mods

What it is

Mods are account-wide stat plates the player collects after missions, merges into stronger tiers, and arranges on a single shared 4x4 inventory grid. Each owned mod is one of nine fixed archetype templates carrying a tetris footprint and a stat block; every mod placed on the grid contributes its bonuses additively to every run.

Inventory grid

The Mod Grid is a 4x4 board of cells. Mods occupy cells via row-major boolean masks; every current template is a filled rectangle so footprints are read as width x height. Only mods on unlocked cells contribute stats. Mods rotate in place in 90-degree steps before placement.

Grid cell unlocks

Zone	Cells	Cost per cell	Cells in zone
Free	upper-left 2x2	0	4
Inner	remaining cells within the 3x3	1,000 credits	5
Outer	outer rim (col 3 or row 3)	10,000 credits	7
Full board total	all 16 cells	n/a	75,000 credits

Cells unlock in a fixed sequence; only the next cell in line is purchasable, so all five inner cells must be bought before any outer cell becomes available.

Step	Cell	Cost
1	A3	1,000
2	B3	1,000
3	C3	1,000
4	C2	1,000
5	C1	1,000
6	A4	10,000
7	B4	10,000
8	C4	10,000
9	D4	10,000
10	D3	10,000
11	D2	10,000
12	D1	10,000

Rarity tiers and merging

Every mod has one of five rarity tiers. Tier multiplies the template’s base stat block.

Tier	Rarity	Stat multiplier	Acquisition
T1	Common	1x	Mission drop
T2	Uncommon	2x	Mission drop or merge 3 commons
T3	Rare	4x	Merge 3 uncommons
T4	Epic	8x	Merge 3 rares
T5	Legendary	16x	Merge 3 epics

Merging consumes three unplaced inventory mods of the same template and same rarity and returns one mod of the next rarity. Legendary cannot merge further. Equipped (placed) mods are never counted toward a merge. 81 common drops of a template equal one legendary of that template.

Rarity	Display color
Common	grey
Uncommon	green
Rare	blue
Epic	purple
Legendary	gold

Drop rates

Mods drop only at mission end. Rarity is rolled per drop, template is rolled uniformly across all nine templates.

Outcome	Probability per drop
Common (T1)	70%
Uncommon (T2)	30%
Rare or higher (T3-T5)	0% (merge-only)
Template selected	1/9 each (uniform)

Drop count per mission depends on this run’s tier-reached versus the player’s per-planet best tier.

Condition	Mods dropped
First attempt on the planet (no prior best)	2
Tier reached >= per-planet best	3
Tier reached = per-planet best - 1	2
Tier reached ⇐ per-planet best - 2	1

All new drops are flagged “unseen” in local storage and surface a NEW badge on the inventory tab until viewed.

Mod templates

Nine archetype templates. Footprint is width x height of a filled rectangle. Stats listed are the T1 Common baseline; T2-T5 columns apply the rarity multiplier to every value in the block.

mod_chip_targeting — +DMG

Footprint: 1x1.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
weaponDamagePct	3	6	12	24	48

mod_plate_hull — +HP

Footprint: 2x1.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
hpMax	20	40	80	160	320

mod_core_reactor — +SHIELD

Footprint: 2x2.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
shieldMax	25	50	100	200	400
shieldRegenRate	2	4	8	16	32

mod_strut_thruster — +SPEED

Footprint: 1x2.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
maxSpeed	12	24	48	96	192
thrust	8	16	32	64	128

mod_array_magnet — +MAGNET

Footprint: 3x1.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
magnetRange	80	160	320	640	1280
luck	4	8	16	32	64

mod_block_armor — +DEFENSE

Footprint: 2x3.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
hpMax	60	120	240	480	960
damageReduction	4	8	16	32	64

mod_bank_capacitor — +DMG

Footprint: 2x4.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
fireRatePct	10	20	40	80	160
weaponDamagePct	5	10	20	40	80

mod_frame_titan — +DEFENSE

Footprint: 3x3.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
hpMax	100	200	400	800	1600
shieldMax	20	40	80	160	320
damageReduction	3	6	12	24	48

mod_spire_gyro — +HANDLING

Footprint: 1x3.

Stat	T1	T2	T3	T4	T5
turnSpeed	0.08	0.16	0.32	0.64	1.28
maxSpeed	6	12	24	48	96

Stats that mods can change

Mod templates can only carry these eleven stat fields. Every bonus is flat additive to the ship’s combat stats at run-assemble time.

Stat	Used by
hpMax	plate_hull, block_armor, frame_titan
shieldMax	core_reactor, frame_titan
shieldRegenRate	core_reactor
damageReduction	block_armor, frame_titan
maxSpeed	strut_thruster, spire_gyro
thrust	strut_thruster
turnSpeed	spire_gyro
weaponDamagePct	chip_targeting, bank_capacitor
fireRatePct	bank_capacitor
magnetRange	array_magnet
luck	array_magnet

How it works

1. Run ends. Drop count is set from this run’s tier-reached vs. per-planet best.
2. Each drop rolls template uniformly and rarity 70 percent common / 30 percent uncommon, then lands in the unplaced inventory marked unseen.
3. The player can merge three unplaced mods of the same template and same rarity into one mod of the next rarity, up to legendary.
4. The player drags inventory mods onto unlocked cells of the 4x4 grid. Rotation cycles 0 / 90 / 180 / 270 degrees before placement. The grid validates the footprint against unlocked cells and other placed mods before accepting the drop.
5. At run start, every equipped mod’s stat block is multiplied by its rarity tier and summed flat-additively into the ship’s combat stats.

Interactions

• Bonuses from mods stack with every other source — ship base stats, level-up modifier picks, weapon upgrades, artifacts — as flat additive into the same ShipCombatStats block. There are no diminishing returns inside the mod system.
• All drops enter as common. Higher tiers exist only through merging; no rare or above ever drops directly.
• Rotation never changes a mod’s stats; it only changes which cells the footprint covers.
• Mods in inventory contribute nothing. Only placed mods on unlocked cells provide stats.
• Equipped mods cannot be consumed by merges; the player must first remove them to inventory.
• The inventory persists per account, separate from each run. Mod placement and merge progress carries across every ship and every mission.

What it does NOT do

• Mods do not grant new weapons, abilities, or triggered effects in any current template; the effects slot on the template type is defined but unused.
• Mods do not roll percentile rolls or affixes; the stat block is fixed per template and tier.
• Mods do not appear as in-run level-up rewards. The in-run upgrade pool is a separate “modifier” system (Health, Shield, Speed, Damage, Heat, Magnet, etc.) sourced from data/modifiers.ts and offered by the leveling screen.
• Mods do not drop during a mission; drops are awarded only at mission end.
• Mods cannot be sold or refunded.
• Legendary mods cannot be merged or upgraded further.
• Drop rolls do not look at which grid cells the player has unlocked; the same nine templates are eligible regardless of board state.
• The grid does not gate cells by player level, ship choice, or planet — only the credit-purchase sequence.