Tornado and high-wind decisions
Tornadoes spawn and strengthen during a run while the final F5 closes the escape window. The most reliable defensive mechanic confirmed by the developer is Solid Stance: crouching makes the runner heavier and more resistant to being swept away.
- When the wind rises sharply, reduce route ambition before the pull starts.
- Move toward the closed van or an intact enclosed room instead of standing near windows and loose debris.
- Crouch before the wind reaches full strength; this is a resistance tool, not immunity.
- Do not enter a structure already shedding pieces. Destruction and flying debris can kill independently of the funnel.
- If the van is being used as shelter, close its doors. A complete gameplay walkthrough shows the closed van surviving a direct pass, but this remains community-observed behaviour rather than a developer guarantee for every condition.
If the runner is already airborne, a pre-release developer answer says it is effectively too late to grab nearby debris or objects for safety. Prevention has a much higher evidence level than rescue.
Acid rain and hail
Patch 0.34.23 reduced acid-rain chance on Training and Normal because players were repeatedly losing runs to it. The patch also made the umbrella smaller in inventory, lowered its vending-machine unlock level and increased the grace period when leaving its protection.
| Condition | Protection | Run decision |
|---|---|---|
| Normal rain | Roof or umbrella cover | Avoid becoming Drenched before crossing live wires or open ground. |
| Acid rain | Umbrella Cover or intact overhead shelter | Stop open-air looting unless the item completes the escape. |
| Hail | Umbrella Cover or enclosed shelter | Delay exposed travel and avoid beginning a repair while taking damage. |
Umbrella Cover protects the holder and nearby teammates from normal rain, acid rain and hail. Treat the umbrella as a shared radius, not an individual trophy, when inventory is tight.
Lightning, fallen wires and fire
Strong weather can knock down power lines, and lightning can ignite objects. A Drenched runner takes increased electrical damage. The Electrified and Burning states deal ongoing damage, and the developer warns that fire or electrocution can transfer to a nearby teammate.
- Leave open areas when lightning activity increases.
- Scan the road surface before sprinting back to the van.
- Do not crowd a burning or electrified teammate.
- Use a portable conductor when available; its official moodlet protects the holder and nearby teammates from lightning strikes.
- Choose a new route when fire blocks a narrow path. Do not rely on status healing to brute-force repeated contact.
Moodlets that change movement and damage
| Moodlet | Trigger | Effect / answer |
|---|---|---|
| Injured | Health below 70% | Reduced movement until healed above the threshold. |
| Very Injured | Health below 30% | Severely reduced movement; treat recovery as the route priority. |
| Heavy Load | Carrying a large object | Reduced movement until the item is dropped. |
| Drenched | Unprotected exposure to rain | Reduced movement and increased electrical damage until cover. |
| Solid Stance | Crouching | Greater weight and resistance against wind pull. |
| Umbrella Cover | Holding or standing near an open umbrella | Protection from rain, acid rain and hail. |
A shelter decision rule
Use the next 30 seconds, not the last 30 seconds. If weather exposure plus return time makes the item unable to complete a repair before the next escalation, shelter or return. The item is no longer the highest-value action.
Bathrooms and interior rooms appear in community walkthroughs as practical shelter choices, while the closed van is the most repeatable observed shelter. The developer has not published a universal room-by- room protection table, so this guide does not claim that every bathtub, refrigerator or basement is safe.