such as dark glow, electrical activity or invasive spreading. These are the three I have seen so far while trying to roll for good stats to work with.

1 Like
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Are they the only ones?

11

I’d have listed them if I knew them, sorry man. Try experimenting with it a bit, the chance to get them was rare so…

1 Like
12

Alright, thank you anyway!

1 Like
13

Very robust guide, very useful.

Will definitely use again

14

I know that trait genes can be gotten by using unstable mutagen, but can reagent/content genes be gotten the same way?

15

I am pretty sure that this is not possible. But you can get any chemical that exists in the game through strange seeds anyways.

16

You can’t get every chemical anymore. There was slimming of the list. Restorative nanites come to mind.

17

Alright, thank you, that’s unfortunate when playing as an Ashwalker. I was hoping for a chance to be able to remove one of the genes of reishi for example so that I wouldn’t get toxin damage from the multiver. It’d be cool if it were to be, but sadly it doesn’t.